Home from School

Whenever I’m late returning from school,
I must withdraw a fish from the river’s pocket
And offer it to the
Oil in the frying pan!
I devise a street—exactly like those in China—flooded with masses of passersby
And picture myself crammed onto it,
Waiting for the green light
Before I walk.
I draw a storm,
To carry me away,
Another one to lift my books,
And a third, a sandstorm, to make the scene more intense.
……………………….
But as easily as a cloud,
I sit in the corner there,
On a bench by a pink door,
Listening to a vendor cry:
“Stork Eggs! Bayd al-Laqlaq !” 1
He passes

1 Bayd al-Laqlaq is a candy made from sugar and flavorings. The vendor carries them in a basket
while singing: “The stork soared and flew off. It attacked the headman’s house.”

2

Near houses
That haven’t yet been stilled by a key’s sigh.
I rest my head on the sun’s palm
And watch
The stork’s fluttering wing
Spray
Sugar confetti
On the roofs
Of the street’s houses!

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.
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