Three Poems by Muḥammad al-Māghūṭ

Human Surplus

I am the one who has not been killed yet
In war, earthquake, or traffic accident
What do I do with my life?With those years that swell before me,
Like the sea before the pelican?
After the flower of my words has gone
Wasted on letters and requests for clemency
And my future drawn
The way a duck is sketched on a school blackboard: