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On The Relationship Between Moon & River & Bass – Ola Elhassan

after  Mohammed Bashir Ateeq’s  أنا وأنت والنيل والقمر  as sung by Abdalaziz Daoud

 

tonight, I notice your skin in faint moonlight             your arm moves slow to the ripple of the bass each percussive thud a different side of                  skin brought to life

a new dimension now apparent          at the viscosity of blue light the rhythm changes form it’s buoyant

 

catching my heart mid-step it falters  it stumbles      it regains composure so the lyric can speak

ana wa enta wal neel wal gamar                                            you & me & the nile & the moon

ana wa enta wal neel wal gamar                                            you & me & the nile & the moon

Ola Elhassan is a Sudanese poet, curator, and electrical engineer in London. Sometimes her poetry experiments with and about music, mathematics, physics, and dancing. She is a resident poet and member of the Common Sound collective, and has featured on the Common Sound Spring “Compilation 22” and Raelle’s debut EP “Bloodlines.”  She has performed at the Roundhouse, the Serpentine Gallery and Ake Arts Book Festival and more. You can find her poems in various international anthologies including PANK Magazine, Inkwell Journal and most recently, Before Them, We. 

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