NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE Nothing between me and here Nothing between me and here a collection of poems and paintings MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN An Ovi Magazine Books Publication 2022 Ovi Project Publication - All material is copyright of the Ovi magazine & the writer C Ovi books are available in Ovi magazine pages and they are for free. If somebody tries to sell you an Ovi book please contact us immediately. For details, contact: submissions@ovimagazine.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior permission of the writer or the above publisher of this book. NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE An Ovi Magazine Books Publication 2022 Ovi Project Publication - All material is copyright of the Ovi magazine & the writer C Nothing between me and here Nothing between me and here a collection of poems and paintings MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN Acknowledgments This is a collection of MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN ’s poems written in a period of happiness and sadness respectfully. MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN is an artist who writes poems while he paints and paints writing poetry. His paintings represent thoughts while his poetry pictures feelings. A man of optimism who born in Syria and after crossing all the deserts he lives and cre- ates the last ten years in Finland. Most of the poems where originally written in Arabic, translated by the poet himself and HAGBART SOLLØS . Final polish and lay out by THANOS KALAMIDAS All the painitngs are MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN ’s works. NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE Acknowledgments The sound of Moustafa Al Yassin’s poetry Good Evening - Good Night Nothing Between Me and Here Disappearing by the Breast Sometimes I can be as Happy as Happy Striking Beauty Saddle Over the Horse of Memory Waves of Warm Ocean Monuments of Seven Boats Reason Honour of Love Kiss and Sky Poetry Pieces from the Burning Scale The Lotus Flower Seeds page 4 page 7 page 9 page 11 page 14 page 17 page 18 page 20 page 23 page 25 page 27 page 30 page 34 page 36 page 46 page 49 MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE The sound of Moustafa Al Yassin’s poetry Reading Moustafa Al Yassin ’s poetry there were many times I was searching somewhere in my inner world for the music. I don’t mean lyrics, the music instruments or the band but the music that comes from the poem themselves. That’s the only way I can describe Moustafa’s po- etry – I have the honour to call him friend so he will excuse my familiarity – his poetry is music of feelings, ideas and pictures. Old and new loves are there, the thing that happened and the things that will happen are there. His poetry is like a tsunami that overwhelms you and makes you search for your own todays and tomorrows. And the best part is in the unfinished verses, the ones you want to fill with your own poems, your own experiences and your own feelings. Moustafa Al Yassin’s poetry defies the excesses of modern poetry and like an acrobat balances between the Arabian nights and the northern light. But then again both identify him, a Syrian who lives in Finland. Almost schizophrenic. Almost surreal. Definitely poetic. And all that only in the title of one of his poems; “ Nothing between me and here ” Just stop for a minute close your eyes and think of it, “ Nothing between me and here ” is not just a poem as a personal apocalypses and not only for the poet but for the reader. Dante’s inferno ! Where the soul is standing facing herself naked, veiled with feelings and needs. And then is love; Moustafa Al Yassin is in love. He is in love in every single verse of this collection. He is in love with sadness and happiness; he is in love in sorrow and bliss. He loves women but he warships love! And he warships life, and he warships humanity. He lives and breathes in his poems and he invites you to share those feelings. Not just touch them, not just understand them but share them. The rest ...is up to you! Thanos Kalamidas MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE Good Evening - Good Night Good Evening Good Night Hello The kings of the whole world The kings of the world have been sleeping in the dark corners under their crowns -a human being under their beings -a bed under their beds - a grave Hello overall believe me you know the truth we are all in the same boat MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE Nothing Between Me and Here Still am here and nothing else between me and here, do not wander nothing else than the whole forgotten people in my bar they are angels and the history and the history that has a story and the stories that have a breast and the breasts that feeding the history the unready grapefruit you do know...... it might be that I have never seen that fruit and what it will help is still a crown a jewellery among jewellery “silence for five minutes” are you from this bar? “three minutes silence,” my friend the mistaken is not on the leg nothing around has hips and no meaning of fountain of love if the hug can not carry the meaning of being MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN Do you know? yesterday I have been closing all the holes of my flute do not ask why! it was just a shy moment I have to fire a new method on the journey of the street people that they are selling the last drop of their joyful unknown spring My friend ... .are we concerned by consciousness or uncon- sciousness ? oh my friend... do you know his name it was forgiven do you know he was the strongest, the highest, the calling, the taking, the dreamer, the night-meaning, the creativity and the address my friend do you know what is the limit between the tempera- ture of the fire and the beauty of the almond tree? NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE IT IS JUST THE ACCIDENT OH...I FORGOT TO ASK; ARE YOU FROM THIS BAR? IF YOU ARE, DO NOT ASK FROM THE DEVIL A FLOWER! YOU ARE TWO ARMS AND ONE LEG OH MY FRIEND DO NOT BE WORRIED TODAY THE DEVIL WHOSE WATCHING US FROM BEHIND THIS WINDOWS HAS ONLY ONE EYE DROPPING IN THIS GLASS FROM THE DRUNKEN BOTTLE IT HAS A LONG JOURNEY MY FRIEND I HAVE BEEN WALKING ALL THE WAY CARRYING IN MY HAND MY FEET AND HERE I RISE THE HUNGER IN ME THOUGH THE TIME IS OVER IT MIGHT BE THE VOICE OF DREAMS IT MIGHT BE THE VOICE OF GOD BUT HERE, IN HERE STILL, THERE IS A PLACE AND TIME FOR HIM WHO WHANT TO BE A HUMAN BEEING AND LOVE FOR THE HUMAN BEEING MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN Disappearing by the Breast He disappeared in the knowledge of the revolution of the breast equalling with all being Spartacus rising the voice of love over the touching table of the last supper Empty me I will empty you emptiness what will help each fingerprint on the glass equal with to your being for the chance and possibility still I do search I connect the corner of the struggler by the window of the traveller and I find a glowing river a glowing river Two seconds you have to drown with me in the eye of love and if you can not see me in this sentence glow in the river behind me This scheme might have a straight thought and a little bird can arrive to the garden of your house traveller may be this bird NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE Or may he is coming to stay forever or may he is coming to make a new swing of Damascus, feeling in your old testament Grapefruit is the hand that can reserve the first storm from the ocean and we are the first who can listen to the seabird screaming from nowhere understanding the storm from nowhere understanding the ocean but we travel and we sing and we always go somewhere and we come back somewhere MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE Sometimes I can be as Happy as Happy Glad I am mostly glad the same like the little star in my horoscope I am watching the milky-way glad as I wish because two days ago or more I have burned a beautiful caravan in the journey from here to the Mercury The distance, the organise of the distance has been much fur- ther longer than the dream of Shiraff feeding my own dreams and the distance was much nearer than Capricorn which imagine over this distant my sadness Are we going to correct the history yes we can here in the milk-way of course correct Here is the free bird way here is the human being way here is the way and away and away here is the rest of love And here you may divide it to all a moon on Bagdad a star on Beirut a jasmine on Damascus Promise over the glass limit tear the same size as this universe cleaning the victim and the killer glad as a drop in the ocean Noah is drowning now I could say he will never ask us to court or judge us as glad as the ocean I will whisper to you MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN Striking Beauty This year I loved half of the possibilities of my chance And I walked half steps No knowledge Backwards and forwards and I cut my dream as a professional Sharayar To the rest of this Friday that small tale is riding half on my cheeks half turning over to the Holy place and I wake up half of the love which has been secret this morning my friend not because I am in love but there is a Pistachio - Paradise over that river - on the other side of the river calling the clouds and that river is still confused Me too - I swear; confused between two walls and cut in the air half of the castle is free on this earth God is calling Half of the Angels around the Bazaar - house in this dream the knowledge is written and there is a sound from a coffin NOTHING BETWEEN ME AND HERE And I am half in love and half dead and half knowledge MOUSTAFA AL YASSIN Saddle Over the Horse of Memory Still it is, mixing the first lines the father has been drawing over the white paper Describing the first horse my eyes has ever seen But that horse was running away So much has been mixed this lines. Forty Years And still I am the one who wander And still I am the one who is running behind my horse Once calling the horse another time singing And sometimes by the hidden colour and the beauty of the space So on till this moment Five running away lines over the monument on the wall of memory, which still I love And searching in it There is a horse on the horizon