On May 11th, the third day of the 2026 International Youth Poetry Festival, over a hundred Chinese and Arab poets made their way to Shenzhen. Amidst landmarks like the Eyes of the GBA, spontaneous poetic exchanges unfolded at every turn.

On the tour bus, Su Qifei, a poet from Guangdong, China, found himself sitting next to Ali Al-Attar, an Iraqi poet. Using a translation app on their phones, they began a conversation about poetry, centering on the metaphor that "one's mother tongue is like one's mother." When Ali brought up Sufi poetics, Su responded by invoking the classical Chinese poetic idea of "meaning beyond words," remarking, "Where language stops, a poem is truly born." At lunch, Ali chose to sit with the Chinese poets. Lü Bubu, a poet from Shaanxi, shared with him how her creative work connects the Qinling Mountains with Shenzhen, reflecting on how poets can capture human warmth in the age of AI. Ali, in turn, spoke about the debate between classical and modern schools in Iraqi poetry, admitting that "writing is a translation that can never be completely faithful."

At the Shenzhen Bay Culture Square, Egyptian poet Ibrahim Yassin shared a poem he wrote after listening to the Cantonese Opera Excerpt"Blooming Flowers and Full Moon." He likened the Nile River and the Pearl River to brothers, using the imagery of tea and silk to evoke the blending of Chinese and Egyptian civilizations. Looking at the skyline of this young city, he wondered how young Chinese poets perceive modernity in the coexistence of China's technological revolution and traditional culture.

Poetry is never a monologue. It is an endless dialogue, unfolding between two ancient civilizations, and between young hearts.

诗歌从来不是独白——2026国际青春诗会深圳采风侧记

5月11日，2026国际青春诗会进入第三天。百余位中阿诗人前往深圳，在湾区之眼等地标间，展开无处不在的诗歌对话。

在大巴上，广东诗人苏奇飞与伊拉克诗人阿里·阿塔尔并肩而坐，借用手机翻译交流诗歌。两人围绕“母语如母亲”的比喻展开探讨，苏奇飞以中国古诗“意在言外”回应阿里提起的苏菲派诗学，感叹“语言停止之处，一首诗才真正诞生”。午餐时，阿里主动与中国诗人围坐。陕西诗人吕布布向他讲述了自己将秦岭和深圳相连的创作思考，探讨诗人在AI时代如何获取人性的温度。阿里则分享了伊拉克诗坛古典派与现代派的论争，坦言“写作就是一种永远无法完全忠实的翻译”。

在深圳湾文化广场，埃及诗人易卜拉欣·亚辛分享了听完粤剧折子戏《花好月圆》后创作的诗歌。他将尼罗河与珠江比作兄弟，以“茶与丝绸”勾勒出中埃文明交融的意象。面对深圳年轻的天际线，他好奇中国青年诗人如何在中国技术革命和传统文化的共存中看待“现代性”。

诗歌从来不是独白。它是一场永不落幕的对话，在两个古老文明之间，在青年心灵之间，持续发生——

文 | 记者 熊安娜
图 | 记者 刘志勇
阿语诗歌翻译 | 廖伟宁
统筹 | 邓琼 宋金峪
译｜黄健新
英文审校｜曾敏