by Ali Al-Jamri
There is an awaited day
coming, approaching, dancing
on the tongue of a prophet
Awaiting the day when
the sea kneels down to re-reef
its coral, blooming up
coming, approaching, drenching the cancerous financial harbour
the prophet tongue dancing crushing its steel joints
and the secret freshwater sea spools
cloying its banks into a spring,
a breach for the diver
for earth will not become uninhabitable
it will only be uninhabitable for you, you,
while I, I will sip from إنكي مفقودٌ في سومر وعين عذاري
this spring أغوص بأعماق البحر، أهرب من دَهْري
even when it is gone
coming, approaching, prophetic words spoken into Ziusudra's palace
dancing on the drenched tongue A FLOOD IS COMING, BUILD AN ARK
this lord has saved us once before
the spring tastes
sweeter now it's gone
drunk from the goblet
an oyster's pearl
awash in the whirlpool
of a luxury apartment ربي إنكي أفرج عني من قيد راس المال
beneath it, a school of fish شگني شگة ومزقني من خلگ الأجيال
stilled.
floating,
awaiting
parting the sea
the sea
springs forward
fulfilling my tongue
quenching my dreams
summoning from its depths
Enki, Lord of Water!
do not question, I beg you, your wisdom
in saving man from the flood once
Enki, Lord of Water!
I beg you, save man from the flood twice
Ali Al-Jamri is a Bahraini poet and translator based in the UK. He edited Between Two Islands (2021), an anthology of Bahraini poetry, and has been published in Modern Poetry in Translation, Consilience, Zindabad and anthologies. He has produced poetry for Manchester City of Literature, Manchester Poetry Library and Young Identity and was a BBC Words First 2020 semi-finalist. He is a New Writing North Arabic Translation mentee and passionate about Eastern Arabia’s dialect poetry.
BAHR // بحر 