The activist killed in Tahrir Square on Jan. 25 was a poet—here’s one of her works

Shaimaa El-Sabbagh, the activist who was shot dead at a rally in Tahrir Square on Jan. 25, was also a poet. Here is one of her works, translated into English by Maged Zaher.

مش عارفة

هيَّ صحيح مش أكتر من شنطة

بس لما ضاعت كان فيه مشكلة

إزاي أواجه العالم من غيرها

خصوصًا

والشوارع حافظانا سوا

المحلات عارفاها أكتر مني

إكمن هيَّ اللي بتحاسب

عارفة ريحة عرقي وحابّاها

عارفة المواصلات

وعاملة علاقة مع السواقين

حافظة الأجرة

ودايمًا جراب للفكّة

مرّة اشتريت برفان ما عجبهاش

كبّته كله ورفضت إني أستعمله

على فكرة

هيَّ كمان بتحب عيلتي

ودايما كانت شايلة صورة

لكل واحد بتحبه

ياترى هيَّ عاملة إيه دلوقت

حاسّة بالخوف!

قرفانة من ريحة عرق حد ما تعرفهوش!

متضايقة من الشوارع الجديدة!

لو وقفت على محل من المحلات اللي روحناها سوا

هتعجبها نفس الحاجة!

على العموم هيَّ معاها مفتاح الشقة

وانا مستنياها.

A letter in my purse

I am not sure

Truly, she was nothing more than just a purse

But when lost, there was a problem

How to face the world without her

Especially

Because the streets remember us together

The shops know her more than me

Because she is the one who pays

She knows the smell of my sweat and she loves it

She knows the different buses

And has her own relationship with their drivers

She memorizes the ticket price

And always has the exact change

Once I bought a perfume she didn’t like

She spilled all of it and refused to let me use it

By the way

She also loves my family

And she always carried a picture

Of each one she loves

What might she be feeling right now

Maybe scared?

Or disgusted from the sweat of someone she doesn’t know

Annoyed by the new streets?

If she stopped by one of the stores we visited together

Would she like the same items?

Anyway, she has the house keys

And I am waiting for her

This post originally appeared at Arablit.org. The arabic version is from Kataba.org.