April 8, 2025

Two Poems by Banah el Ghadbanah

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 assistant

Banat Ishreh*

I look at the photograph of banat ishreh, the 

secret oud circle my city grandmother held

while my country grandmother tilled the earth

and think “is this me?” Two unseen,

invisible rivers in time reverse, spin

me to into alleyways and low hanging grapevines

in courtyards, where friends smoke clove cigarettes

kiss pomegranates and suck them open

play tableh, fry loqmet al qadi,

drink sweet cold karkadeh in the summer

by the stone fountain 

I transport to the wet, red clay

of the field where a village of women

press seeds into earth

with the power of their holy palms 

and recite “grow, grow, grow.” 

I peer into the dark eyes of a 

woman in the photograph and I know, in my

heart, her hair smells of jasmines 

* Nihad Sirees’s wrote and researched about banat ‘ishreh — women in Aleppo who had intense relationships with each other and who met in music circles where they danced, sang, and socialized.

Sacred

in the Temple of Jupiter,

a young child slips

his fingers into my bag

& steals a wad of money

while I translate for two

released prisoners from Sednaya

doing a street interview with a foreigner.

The prisoners’ eyes hurt from seeing sunlight

for the first time in seven years. My English

is simple & my Arabic is bulky. The gods

stand as judges & interpret

the situation. The child runs away,

money in hand, & I am not angry,

standing in a house of grief.

“The ancient harps of the

temple strike the beat

of a sorrowful song.”

Later, a man brings meals

to the square for the swarm of 

hungry children & in a terrifying

haze, fourteen people

are trampled. The city is

filled with blood. 

 Dr. Banah el Ghadbanah teaches Comparative Women’s Studies at Spelman College. They are the author of La Syrena: Visions of a Syrian Mermaid from Space, which the Independent Book Review called one of the best books of 2023. They are published in Afghan Punk Magazine, Poetry Northwest, the Women’s Review of Books, and more.