December 5, 2023
Not Just Passing: In Honor of Heba Abu Nada
trans. by Huda Fakhreddine
Heba Abu Nada, a brilliant Palestinian poet and novelist, was killed by an Israeli airstrike on her home in Khan Younes, Gaza, on October 20, 2023. To honor her memory and the thousands of other Palestinians martyred by the Zionist state as part of their genocidal assault on Gaza, we are co-publishing Huda Fakhreddine’s translation of her poem “Not Just Passing” alongside ArabLit. These words from Abu Nada have haunted me this past week. Cutting through news of the death count rising, amidst the Zionist lies of a temporary “ceasefire,” Abu Nada teaches us life from beyond the border of the grave: “this ancient language / has taught us how to heal others / with our longing.” I am grateful for this incredible translation, which attempts to preserve as much of the original’s music and rhythm as possible: a feat that can only be accomplished by the brilliance of Huda Fakhreddine, one of our fiercest advocates for Palestine and most brilliant scholars of Arabic literature alive today.
—George Abraham, Executive Editor of Mizna
3/19/24 update: if folks have the capacity, please help Heba’s family directly as they are surviving the genocide in Gaza.
O little light in me, don’t die,
even if all the galaxies of the world
close in.
—Heba Abu Nada, trans. by Huda Fakhreddine
Not Just Passing
Yesterday, a star said
to the little light in my heart,
We are not just transients
passing.
Do not die. Beneath this glow
some wanderers go on
walking.
You were first created out of love,
so carry nothing but love
to those who are trembling.
One day, all gardens sprouted
from our names, from what remained
of hearts yearning.
And since it came of age, this ancient language
has taught us how to heal others
with our longing,
how to be a heavenly scent
to relax their tightening lungs: a welcome sigh,
a gasp of oxygen.
Softly, we pass over wounds,
like purposeful gauze, a hint of relief,
an aspirin.
O little light in me, don’t die,
even if all the galaxies of the world
close in.
O little light in me, say:
Enter my heart in peace.
All of you, come in!
Heba Abu Nada was a Palestinian poet, novelist, and educator. Her novel الأكسجين ليس للموتى (Oxygen Is Not for the Dead) won second place in the Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity in 2017. She was killed in her home in the Gaza Strip by an Israeli airstrike on October 20, 2023. She was 32. You can also read her poem “I Grant You Refuge” at Protean in Huda Fakhreddine’s translation.
Huda Fakhreddine is Associate Professor of Arabic literature at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a writer, a translator, and the author of several scholarly books.
Toward a Free Palestine: Resources to Learn About and Act for Palestine
We are proud to present this text as part of a list of resources to take action for and learn about Palestine, as well as works by Palestinian artists, writers, activists, and cultural workers.
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