Amir Or's poetry seamlessly integrates social context, war, signs of barbarism, religion, love, philosophy, and various facets of life. He is a pioneer in crafting new imagery. Some of his poems narrate stories directly, with each line forming a vivid picture. While Plato famously excluded poets from his Republic, Socrates, conversely, underscored the importance of stories in every poem. The stories Amir weaves through his verse are uniquely his own, making him a distinct voice in world poetry. —Hassanal Abdullah

Language Says

Language says: before language stands

a language. Language is traces

stained by over there.

Language says: listen now.

You listen: here was echo.

Take silence and try to be silent.

Take the words and try to speak:

beyond language, language is a wound

from which the world flows and flows.

Language says: is, is not, is,

is not. Language says: I.

Language says: come on, let’s speak you,

let’s touch you; come on, say

you’ve said –

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