from No Faith At All

THE SON OF AN ACCLAIMED SYRIAN ACTIVIST FINDING HIS OWN LEGACY

LAHAB ASSEF AL-JUNDI

Lahab Assef Al-Jundi was born and raised in Damascus, Syria.

After immigrating to the United States, he earned a degree in Electrical Engineering and discovered his passion for writing poetry. He published his first collection, A Long Way, in 1985.

The son of acclaimed Syrian poet Ali Al- Jundi, the younger Al-Jundi writes poetry, mainly in English, that transcends ethnic themes to address issues of universal significance. Both political and personal, his richly evocative poems reveal a refined consciousness, a keen perceptiveness, and a serious engagement with humane concerns.

His poetry has appeared in numerous literary publications and many anthologies including: In These Latitudes, Ten Contemporary Poets, edited by Robert Bonazzi, Inclined to Speak, An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry, edited by Hayan Charara, and Between Heaven and Texas, edited by Naomi Shihab Nye.

His poems were selected in 2009 and 2010 by The Poetry Society of America for display on Dallas’ DART trains (Poetry In Motion Program) and on San Antonio’s VIA Transit system buses (Poetry On The move program).

His latest poetry collection No Faith At All was published in 2014.

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LIKE SALT

By Lahab Assef Al-Jundi

I once dreamt I was being chased

by a shepherd in a desert.

-

I, briefcase in hand, in blue suit,

pressed white shirt and red necktie.

-

He, clutching a long wooden staff,

in flowing tan gallabiya and checkered

black and white headdress.

-

I stopped and spun around to face him.

My shock was met by his—

-

I was looking into my own eyes!

He was seeing his face

as he stared at mine.

-

Arab American.

-

Does one end

where the other beings—

Two countries separated by a border?

-

Or do they overlap—

Floodlights of different colors?

-

Merge

like salt, silt and sand—

River finding sea?

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SUBMISSION

By Lahab Assef Al-Jundi

I surrendered

to death

-

Plodded to her with my

Certificate of capitulation

-

She signed it—

Resurrection

-

Looked at me and sighed. Beat it

I have other things to do

-

I burned the document

and ambled off

~

I went to love and pleaded

Take me

Do with me as you please

-

If you are wine

I will drink you

Till this soberness is completely gone

-

If you are light

Please let me immerse myself in you

Let me breathe you

Till I am glowing from the inside out

-

There is no deeper longing than this

-

Love smiled and said

I am you

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THE OTHER SIDE OF PARADOX

By Lahab Assef Al-Jundi

Center

is stillness

-

Sight

no guarantee for light

-

Shadow

means nothing by itself

-

How long to dwell on death

to delight in life?

-

Have all questions been answered?

What if the answer is no?

-

Truth?

It is our shadow.

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DO NO HARM

By Lahab Assef Al-Jundi

Nothing is wrong with Spring Break

but some linger there

for decades,

start a war.

-

We can imagine

a world in peace.

What is hard to grasp

is why those who can

do not.

-

Every empire, Roman to Ottoman,

f---ed things up and died.

Let us change course

while

there is time.

-

I see perfection

as I look back under my wing.

Ahead

a warm kitchen

and a good

friend.

All poems from No Faith At All (San Antonio, Texas: Pecan Grove Press, 2014.) Copyright © 2014 by Lahab Assef Al-Jundi. Reprinted with the permission of the author, 2014.