April 16, 2025
Three Poems by Mohja Kahf
by Mohja Kahf
In these three poems by academic and poet Mohja Kahf, Syria is written not only as the site of violent abduction and imprisonment, but also as a diverse country suffering from Arab and Sunni supremacy.—Layla Faraj, editorial assistantIf you know anything, tell Maimounaif you met someone who’s been in prisonand may have seen them, tell MaimounaYou can’t mourn; to mourn is to desert them.They might still be alive, they are.—Mohja Kahf, Tell MaimounaTell MaimounaThey weren’t on the...
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April 8, 2025
Two Poems by Banah el Ghadbanah
As we reflect on Syria’s last fifty-three years under the Assad regime and look to the future of the country in the aftermath of it’s fall, Mizna shares two poems from Syrian poet Banah Ghadbian which speak on past moments of joy and present moments of confrontation and reconciliation.—Layla Faraj, editorial assistantBanat Ishreh*I look at the photograph of banat ishreh, the secret oud circle my city grandmother heldwhile my country grandmother tilled the earthand think “is this...
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March 4, 2025
RAINDROPS
by Mazen Halabi
Thunder drummed in jubilation as our tires tangoed with the city’s cobblestones, and we rode like Khalid and Abu Obiedah, banging on the city’s gates, claiming Damascus as our own. We were her boys, and she gently embraced us, pulling the cover of rain over to protect us. Our clothes, drenched and heavy with rain, clung tightly. We were soaked to the last inch of our bodies. We wore soft, innocent smiles. Not a word was uttered.
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