Poem: I Found Love as a Blaze
The poet Qais ibn al-Mulawwah (Majnun Layla) expresses his feelings in the poem “I Found Love as a Blaze”:
I found love as a blaze,
The hearts of lovers are its fuel.
Were it to burn out completely,
But each time it burns, it returns.
Like the people of the fire when their skins are roasted,
They are returned to suffering, with their skins restored.
Love’s Outcry and the Secret of Longing
The poet Ibn al-Rumi conveys in his poem, “Love’s Outcry and the Secret of Longing”:
Love’s outcry is evident, yet the secret of longing remains.
There is no goodness in a love devoid of declaration.
Poem: O You Who Blame Me for Love
In “O You Who Blame Me for Love,” the poet Abdul Rahim Mahmood laments:
They have closed the world against him,
O mercy for the infatuated lover.
When they gathered the fragments of his heart,
They left him broken and shattered.
They did not spare the poor man his sorrow,
But burdened him with all blame.
O you who blame me for love, let me be,
For with love, the flames of passion increase.
You wish to extinguish the fire of longing,
Yet you drown the heart with torrents of tears.
“Salma,” I have lost my way, take my hand,
“Salma,” lead me through the darkness.
You are the glimmer of light in my eyes,
And the tempest within my bones.
Poem: Love Has Troubled Me
The poet Mufdi Zakaria articulates in his poem, “Love Has Troubled Me”:
Love has troubled me, despair has worn me down,
And separation has intensified my pain and sadness.
The soul, in love with “Layla,” has transformed into tears,
And my poetry and emotions pour forth like rain.
I gaze at the stars while the universe lies still,
Listening to my moans filled with yearning and desire.
As if the raven of the night carries my spirit,
And my heart has wings on either side.
We together ride the night’s steeds in passion,
And we gaze at visions from one moment to another.
To you is life, with all the strength of my being,
And with my blood, my soul, and my body.
To you is life, so grant me closeness,
For the sweetness of your presence is cherished in my heart and soul.
Poem: Love is a Body
The poet Adonis expresses in his poem, “Love is a Body”:
Love is a body that yearns for the garments of night.
Deep within, there are guiding lights,
Yet they do not lead anywhere but to the depths.
The poplar tree stands as a minaret,
Is the air the one calling out?
These are the harshest and bitterest prisons,
Those without walls surrounding them.
My father was a farmer,
He loved poetry and penned it.
He never read a poem,
Except that it placed a loaf of bread on its head.
A dream is a horse,
That takes us far away,
Without leaving its place.
Poem: My Beloved, Is Love Witnessed Only by Desire?
The poet Al-Sharif Al-Razi mentions in his poem, “My Beloved, Is Love Witnessed Only by Desire?”:
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My beloved, is love witnessed only by longing,
Desire, or nostalgia?
Your place has taken refuge in my heart,
If only you realized the depth of your essence.
If I deemed that I’d stray from you,
Then on that day, I will love you all the more.
Do not fear separation, for my heart,
Today is secure with you and safe.
Poem: Love is Destiny
The poet Abdul Wasih Al-Saqaf shares in his poem, “Love is Destiny”:
Do not whisper out of caution,
And leave behind the pretense in your gaze!
Cry out for your Lord, entice me,
And I shall mend what is broken.
For love is not a sin,
Love, O Layla, is destiny.
The whisper of the eyes is gentler than
The whisper of lips to those who feel.
And the eye sends its love,
Before the lips speak to others.
So explode, do not be shy,
And let your modesty melt away.
Say I love you, for I
See the news in your gaze.
Poem: Love is a Sovereign
The poet Muhammad Bennis articulates in his poem, “Love is a Sovereign”:
In love, you submit and suffer,
In love, you die multiple times yet accept.
In love, you obey,
In love, the forbidden becomes permissible.
The rejected
The abandoned
The prohibited
Do not oppose in love,
There is no choice.
Love is a matter
That engulfs you,
So surrender to the invasion of time,
And take the path that your loss prepares.
And let me tell you, I loved a maiden in my youth,
With blond hair, but since that moment,
I have only admired those with dark hair,
And that was how my father was.
Poem: Grow Fond, For Love Calls to Love
The poet Aliya bint Al-Mahdi expresses in her poem, “Grow Fond, For Love Calls to Love”:
Grow fond, for love calls to love,
And how often from a distant home is one deserving of closeness!
Pay attention, for if you relate that a friend is in love,
If he escapes unscathed, hope for love’s safety.
The sweetest days of passion are those when
You are terrified by bickering and reproach.
If there is no discontent nor satisfaction in love,
Then where are the delights of messages and letters?
Poem: You Ignite the Fire of Love in My Heart
The poet Abu Nuwas recites in his poem, “You Ignite the Fire of Love in My Heart”:
You ignited the fire of love in my heart,
Then disassociated yourself from the sin.
Until I plunged deeply into the sea of passion,
And the waves surged within my heart.
You revealed my secret, and forgot me,
This is not how fairness should be, my love.
Grant me, I cannot push love away,
And don’t you fear the Lord?!
Poem: I Love Love, the Essence of My Soul’s Desire
The poet Aisha Al-Taimori writes in her poem, “I Love Love, the Essence of My Soul’s Desire”:
I love love, the essence of my soul’s desire,
Deep in the heart, lies its jewel.
And the dawn speaks first, awakening thoughts,
And the secret remains the same.
The origin of existence, O heart, is the presence of fire
And if you feel its burn.
If not for the call of love, creation would not exist;
Adam and the universe.
Poem: The Meaning of Love
The poet Ahmed Salem Ba’athab describes in his poem, “The Meaning of Love”:
Love, in the language of children, is grains,
Golden ears captivating minds and seedlings.
And love, in the customs of the guides, is processions,
Guarding their edifice and fighting for it.
And love, in the scrolls of warriors, is verses,
For the hunt in the sea of passion and traps.
And when the souls rid themselves of piety,
Then oppression is justice, and truth is falsehood.
Poem: Love Has Come to You, a Servant Without a Price
The poet Al-Buhturi notes in his poem, “Love Has Come to You, a Servant Without a Price”:
Love has come to you as a servant, without price,
If people betray you, it does not betray or deceive.
As for passion, the essence of love flows in my blood,
Controlling people in my spirit and in my body.
What has resolved for love? Indeed, love has deprived me
Of patience and has forbidden my eyelids from repose.