Translated from the Arabic by Yasmine Seale
In company
we spoke in code,
in inklings
without ink.
Our eyes alone
let slip the ache —
like phantom scribbles on
the heart’s blank page.
تَكاتَبنا بِرَمزٍ في الحُضورِ وَإِيحاءٍ يَلوحُ بِلا سُطورِ
سِوى مُقَلٍ تُخَبِّرُ ما عَناها بِكَفِّ الوَهمِ في وَرِقِ الصُدورِ
Copyright © 2026 Yasmine Seale. Used with the permission of the translator.