I S S U E 7

Ali Al-Jamri

comes the sea

we park so close to the sea         the toyota catches the spray 

watching the construction site         gobbling jasmi’s         you say

that’s where we’re implanting     the new heart of the country

i try to say something pithy about the coral reefs         you jabber

 just wait & see                      we live in times of perpetual progress 

of course you are right                               yes you are right

despite the war in iraq          the second intifada         hariri’s murder                     we are living in an oil boom         & we won’t be caught in a bust                   
bahrain’s investing         untold metric tonnes of sand into the sea                       land reclamation—land reclamation—that’s what we name the process
siphoning oil     burying sand     reshaping the contours of the shore

 growing our mass         like the oil grows our gdp

later

 tugging the fat         hugging my belly         i wonder
how bahrain will contain us         & how the sea will contain bahrain          
& will bahrain still deserve to be named after the sea         when
we’ve made the gulf into a plain         the next day        
i watch the machines taking back the sea         rejecting
bounties of pearls & shells         for fintech & hotels

months surge                    into years

the financial                       harbour    

      no longer an                architect’s vision

       plastering                   every billboard

  now towers of                 metal & glass 

        rise like a                  two-finger salute 

years come to a day 

we sit in the car again        you’re saying        feel that electric heartbeat

are you talking about     your pacer     the car engine     the hum
of the financial harbour?         we park where we parked before 

glass glitters in the sun     i can no longer see it     i say we’ve occupied the sea 

two chins shake with your reply     like palestine is occupied     i should say
you don’t care about palestine     but you continue     palestine is a shame
& iraq is a shame         but this financial harbour is our arab confidence 

built by overpaid brits & exploited indians

time surges

we park as close as security allows         a dust storm smatters the mercedes with its chaffing kisses     we eat lamb tikkas     the meat from new zealand     you joke    bahrain is now many miles nearer to new zealand     i sigh     i miss
my mother’s cooking           you retch over the wheel & cry         the price
of fish has skyrocketed        streaming tears     your granny’s menu of stuffed hamoor & grilled chan’ad & endless samach saafi     just a childhood
memory     you chug heart medication     i flick on the radio     drowning us

Ali Al-Jamri is a Bahraini British poet, translator, and editor.