He Is Calm, and I Am Too by Mahmoud Darwish

He is calm,
And I am too.
He drinks lemon tea,
And I drink coffee.
(this is the only thing different about us)
He, like me, wears a loose striped shirt,
And I stare, like him, in a monthly magazine.
He does not see me as I eye him discreetly;
I do not see him as he eyes me discreetly.
He is calm,
And I am too.

He asks the waiter for something;
I ask the waiter for something.
A black cat passes between us,
And I touch its night of fur;
He touches its night of fur.
I do not tell him: The sky is clear today,
More blue;

He does not tell me: the sky is clear today.
He is the seen and the one who sees;
I am the seen and the one ho sees.
I move my left leg;

He moves his right leg.
I hum the melody of a song;
He hums the melody of a song.
I wonder: Is he the mirror wherein I see myself?
Then I look towards his eyes, and I do not see him.

I leave the coffee shop in a hurry,
I think: Maybe he is a killer,
Or maybe he is only a man passing through

And though I am a killer.

End of the poem

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