Perhaps I was


in your coffee,

scent of cinnamon

after too long;

spice of life.

Yet for you

I traversed

the Silk Roads,

entered tribal lands,

became lost.

Sacred songs

encircled me,

of wildness

and love,

holy longing.

In this desert,

arid and mysterious,

your lips

are like


Are you an oasis

or mirage?

I cannot tell.

Still, I drink deeply

of you,

subsisting on


your lingering reflection

in this shimmery well

of dreams.



I am

an ancient city,

my love.

Of stark poetry,

of hidden delights

and unseen treasures,

a womb in the desert

you may return to



You may see me as

crumbling walls

and ramshackle forts,

desperate hunger

and impoverishment,

but in the patient quiet of the night

I am vividly alive,

lighting the sky

with the soft glow of my million hazy stars;

singing my lullabies that are

traditional story-songs,

my willowy melodies

gently haunting.


I will lead you down my long romantic winding pathways,

into the hidden crevices of myself,

and there you will glimpse

my illustrious manuscripts,

read my magnificent golden script,

the vastness of my humanity

and my wisdom


and laid bare

for you.



my love,


inside my city,


inside my story,


inside me.

Hamza Al Din


Nothing in this world is as amazing as something that is neither clear not unclear.

I was contained
within the hypnotic rhythm of the desert
the way cloudy wine of the Sufi
floats within a clay vessel.
My heart danced
and inside it the Nile was a whisper of majestic hypnotic sound,
a winding river
meandering on a musical journey
through mysterious Time.

Beat of the tar,
shimmering curtains of reverberating strings, thickly woven skeins of melody
that I channeled through my fingers as they plucked oud.
Materializing complex tapestries of ancient sound,
evoking magic
out of thin desert air.

I can tell you
that there was a richness to this life.
It was a richness
like the sheen upon the surface
of a pot of Turkish coffee.
It was the richness of date syrup;
how sweet it was!
It was a quality of light,
like the delicate dawn some mornings
of my childhood,
the sun’s rays spread in gentle waves over the desert, billowing,
like my mother’s skirts
in the breeze.
And behind the whistling play of hot wind I heard within my own Nubian ears a twisting symphony
of flutes.

Between each note,
silence speaks.
Music quivering upon the depths of the quiet.
My gentle song was always soft whispers,
of what lay beyond
in invisibility.

Like the fragrance of jasmine,
so subtle, yet so sweetly aromatic.

Reach beyond the bounds of yourself, the thin curtain, into the depths…
and there you will find me, your own ancestor,
archivist of the human heart,
a greater library than ever thrived in Alexandria,
where the spark of knowledge
emerges out of the void
and sacredness lives beyond simple light
and sound.



I am:
I am
mad for God,
crazy for journeying
through the world
singing my inner song
to the wind and the dirt grooves of the road,
to the stubbly grass and ancient watching trees,
to the blossoming flowers that grow
along the way.
A wild string of
heartfelt words,
each note
a cry
from the depths.
please return to me.
I am seeking the
“moner manush.”
The man
of my very own
So I will walk the path that knows no bounds.
I will keep playing my ektara,
plucking the strings,
pouring out my soul
in one ephemeral moment
of delicious touch.
I will wander like a minstrel
through the faraway lands
of my own consciousness.
she has learned what she wanted to know,
but only she understands.



I once was an islamic poet, presiding over my table at the cafe in Sudan,
drinking coffee sweetly scented with cardamom,
telling folktales…
Then was an Ethiopian expatriate, gathered with friends
at Dunkin Donuts in Central Square, debating politics
over styrofoam cups of cold coffee,
nibbling stale French crullers…
And throughout my journeys across this world,
I held the power of language close to my bosom,
my poet’s pen poised in the breast-pocket of my jalabiya…
and from my heart poured forth
my song:



I dreamed of you, my lover
each night, 
until you came 
to me.

Like halwa 
you were sweet to the taste,
like guava, like mango,
that I relished, so sweet
to me.

And still I craved more,
and tossed and turned 
in my sleep,
still called you again
to me.

So I will search for you 
to the ends of the Earth,
recreate you anew,
somehow bring you 
to me.

For this is what
the sweetness of
your love
to me.

So I have fasted
like a holy man
on Ramadan
and though I may break my fast
with a handful of dates,
I will not be satisfied
until I am one
with you.