By: Hussein Ali Younes
Translated from the Arabic by:
Hikmet Elhadj
I had an older sister
Named
Crimson Hijran,
Her head crowned with
Thick hair
Like the night.
She would wear her blue dress,
And sit by the door,
Seating my little brother beside her
Like a talisman.
She was close to my age,
Older by a year.
I have become a frail old man,
And Hijran has grown old too,
Though she remained
The same old Hijran,
Whom I remember
As she first was.
Whenever I pass by
Our old city,
The city of al-Thawrah,
I recall Hijran,
The little girl from the time
That stole her,
In her blue dress,
And her night-black hair,
Sitting by the door,
Untouched by time.
Crimson Hijran…
My beautiful,
Immortal sister.
* Hijran (هجران): An Arabic name that literally translates to: “abandonment,” adding a layer of bittersweet meaning to the poem.
* Al-Thawrah City (مدينة الثورة): A reference to a well-known district in Baghdad, Iraq (historically known as Al-Thawrah City, currently known as Al-Sadr City).
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