"The
Old Guitarist" - Pablo Picasso
dried up in his room
he embraces his guitar
whispering to it with his fingers
songs from the wedding at Galilee
his legs entwined
he sits with lowered head
listening to the light of blue
to the shadow of a distant voice
overwhelmed
by loneliness
he takes the pain away from Jesus
(From the anthology of the German-Arab
Poetry Salon, published by Edition lyrik-salon Spezial in Germany in 2026. Titled:
"das lich ruht sich aus", / in english: "the light is rasting")
The
House Is Half Empty
in the heart of the city
a very short street
on its left side stand four houses
three of them inhabited by grief
the fourth - half empty
the other half
filled with the voices of those who left
in a silent war
beneath clouds that carry no rain
(From the
anthology of the German-Arab Poetry Salon, published by Edition lyrik-salon
Spezial in Germany in 2026. Titled: "das haus ist halb leer" / in english: "the house is half empty")
In
the Dining Car
I
the train heading north is empty
all the passengers got off the day before yesterday
and went searching for a different time
where the hands of
clocks move more slowly
the circle was a square
that
smoothed down its corners
- its radii now feel equal -
II
the paper towel rolls to the left
searching for the table
where a new order reigns
the knife gleams
before departing on its political journey
the fork is trapped
in the traffic jam of a pizza
the spoon gathers peppercorns from
the soup
- the elections draw nearer -
(From the
anthology of the German-Arab Poetry Salon, published by Edition lyrik-salon
Spezial in Germany in 2026. Titled: "das haus ist halb leer" / in english: "the house is half empty")
Author’s Bionote:
*Fouad EL-Auwad,
born in 1965 in Damascus, Syria and lives since
1980 in Aachen (Germany). He is
poet, visual artist, storyteller, translator, essayist and editor. In 1990 he made his debut in literature with the book
called „Face of the Night“. He continued his work with new pieces of poetry and prose, among them The Eighth Day and The
Eleventh Commandment. He also writes children’s stories for radio,
including When the Donkey Was Wise and Buntiflunti the Squirrel.
His most recently published poetry collections in
German are: "The Blue Weariness" (2019), "The Wine Chatters
in the Glasses" (2023) and in Arabic: "In My Language I Share
Everything with My Shadow" 2024, "A Shadow Sits on the Sofa and Draws
the Light in Colors of Silence" 2026. His poetry has been translated
into several languages and published in various anthologies and literature
journals,including "BANIPAL" (London), "IBDAA" (Cairo), "Akzente"
and "Das Gedicht" (Germany). Alongside numerous pieces of poetry
and prose of his own, he has translated and edited many books across a wide
range of genres into both German and Arabic. Since 2005, he has curated the
German-Arabic Poetry Salon - a literary forum he has founded himself. In
parallel, he has contributed to various German media outlets. To date, more
than 400 poets from diverse cultures and linguistic backgrounds have taken part
in the events and anthologies of the German-Arabic Poetry Salon.
