Contemplating the title of poet Mohammed Hisham's first anthology, "Then Water Did Not Come to Us," one promptly realizes that there's an implied context which the poet chose not to disclose, leaving it up to the readers of the collection to infer. What transpired before the word "then"?

Certainly, an event transpired, followed by the absence or non-flow of water. Moreover, the collective pronoun "us" in the verb "come to us" indicates the water did not come specifically to us and not to another group.

Among the sixteen poems in the anthology, none bears its title. However, the title is found in the poem "The Lamps," wherein the poet says:

We used to sell water,

Charged with the scents of our dreams.

We owned pearls, devoured by weary children.

Then the water did not come to us, my friend.

Instead, lies from its source came,

And we drank.

The poem is dated 15/5/2012 (post-January 2011 revolution). Hence, in his introduction to the anthology, poet Emad Ghazali politicizes the title, stating: "In some poems, the poet grounds himself a little to address aspects of the significant human drama we all have been experiencing since the beginning of the revolution." Ghazali pointed to the poem "The Lamps" in this regard, emphasizing the title's reference to current events and ongoing struggles.

Ghazali elaborates that the poet is cautious about getting involved in specifics, given his wit and intuition. If the water hasn't reached us yet (the anthology was published in 2014 by the Egyptian General Book Authority), it might be on its way, even if it takes years.

In the Arabic poetic and religious tradition, water symbolism is multifaceted, implying life's essence: "And We made every living thing of water."

Aziz Al-Azbaoui, in his book "Water's Symbolism in Arabic Poetic Heritage," states that "Water is the source of life on earth. It represents happiness, enlightenment, relief, and sustenance. Without it, joy wouldn't radiate in humans."

If water carries all these connotations, we truly await the revolutionary waters yet to reach us.

Is it a literary coincidence that our poet, Mohammed Hisham, commemorates Al-Mu'tamid Ibn Abbad of Seville in one of the anthology's most significant poems "Elegy of Al-Mu'tamid"? Hisham employs scenes from Al-Mu'tamid's life, especially his relationship with his beloved Rumaykiyya, drawing parallels with contemporary challenges faced by the Arab world, where "The state of love is mightier than states of swords."

Through a powerful poetic depiction, Hisham writes:

The Romans returned to reclaim,

While Ibn Abbad sang in bed!

The end of the poem (nearly an epic) has the poet inquiring his melancholic flute:

O melancholic flute,

Do you see

Any semblance of Ibn Abbad in the world?

The flute responds:

Don't ask,

Just gaze upon the faces of rulers.

And truly, we need to scrutinize our rulers, distinguishing the deceitful from the sincere.

Through Al-Mu'tamid's life, the poet creates a poetic stance without mere narration. The historical Andalusian context is strongly present in his awareness. In another poem, he recalls "Florinda" (a maiden from the Andalusian court), epitomizing the essence of lost Andalusian paradise.

This anthology confirms the poet's comprehensive understanding of the art of poetry, and his genuine poetic talent, evident in his dealings with language, imagery, rhythm, religious and poetic references, and other elements contemporary poets rely upon in their modern endeavors.