Teacups by Belal Mobarak

31 Days of Poetry: Day 30.

The penultimate poem! I can’t quite believe a month has flown by so fast…

Today’s poem is Teacups by Belal Mobarak, which was published in the poetry anthology, We Call to the Eye & the Night: Love Poems by Writers of Arab Heritage, edited by Hala Alyan and Zeina Hashem Beck (Persea Books, 2023).

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Teacups

I do not know how to dance but I want to
and I might not know how to waltz
but I will step step step towards you
I will learn the two step sequence
that belongs to Yemen and Gedu
I see myself reciting words
in the tongue of Husaat
to convince your heart
that it belongs between these two steps
and I promise to learn
the song of your mother
I will pace forth in Bara'a
and Sharh back to Sana'a
I will take your scarf
and slice through wind
dancing Dabke in circles
place the scarf around my waist
and shake my hips like Egyptian men do
and even though it will embarrass you
I know you will smile
turn your mouth into a tea cup handle
turned up sideways
keeping your cup filled to its brim

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I realise that I haven’t shared any anthologies this month, which isn’t that surprising to me because I don’t often gravitate towards them. However, I do appreciate the way that a well-curated anthology that allows you to experience multiple voices and discover writers you might not have otherwise come across.

I’m slowly working my way through We Call to the Eye & the Night and, while there are several poems I could’ve happily shared, with this one, it’s the way that (to me) the love it depicts feels like deep devotion, dedication and adoration, but also something buoyant, playful and simply delightful that I found so appealing.

'...I will take your scarf
and slice through wind
dancing Dabke in circles
place the scarf around my waist
and shake my hips like Egyptian men do
and even though it will embarrass you
I know you will smile
turn your mouth into a tea cup handle
turned up sideways
keeping your cup filled to its brim'

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See you on day thirty-one,

Tasnim