My name is Safia Elhillo, and this poem is called "to make use of water." dilute i forget the arabic word for economy i forget the english word for عسل forget the arabic word for incense & english word for مسكين arabic word for sandwich english for صيدلية & مطعم & وله /stupid girl, atlantic got your tongue/ blur back home we are plagued by a politeness so dense even the doctors cannot call things what they are my grandfather’s left eye swirled thick with smoke what my new mouth can call glaucoma while the arabic still translates to the white water swim i want to go home dissolve i want to go home drown half don’t even make it out or across you get to be ungrateful you get to be homesick from safe inside your blue american passport do you even understand what was lost to bring you here
我叫 Safia Elhillo 而呢首詩叫做「水嘅用處」 沖淡 我唔記得「經濟」嘅阿拉伯文喺咩 英文嘅「عسل」係咩 亦忘記「香」 嘅阿拉伯文喺咩 同埋「مسكين」嘅英文喺咩 「三文治」嘅阿拉伯文喺咩 英文嘅 「صيدلية & مطعم & وله」喺咩 /傻女,大西洋令你條脷打晒撠/ 模糊咗 喺家鄉,飽受 禮貌週週所困擾 就連醫生都無法 講出個病係咩名 祖父嘅左眼 繚繞住煙霧 我新嘅嘴巴 就話係「青光眼」 但阿拉伯文仍然翻譯佢 嗰啲「白水」 游水 我想返鄉下 溶解 我想返鄉下 會浸死 甚至一半人 無法成功或者穿過 你變得忘恩負義 變得思鄉 拎住保護你嘅藍色美國護照 你知唔知失去咗啲咩嘢?