About This Title
"In the current disgrace, amid the din of corporate trolls contending with medieval ogres, of course, the good poet opts for the Fairy Tale. And, of course, the godly idealist chooses the empty dream and desert hells which only the godly know as Paradise. Fadhil Al-Azzawi has outsped his tormentors and turned their history, thanks be to God, upon its head. He is the Mandelstam of now, with Mayakovsky's panache thrown in for good measure. These poems profess a future without precedent."--Donald Revell "An astonishing collection by an Iraqi master poet who opens up all the despair and tenderness of our times. Let yourself be invaded and occupied by the words of Fadhil Al-Azzawi. They will resonate with you for many days and nights."--Ariel Dorfman
Song of the Dead Arab
Left to the wind that dwells in the fields,
time and time again, you built the gardens of Babel.
Time and time again, you lifted stones to raise towers,
time and time again, you crossed rivers
and built your temples to the wind
where priests recited their old incantations.
Time and time again, you crossed the Empty Quarter
and created a civilization with the tip of your proverbial spear,
O beautiful Arab.
But as you die now, starving, your lips parted,
I'll call you Homeland, if you wish
and my name will be Life.
You are dying on the sidewalk of a street wet with dew,
and I look into your eyes and fail to recognize you.
© BOA Editions, Ltd 2003
Available Editions
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ClothISBN: 1-929918-44-5
Price: $22.00
Publishing Date: 2003
Paperback ISBN: 1-929918-45-3
Price: $12.00
Publishing Date: 2003