When I drink tea in New Jersey Like a girl who writes poetry about a boy she has never seen My day sits with all this disappointment Counting her fleeting moments I remember my mother using the smell of onions To shed her tears in the kitchen For the absence of my father Who climbed his life war by war Whenever he wore his military belt He wished that war was just an old shoe He could take it off whenever he liked And he didn't need to think of fixing it at the cobbler's shop I remember my brother Who asked in his letters-- When will the war understand that we are not good at dealing with death? I remember us forty years ago We were kids, very much kids With colourful clothes and hearts It was enough for us to see a balloon To drown in big laughter I remember all this now When I drink my tea And I practice my loneliness. Faleeha Hassan is a poet, teacher, editor, writer, and playwright born in Najaf, Iraq, in 1967, who now lives in the United States. Faleeha was the first woman to write poetry for children in Iraq. She received her master's degree in Arabic literature, and has now published 26 books, her poems have been translated into English, Turkmen, Bosnian, Indian, French, Italian, German, Kurdish, Spain, Korean, Greek, Serbia, Albanian, Pakistani, Romanian, Malayalam, Chinese, ODIA, Nepali and Macedonian language. She is a Pulitzer Prize Nominee for 2018, Pushcart Prize Nominee for 2019. She's also a: Member of International Writers and Artists Association. Winner of the Women of Excellence Inspiration award from SJ magazine 2020, Winner of the Grand Jury Award (the Sahitto International Award for Literature 2021) One of the Women of Excellence selection committees 2023 Winner of women the arts award 2023 Member of Whos’ Who in America 2023 SAHITTO AWARD, JUDGING PANEL 2023 Cultural Ambassador - Iraq, USA Email : d.fh88@yahoo.com
Poetry from Faleeha Hassan
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