Iraqi poet Fadhil al-Azzawi has a wonderful new book of selected poems, Miracle Maker, from BOA Editions., translated by Khaled Mattawa.

Write your name on every pain

Shall I say "History begins here,
and here the history of death dies?"
"Write, Abdullah, your history on a wave."
I said "What shall I write?
Shall I write about myself while I lick my wound?
Shall I write about a country being murdered?
Shall I write about a voice crying out in the wilderness?
"Write your name on every pain,
for the pangs of birth are cruel."  ¶ 1:34 PM