Poetry: Ahmad Al-Khatat

The Invisible Spirit

The night is long, long as
the stars are falling apart
and so my tears are the
rain on the child cheeks
I thought that love would
make us lucky, and happy
until I realized that one of us
must pretend that I'm dead
Trust was the most beautiful
word we have had in our talks
sadly, it was replaced with a
betrayal and dangerous faith
The invisible spirit forgot to
teach me how to die without
weapon, nor a case of twelve
beers, yet the night is still long


Read My Wounds

I don't deserve to live in this world
mainly, because my dreams are hidden
from me as my bare feet are chained
Maybe my time should have ended as
every night, my eyes begin to cry,
she disappeared from my cigarette
smoke and was harder to drink just water
My hopes are the graffiti on the walls
after the fire, nothing stays but my ashes.
keep my story away from your loving ones
just remember that you have read my wounds
Make peace with love from the body
of someone you trust, to share more than a
lips kiss, as my mistakes are my everyday lies
to hide my death on my last birthday


Rooves of Dreams

The rooves of memories are dusty
as much as the rooves of my dreams
even when my heart beats like a
wild animal and never dies in my mind
My mother’s first cookie tasted of strong
grief, since then I understood the
reasons why my baby was endlessly crying
as he now knows that he was born,
He was born to die with a civilian’s uniform
and never look beyond the sunset.
The baby girl now knows she will always
be a widow, and the uncrowned queen
Autumn leaves in Montreal have fortunes,
but in Baghdad they have wheels of misfortunes
while orphans sing along with ashes of
angels in heaven fall in the sea of lost freedom


Expensive Prayer

I wish I had more mistakes than sins
I want to have my brain cells fully damaged
as the friend I always trusted before is
now a dark cloud in my miserable season
Love is blind more than love is happiness
as it is an expensive prayer for me
even my siblings are deaf to hear the beats
of my broken heart from the liquor I drink
Grains of salt are above the roof of my mouth
meanwhile, I never swam in a salty ocean
nor; added salt on my tasteless plates of food
I just lick salt off my hand after I drink a few shots
I respect more faces then they deserve
only death is the path to end my anxieties
dark poems won't solve anything about life
those tears will later fall along with ruby blood


By Myself 

I will survive by myself, and
everything beyond my limits
away from desires, and choices

I will enjoy seesaw by myself
with sorrows on my side, and
happiness by itself on the side 

I will play
Cricket
Badminton
Basketball
by myself

I will talk very loud on the phone
gossiping to nobody but myself
texting myself hateful messages

I will always miss you by myself
your love was the joys I lived for
now, I’m a mirror with falling tears

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Bio: Ahmad Al-Khatat, was born in Baghdad, Iraq on May 8th. He has been published in several press publications and anthologies all over the world and has poems translated in several languages. He has published two poetry books “The Bleeding Heart Poet” and “Love On The War’s Frontline” which are available on Amazon. Most of his new and old poems are also available on his official page Bleeding Heart Poet on Facebook.

Setu, May 2019