Al Asi: The Disobedient
I
How much does it take the Cityto realize her river can’t be
her accessory?
How much does it take her
to know that He can’t be blamed
for the boat,
for the Fisher King,
for the thigh wound?
How much does it take the City
to believe the Fisher’s fishing
has nothing to do with her
infertility?
Stop spitting on my banks
every time the rain falls
to make you more barren
every time the raindrops
start tickling my aqua body.
Stop blaming the clouds for
not talking the sun into
coming out. She won’t come.
The Orontes goes on.
II
Women would walk to the riverlong ago covered in black
head to toe. They would
throw in him much of their
femininity not revealed to
the City’s men.
They would confide in him
their henna-dyed locks
their placentas after each birth.
The river became sterile –
the City’s womb.
How could I feel at home
while I’m running through
three different worlds at once?
How could I feel accepted
while I’m flowing from
south to the north?
How could I feel embraced
by the maps while geography
books call me “Al Asi / the Disobedient?”
The Orontes streams in.
III
Waterwheels are men’s mountains,climaxes to throw themselves from
falling filling the river’s body.
The City calls them the river’s rats.
Men disappear drown and die
floating with placentas in their hands.
No baby comes (alive) to the surface.
How much does it take the City
to know that her river can’t be
her lover?
Bio: Dua Al Bostani Al Fattohi @duaalfattouhi is a poet and English language teacher from Hama, Syria. She has two poems “The Fog” and “Duality” published in Harana Poetry Magazine. She is currently working to complete her dissertation in the field of criticism and literary theory to earn a Master’s in English.
Banner Art: “Fire Lines, a gestural drawing ” by Robert Frede Kenter Tweets: @frede_kenter
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