Sunday, November 12, 2006

Words

This is an English translation of one of Nizar Kabbani's Arabic Poem's, very powerfull words, I don't know arabic, I'm sure it must have lost a lot in traslation but it's still beautifull.

He lets me listen, when he moves me,
Words are not like other words
He takes me, from under my arms
He plants me, in a distant cloud
And the black rain in my eyes
Falls in torrents, torrents
He carries me with him, he carries me
To an evening of perfumed balconies


And I am like a child in his hands
Like a feather carried by the wind
He carries for me seven moons in his hands
and a bundle of songs
He gives me sun, he gives me summer
and flocks of swallows
He tells me that I am his treasure
And that I am equal to thousands of stars
And that I am treasure, and that I am
more beautiful than he has seen of paintings
He tells me things that make me dizzy
that make me forget the dance and the steps


Words…which overturn my history
which make me a woman…in seconds
He builds castles of fantasies
which I live in…for seconds…
And I return…I return to my table
Nothing with me…
Nothing with me…except words


Nizar Tawfiq Kabbani (21 March 1923 – 30 April 1998) was a Syrian poet and publisher. His poetic style combines simplicity and elegance in exploring themes of love, eroticism, feminism, religion, and Arab nationalism. He is one of the most revered contemporary poets in the Arab world. He is known as one of the most feminist and progressive intellectuals of his time.

2 comments:

* said...
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* said...

Beautiful poem.