Three Poems|Ahmad Al-Khatat
The Song of Life
A song you’d be thrilled to hear,
with eyes sharing their sorrows
to the nightingale
a grief’s mouthpiece takes me
to innumerable nostalgia
We hear the lyrics of the song,
as clothes become wet from
sobbing to the morning daylight,
not moonless nights…
Wings In the Wind
Periodically, I see everything
all at once
I know every corner I walk
by myself
I turn my skull before I make a
rational conclusion, I wrap my finger
to assemble my achievement
in Montreal and Baghdad.
When my generation was removed,
It erased my innocence,
It erased my imagination,
Shatter my days into black as soil
Death has forgotten about
Wings in the wind, after it demolished
my written poems to homeless signs
as if I am playing marbles barefoot.
The Finest Cigarette
On the first day of the new year,
I light the finest cigarette up and
sip a cup of black coffee by myself,
then write about hope on the typewriter.
The night born with stars and torn them
The children of world recall their little pets
While the children of Iraq & Syria remember
the dates of their sibling’s death in the war.
I no longer run after the birds and butterflies
My days are low, like the tears of a dying angel
My life is no longer delightful and brief
Even love has been eliminated from my universe.
No one seems to care about my flying wings
Everyone is celebrating the night we shattered
The wooden floor sustained your bitterness tears
This oppression made me an alcoholic and hopeless.
Another cigarette, another bottle of Russian whiskey
Another great rhythm and blues to listen to alone
Waiting for the time, and walk missing from the pub
Destiny undresses my flesh and leaves me as rotten skulls.
Bio:
Ahmad Al-Khatat was born in Baghdad, Iraq. His work has appeared in print and online journals globally. He has poems translated into several languages, such as Farsi, Chinese, Spanish, Albanian, Romanian. He has published some poetry chapbooks, and a collection of short stories. He has been nominated for Best of the Net 2019 and was also nominated for the Pushcart Prize 2020.
