Iraq Gnaws at my Heart and Laughs
I am blind
I am mute
My screams scuttle to their holes
My thoughts are in the hands of brick-layers
In the slums of Baghdad
My breath is in London
Sold by Oxfam for a penny
In a city ghetto
I was my mother’s love
And my father’s
Yet you surpass yourselves
Designing a stadium of lavish pain
Every time the hurt thirsts and withers
You replant it, leafy and strong
I am not mad
I was not drunk when I saw the sky swallow her stars,
The postman scoffing his letters
Iraq gnaws at my heart and laughs
I am dead, dead, and this air is a false witness of my life
For I am not here, I am not there
Hang me from Big Ben’s hands
I am dead
I am dead
Khaloud Al-Muttalibi is a poet and translator. She is the author of eight books including A Void, Full Of You. She resides in the United Kingdom.
Much of her work has been translated into various languages including Russian, Punjabi and Romanian. Her poetry has been published in a vast array of worldwide literary magazines and journals, both in print and online. She has appeared in several books and anthologies.