after ‘Glossary’ by Safia Elhillo
ya nihar azra2
oh blue day
from sacre bleu
meaning
the french were here
ragel lousy!
that guy’s lousy!
from the british
meaning
they said it to us, often
7ewar over shwaya
it’s a bit over (the top)
from some tv show
meaning
I don’t know which is which
merci
thank you
from a lady’s mouth
and never
shukran
farang
the whites
here, there, colonized everywhere
meaning
whiteness, us less
mind chokes on
two words (at least)
and wonders why
nothing
ever comes out too good
Nour Kamel is perfectly lit and writes things from Cairo, Egypt. Their chapbook Noon (2019) is part of the New-Generation African Poets series and their writing is featured in Asameena, Anomaly, Rusted Radishes, Khabar Keslan, Ikhtyar, Voicemail Poems, Sukoon and Closet Cases (Et Alia Press, 2020). Kamel writes about identity, language, sexuality, queerness, gender, oppression, femininity, trauma, family, lineage, globalisation, loss and food.