I know that many of the Poetry Friday regulars get the same array of daily poetry newsletters and so this poem landed in your inbox too. But it has stuck with me and compelled me to read it over and over again.
It is a love letter to terror.
It elaborates on all the wonders of life that would not exist without the darkness of terror. Here on the brink of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere, the coexistence of darkness and light are played out right outside our windows. Here in the United States, the coexistence of darkness and light are played out in the graft of politics and the care of neighbors for each other.
Last night in a conversation with like-minded folks, we talked about the importance of inviting grief or depression or negative thoughts to come in for a cup of cocoa; the importance of letting those visitors have their say and then kindly showing them to the door. I feel like this poem does just that, treating terror with merciful respect, while celebrating all the positive that exists because of terror.
The (Palestinian) poet writes
“I wrote this poem because I was thinking about security—how, in its name, we wage wars, round up political activists, install surveillance cameras, build walls, carry more weapons. How we cross to the other side of the street when we see someone approaching, avoid love, suspect kindness, and villainize the stranger.”
—Dalia Taha
and the translator writes
“While translating Dalia Taha’s ‘Enter Terror,’ I kept looking over my shoulder to check that ‘terror’ was, in fact, what was being so tenderly addressed—and not something much less sinister. The speaker in this poem cannot imagine a world without terror. If this poem acts subversively, it does so by repurposing the worst shape of fear—terror—as companion; like love, it keeps us restlessly awake to the world’s beauty and ruin.”
—Sara Elkamel
Here are a couple of my favorite parts of Enter Terror:
Without you, no one would read the same sentence
a second time, breathless,
before setting the book aside
to pace from one room to the next.
And without you, there would be no lines to draw
under striking lines in the books of poetry and philosophy
that now rest serenely by your bed,
after having moved universes;
after changing worlds.
.
…without you
people would not gather on pitch black nights;
they would not light candles or invent lullabies.
Without you, no one would ever know
that stories told in whispers
are the only way to contend with night.
Which lines resonated with you?
Michelle has this week’s Poetry Friday round up at MoreArt4All.
Interested in hosting a Poetry Friday roundup in January – June 2026? There are still spaces available! The signup is here.
(stack of books photo via Unsplash)
A(nother) Year of Reading 