Abu Shayeb was born in the village of Deir Ghusun in 1958, and obtained a BA in Arabic Literature from Jordan’s Yarmouk University in 1983. He worked as a teacher, a graphic designer, and is also an art critic. He has several poetry collections, and is considered one of the most promising poets in the Arab world.
Martyr
they found him
luminous, green, in the field.
When they raise his hands
the grasses under them had turned to hearts.
It is said:
wheatstalks bloomed beneath his sleeves.
It is said:
the birds carried his blood
to his beloved cousins.
He shall return
Blossoming with volcanoes,
and fill again his mother's breasts.
When they found him green as light
they shrouded him with rose buds,
they spread out the sky to lay him on
and made the sun his pillow.