The desert is my oasis

the long version

This is a collection of eighty-five poems originally written in Arabic and now translated into English for the first time. These poems come from the heart of Arabia; the birthplace of both Arabic poetry and the Islamic religion and represent a form of poetry that is currently very fashionable in the Arab world. The literal translation of the Arabic word for the form is 'prose poetry' or, in a western sense, 'free verse'. It has no recognised metre and yet contains the spirit and rhythm of what Westerners understand as poetry. The subject matter is that of everyday life - supplications, family bonds, human behaviour and relations, reflections and meditations on people, places and the environment - that are universal to human kind. The work is symbolic and mystical, intensely spiritual and full of profound expression and offers a unique glimpse into the innermost feelings and thoughts about mankind and the world by a true Arab.