Love
Love is a profound feeling of admiration and attraction towards someone. A lover experiences joy and comfort in the presence of their beloved, characterized by honesty, loyalty, sacrifice, and devotion. Love is an intrinsic instinct within us, and it encompasses various forms and terms, such as passion, affection, endearment, and infatuation.
Poetry on Love by Al-Mutanabbi
And I am not one to let love enter my heart,
But those who gaze into your eyes shall surely fall.
Your allure holds the burden of my affection,
And whatever you command, my heart shall comply.
It yearns for you as long as life remains; when I fade,
My echoes shall follow you into the tombs.
You are the delight of my heart and its torment,
For how bitter you are within me, yet how sweet.
What amazes me is the death of lovers in love,
But the survival of the enamored is a wonder.
Love has taken root in my heart for you,
Like blood coursing through my veins.
My friends, in all your days, have you seen
A lover mourn for the love that has slain them?
If my heart were mine, I would choose none but you,
And I would not settle for anyone else in love.
Oh, I wish this love could once know the pain,
So it understands what the lover endures from neglect.
Your eyes descend upon hearts, such that all
Become either injured or mortally wounded.
Indeed, I long for slumber at the wrong time,
Hoping for a meeting in dreams to come.
Were it not for love, no lover would be humiliated on earth,
But the beloved are honored, even in their misery.
Transport your heart wherever you desire in the realm of love,
For love is only for the first beloved.
If you wish to encounter all beauty, look into
The face of your beloved, where all virtues converge.
Do not wage war with your gaze against my heart,
For the weak shall triumph over the strong.
When my eyes behold your beauty approaching,
I swear I was intoxicated without drinking.
Teardrops have inscribed promises upon my cheeks,
With desire and longing fueling the words spoken.
I love you in two ways: the love of romance
And a love because you are deserving of it.
I have seen a full moon walking on earth,
And never have I seen a moon walking on the ground.
They said, “Separation is tomorrow, without a doubt,” I replied,
“Nay, my soul would die before tomorrow’s parting.”
Pause, let us embrace before we inevitably separate.
I love even the soil where you tread,
I held you close until I proclaimed, “My fire is extinguished.”
Yet my flames did not quench, and their fuel only increased.
I would leave this world, and your love would
Remain nestled within, unbeknownst to anyone else.
My soul follows love’s path until it
Flows like spirit within the body.
I love you with a love that if it manifested itself among
Creation, all would perish from such profound love.
So I say: as love desires, and as fate deems it,
You are my captor; how could you possess what encompasses you?
Say to the beloved: how can I find peace after you,
While I am the traveler, and my heart remains stationary?
Torture me with everything except
Disdain; I have never tasted torment as bitter as rejection.
It has led my heart into her love,
And my heart obeys her, never defying.
I have submitted to her in love after my pride,
And every lover must surrender to affection.
Indeed, I have known the fire, with its nature as guidance,
And with the flames of your cheeks, every heart is bewildered.
My beloved, inflict the punishment you wish,
For the agony of love is my greatest longing.
Some part of me has perished in the raging fire of separation,
And another part has drowned in tears.
Even the rose has taken its life, envious of you,
And spilled its blood upon your cheeks.
My accustomedness to your absence is burdensome,
Yet growing accustomed to your presence is even harder,
As the essence of your being seeps
Through the pores of my skin,
Like dew drops infiltrating the ground.
You have a claim over me, even if I forget our promise,
Deep within my heart there is none but you.
Poetry on Love by Abu al-Qasim al-Shabi
You are sweet like childhood, like dreams,
Like melody and the fresh dawn.
Like the joyful sky, like a moonlit night,
Like roses, like the smile of a newborn.
What innocence and beauty you possess,
A youth adorned with a radiant glow.
What purity ignites reverence
In the soul of a stubborn wretch.
What gentleness could almost make the rose weep
From within the unyielding stone.
What are you? Are you Venus,
Gracefully traversing among the masses anew
To rekindle youth and sweet joy
In this weary world of regret?
Or an angel from paradise, arrived on earth
To revive the spirit of eternal peace?
You are what you are: a beautiful portrait,
A genius of this existence.
With its mystery and depth,
And sacred beauty that is adored.
You are what you are: a dawn of enchantment,
Illuminating my heart with purity.
In you, I see life embodied in lovely grace,
& revealing the secrets of eternity.
You are the spirit of spring that elegantly moves through the world,
Making flowers sway with admiration.
Life blows intoxicatingly from your fragrance,
And existence resonates with melodious singing.
Every time my eyes gaze upon you walking,
It is as if footsteps harmonize with a song.
My heart beats for life and crows in joy,
In the field of my barren existence.
My gloomy soul awakens with love,
And sings like the chirping nightingale.
You revive what has perished in my heart,
From yesterday’s joyful memories, now lost.
You restore in the treasures of my soul
What faded during my forgotten days.
From aspirations of beauty to art,
To that distant and vast space.
You instill tenderness, dreams,
Melodies, and passion in my song.
After being embraced by the melancholy of my days,
You fill my heart and silence my singing.
You are the anthem of anthems, with a voice
That reverberates beyond mere poetry.
In you, youth blooms, and enchantment thrives,
As well as the song of love and the essence of existence.
Poem: A Wakeful Restlessness
Restlessness upon restlessness, and one like me cannot sleep,
And longing increases, with tears cascading.
The effort of yearning is to remain as I see,
A restless eye and a heart that beats.
No lightning has flashed, nor has a bird sang,
Except my heart has ached with enthusiasm.
I have tasted the fire of passion that never extinguishes,
It’s like the forest fire and everything that burns.
I reproached the lovers until I experienced it,
And I marveled at how one can die without love.
I excused them and recognized my own fault,
For I teased them, and I faced what they faced.