Water at its purest, you,
omnipresent.
Under and above the firmament,
and the firmament itself for us,
blue before our earthly eyes.
As if you weren’t the path
of the sun and the moon and the stars.
A god worth worshiping,
and the thing beyond a metaphor,
A poem worth dying for.
(of thirst!)
Kaleab Abayneh is an Ethiopian writer, poet, and translator residing in Addis Ababa. He holds a degree in Electrical Engineering from Addis Ababa Science and Technology University. In 2023, he was selected as one of the winners of the short story competition organized by Goethe-Institut Äthiopien, and his work was subsequently published in an anthology featuring the awardees. He is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of Medina, a locally rooted digital magazine that focuses on art and literary expression. Deeply committed to the craft of storytelling, his writing explores themes of myth, faith, and memory. He is particularly drawn to genres such as magical realism, fantasy, historical fiction, and religious literature, often weaving biblical and mythological allusions into his narratives. Find him on Instagram @kalamalab5.
