Event That Did Not Happen

Event That Did Not Happen” is not just a simple poetry collection. It is an attempt to express feelings filled with the burdens and pains

By: Souad Khalil | Libya

The title of Libyan poet Khaled Al-Mahjoub’s collection “Event That Did Not Happen” carries with it a sense of challenge and a question that stimulates the reader’s mind. It draws attention to the search for the meaning behind this ambiguous phrase. Did something happen that did not happen? Is there an inherent contradiction between the concepts of “happening” and “not happening”? These questions open the doors of the collection to the reader, leaving them in a constant state of reflection.

In this collection, Al-Mahjoub does not cease to provide fresh signals regarding the state of the homeland and the individual. While the poet does not directly reveal himself in every poem, his works pulse with feelings of helplessness, defeat, and alienation within his homeland. At the same time, there is a fierce love for the homeland that is filled with pain and disappointment. This is evident in his famous poem “Expatriate,” which speaks to the internal exile in a country ruled by chaos.

Poem: “Expatriate”

“I am no longer the one I was

Here I am, a mere fragment,

Of fragments.

I announce my sorrows

Here I am, a stranger in my homeland.

Some of me is no longer human,

Inside me is anger.

Inside me are two, numbers unknown.

Inside me is wonder,

Inside me are colors

That have no colors.

Inside me is confusion,

Inside me are devils.

Nothing is as it was,

Even those closest to me

Changed the address,

Replaced kindness with cruelty.

Inside me is a ban,

A law suspended.

No longer are equals equal.

My homeland is no longer a place of safety.

Here I am, a coward

When I was not a coward.

And here I see in my homeland,

The devil roams,

Killing the young,

Oh, what a difference,

We become humans,

And our blood,

Sadly, becomes sacrifice.”

“Event That Did Not Happen” is not just a simple poetry collection. It is an attempt to express feelings filled with the burdens and pains suffered by the individual in an age where the words of love, pain, dreams, and reality blur into one. The poet manipulates words and poetic images to offer us multiple dimensions of concepts that may seem simple on the surface, but intersect with everything that affects the Arab individual in the context of wars, exile, and the search for self-identity.

The use of metaphor in Al-Mahjoub’s collection is not merely a linguistic play; it forms an integral part of his poetic vision and philosophy. Through this device, he creates vivid images and characters made of flesh and blood, sometimes drawing on symbols and allusions that transcend the boundaries of the text and evolve into a more existential and philosophical realm. This is particularly clear in his poem “My Face, The Carving of My Tales”, where the poet portrays his face as a map that carries the wrinkles of time, and the stories of both joy and pain. In this sense, the concept of self is inseparable from the mirror of society and history.

Poem: “My Face, The Carving of My Tales”

“This is my face, the one you see,

It carries, within the labyrinth of faces, my identity.

On its lines, the scratches of time.

It carries my joys, sorrows, and pains,

It holds the smile of first love,

And upon its lines, the glimpse of the people of the city of Aden.

Its heat rose, and the cold took its toll,

Its wrinkles bear the weight of late nights, poems, and measures.

On my face, there is some defiance.

Do not pay attention to the colors of my face.

The gray is a mix, all similar,

And I think it’s the honey-like eyes.

And in front of the mirror, I speak to you and smile.

I see myself, and you see, but you do not see…”

Al-Mahjoub’s collection does not just focus on political themes but also delves into human dimensions and emotional meanings that touch the deepest parts of the psyche. The poet meditates on the figure of Soad to embody his love for the homeland, but it goes beyond that, portraying the woman as a symbol of the land and the nation, which remains strong and unbroken despite all the pain it endures. In this context, Soad is not merely a woman in the poem but a symbol of the land and the homeland, which endures, no matter the challenges. In this poem, human and geographical dimensions intertwine, and the vision approaches a narrative structure, infused with the essence of poetry.

Poem: “Words in the Side of the Self”

“They wrote about Soad, said, and the poets composed,

They walked through the rough paths of verses.

And despite what they said, what they wrote in poetry,

Soad remains the greatest in worth.

For Soad transcends their abilities,

And still, Soad holds the power.

She is not an example, for examples may fail,

She is not the sun, for the sun fades to nothing.

She is not the moon, for the moon may disappear at times.

The truth must be told,

For truth does not accept debate,

In Soad, both the sun and the moon converge.

They wrote about Soad, said, and the poets composed,

They walked through the rough paths of verses.

And still, Soad remains the greatest in worth,

And Soad holds the power.

Pure in spirit, sincere in intentions,

In her beauty, reigns the queens of grace.

She is the daughter of the best people,

Who earned their reputation through noble deeds.

She is the homeland we defend,

And it is sweet to fight for her.

For who falls in love with the beautiful one,

Cannot find patience for her love…”

In the poem “My Face, The Carving of My Tales”, the poet elevates the lyrical quality in his description of his face, which becomes a map of all the joys and sorrows he has experienced. This reminds us of classical poetry where the human body is a repository of historical and emotional memories. In this poem, the face is not just a physical feature but a reflection of the poet’s psychological and spatial journey through time, where the wrinkles on his forehead become part of the greater story he has lived.

Event That Did Not Happen is a poetic journey that pulses with life and bitterness. It merges the absurdity of reality with the power of dreams. Through his poems, Khaled Al-Mahjoub presents works that explore themes of pain, love, and nationalism, laced with moments of irony and deep despair. Every page of this book, which spans over 138 pages, contains a story waiting to be told. This collection serves as an invitation for all of us to reflect on our reality, on our selves, and on the hope that may even exist in the darkest of times.

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Souad Khalil is a Libyan writer, poet, and translator. She has been writing on culture, literature and other general topics.

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