A Body of Sound in Arabic and English

Gregg Chadwick
A Body of Sound
30"x22" monotype on paper
Courtesy the Julie Nester Gallery

The writer Farouq Salloum recently sent me a poem inspired by my artwork The Body of Sound. Mr. Salloum's lilting words swirl and fix a passing image.

The poem is posted below in the original arabic version and is followed by the english translation by Farouq Salloum.
Thank you Farouq!

من اسئلة الجسد والوساوس
من زهرة الشهوات على وسادة السرير
من زخارف الكلمات على رنين هواتفك
حيث اتوهم انك تحتويني .. اتوهم انني احتويك
انثى هابطه من جحيم اللذائذ
وآدم حائر في ندم ايامه على الأرض
هو عطرك الذي يملأ المكان
كأنك هنا دائما
نعيد ترف وحدتنا بالفصول ..
بالجسد الحاني .. وبالغناء
*
A body of sound
جسد الصوت
لوحة
Gregg Chadwick
By: Farouq Salloum


A Body of Sound
-by Farouq Salloum

You spring up from the magic space of my forest
from the Questions of body and whispers
from the flower of desires on the pillow
from the ornementation of words on your phones calls
as an Illusion where you comprise me
... a falling female from the hell of pleasures

The World Needs to Keep its Eyes on Iran

Against the Light - سهراب - Sohrab
29"x69" oil on screen 2009 (detail)

"Also arrested were the mother and brother of Sohrab Aarabi, a young Iranian man slain during protests in June."
- Los Angeles Times - 28 December 2009
Leading Iranian dissidents arrested, body of Mousavi's nephew missing


"This is a very important moment in Iranian history, and it is probably time to start asking whether Iran's uprising could become a Berlin Wall moment. It's not just an issue of the sporadic protests once or twice a month... It's also one of the most vibrant and imaginative civil disobedience campaigns anywhere in the world."
- Robin Wright, author of "Dreams and Shadows: The Future of the Middle East," from a conversation with CNN.