Sunday, July 18, 2004

The Poem of Life by Lebanese poet Sa`id `Aql (my translation):  
Whether you were harsh or lenient,
I do not mind pain
A poem I am,
the preface to which is you!
You wrote me with wine,
which was strange,
but if you drink,
words are burning coals!
You think that I can be read,
like the beauty of seasons?
No, in astonishment
my secret cannot be known!
You pick an orchard
if you get your way:
Sometimes I am the Spring…
And the Summer, some other times…
I am the passion of prayer,
be whatever you are
You are the preface,
to the poem of life!
(PS For those who asked me, I want to stress that I despise, detest, and loathe Sa`id `Aql, and reject his ultra-Lebanese nationalist version of fascism.  I have criticized him and mocked him in many articles in Arabic.  But...I very much like his classical Arabic poetry. He is one of the best poets in Arabic in the 20th century.)