All of a sudden she could see
After an intricate operation performed in a hurry
More in line with committing criminal poetry

A long time she had listened to dozens of books
Her empty eyes
Staring upwards
But
When she danced with Lama
On the hillside,
He told her that the soul can transcend earthly life
If freed from the retina.

She was illiterate
The pain on her face
While in trance
Spoilt the text
The pen bent
Before completing the story.

No way of return, now
Knowledge is coming
And ignorance is
A lost paradise

Therefore,
The thought of a drained memory
Stayed with her
Whenever her eye tried to see.
Silently
She poured out two shadows standing
In a breathless, dark hall,
Prepared for tea,
At the end of the show.

Two shadows,
One a lighting technician
And the other
Did his utmost to read
But
Utterly stunned
Could not complete the lesson.

Reading does not require eyes
So much was certain
When she suddenly regained sight
But did not find books

© Fatima Naoot
From: A Longitudinal Section in the Memory
Publisher: The General Egyptian Book Organisation, Cairo, 2003

© Translation: 2007, Kees Nijland
Publisher: First published on PIW, 2008