The letter ح does not exist in any other language,
it’s pronounced as but imagine your lungs are struggling for breath,
is that why hub is the most common word for love?
because both leave you
gasping for air

There are twelve million words in the Arabic language 
therefore, an Arab can tell you exactly
how much he loves you in more ways
than there are words in the entire French dictionary, 
but only one is seen as a language of love

Donate to Poetry London

Be a part of the next 100 issues

To donate, please click on the button below, or send a cheque payable to ‘Poetry London’ to Poetry London, Goldsmiths, University of London, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, UK.

Donate to Poetry London today

Discover more from this issue…

Summer 2021

Issue 99

The Summer 2021 issue of Poetry London, André Naffis-Sahely’s first issue as the magazine’s new editor, features poems by Anne Waldman, Claudia Rankine, Najwan Darwish, Iman Mersal, Vidyan Ravinthiran, Momtaza Mehri, Roseanne Watt and Seán Hewitt, as well as a previously uncollected poem by John Ashbery (1927–2017).

Buy the Summer 2021 issue

Subscribe to Poetry London

Subscribe today!