How…? by Nizar Sartawi

How did you droop

like a captain horrified by a storm

when in your horizons

flocks of white clouds passed

tickling the eyelids of the sun,

and close to your vacant eyes

ecstatic daffodil tresses

went swaying in rapture

at the edges of the stream

sipping wine from the golden horizon

and pouring drunken ghosts

in the mirror of the staggering water?

How did you slacken

like the leaves of autumnal age

when at the brightening of the moment

a choir of children

were born

who rose from the sleeves of flowers

like night lovers

and their legs, tattooed with henna,

slim like desert antelopes,

went running after the shadows of the clouds

to catch the rainbow arc

lying between the threads of the sun

and learn magic from him?

How did you disappear

like a terrified squirrel

when from the lobes of clouds

came into sight

from whom sighs resounded

revealing the passions of the gypsy body

running away from the passageways of tramping,

veiled, out of fear,

with the fog of dawn

wet with rain drops,

drowned in the pains of memory?

How did you miss the light dwelling in your niche,

the fresh joy in your times,

the promising hope in your mirror,

love flowing on your papers,

the wide-open door before you

and the spray of April’s gentle breeze

embracing your dreams,

scattering flowers in your pathways?

How did your colors spill,

your melodies regress,

and your beaches depart?

Woe to you!

You’ve wasted the years of life like scattered dust

and dug a grave for your heart.

(Translated from Arabic by Nizar Sartawi)

End of the poem

15 random poems

 

Poetry by subject

Some external links:

The Bat’s Own Poetry Cave 

Talking Writing Monster.

Duckduckgo.com – the alternative in the US

Quant.com – a search engine from France, and also an alternative, at least for Europe

Yandex – the Russian search engine (it’s probably the best search engine for image searches).

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