No one has written poetry about the Egyptian city of Alexandria since Constantine Cavafy, way back in the first three decades of the C20th. Alex, as locals fondly call their coastal paradise, is anything but Cairo's poor cousin - it is decadent, friendly, cosmopolitan and, though its ancient past is basically under the Mediterranean, oozes history. I lived and worked in the city for four years - not as an ex-pat hidden away from the real Egypt, but as a local who travelled on the tram, shopped in the street market at Cleopatra and argued with plumbers (in my basic, quaint Arabic) over their inflated call-out charges The poems, in the volume, are universal - they talk about people, feelings, celebrations, hopes and fears. You, the reader, need not have any knowledge of Egypt or Arabic culture to appreciate them. I hope you enjoy my words.