Poetry International Poetry International
Poem

Fatima Naoot

Sketchbook

At forty
Ladies’ bags become bigger
To hold blood-pressure pills and sugars lumps
And spectacles
To improve the eyesight
Making tricky letters
More friendly

In a secret compartment
They keep David’s ticket
And a prescription against hiccups
During eclipses
And a candle
As fire burns demons
Who sneak around at night
To cut women’s throats
And in the front compartment
A will:
I only possess “Traces of colour”,
(It stuck to my hand when two butterflies sat on it),
A sketchbook
And a brush
Which I donate
– Like any lonely woman –
To my country.

At forty
Hoarfrost sneaks up on one’s stockings
And the heart becomes an empty dish
When butterflies leave the house
On a Friday night.
Where do they go?
They settle on the shoulder of a sweet aunt
In the eastern side of the capital.
Six nights
The silent, sad lady
Sits on the balcony
Waiting for their return.

At forty
A woman says to her neighbour
I have a son
Who does not like to speak
May the Lord give me time
Until he says one morning:
Mother, go!
I am
Fine now.

كراسة رسم

كراسة رسم

عند الأربعين
تَكْبُرُ حقائبُ النساءْ
لتسعَ قُرصَ الضغطِ وقُمعَ السُّكرِ
ونظّارةً
تجعلُ الحَدقةَ أكبرَ
والحروفَ المراوغةَ
أكثرَ طيبةً.

في الجيبِ السريّ
يضعن تذكرةَ داوود
ووصفةً ضدَّ غُصَّةِ الحَلْقِ
التي تناوبُ كلما مَحَقَ القمرْ،
وشمعةً
فالنارُ تحرِقُ العفاريتَ التي
تتسلّلُ في الليلْ
لتجزًّ أعناقَ الحريم،
وفي الجيبِ الأماميّ
وصيّةً:
لا أملكُ سوى آثارِ لونٍ
(عَلِقَ بكفي حين حطَّتْ عليها فراشتان)
وكراسة رسمٍ
وفرشاة،
أهبُها
شأنَ كلِّ موحودة-
للوطن.

عند الأربعين
يتسرّبُ الصقيعُ إلى الجواربِ
ويغدو القلبُ صحنًا خاويًا،
لحظةَ هجرةِ الفراشاتِ من البيت
مساءَ الجمعة،
إلى أين تمضي الفراشات؟
تحطُّ على كَتفِ العَمّة الطيّبة
في شرق العاصمة،
والسيدةُ الواجمةُ
تقبعُ في الشرفةِ
انتظارًا لموسم العودة
لياليَ سِتًّا.

وعند الأربعين
تقولُ المرأةُ لجارتِها
عندي صبيٌّ
لا يحبُّ الكلامْ،
والربُّ يُمهلُني
حتى ينطقَ ذات وعدٍ:
يا أمُّ اذهبي!
أنا الآنَ
بخير.
Close

Sketchbook

At forty
Ladies’ bags become bigger
To hold blood-pressure pills and sugars lumps
And spectacles
To improve the eyesight
Making tricky letters
More friendly

In a secret compartment
They keep David’s ticket
And a prescription against hiccups
During eclipses
And a candle
As fire burns demons
Who sneak around at night
To cut women’s throats
And in the front compartment
A will:
I only possess “Traces of colour”,
(It stuck to my hand when two butterflies sat on it),
A sketchbook
And a brush
Which I donate
– Like any lonely woman –
To my country.

At forty
Hoarfrost sneaks up on one’s stockings
And the heart becomes an empty dish
When butterflies leave the house
On a Friday night.
Where do they go?
They settle on the shoulder of a sweet aunt
In the eastern side of the capital.
Six nights
The silent, sad lady
Sits on the balcony
Waiting for their return.

At forty
A woman says to her neighbour
I have a son
Who does not like to speak
May the Lord give me time
Until he says one morning:
Mother, go!
I am
Fine now.

Sketchbook

At forty
Ladies’ bags become bigger
To hold blood-pressure pills and sugars lumps
And spectacles
To improve the eyesight
Making tricky letters
More friendly

In a secret compartment
They keep David’s ticket
And a prescription against hiccups
During eclipses
And a candle
As fire burns demons
Who sneak around at night
To cut women’s throats
And in the front compartment
A will:
I only possess “Traces of colour”,
(It stuck to my hand when two butterflies sat on it),
A sketchbook
And a brush
Which I donate
– Like any lonely woman –
To my country.

At forty
Hoarfrost sneaks up on one’s stockings
And the heart becomes an empty dish
When butterflies leave the house
On a Friday night.
Where do they go?
They settle on the shoulder of a sweet aunt
In the eastern side of the capital.
Six nights
The silent, sad lady
Sits on the balcony
Waiting for their return.

At forty
A woman says to her neighbour
I have a son
Who does not like to speak
May the Lord give me time
Until he says one morning:
Mother, go!
I am
Fine now.
Sponsors
Gemeente Rotterdam
Nederlands Letterenfonds
Stichting Van Beuningen Peterich-fonds
Prins Bernhard cultuurfonds
Lira fonds
Versopolis
J.E. Jurriaanse
Gefinancierd door de Europese Unie
Elise Mathilde Fonds
Stichting Verzameling van Wijngaarden-Boot
Veerhuis
VDM
Partners
LantarenVenster – Verhalenhuis Belvédère