I AM STILL A CHILD… THERE
I am still a child,
Running after a butterfly
That escapes the light of my hands.
I laugh,
And the fields laugh with me,
While the sun dangles
From the braids of time.
I draw on the soil
A tiny house
Whose windows all open
Onto my little festivals.
I gather pebbles,
As if filling my pocket
With tiny stars
That stay awake with me until sleep.
I ride the wind
And shout:
Hurry…
I want to outrun my shadow.
My knees get dirty with mud,
And I laugh even more,
As if the earth is embracing me,
Whispering:
You grew up… yet you did not grow old.
I run,
And my laughter follows me,
Tangling in the air
Like the strings of a kite
Afraid to fall.
I catch the rainbow,
And swear
I was not dreaming
I was only stretching my hand
A little further
To touch the impossible.
And to this day,
Whenever I close my eyes,
I see that little girl
Running toward me,
Saying:
Come…
The play is not over yet.
BEYOND PRESENCE
There would be no shadow
Had things not remembered their first light,
And I would not write you
Had absence not awakened me
With a sound resembling the soul’s return to itself.
In the space where time does not exist,
The question walks barefoot,
Searching for a meaning
Like a pulse without a body,
Or a dream
Unsure whether it is seen,
Or merely recalls having seen us before.
There,
Where the beginning meets the end,
Silence rises like an ancient sage,
Smiles at our bewilderment,
And says:
“Everything you lose returns,
But in a form you do not recognize.”
I sit within myself,
As if listening to a breath
The soul retrieves from a depth
Beyond life and death,
And beyond the notion that the universe has a face
We see only when we close our hearts.
And in the moment when thought becomes weightless,
And pain turns transparent,
I understand that presence
Is not what we live,
But what passes through us
And leaves its trace,
As if it were the only truth
That never grows old.
Taghrid Bou Merhi is a Lebanese–Brazilian poet, translator, editor, and literary figure whose voice has become a bridge between cultures across the Arab world, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. Born in Lebanon and residing in Brazil, she has built a distinguished career marked by linguistic mastery, artistic depth, and a commitment to intercultural dialogue. Fluent in multiple languages, she has translated 49 books and more than two thousand poems, articles, interviews, and critical texts, making her one of the most prolific Arab translators of her generation.
Bou Merhi is the author of twenty-three books spanning poetry, short stories, essays, and children’s literature. Her works—known for their lyrical intensity and philosophical resonance—have been translated into forty-seven languages and included in over two hundred international anthologies. She has participated in nearly fifty global anthologies with poems and reviews, and her contributions frequently appear in international magazines, newspapers, and literary platforms.
Her editorial experience is equally extensive. Bou Merhi serves as President of CIESART Lebanon and holds leading positions in several cultural and literary organizations around the world. She has acted as an international judge for the Walt Whitman competition for three consecutive years and is a prominent officer for international cultural relations in multiple global institutions. She has also served as Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Raseef 81 Magazine and currently works as a contributing editor for Pencraft Literary Magazine.
Throughout her career, Taghrid Bou Merhi has received numerous prestigious international awards honoring both her poetry and her translation achievements, including the Naji Naaman Award, the Nizar Sartawi Translation Award, and the Nian Zhang Cup Prize. Her writing is recognized for its emotional richness, philosophical depth, and unwavering commitment to humanistic values. Today, she continues to promote cultural exchange through her poetry, translations, and global literary engagements.