Welad Nas
By Hedayat Reda
Identifies with the nation of Egypt
Previously appeared on girlwithoneearring.com
Tongues twist
tattling tales of impurity—
like where we went to bed
last night and what we drank
for dinner.
Generations upon generations
have built this land
your father’s father’s grandfather…
Bent meen? بنت مين?
Who is her mother?
Where did she go to school?
What does her father do?
We watch ourselves afraid
they will unearth
our secrets.
Words cannot describe what you made me feel: fucking everything. Mesh tay2ah, bas bahebo?
You weren’t there for me. We can’t start over again.
K*ssomo.
We once thought
we owed them nothing—
the pashas and the princes…
lazy dreamers ablaze in
fiery hope. Now we rest
in judgment and in blame.
Today we gather our
prestige and hang it
at the door.
We soak ourselves in
limestone and in barley.
A new world order
in the making.
Hedayat Reda is an Egyptian experimental writer and blogger (girlwithoneearring.com) who dabbles in different genres and styles.She uses writing as a way to figure out the world, and give a voice to the voiceless. Hedayat is (sort of) pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at the City College of New York (it has been on hold since Covid). Her work has been published in 433 Online Magazine, Promethean Literary Journal, The Marbled Sigh, and on the Womena website, amongst other publications. For a living, Hedayat currently works in Marketing/Communications at Mashtal Garden Centers— selling plants. Hedayat believes in the value of sharing our experiences to create a more connected global narrative. She lives in suburban Cairo with her family and dog Milo.