Sayed Gouda is an Egyptian poet and novelist. He was born in 1968 in Cairo and he has been living in Hong Kong since 1992. He majored in the Chinese language.
Sayed Gouda won a first prize of poetry in 1990 before he migrated to Hong Kong. He has four books of poetry in the Arabic language and a novel in the English language called “Once Upon a Time in Cairo”. He has translated hundreds of poems from and into Arabic, Chinese, and English.
Currently he is the editor of a tri-lingual literary website called Arabic Nadwah. Sayed Gouda organizes a monthly literary salon in Hong Kong since April 2004. He runs a publication house in Hong Kong mainly to publish Arabic literature translated into English and Chinese. His works translated and published in periodicals around the world. He participated in many international poetry festivals.
Works
- The Smoke of Love – a book of Arabic poetry published in Cairo in 1990
- The Sad Questions of Cassandra – a book of Arabic poetry published in Cairo in 2005
- Between a Broken Dream and Hope – a book of Arabic poetry published in Cairo in 2005
- Once Upon a Time in Cairo – English novel published in Hong Kong in 2006
- Penelope, a Circle of Love – a book of Arabic poetry to be published in Hong Kong in Arabic, Chinese, and English in 2010
- Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry translated in English and Chinese
- Anthology of Modern Chinese Poetry translated in Arabic
- Anthology of Modern English Poetry translated in Arabic
Sayed Gouda’s poems and articles have been published in many newspapers, magazines, and websites in the Arab world as well as Hong Kong and China. He has participated in many international literary festivals.
The sea loves its drowning ones
Carries them to the shores at night
Covers them
With a blanket of longing
Stretches arms to the passers-by
Come to me
To the arms of my waves
I am the sea, thirsty
And love is my water.
I come to you with no nets
Or a lifebuoy
Neither fishing is my concern
Nor from you do I wish salvation
I come to you, a pearl in oyster
A prayer of a drowning soul
In the bottom of your love
Humming a hymn like a glad tiding
That the desert sand
Will embrace the snow
And the sky
Will rain its eternal forgiveness.
Who would separate sand from you?
Who would stop waves from kissing rocks?
…
Oh Sea, who would love God
Without surrendering
To the waves in your eyes?
Wave
Everyday at dawn,
Seagulls call me
I follow them
I tame the proud sea
And print on the lips of the waves
A star’s kiss to the virgin darkness
I sleep on the carpet of waves
Like a prophet
I collect the universe in my eyes
And become a blue wave.
Everyday at dawn
Seagulls call me
I follow them!
Poetry in this post: © Sayed Gouda
Published with the permission of Sayed Gouda