Hassane Yarti – Morocco / Spain
Hassane Yarti is an internationally recognized author, editor, anthologist, translator, and graphic designer whose work bridges cultures and languages. Born in Ksar El Kebir, Morocco, and now based in Barcelona, Spain, Yarti has built a distinguished career dedicated to literature, intercultural dialogue, and the promotion of artistic expression worldwide.
He holds an Honorary Doctorate in Linguistics and Translation and serves as an Honorary Advisor to the Women’s Chair Association under the auspices of the United Nations. Yarti is also the Global Ambassador for the World Union of Arts and Literature (UN-IFAL), a role through which he advocates for peace, cultural understanding, and the power of literature as a unifying force.
As an author and anthologist, his contributions span poetry, essays, and collaborative literary projects, many of which have been published internationally. His works have been translated into more than a dozen languages including English, French, Italian, Spanish, German, Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, and Turkish, allowing his message to resonate with readers across continents.
Beyond writing, Yarti is deeply engaged in the creative and publishing process, using his skills as an editor and graphic designer to bring literary projects to life with both intellectual depth and visual elegance. His work consistently reflects a commitment to multiculturalism, global solidarity, and the belief that literature is a powerful catalyst for social change.
SURVIVAL
I tear through the night’s darkness,
uttering scattered words
like stray drops of the eye,
tracing the steps of hastened life
to water the soil of my fate.
From afar I smell my grave…
With trembling fingers I touch
a stone scented by ancient blood,
and whisper…
“Here the drowned one rests.”
But how…?
when he carries a thousand thorns.
Was he meant to depart long ago,
or to remain…?
In this unbearable universe
it is hard to speak to myself,
like a breath tinted with pride
hiding the fire of longing
inside a wail of darkened cries,
scattered through echoes,
entwined with what remains of a dream,
climbing the stair of bygone wishes,
with a heart pierced by shards of ash,
and a dream imprisoned in its cave,
buried beneath the dust,
appearing from afar like a mirage.
It stumbles between the desire to stay
and other desires, black.
+++
REFUGE
In vain I remain
in a land that will not return my love.
By your hands
my nightly torment will end.
Cross out my name…
Trade me hatred,
O cities of weeping.
I chose you as a homeland,
be the earth.
Be my sky.
It is a chance for love
I watch through ages;
so accept me,
lover or refugee.
Ah you..
an embrace that overflows in holding me.
What shall I do
when night comes
to convince you of my love,
my truth,
my belonging?
Ah woman
who travels in my vein,
I come to you,
leaving my self
and my country behind me.
Night crawls toward us…
Decide,
I have no homeland but you.
You are my final exile,
and you are to me…
every woman.
++++
I SHALL LEAVE
To whom shall I speak?
And my words are a heavy puzzle
Understood only by a few
Perhaps it’s time for farewell
And the rituals of departure,
I shall leave.
I am leaving a trace of love
And the sighs of a wounded heart
How I longed for the winds,
And I sang like a wanderer
Yet few have heard my melody
I forgive the sorrow
For it rendered me stone-hearted
And a deep sea,
I shall leave.
And for the memory of beloved ones…
Deep love
And heartfelt gratitude,
I shall close my mailbox
I shall close my eyes
And prevent the tears
From flowing.
In this place, I leave a flower
And love…
For a beautiful past.
++
Hassane Yarti’s poems are filled with deep emotion and a quiet strength that speaks to the human experience. They are not simply words on a page but reflections of a soul that has faced both darkness and light. With Survival, Yarti takes the reader into the heart of a personal struggle that feels timeless and universal. The images of graves, thorns, and scattered cries remind us that life is often full of hardship, yet his lines also carry the weight of determination. The poem is a meditation on the will to live, to keep moving forward even when hope feels distant. It reflects the experience of many who face challenges, whether they are emotional, spiritual, or part of the larger struggles of society. Yarti shows that survival is not just about continuing to breathe but about continuing to dream, even when dreams seem buried in dust.
In Refuge, Yarti explores themes of belonging, displacement, and love in a way that reaches beyond the personal and touches on the collective. The poem speaks to anyone who has felt like a stranger in their own land or searched for a place to call home. The homeland he seeks can be a country, a relationship, or a state of peace within the heart. His words suggest that love can become a homeland when the world feels unwelcoming, and this transforms the idea of exile into a journey of the soul. Yarti’s poem invites the reader to consider where their own refuge lies, whether in a person, a memory, or in faith that tomorrow will bring acceptance. This search for refuge is one of the most universal human experiences, and through gentle yet powerful images, he reminds us that love can be both shelter and destiny.
I Shall Leave becomes a quiet farewell to pain, a ritual of letting go that feels both intimate and ceremonial. Yarti speaks not with anger but with a sense of gratitude, as though even sorrow has taught him something about the depth of life. The act of leaving a flower behind feels symbolic of honoring the past while stepping into a new beginning. His words reflect the journey we all face at moments of transition, when we must say goodbye to what we once loved and trust that the future will hold new meaning. The poem carries an atmosphere of peace, forgiveness, and quiet strength. Together, these poems create a portrait of a poet who embraces life in all its complexity, who invites the reader to reflect on survival, love, and farewell as essential parts of the human story.
