Arabic Poetry Blog

Quran 16:78

Yae won Cho — Tue, 1 Oct 2024 17:35:24 +0900

وَٱللَّهُ أَخْرَجَكُم مِّنۢ بُطُونِ أُمَّهَـٰتِكُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ شَيْـًۭٔا وَجَعَلَ لَكُمُ ٱلسَّمْعَ وَٱلْأَبْصَـٰرَ وَٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةَ ۙ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

" And Allah brought you out of the wombs of your mothers while you knew nothing, and gave you hearing, sight, and intellect so perhaps you would be thankful."

Reflecting on this verse, it is alluded that from nothing that we are given values or abilities such as "hearing, sight, intellect" so that "[we] would be thankful". This verse seemed to especially have much symbolism in conveying a much more heavier message in association to the (as I would term) the law of human contribution through social values, any ability deemed to have value in society. It is a reciprocal relation humans have with society of what they contribute to society is how they are valued by.

People can find their social values various ways - whether that be through their gender appeal of good looks, academic contribution, or a good personality from a witty sense of humor. For me, I have always felt like I had no social value. Not that good looking, not that smart, not that likable of a personality. What was I in this world for? What was the meaning of my existence? Which value would be pursuitable for me? I had indeed tried the pursuit of many, but I never failed, but never succeeded enough for it to become my social value - and because I worked hard in such pursuits, I felt likeI deserved or I could never give up my desire for a social value - to be a valued member in society. But though I worked hard and never succeeded at one, my self esteem would continuously lower and the quote that helped me survive all these years was “You are strong given this life because you are strong enough to live it”

I felt lonely and despaired to always give my hardest but to always be defeated. Social value is not objective but subjective - if you in the society are the best at one thing, that social value belongs to you. But, if a larger group of people are better than you at such, that is no longer your social value. For me, pursuing a social value and to make it mine, has always been a competition.

But I realized that social value is also a game that the competitors have made. You can win the game, you can break the game by making your own social value. Indeed amongst social values there also exists one valued and treasured more. But even in such a manner, if you are medium or second in a certain widely valued social value, but the highest in your own social value, the value remains probably the same. But this is not the approach we should be taking. The reason we have made our social value is to live within the game of the materialistic world but with our own rules. The concept of our rules is peaking at a social value we aspire to be, that truly portrays us instead of conforming to the usual social values, but if we approach it in a sense of which is valued more it is once again conforming to society. Rather we have to make our own value out of our path. A value only we can make for choosing such. That is how we win the inevitable game with our rules.

Lower Your Voice by Wadie Saleh

Yae won Cho — Sun, 29 Sep 2024 19:57:28 +0900

Lower your voice please!

I want to hear what silence is saying

Perhaps it is saying: come!

And I want to follow it

This poem reflects on the pleasure and delight that silence can offer with such a profound serenity that no matter how beautiful, a sound cannot attain. In the beginning sentence by urging others to "lower your voice" and by implying in the last sentence that the poet "want[s] to follow [the silence]", the desire for silence is evident. Indeed for me, there are times I truly enjoy the silence and feel gratitude to be reminded once again that such placidness exists in our everyday busy life; especially when its the transition from fall to winter, and a rain had just stopped quickly enough for the wind to carry cold zephyrs with a scent of soggy leaves but not for the stepping grass to be completely soaked up - I feel silence with all my five senses and it is truly beautiful.

However, I would rather choose a world full of sound than a world full of silence. For me, sound has been my inspiration, motivation, and an integral part of myself. Ever since coming across "Across the Stars" by John Willimas in the Star Wars OST track, I realized that sound was able to not be a momentary experience, but one that lasts within the soul, imprinting its inerasable mark. From the beginning, the violins are playing faster and faster, demonstrating greed and the fear of loss that follows, then its transition to anger. Finally at the climax when all of the orchestral instruments are bursting together, hate is portrayed. But soon, the music declines and the song is quieter, as if to have reached peace, but more closely, it is the tears of suffering and regret of Darth Vader which leaves the lasting streaks of hope for the small good still left.

Sound can communicate feelings, stories, and messages - a truly beautiful gift we have been given to enrich our souls.

sources: https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/24116/Five-Poems-by-Wadi-Saadeh

You Have Lost Wisdom by Iman Mersal

Yae won Cho — Tue, 25 Jun 2024 13:26:37 +0900

You Have Lost Wisdom

I knot my hair at the back
to resemble a girl you once loved.
And for years,
I have washed my mouth of beer
before returning home.
And I never bring up God in your presence.
I have done nothing to deserve your forgiveness.
You are kind, but you must have lost your senses
when you made me believe
that the world is like a girls' school
and that I have to suppress my wishes
if I want to remain the teacher's pet.

Written by Iman Mersal, I felt that this poem seemed to be telling a story that centers aroud the shift of the female persona. In the beginng, by writing "I knot my hair at the back to resemble a girl you once loved" or "I have washed my mouth of beer before returning home", there is an underlying sense of submission; the female persona is confining to the constraints imposed upon her and seems desperate to satisfy the "you", the main infringer of freedom throughout the poem. By writing as futher as "I never bring up God in your presence" manifests the extreme extent as to the female persona confines herself to the standards enforced upon her as to have silenced her acts of Muslim faith in compliance to "you". However, a sudden shift of tone occurs as the writing "when you made me beleive that the world is like a girls' school" portrays the stark realization of the breach of freedom and having lived the world "like a girls' school" symbolizing the female persona's past attitude of unquestioned submission. The following "I have to suppress my wishes if I want to remain the teacher's pet" directly elaborates on the silencing and strip of freedom, through the word "suppress", and "the teacher's pet" seems to symbolize the loved wife complying to the traditional gender role that satisfies the husband in a patriarchal society. Unlike the beginning where it is written that the actions of confinement were simply done, the poem ends on the note by utilizing a metaphor of a negative connotation of such acts expected from women through a rather powerful statement of realization.

Cure Your Slavery with Patience by Saniyah Saleh

Yae won Cho — Fri, 14 Jun 2024 08:42:27 +0900

Cure your slavery with patience

and prayers

or so I was told

Cure your oppression and memory with sleep

as for me

I sat under the high, thorny trees

until they flowered

I wanted to cover today a poem that explicitly had a contrasting view with that of my prior. As stated clearly from the title, "Cure Your Slavery with Patience", the virtue of patience is continuously highlighted throughout the entire poem, a virtue which I had not felt much significance of. As a Korean highschool student, everything had been about effiency. How to use each second of every minute to its fullest; Wasting time was considered the biggest vice. Naturally, such environment fostered diligence within me that I had not known existed, but I became overly obsessed with the pressure of being efficient and constantly pushing myself. My worst fear was falling behind in this hectic competition. Thus for me, patience was of no importance. No value. What could I do with patience? Was there anything it offered me?

But from the first line of this poem, "cure your slavery with patience", the strong words of "cure" and "slavery" evoked a sense of doubt within me that I had never come to realize of. "Slavery" in this poem seemed to mean a sense of answer we felt like we had for ourselves but was actually imprisioning in the idea of - for me, the insatiable craving for efficiency. But with patience, zooming out of the very narrow, present view of our life and contemplating with a broad perspective, our matters are no longer about how many tasks to finish and attempting not to fall behind, but rather about what it is that we greatly aspire to achieve with the one life given to us. In a sense we are indeed restraining ourselves, but simultaneouly, liberating ourselves. Patience offers us a strength no effiency can ever offer: the strength to take full control of our lives and live by the motivation of passion not fear.

Memoir for my Mother (inspired by the Quran 46:15)

Yae won Cho — Wed, 12 Jun 2024 01:31:22 +0900

“Is your dad dead?”

It was a naive question by my friend in third grade. A startling but seemingly reasonable one. Among the many playdates, sleepovers, open classes, I realized none of my friends ever saw my dad, only my mom.

Work required my dad to move around the world for years even if that meant only my mom had to remain for my brother and me in a country that didn't speak her language, where she had no family or friends; just herself, her dictionary, and two kids that she would constantly remind while tucking them in if something were to happen to us, she would go to the depths of hell to find us or remain.

She was never late at any parent-teacher conference, never failed to plan a successful birthday party, and she never failed to find a hidden report card. But my mom had always diminished herself trying to uplift dad as the superhero she wanted us to view as.

“A man with an obvious Asian exterior and an accent like your dad’s will never truly be welcomed here. But he stays for you guys.”

She constantly reminded us of how much dad worked hard even if that meant the many painful four-person goodbye hugs at airports. But I knew that even if mom spoke like she had the advantageous side of staying with us, there was no “advantageous” side. During the years raising us by herself, she spent countless birthdays by herself and had lost her dad and brother which being a million miles away made her unable to spend the last moments together.

Nevertheless, she was an impeccable force of a human being. She learned English that by the time we were leaving she had made a couple native friends, and she demanded moral and academic excellence from us to raise "good people who will do good in this world". The strength and courage of my mom and her sacrifice to us inspires a driving force within in me to live up true to her words - and, I promise mom, I will.

Thank you mom for being my mom.

Love,

Claire

Quran 46:15

Yae won Cho — Tue, 4 Jun 2024 15:13:40 +0900

"And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment. His mother carried him with hardship and gave birth to him with hardship, and his gestation and weaning [period] is thirty months. [He grows] until, when he reaches maturity and reaches [the age of] forty years, he says, “My Lord, enable me to be grateful for Your favor which You have bestowed upon me and upon my parents and to work righteousness of which You will approve and make righteous for me my offspring. Indeed, I have repented to You, and indeed, I am of the Muslims." (46:15)

The general stereotype regarding Islam has been its disregard towards women's rights from the gender inequality issues we see in the Middle and Eastern countries nowadays. Indeed, society tends on to highlight such viewpoint, however there is in need to know that the fundamental problem does not arise from the Quran or the hadiths but from the misled interpretations of the fundamentalists. Rather, the Quran promotes gender equality and respect towards the female gender by emphasizing the role of 'mother' and her strength as the verse above. The Prophet Mohammad went on to say, "Heaven lies beneath the feet of your mother", manifesting his high regard for the role of mother and women in general.

Coming across this verse that highlights the strength of the role of mother, I came to contemplate on my own mother's strength and courage she had shown us through childhood. I have never seen nor been inspired by any other human being stronger than my mother for the years she raised my brother and me in a land that wasn't her home but a foreigner to. At the time, my own realites and focus in my life had disallowed me from looking at the world in my mother's eyes and what she must've been going through. She never took off the shield of courage infront of her young children who looked upon her as an answer for everything and a taken-for-granted supporter. But reading this verse recently, made me view, for the first time, the lonliness and fear she must've felt as a young single mom in the United States, but how she overcame such through her love and responsibility for her children.

Gordafarid-A Symbol of Defiance of Gender Stereotypes in Persian

Yae won Cho — Fri, 31 May 2024 09:47:16 +0900

Within the masculine subjects that cover the main course of events in the Shamaneh, the character Gordafarid manifests a surprising representation of female independence and valiance, symbolizing the defiance of gender roles for Persian women throughout history. Introduced as a female heroine whose strength and courage is unmatched, Gordafarid is known to be respected by both her people and her opponents as well.

The quote in the Shamaneh,

"Gordafarid, with her unwavering resolve, stood fearless amidst the chaos of war. Her name echoed through the ages,

A symbol of strength and courage."

is one of the most direct portrayals of Gordafarid's renown as a resilient legendary warrior in Persian literature. One of her most famous episodes is her combat with Sohrab when she defends her homeland from the Turanian army. Without hesitation, she disguises herself in armor and leads her army to protect her homeland from the invaders. Although her identity as a female is eventually revealed, her strategic wits and prowess in the face of adversaries earns her respect; to this day, Gordafarid's story serves as narrative that has challenged gender conventions and inspired empowerment through generations.

Gordafarid's legacy has since influenced numerous scholars, writers, artists and resulted for theatrical and cinematic adaptations. Beyond the mere pages of Shamaneh, Gordafarid's tale still lives up to guide all those who dare to dream and achieve great.

Excerpt from "Red Cherry on the White Floor" by Maram al Massri

Yae won Cho — Thu, 23 May 2024 11:22:09 +0900

Desire preoccupies me
and my eyes shine.
I stuff morals
in the nearest drawer.
I switch into a devil
and blindfold my angels
just
for a kiss

Direct and powerful, such lines capture the intimacy of feminine sensuality and desire unbounded by any traditional norms within Arabic literature. From the first line, "desire preoccupies me", al-Massri's intentions are quite straightforward, its simplicity unadorned. Prevalent not much in other Arabic love poems, the audacity of writing with no reservation of female passion truly encapsulates the reader to enjoy the full experience of the exhilaration and anticipation along with the female persona in the poems. Describing to "stuff morals in the nearest drawer" and to "switch into a devil and blinfold my angels", even al-Massri's metaphors are simple, its meanings evident without dispute. Furthermore, such actions indicate the confront towards the conventionally expected female restraint and al-Massri's pride in not conforming to do so - a dare made towards society. She even acknowledges that she is "stuff[ing] morals [away]", manifesting certainty and determination of wriitng what is usually deemed as "immoral" without any embellishment. Ending on the note that she is doing all this of what is described before "just for a kiss", it serves as a lasting confirmation of her defiance and the poem's daring nature.

I Hadn't Told Them about You by Nizar Qabbani

Yae won Cho — Fri, 17 May 2024 14:19:26 +0900

“I hadn't told them about you,
But they saw you bathing in my eyes.
I hadn't told them about you,
But they saw you in my written words.
The perfume of love cannot be concealed.”

As one of the most widely-acknowledged Arabic poets, Nizar Qabbani's works focus around love and romance - a reason able to be found in the poet's personal life. Wissal Qabbani, the beloved sister of the poet, commited suicide in not being able to marry whom she loved, and after, many of the female personas of Qabbani's poems have been interpreted to be written in the eyes of his sister and on reflecting the immense depth of love she carried.

The poem above carries one of the most raw and honest expressions of the saying, "love cannot be hidden". Even without directly telling or announcing, the poet is already captivated by love as written as "bathing in my eyes". He cannot but hide his strong romantic feelings not by the mouth, but by his unintended actions or subtle difference of affection. Again, it is repeated that "I hadn't told them about you", emphasized a second time, but again, "they saw you in my written words". Though even if there had been no direct or evident portrayals of his romantic relationship, it is unintendly shown in his other "written words", and again, thus, cannot be hidden. The last sentence of the poem, "The perfume of love cannot be concealed" gives the last validation that love is something that cannot be encased but always leaked, as described as a perfume, and cannot be "concealed" as a mere object; this highlights the unattainable strength of love.

King Yima

Yae won Cho — Wed, 8 May 2024 14:33:17 +0900

King Yima, also known as King Jamshid, has been believed in ancient Iranian myths to have been the fourth shah of the legendary Pishdadian Dynasty and also the greatest king who were to be like the sun shining upon men. Known to be immortal and the son of a solar figure, King Yima brought forth the golden age, filling the world with prosperity and nourishment while dispelling calamity and sufferings. However after ruling for 300 years, his vanity and pride in his growth of power and preposterous demands to be treated as a devine entity led for a discontent resistance force to build up against him. Later as an enemy figure, known as Zahhak the Snake Shoulder of Arabic, attacks King Yima along with his rebelling forces, King Yima flees and is later murdered, leading to the demise of the great monarch. Much of his stories are told in Zoroastrian scriptures and the epic Shanameh.

One of his most interesting stories revolve around the discovery of wine. On banishing on of his ladies, the lady decides to commit suicide and drinks "poison" made from spoiled grapes. However, the spoiled grape drink does not kill the lady but makes her exuberant and jubilant - later, the lady decides to offer her discovery to the King. Drinking on what is now known as wine, the King becomes elated and satisfied with the discovery and decides to accept the lady back. Further, he commands that the grapes of Persepolis be utilized in the making of wine; while such a story does not have any evident proof and remains as a myth, there does exist evidence that wine was a beloved drink among the early Kings of Iran.

Sources: https://iranicaonline.org/articles/jamsid-i

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yima