Poems / October 29, 2024

Rimbaud’s Beach

Saadi Youssef

Rimbaud’s Beach is only a mile from the “Elephant Trunk”
where dolphins leap up laughing and Russian women twirl,
where Goldmore Road stretches, and beer like water flows,
where sailors drown among the nymphs.

I was there secretly, observing a blind lighthouse,
watched how the seaweed swayed with the waves.
Aden held a star on her forehead, strove to lift
a bolder off of the oppressed Arabs’ chests.

Is Rimbaud’s Beach still there stretched long
and shimmering in the red setting sun,
like a lighthouse flaunting its light, free, unmatched?
Are there any women swimming in the tranquil sea?

Aden is now gone, and we are finished too.
Let’s ask: What were we then, and who?

(Translated from the Arabic by Khaled Mattawa)

Hold the powerful to account by supporting The Nation

The chaos and cruelty of the Trump administration reaches new lows each week.

Trump’s catastrophic “Liberation Day” has wreaked havoc on the world economy and set up yet another constitutional crisis at home. Plainclothes officers continue to abduct university students off the streets. So-called “enemy aliens” are flown abroad to a mega prison against the orders of the courts. And Signalgate promises to be the first of many incompetence scandals that expose the brutal violence at the core of the American empire.

At a time when elite universities, powerful law firms, and influential media outlets are capitulating to Trump’s intimidation, The Nation is more determined than ever before to hold the powerful to account.

In just the last month, we’ve published reporting on how Trump outsources his mass deportation agenda to other countries, exposed the administration’s appeal to obscure laws to carry out its repressive agenda, and amplified the voices of brave student activists targeted by universities.

We also continue to tell the stories of those who fight back against Trump and Musk, whether on the streets in growing protest movements, in town halls across the country, or in critical state elections—like Wisconsin’s recent state Supreme Court race—that provide a model for resisting Trumpism and prove that Musk can’t buy our democracy.

This is the journalism that matters in 2025. But we can’t do this without you. As a reader-supported publication, we rely on the support of generous donors. Please, help make our essential independent journalism possible with a donation today.

In solidarity,

The Editors

The Nation

Saadi Youssef

Saadi Youssef

More from The Nation

The “Visscher Map of the New World” including North and South America, 1658.

The Impossibly Intertwined History of the Americas The Impossibly Intertwined History of the Americas

A conversation with Greg Grandin about his groundbreaking new book America, América: A New History of the New World.

Books & the Arts / Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins

David Cronenberg, Transformed

David Cronenberg, Transformed David Cronenberg, Transformed

Two works—a new film, The Shrouds, and a career-spanning monograph by the film critic Violet Lucca—present a more sanguine image of the master of body horror.

Books & the Arts / John Semley

Robert Redford in “The Great Gatsby” (1974).

Will There Ever Be Another “Great Gatsby”? Will There Ever Be Another “Great Gatsby”?

A century on, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s great Jazz Age novel still speaks to what ails America.

Books & the Arts / Mark Chiusano

“Blues People” and Black Life: A Conversation With Imani Perry

“Blues People” and Black Life: A Conversation With Imani Perry “Blues People” and Black Life: A Conversation With Imani Perry

We spoke with the scholar about Black in Blues, a poetic exploration of the relationship between the color blue and Black people.

Q&A / Elias Rodriques

9 Ways You Can Save the Internet Right Now

9 Ways You Can Save the Internet Right Now 9 Ways You Can Save the Internet Right Now

Because the danger to cultural preservation has never been greater.

Maria Bustillos

Sigrid Nunez On and Off the Big Screen

Sigrid Nunez On and Off the Big Screen Sigrid Nunez On and Off the Big Screen

Two new films—Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door and Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s The Friend—attempt to adapt her work. Do they succeed?

Books & the Arts / Sarah Chihaya