Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
If I don’t return,
don’t seek me in beds or dreams.
I’ve become rain
spilling from the eyes of a retiree cat on the stairs.
My form now a kettle
boiling with longing.
My voice, cracked and dry,
from pleading too long in mud.
Put flowers not on a grave
but on the dinner plate
for I will join you there,
in the bread,
in the steam of coffee,
in laughter bursting too soon
like a mirror too fragile for love.
If you wish to speak,
speak to the wind all tangled in curtains.
If you wish to cry,
I will harvest your tears
and plant them behind the house.
One day, a tree will bloom
its leaves whispering with my voice,
its shadow resembling
somebody you still cherish.
H.MAR Brunei
The Empty Chair that Hugs Your Breath
The chair is still warm,
although you vanished yesterday.
Even the sky is guilty:
why will the pillow not own up to its loss?
I rest in your memory
an empty space that’s forgotten how to remember.
The floorboards creak,
not beneath footsteps,
but beneath prayers that never learned to find their way out of the throat.
A cup of tea goes cold,
even though I fill remembrance into it each morning.
And that chair
still retains your breath,
like air refusing to be released.
H.MAR Brunei
Author Biography
Dr. Haji Mohd Ali bin Haji Radin, known by his pen name H.MAR, was born on 5 August 1968 in Brunei Darussalam. He holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Malay Literature from Universiti Brunei Darussalam and currently serves as a Senior Language Officer at Language and Literature Bureau, under the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports, Brunei Darussalam. He began writing in 1984, producing works across various genres including poetry, short stories, novels, drama, and essays. His literary works have been published both domestically and internationally, and translated into multiple languages worldwide. His local publications include Hidup Yang Mati (Anthology of Poems and Short Stories, 1996), Kota Kaca (Novel, 2003 & 2020), Taman ‘O’ (Anthology of Drama and Short Stories, 2003), Gelora (Poetry Collection, 2011 & 2023), Exotis (Short Story Collection, 2018), Taman Mimpi (Drama Collection, 2021) and Pemanah Bulan (Poetry Collection, 2025), all published by Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Brunei. Internationally, his works include حديقة الفلسفة / Philosophy Garden (Poetry Collection, Morocco, 2022, The Association La Vague Culturelle), Jardins Du Rire (Drama Collection, Egypt, 2023, Diwan Al Arab), Garden X (Short Pieces Collection, Egypt, 2023, Diwan Al Arab), KAMEO Y Las Cartas Perdidas (Short Story Collection, Egypt, 2023, Diwan Al Arab), Moon Archer (Poetry Collection, Egypt, 2023, Diwan Al Arab), Taman O (Drama Collection, Malaysia, 2024, Nusa Centre), Arciere della Luna (Poetry Collection, Egypt, 2025, Diwan Al Arab), and قمرٌ دمويّ / Bloody Moon (Poetry Collection, Egypt, 2025, Diwan Al Arab). H.MAR’s literary works have been translated into English, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Arabic, Chinese, Mexican Spanish, Colombian Spanish, Serbian, Albanian, Macedonian, Uzbek, Turkish, Greek, Nepali, Urdu, and Korean. H.MAR is the recipient of the “Borneo Book Award” Special Book Award from the National Book Development Foundation, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 2025.
