Lost lives

Author's name: Youssef Ziedan

What is poetry? This is a persistent question and a fundamental idea that preoccupies the collection "It's Too Late" by the poet Mohamed Abu Zeid. It begins with form and content, moves on to poetry's relationship with a world on the verge of collapse, and ends with the poet himself confronting his poem, as they exchange the question: "What next?" Perhaps Mohamed Abu Zeid is not thinking about reforming the "poetic universe," but rather his own "world," transforming the poem into a complex artistic question that takes shape in his poem, alongside his human experience and personal questions. These questions have gone through stages until they surpassed the stage of staring at the world as a "tragedy," arriving at a state of light buoyancy, reflected in the language he employs and the vision he presents. Meanwhile, his most important question remains: What is poetry?