Ghassan Zaqtan was born near Bethlehem and now lives in Ramallah. Critically acclaimed among avant-garde artists in the Arab world, he has published numerous poetry collections, including The Silence That Remains (Copper Canyon Press, 2016), and two novels. Narrative was the first to publish his work in the United States, and these poems were later included in Like a Straw Bird It Follows Me, winner of the 2013 Griffin International Poetry Prize.

Other Things

by Ghassan Zaqtan, translated by Fady Joudah

A lonely evening
and an only window,
the flower vase is on the table,
a flower has wilted
             or is almost there
that is you

Haven’t you noticed
we’re the only two
oblivious to the end of the night?
Haven’t you noticed
that we broke the glass
             and the one
who appeared after our running
was my coat
caught in the fence?
People on couch
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