The Drunk Poem

Ahmad Al-Khatat

I am the drunk poem without rhymes
the bartender asks how I am still surviving
I tell him that I never listen to my heart
but I hear to the voice of my loneliness

I talk less about my miserable life
but when I am drunk, I colour the darkness
and ignore the clouds of my journey
I lie to death when I ask for another chance

The musician plays with a passion
the singer sings with a fine pleasure
the poet writes with crying eyes, and with
a spirit dancing between the lines of the drunk poem

Love will be always arising in my head
if a woman comes to my soundless attention
I will be happy for a temporary moment
I will fly her to my fantasies above the island of peace

I’d Rather Be Alone

I’d rather be alone
then talking to double
-face people I meet
those people will stab-
me until I die on my tears

I’d rather be alone
take my gadgets away
give me a low-cost coffin
I am not physically tired
but mostly emotionally tired

I’d rather be alone
I can’t fly from my sadness
my heart is broken from the
-cage of Baghdad sorrows
the door is open and I’m drunk

I’d rather be alone
waiting to autumn to farewell
-more dreams under the dust
I cried more than a wounded
warrior who will slaughter me

Growing Up

Growing up
we learn more
about the mistakes
we had made before

the only difference
you tend to smile more
than I do, with your wounds
above my sensitive open cuts

you walk into the sunlight
and I run by the blowing leaves
It’s crazy how much love does
I miss you even if we just kissed

Growing up in your eyes
It’s a dream that can be found
anywhere near your breathe
let the people behind me and

-enlighten me on my imaginations
to draw a path that will be the best
map to own you, far from everything
dark, cloudy, or that cause you to cry

My New Bio

Ahmad Al-Khatat was born in Baghdad, Iraq. His work has appeared in print and online journals globally and has poems translated into several languages. He has been nominated for Best of the Net 2018. He is the author of The Bleeding Heart Poet, Love On The War’s Frontline, Gas Chamber, Wounds from Iraq, and Roofs of Dreams. He lives in Montreal, Canada.