THE STONE

It is the awakening of beginnings,

A pulse born from the silence of ages,

The first memory of existence,

And the voice of the question when it emerged from fear.

In the hand of the first human, it became a tool that holds life,

A spark that lights the darkness,

A ember that preserves the body from the cold of annihilation,

And the first line on the cave wall.

It was a home when a home was unknown,

A sky to seek shade beneath,

A ground that bears the tremor of a step,

And a language that speaks without letters.

From it the story was launched,

Upon it the cry was broken,

In its hollows the trace dwelled,

And through it, humans understood the meaning of being.

In all its transformations, it bore witness,

In the grave, a mark,

In the temple, a symbol,

In the crown, glory,

And in sculpture, immortality.

O you,

Silent one who thinks,

Heavy one who speaks with wisdom,

Secret one dwelling at the edge of time.

I AM NOT AN IDOL 

I am not an idol,

nor a silent wall where your voice hides when it fears the void.

I am the breath of the universe when its chest feels tight,

and I am the wound that refuses to become a scar.

I am woman,

not a shadow that follows you wherever you walk,

nor a mirror that polishes your face to see your own glow in it,

but another face of truth,

questioning you when you long for forgetfulness.

I am not a stone that adorns your throne,

I am a wave uprooting silence from its roots,

and a land returning to the seed the whisper of eternity.

You want me as a chain,

but I want you as a journey,

searching with me for a meaning beyond flesh and blood.

I am not an idol,

I am a question dwelling in your eyes,

and an answer written only with the freedom of the soul.

I am woman,

and if you understood me…

if you stood before me without fear and without dominion,

you too would become… human.

A TEST FOR CONSCIENCE 

In the silence of closed homes

The stone bleeds from the heat of bodies,

And the gaze of shadows trembles in the corners of the soul,

As if time itself fears to witness.

The hand that strikes is but an echo,

An echo hiding in the hollows of the heart,

And a letter lost amidst the silence of screams,

A soul learning to live without a voice.

In every wound, a river of questions is born,

And in every tear, the philosophy of existence takes shape:

Is freedom merely a distant dream,

Or a secret hidden in the depths of anguish?

The woman is not merely moving silence,

Nor a stone dwelling between walls,

She is a light slipping through the cracks of pain,

A river flowing despite the chains,

And wisdom that cannot be broken by the striking hand.

Every fracture teaches the stone to dream,

Every tear gives the shadow new colors,

Silence becomes a cry,

Pain opens gates to light,

And resilience births a new horizon for life.

Violence against women is a test of life,

An experiment of human awareness,

A test for conscience,

And where the soul endures,

Light springs from the depths of the stone,

And dignity learns it cannot be killed,

Silence becomes strength,

And freedom echoes in every heart that remained silent,

Until the world understands that true power

Lies in respect, and in enabling the soul

To bloom without limits.

TAGHRID BOU MERHI is a Lebanese-Brazilian poet, journalist, and translator, whose writing carries echoes of multiple cultures and resonates with a deeply human spirit. Born in Lebanon, she currently lives in Foz do Iguaçu, Brazil, after spending significant periods in various countries, including eight years in Italy and two in Switzerland, where she absorbed the richness of European culture, adding a universal and humanistic dimension to her Arab heritage.

Taghrid writes poetry, prose, articles, stories, and studies in the fields of thought, society, and religion, and is fluent in six languages: Arabic, English, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. This allows her to move between languages and cultures with the lightness of a butterfly and the depth of a philosopher. Her works are distinguished by a clear poetic imprint even in the most complex subjects, combining aesthetic sensitivity with a reflective vision of existence.

To date, she has published 23 original books and translated 45 works from various languages into Arabic and vice versa. She has contributed to more than 220 Arabic and international anthologies, and her works have been translated into 48 languages, reflecting the global reach of her poetic and humanistic voice.

Taghrid serves as the head of translation departments in more than ten Arabic and international magazines, and she is a key figure in bringing Arabic literature to the world and vice versa, with a poetic sensitivity that preserves the spirit and authenticity of the text.

She is renowned for her refined translations, which carry poetry from one language to another as if rewriting it, earning the trust of leading poets worldwide by translating their works into Arabic, while also bringing Arabic poetry to the world’s languages with beauty and soul equal to the original.

She is also president of Ciesart Lebanon, holds honorary literary positions in international cultural organizations, serves as an international judge in poetry competitions, and actively participates in global literary and cultural festivals. She has received dozens of awards for translation and literary creativity and is today considered one of the most prominent female figures in Arabic literature in the diaspora.

Her passion for writing began at the age of ten, and her first poem was published at the age of twelve in the Lebanese magazine Al-Hurriya, titled The Cause, dedicated to Palestine. Since then, writing has become an inevitable existential path for her, transforming her into a flower of the East that has spread its fragrance in the gardens of the world.