My mémoire is a minefield of painEach word worms into my chafed fleshLike the trickling salt of summer sweat,The aftertaste of taunts laughed away Cette étude explore once againOases left unfed to the thresh;Ouvre again the gashes that letThe fell words m’effacer, m’écraser Foul acid-rain showers, they still sloughShield after shield from the memoryBound to … Continue reading Minefield of Pain
Seven Is A Beautiful Number
‘I am here to haunt you,’ said the ghost. ‘Hello, ghost,’ said the little girl. ‘Welcome. Meet my other ghost-friends.’ ‘So you are haunted already,’ said the ghost ‘oh dear.’ ‘Why, what’s the matter? There’s always room for a new haunting,’ said the little girl. ‘Oh no,’ said the ghost. ‘I want to be someone’s … Continue reading Seven Is A Beautiful Number
Sıfır Genç Bir Sayı
A poem by Hibah Shabkhez.
I refuse myself the sweltering swig. All around me they gulp and squirm, while I snicker at the pigeons scampering in the road. When the red light turns green they shall flutter and fly, only to come flocking back behind us, just as we will shuffle hither again tomorrow and wriggle ourselves again into this lurching tin crate. The butterfly alone will not return, that soaring papillion, the farfalla that brushed the glass with its wings and twirled away, like the zero in a counting book squiggled into a corner of the page of one, with nothing to have or to hold, not even a long history. Arigato, mariposa mia, for drifting past us in grace. If you had drawn closer, lingered, I might have remembered the cocoon and the carrion. Daughter of the air, you bring water instead upon your wings, the first…
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Buy Me A Magic Mirror
“If Your Majesty alludes to Judges, I would say Shoe String, or perhaps Cold Pipes. If we speak of complexions, the snowman your step-daughter and her friends have built would appear to be – oh dear, the young ladies have had a falling-out, and our erstwhile pristine friend is much bespattered. If beauty be your … Continue reading Buy Me A Magic Mirror
Xanthodontous
‘Older people are quite likely to become xanthodontous even if they do brush their teeth.’ This observation, muffled by a phone-and-hair shield, left me a little nonplussed, until I realized it needed no response because it asked nothing of me, but was simply so many words shared, like waves of the pine air-freshener sprayed liberally … Continue reading Xanthodontous
Conversations With My Diary, Summarised
18y - I am a person. - Are you quite sure? 19y - Am I a person? - You should be more. 20y - Am I a good person? - If you have to ask ... 21y - I am not a good person. - Take yourself to task! 22y - I am a bad … Continue reading Conversations With My Diary, Summarised
Two Poems By Hibah Shabkhez — Grand Little Things
Rent In Twain The eagle within me dreams of soaring Above aught that in earth-tied eyes may gleam: Plucking the richest prey out of the plain To the echo of wails and vain roaring; Brooding over the talon-scarred bones, Adding daily more tokens of the slain, Vaunting each triumph with a savage scream; Queen […] via … Continue reading Two Poems By Hibah Shabkhez — Grand Little Things
Three Poems by Hibah Shabkhez
Eleven Princesses and a Queen
They fled, the brothers, as my prince danced
Feet tapping out the drumbeats to the last;
The soldier at them his fox-hounds lanced
From the tinder; then laughed and let them past,
Twirling his new crown about his finger.
The cobblers begging work from door to door
Cry: alack, the princesses dance no more!
Then my sisters in darkness sped away
For an address carrying one last smile
There in that last minuet exchanged; fey
Frisking feet had needed no names to while
The winter nights; in rent hearts smiles linger.
The cobblers begging work from door to door
Cry: alack, the princesses dance no more!
The last braved a storm, groaned over a pea;
For a space the ninth in fair slumber lies;
The third sold her soul to the demon-sea
For grace; the fifth to Bluebeard…
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Zombies, Bring It On by Hibah Shabkhez
via ZOMBIES, BRING IT ON by Hibah Shabkhez
Jotted Down What I Heard Me Saying, And…
“This metaphor in the third poem is amazing, and the last line – gut-punch! Should we shortlist it?”
“This is an experimental poetry magazine and that frigging rhymes. No.”
“So we …”
“So we send a rejection.”
Dear Numpty L—-,
Thank you for your submission. While we appreciate the chance to read your work, we regret that we are unable to accept it for publication. You’re really good, but did you have to rhyme, like, every second line? It does say ‘experimental’ and ‘avant-garde’ in the guidelines, you know.
We wish you the best of luck finding homes for these poems!
Sincerely
Y– S—
***
“Onto the next one… Okay, this is pretty experimental. Good too.”
“Yes … But the writer lives in X–. This is a print magazine with no budget and that’s half-way around the world.”
“So … Okay, yeah, got it.”
Dear Writer who lives in a…
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Querencia – Hibah Shabkhez
My favourite cat lives on a bookshelf My favourite dog is made of brown thread; My favourite people ... via Querencia – Hibah Shabkhez
‘Man is Clay’ by Hibah Shabkhez
via 'Man is Clay' by Hibah Shabkhez
Uproot the Hobbling Magic – Hibah Shabkhez
via Uproot the Hobbling Magic - Hibah Shabkhez
Bruised
Last night when climbing the stairs in the dark, I slipped, hit my face against a wall, and bruised it. Bruised it with a thick black wedge like a blueberry cheesecake slice right above the left cheekbone. I winced and swore but thought no more of it: when you live alone your dreams are not disturbed just because an idiot of a wall decides to slash your face. Until I reached the metro station this morning, and it suddenly became my new visual identity card.
Here I am, beskirted and bescarved, brown-skinned and Muslim, humming Kashmiri ballads with a bruise on my face. Until the silence starts to strangle the words in my throat. In every eye that I encounter or that flies mine sheepishly, I begin to see something new. Pity. Sympathy. Outrage. Derision. Shame. Disgust … ‘Husband? Father? Brother?’ I can read the questions – and the answers…
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Pandemic Poems
The first of the virus-work Do Not Use The Word Knit Me Thunder Yearnings Coronavirus Poems
Dragon Will Soar
In the sunsoaked russet-green hills of Ycenna, in these pretty colinettes with twinkling green slopes cloaked ever so gently by winter, there is a contented exquisiteness of blue-green lakes and rivers the size of a rue. It is a world of plenty, fecund and joyous, in which the promise of ecstasy whimpers and dies unfulfilled. … Continue reading Dragon Will Soar
Hibah Shabkhez: “Quaint Mournings”
Quaint Mournings
In shivers of pain we paint our nails bright
To conceal the arching, skin-fused beauty
Of translucence that mirrors and pools light
To crunch and strew in shards
As we drift through the deserted doorways
Falling in love with sweet melancholy
That grants us the right to languish and gaze
Inwards, backwards, homewards.
Hibah Shabkhez is a writer of the half-yo literary tradition, an erratic language-learning enthusiast, a teacher of French as a foreign language and a happily eccentric blogger from Lahore, Pakistan. Her work has previously appeared in Petrichor, Remembered Arts, Rigorous, Lunate, With Painted Words, The Dawntreader, and a number of other literary magazines. Studying life, languages, and literature from a comparative perspective across linguistic and cultural boundaries holds a particular fascination for her.
Blog: https://hibahshabkhezxicc.wordpress.com/
Twitter: @hibahshabkhez
Instagram: @shabkhez_hibah
The Redress of Poetry
Seamus Heaney 1939 – 2013 - Oxford Lectures (1995) A capricious and arbitrary analysis of the first of this series of lectures “Heaney discusses and celebrates poetry’s special ability to redress balance and to function as a counter-weight to hostile and oppressive forces in the world” (Book Blurb) The Redress of Poetry sets out, in … Continue reading The Redress of Poetry
The Canterbury Tales: Usborne
Quite the most readable version of the 'Tales I've ever come across, very decidedly not excluding 'Master Chaucer's' own from the list. As such, it makes a very welcome addition to the book-friends of this eternal don't-quite-wanna-be of English literature, who must always peer suspiciously at the original, the cursor winking slyly from the Google … Continue reading The Canterbury Tales: Usborne
The Shadow Upon The Iron Giant
Should something a poet or a writer could have said or done or have been influence your reading of his or her works, especially when the source of all such information is the garbled testimony of people now dead? People you never actually knew, with their own lives and lies? What difference is there between … Continue reading The Shadow Upon The Iron Giant
Warping Teaspoons
Starfish-delved daisies her sight-leached eyes weep To hear the note of glee into the hushed voices creep As they strip into whistling dashes her name via WARPING TEASPOONS
The Hour of Sunlight
I like this book, because it is one of the few versions of a festering international sore which has only a handful of rather believable angels, whose demons are rather evenly divided, and most of whose characters have the air and manner of living people. And I like the telling of it, half-story, half-biography. If … Continue reading The Hour of Sunlight
I Write; Therefore …
‘What are you doing?’ ‘Nothing.’ She yanks down the lid of her laptop, holding on to the thread of her verse, blocking out the voice with her gritted teeth. But it takes the poem with it when it finally goes away. … A shadow over her shoulder. ‘“Shizenadé knelt down among the pomegranate trees and … Continue reading I Write; Therefore …
Asi es la vida
written by Hibah Shabkhez
‘O Raven days, dark Raven days of sorrow…’ The line is stuck in my head like a biscuit-commercial jingle and a witch-chaunt rolled into one, and I do not know what to do about it. If I were not half-crazy with guilt, there would be no need to do anything, and it would go away all by itself, like a new song looped for six days and then quasi-forgotten. But I have a conscience trained in the ‘you must do your homework before you can —’ tradition, and it demands that I spend every waking minute on work until every single assignment is done and done and done indeed.
Therefore? nonetheless? most of my deadlines tend to whoosh past with a vengeance. For there are muffled poems inside me that I have not the strength to excavate, and I know the whetted ivory beaks of the…
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Vanished Smiles
My voice stands for the vanished smiles Of the silenced children, Whose innocence dies Starved and caged, in the knowledge Of having been undone By our self-serving lies; Who grow up to know Hell so intimately, they go Seeking it when sent to Heaven. [First published as a Global Peace Poem Response]
G. B. Malleson upon 1857
This gentleman was an officer of the British Raj, writing at its zenith. Presumably, when he wrote in reply to his rhetorical question about British victory in the War of Independence: “How did they accomplish the impossible?”, he did most earnestly mean his reply: “It was a question of race”, which seems as incredible and … Continue reading G. B. Malleson upon 1857
Nestling by Hibah Shabkhez
Nestling
She scanned the ground, shaking her head to unblur her eyes. Slitheries or crunchems? He would eat the slitheries if she took him those, but she knew it was the crunchems he loved. So it was the crunchems she hopped towards, even though he was so difficult to fill up on them. It was the first time they had hatched only one egg, and the gawky creature who had emerged was utterly unlike any of their older slender-winged families. They had mourned the inexplicable smashing of the other eggs, but once he hatched they were too busy to remember them very often, except for the occasional pang when they saw other new parents with a full nest.
But they were so very proud of him too, their big strong boy with a voice like a trumpet, not the feeble cheeping of the Daffensy children or the thin treble of the…
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Ameno, Ameno, Ameno; Imprisoned Lightning; The Meat-Poison Cliché
Ameno, Ameno, Ameno; Imprisoned Lightning; The Meat-Poison Cliché are up on Impspired
AMENO AMENO AMENO
When first I climbed out into to this Land of do-as-you-please, it was an Inkdeath that I would fain have guarded against, for I deemed it quite inevitable: how can the Inkspell fail, thought I, when you spend more of your life within it than without? Lorenzaccio … but it was not so. This land remains the half-dream it always was, a Middle Earth one steps into for adventures, while that Land of the Lost scarce-glimpsed now from the top of the Magic Faraway Tree remains so starkly real, so starkly mine.
Every time I say a ‘Bonjour’ or hear one said to me, a voice at the back of my brain goes something like ‘Tintatintin. Studio 100, Page 97, Exercice 4, Dialogue 1’ … Nothing matters quite so much here, or in quite the same way. People, places – there is a veil of…
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Remember Only This
By the gloating rocks once its refuge, The sun wallows in scarlet rages; Glovers at the ticky-tacky cages, Who feel naught of the coming deluge From the lurching stream that knows no rest. Each ripple is a Mont Blanc unsung With snow-hunches grown out of dark grace, The cragginess of each jagged face; Burnt with … Continue reading Remember Only This
Marginal Voices
"We like marginal voices" He reassures me "Women writers and poets of every nation -" 'Marginal' voices? But that would be Over one half of the world's population. "All people of colour, handicapped, LGBT -" I look at him in some consternation. "Just who is left in your 'centre' then?" "Why - white, hetero, cisgendered … Continue reading Marginal Voices
En frappant à la porte
Mon âme a besoin de lire votre histoire Autrement, veuillez me croire Je ne serais jamais venue chez vous. Vos penchants naturels sont les plus vicieux Vos songes pourris, d’un caractère fou : Mais, une seule fois, soyez gentil, confiez-moi La recette de ce bonheur, ces transports de joie!
The Fall
Hrothgar Valinaryon was a bit of a jerk. From the first it was evident to the canny that the fall of the House of Valinaryon was at hand. The new King was neither properly cruel nor respectably dissipated. In defiance of all precedent, he would hold none of the dusk to dawn orgies that had … Continue reading The Fall
Chanson de la vieillesse
Deux caractères en bois Une histoire en pierre Autrement gravée en eau Un songe soupirant Une âme toujours souffrante Les transports trop beaux Reviennent souvent chez moi Me confiant à mi-voix Les penchants naturels étouffés
Earthquake
The sun strode briskly towards its zenith as it always did in the fall, something of the warmth of summer emanating from it still. Farmers welcomed it from their fields with hasty glances at the lush verdure it drew from the obscurity of night to glowing, radiant life, women peered at it out of their … Continue reading Earthquake
Bonheur frémissant
Il a un penchant naturel Pour rêves et histoires belles Les songes d’un caractère tel Qu’il n’ose ne se confier qu’à elle. Chez-elle, ces transports de l’âme Qui la font briller comme une larme Sont les biens les plus précieux de la terre Autrement plus que l’argent et l’or
Le conifère
O printemps, dis-je, la neige tua deux fois Dans le berceau tes enfants nouveau-nés Avant l'été de joie qui était leur droit Avant l'automne doré pour vieillir en beauté O printemps, dis-je, nous ne fîmes rien Pour sauver tes petits de cet assaut diluvien Mais si tu te retires, par rage et par peur Aurons-nous … Continue reading Le conifère
Songe
Songe, ma mie Songe d’une âme Qui sur le pencha nt de sa vie Brûle toujours pour toi! Songe à ses transports de chagrin À sa triste histoire sans fin Même la Fâcheuse, la perte naturelle N’aura pour l’amour un caractère réel Chez lui, ce ne sera jamais autrement … Songe, ma fille Songe à … Continue reading Songe
L’esclavage
«Je pense, donc je suis; je rêve, donc je serai » Ah non, la liberté ne se gagne pas comme ça ! Je pense ; je suis ma volonté, mon coeur pur, Je suis ma foi, ma volonté, ma loi à moi ; Et je redeviens esclave - esclave de ma liberté, Esclave de ma … Continue reading L’esclavage
Cachez-vous mon moi!
Éclatez, les rires! Cachez les songes de mon âme! Pourrais-je suivre ces penchants naturels Raconter ces histoires belles Confier au monde ces transports D’un caractère qu’on croit si calme? Que non, ils resteront tous chez-moi! Ah non, ce ne sera jamais autrement, ma foi! Éclatez, les rires! Cachez-vous mon moi!
La liberté
Mais éclatez, les rires, éclatez! Je m’en fiche … Va-t-en, monde pourri Tes menaces ne pourront rien aujourd’hui Car je ne suis plus cette étudiante molle Je suis Fairy et je suis folle Je suis folle, donc j’en suis libre Éclatez, les rires, éclatez Éclatez, mes amis, pour que je puisse vivre !
Les soupirs d’une âme battue
Amèrement, bien amèrement Mon âme soeur, je te confie Les histoires de ma vie Les transports d’angoisse Doucement, écoute doucement Je t’en prie. Tu connais mon penchant naturel À courir après les songes? Autrement, ce sera autrement! Je te le dis J’ai chassé les rêves de chez moi N’y restent que des mensonges Oui, j’ai … Continue reading Les soupirs d’une âme battue
La chanson du bon-vivant
Laisse-moi lutter contre ces vagues Laisse-moi conter fort ces blagues Dès que j’ai un chagrin à eux cacher Je l’amènerai chez toi sans le tarder Dès que j’ai une fleur à planter Dès que j’ai une danse à chanter Je l’amènerai chez toi en bateau Je l’amènerai chez toi en cadeau Dès que j’ai un … Continue reading La chanson du bon-vivant
Le guerrier
Caractère de fer Âme de pierre Songes de l’enfer Transports ivres Histoires sans livres Chez lui sont-ils Autrement gravés Dans un penchant naturel Confié à la guerre
Lisons-le…
Lisons-le, ce livre qu’on nous confie Cette histoire remplie de chansons D’âmes vivantes, du bonheur naturel, De transports délires, de la passion D’un caractère si beau D’une tendance si belle! Chez nous, il pleut trop En lisant ces songes jolis En parlant de ceux qui suivent ses penchants Rêvons donc là où c’est bien autrement
Parle, mon âme !
Confie-moi Tes songes, tes penchants naturels Tes histoires, tes transports de joie Mon âme, abandonne ce caractère timide une fois! Soit autrement, reviens chez moi!
We Ride North, Awaken!
Set aside dull labour, set aside cold pleasure We ride for the mountains, for the evergreen treasure Ah! The call of the Lord of the Snows has come We ride North, awaken! We ride North! Set aside raiment of silk, set aside flag of white We ride for the mountains, for every man's birthright Ah! … Continue reading We Ride North, Awaken!
The Lament Of The Maiden-Daughter
O my father, why do they bear thee hence? O father, from this thy hearth and thy haven? Thou, so tall, so proud, so brave, so strong! Thou to lie still, silent, stiff upon a pallet! Thou thunderless, as they bore thee along Thou, with thy voice blood-kin to a mallet! Thou to hear unmoved … Continue reading The Lament Of The Maiden-Daughter
The Unceasing Plaint of The Sea
Ash-grey shafts shot out of the cliff rock, racing into the embrace of the clouds. Stone sewn seamlessly to stone, the jagged steely glitter spiralled thrice, curtaining a little piece of the earth from the hungry sea. The chain of craggy cliffs slung out along the wavering shoreline, their hoary heads held high in defiance … Continue reading The Unceasing Plaint of The Sea
The Land Of The Lost
Come we will an the road is open, Come we will an the door swings ajar, The land we glimpsed longing from fens afar, Shall now be ours to make or mar! Unto the gate we shall be holpen, There with ye forever spar. Perish not, then; cry instead, 'War! War! War! ' After, the … Continue reading The Land Of The Lost
Black Roses
(First published in The Ravi 2015) I flee the jaws of Time's story As they snip me apart twig by twig Black Roses nesting In the flesh that was broken Sand sweeps in, questing Eternity's whittling me down to a sprig An Enting lost in a paper factory
