They Have Their Stories
Word count: 129
Paragraphs: 5
They Have Their Stories
The door has something to tell me.
The door makes a sound when I touch it, as if it is
trying to say its sob story with the ax
before its body knew touch.
The nail polish has something to tell me:
Be fair . . . see the world
from your fingertips!
The ants have something to tell me.
The ants note my absent-mindedness, fear
my severe loneliness,
and the sound of a dragged sesame seed
fallen to the floor:
Forgive our intrusion.
The open book has something to tell me
days ago, on page seventy-two:
Events have twisted. They’re more riveting. Come back!
The maddening flies have something to tell me.
They lick the remains of my gaze off the wall:
We are grateful for world tragedies
making you feel bad
slowing you down before you spray insecticide.
“They Have Their Stories” is forthcoming in Other Paths for Shahrazad: An Arabic/English Anthology of Contemporary Poetry by Arab Women edited by Jennifer Jean. All rights are controlled by Tupelo Press. Reproduced and used by permission of Tupelo Press.
Asmaa Hussain is a narrator, poet, and translator from Egypt. Her works include a collection of stories, uthriyya (Virginity), fushat bowayka (Bowayka Space),and a collection of poems, ajmal alwuhuush allati ‘aththat ruuhi (TheMost Gorgeous Beasts that Bit My Soul).
Mohamed Elsawi Hassan is a senior lecturer at the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations at Amherst College. Recent translations include articles for Wasla magazine in Egypt and co-translating African Folklore: An Encyclopedia into Arabic.
Jennifer Jean co-wrote and co-translated the collaborative, bilingual collection Where Do You Live? ؟شيعت نيأ with Iraqi poet Dr. Hanaa Ahmad Jabr. Other poetry collections include VOZ, Object Lesson, and The Fool.