Student Poets: Khadija Aamari

This is the first in a series of poems by my Moroccan students. I am amazed at their ability to express themselves in English. The complexity, depth, and nuance of these poems is something I could not accomplish if I tried. This poem was written by Khadija, an avid Arabic poetess and hopeful future English teacher. She's beginning university this fall in Meknes. She's also a lovely young lady and has the most creative and colorful wardrobe in Midelt. This poem was written originally in Arabic and translated by the author.

I Search

I search in every place in my country
If I will find you
I search in every street
In every place
Without shoes
Under my old blue coat
To seek you in every place
Maybe I will find you
At night in the cold winter
In my small corner, Midelt.
Under dark night
I saw you in every place
But I didn’t stop one moment.
My thoughts seed the clouds for rain
It rains for the land
And my rain is tears
On top of my cheeks
And tears boil on top of my heart.
Dark long night the winter past
And now summer day will come
And I’m under Midelt sky
Under “small Paris” sky
But I didn’t find you.
My feet were torn
After they had known every street
And my eyes became dim
Caused by need of sleep
And they came to miss dreams
Also they yearned for long slumber

But, oh, oh...

How will one girl like me sleep?
Like an owl
At night I search like one afraid
And by day write a message for mystery people
I send this letter at dawn
To sea in a bottle
And by pigeon foot
To a mystery, without address
But this address is written on my heart
Also on my forehead.
In the end of a summer night
I knock on sorcerers’, astrologers’ doors
Because I broke the wall of science and religion
But I was searching
In every place, if I will find you
In every place, without shoes
Many seasons past
Also I search in every palace
And I swim in every sea
But the sea is angry at me
So it throws me away
To Sahara, without water or people
To search for you
But my question died in dirt
And I lose my clothes on top of dirt
And my self flies to the sky
Without having found you.