I SHALL BEAR A SEPTEMBER by Ghaida Radi Sobh

I SHALL BEAR A SEPTEMBER

I shall bear a daughter and call her September.

She will grow, nourished by virtue,

crawling upon the blossoms of spring,

lending her ear to the thunder of January,

whispers of passersby, the philosophy of saints.

She will drink the elixir of wisdom from rhyme,

a new hymn to eternity,

whenever her breath grazes the holes

of that dark phantom.

At the corner of rebellion she will abandon despair,

renounce the mute string of memory,

rekindle the pulse,

and bargain with night

from the balconies of love.

She will ride the shadows of devotion

to stand in the presence of pure madness.

She will wash in the sanctuary of peace,

erase the faces of days,

and record her birth a thousand tales

before safety’s name was spoken.

She will draw innocence, challenge passion,

slay despair,

circling the temples of repentance and pardon,

embracing loss to give birth to rebels,

to dance with victory,

like a woman dispatched

from the churches of the free.

Her speech, sweet upon sweetness,

awakens, then pleads,

to rectify the word,

to defend the right of the field,

to claim the reward of the Merciful,

to attune the law of time.

O September, September!

You who renounce the lips of the violin

to release a thousand songs for humankind,

resisting the plea of the devil,

born upon the line of fire,

to know when you are part of the shore

and when you are half-concealed in piety,

climbing the oaks to point the way

to shelves filled with the Qur’an,

and to a thousand consciences

laid aside for humankind.

O September, September!

Sublime question,

flower that raises to heaven

a prayer of loss.

You riot through the days,

in the labyrinths of feeling,

resting on the tooth of Muhammad,

walking with the peace of Jesus,

shaking hands, believing

in the staff of Moses.

O September, September!

The tale shall not end,

it will go on, and on...

Ghaida Radi Sobh is a multifaceted Syrian writer, poet, and social researcher pursuing a PhD in Media Sociology. She works as a social counselor in Damascus schools and has authored several literary and educational works, including "Educational Discipline: Pros and Cons" and "The Agonies of Letters in the Mischief of Memory". Her books have been featured in various Arab fairs, and she has contributed to prominent Arab and international journals and newspapers, such as Al-Muhajir in Australia and Al-Jumhuriya in Egypt. Sobh has received numerous awards, including Best Writer in Iraq in 2013 and Best Arab Writer of 2022, recognized by Al-Masaa Al-Arabi and the Afro-Asian Union. Her writings have been praised and analyzed by critics in both Arab and foreign journals, showcasing her literary prowess.