Wael Almahdi
Hajji Salman's Bread
I sip my karak
tea spiced with stories
in a darkened Hyundai.
I’ve noticed
the past month
Hajji Salman
no longer makes scuffing noises with his sandals
permanently leaning to the left
on his way back from the tannoor.
Is he sick?
In Karbala?
Or just hiding
from the heat
watching sat tv
sipping tea
and getting worked up at the news?
Wael Almahdi is a translator and healthcare professional from Bahrain. In 2023, he won a High Commendation from the Stephen Spender Poetry Translation Prize. His Classical Arabic translations include work by Hanan Issa (National Poet of Wales), Lewis Carroll (‘Jabberwocky’), Carl Jung, and the 2024 Diriyah Biennale. His poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in ArabLit Quarterly, The Inquisitive Eater: New School Food, Bayt al-Fann Quarterly, Copihue, Asymptote, Snakeskin, The Knight Letter, The Raven’s Perch, Ekstasis, Blue Minaret, Ravi Magazine, and Beletra Almanako.
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