Vénus Khoury-Ghata 1935–
beirut, lebanon
A
n intellectual poet and novelist, Khoury-Ghata has used many genres to
depict both her everyday life and the cruelty and destruction of war. She
has also written on the tension between French and Lebanese Arabic,the ‘‘Franbanais.’’ She was born to a Francophone father and a mother she referred
to as ‘‘illiterate in two languages.’’ She moved to France in 1972. In 1980 she won the
Prix Apollinaire for her Les Ombres et leurs cris (1980). Principal works: Monologue
du mort, 1986; Fables pour un peuple d’argile, 1992; Anthologie personnelle, 1997;
Elle dit, 1999; La Voix des arbres, 1999; Compassion des pierres: Poèmes, 2001.
She Used to Throw Her Old Crockery
She used to throw her old crockery at the moon
which mends chipped plates
darns wedding sheets
and sorts lamplight-yellowed snapshots by degrees of sadness
The whole universe shared my mother’s household chores
contrary winds blew into her bureau drawers
bargained between her shutters
and swept towards town the dream-crumbs she nibbled in her sleep
Negligent mother
clouds of a dubious whiteness dried out on your clothesline
provoking the nightingales’ sarcasm and saddening the sun
you reported them missing to the police when the wind carried them out of
the valley
called the wind a thief of sheets and cattle
then withdrew your complaint when the clouds came home to you, fog kneeling
on your doorstep.
—marilyn hacker
Autumn Preceded Summer
Autumn preceded summer by one day
vigilant gardeners cut the passionflowers’ damp lashes earlier than