Zeina Azzam

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Zeina Azzam is a Palestinian American poet, writer, editor, and community activist. She was selected as the Poet Laureate of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, in April 2022 and serves in this position for three years, from 2022 to 2025. Her full-length poetry collection, Some Things Never Leave You, was published in July 2023 by Tiger Bark Press. Zeina's chapbook, Bayna Bayna, In-Between, was published in 2021 by The Poetry Box, which nominated one of her poems ("Traveling with the Speed of Light") for the Pushcart Prize. Zeina's poetry appears in a number of literary journals including Prairie SchoonerPleiades, Plume, Split This Rock, and Beltway Poetry Quarterly, among others. In addition, Zeina’s poems are published in anthologies and edited volumes such as Bettering American PoetryMaking Mirrors: Writing/Righting by and for RefugeesResilient Kitchens: American Immigrant Cooking in a Time of Crisis, and Gaza Unsilenced. In addition to participating regularly in poetry readings locally and nationally, Zeina serves as a mentor for We Are Not Numbers, a writing program for youth in Gaza, and volunteers for humanitarian organizations that support Palestinian development. She is also active in Grassroots Alexandria, a local group that advocates for the civil rights of vulnerable communities in Alexandria, Virginia, where she lives. Her educational background includes an M.A. in Arabic literature from Georgetown University, an M.A. in sociology from George Mason University, and a B.A. in psychology from Vassar College. Source (Photo credit: Jeff Norman)

Nine Spice Mix

First they tango on my tongue,

nimble couples careening,

then together

form an Arab-style line dance

stepping, stomping, swaying.

 

West Indies allspice dazzles,

berries tangling with cinnamon sticks,

while cloves, Indonesian natives,

lead with a spirited solidarity solo.

 

Coriander seeds offer greetings in Hindi

as others toast comrades in languages

beyond borders and blockades.

 

Lifting up sisterhood, sun-wizened nutmeg

starts a sibling dance with mace.

Cumin demurs, then surprises

with subtle exultation.

 

Queen of spices cardamom,

host of the party, gives a nod to flavors

in hiding: lemony, sweet, warm, 

fragrant, nutty, pungent, hot.

 

Encouraged, feisty black peppercorns

shimmy center stage, organizing

the unique union of nine

for a vivacious global salute.

Published:

2022

Length:

Regular

Literary Movements:

Contemporary

Anthology Years:

2025

Themes:

Food

Intersectionality & Culture

Joy & Praise

Literary Devices:

Alliteration

the repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of words appearing in succession

Anthropomorphism

the attribution of human characteristics or behavior to a god, animal, or object

Asyndeton

the absence of a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so…) between phrases and within a sentence

Personification

the attribution of human qualities to a non-human thing

Transferred Epithet

When an adjective usually used to describe one thing is transferred to another.