Zakaria Mohammed was born in Palestine in 1951. Poet, novelist, dramaturg, journalist and editor. He studied arab literature in the University of Bagdad and had worked for the palestinian Ministry of Culture. He's one of the directors of the Sakakini Cultural Centre in Ramallah. His poetry is considered to be one of the most important in contemporary arab poetry. Some of his books of poetry are: Sun Stroke; The Last Poems; Handicrafts; Jawad Yejtaar Eskidaar.
They're all gone
towards that place in the North
where the grasses grow
to the height of their breasts
...
Many birds fly swiftly over my head
Their sticks in their beaks to build their homes
My home hasn't been built yet
...
Here the dead are carousing
Here they shake their heads
to the music of shroud bells.
...
At night the rose is dark
At night a black bull
flies from the rose
...
الحصان
يركض بلا فارس
الشمس
تلمع على عنقه وكفله
الحصان
يركض على أرض العشب والحجر
الطيور التي شاهدته أغمضت عيونها
الرجال الذين رأوه جمدهم البرق
كلهم أبصر الهاوية
إلا الحصان الذي كان يجري إليها
هوى الحصان في الهاوية
قبل أن يصرخ طائر
قبل أن يفك البرق قيوده
هوى الحصان
صار ظله غيمة سوداء
فوق الوديان.
...