The Mediterranean Sea (البحر المتوسّط)

By Ameer Hamad (tr. Gabrielle Alvarez)

I was a shy child whose father was drowning before him

He shouted to me from a whirlpool that pulled at his soul

by the collar of its shirt to get help

I trembled, my name verging drowning in his appeal

and his voice returned as bats collided with his body

I froze in place, my tongue distracted by the salt on my lips

my father rowing away with fins petrified by foam

and I grew farther away in the net of fishermen

dreaming of returning to their homes

with golden fish skilled in storytelling…

Then my father returned from the sea without my help

and when he passed by me, avoided looking into my eyes

to protect me from seeing in his blue face

the octopus of his disappointment.