Poems on Separation
Among the many poems that encapsulate the feelings of separation expressed by poets, we present the following selections:
Poem: Oh, Would That the Bloom of Youth Return by Jamil Buthayna
Oh, would that the bloom of youth be renewed,
And the days gone by return, O Buthaina.
Let us remain as we once were, and you
Close by, when you don’t shy away from me.
And I shall not forget among the things I recall,
Her words, as I was nearing: Do you wish to go to Egypt?
Nor her saying: Were it not for the eyes that see,
I would have visited you; excuse me, for you are dear to me.
My companion, I bear a hidden longing,
And my tears, concealed, witness the morning’s grief.
Oh, I see, by God, that a tearful grief
Grows when the distance expands between us.
If I say: What ails me, O Buthaina, my killer?
Of love, she says: He is steadfast and increasing.
And if I ask: Return to me a part of my sanity
She turns away and says: That is too far from you!
So I am neither repelled by what I sought,
Nor does my love, in its fading, fade away.
May the maidens grant you peace, O Buthaina,
If a dear friend departs in a good way.
And I said to her: Between you and me, know
There is a covenant from God with promises.
Your love has been both fresh and ancient,
For love is ever new and also enduring.
And the conditions of reunion between me and her,
Though she eased them with wishes, are burdensome.
I have wasted my life awaiting her promises,
And I have spent the years in the freshness of that wait.
Oh, would the foes of humanity, between me and her,
Cast upon them venom like the black nightshade!
And may they, at every evening and dawn,
Be weighed down with burdens and chains.
And the foolish women may think
That when I approach them, I seek them.
I swear my gaze is divided among them
And in my heart lies a vast rift between them.
Oh, would that I knew, shall I spend a night
In the valley of Qura? Then I would indeed be happy!
And shall I descend to a land where the winds,
Are gentle, with sloping hills serene?
And shall I meet Sa’da from fate once more,
When nothing but paths of tranquility remain?
And the scattered ones may reunite after separation
And needs may be fulfilled even from afar.
And can I suppress a word that upon the cloaks
Is rivaled by no other in its state?
Upon a too-lengthy path, as if it’s higher,
If calamity has reaped my course, in sleep.
She captivated me with her gaze in the middle of a gathering
And her figure, like silver, is notable.
She flaunts as her companions gathering before her
Are boastfully attired, with intertwined veils.
When I visit her, one day from time’s expanse,
They may shy away with outstretched hands.
She turns away and ignores my love and gathers
Her sins against me; indeed, she is obstinate!
So I avoid her in fear, as if I am an outsider,
And she forgets our meeting and we return.
And who in this world is granted a companion like her,
Then that one leads a life with wisdom.
The passion within me dies when I meet her,
And thrives when I’m separated, it returns.
They say: Struggle, O Jamil, for conquest,
And what conquest could be sought apart from her?
For every conversation among them brings joy,
And each fallen lover among them is a martyr.
And my finest days, and my brightest joys,
Occur when I am stirred by them while they sit.
I remember Layla; my heart is heavy,
And her wanderings are far away, the destination is distant.
I was entrapped in love from her, since I was young, and it has continued
To today, nurturing my love and increasing it.
For when friends are mentioned, I remember her,
And when generosity is brought up, I think of how she would give.
If she calls out, she says: I have felt your knowledge,
And poor me, how could I not be generous?
If only the innermost areas were revealed,
Buried beneath them lies the love for Buthaina, both fresh and eternal.
Did you not know, O Mother of the Gift, that I
Smile at your memories while you remain cruel?
So shall I meet Buthaina alone, a night
To gain her kindness or extend my hand?
And whoever doubts my love for Buthaina,
Then the wise gazelle from the wilderness is a witness to me.
Poem: Farewell by Taleb Hamash
They filled my heart with weeping and left me,
Just as years pass by!
And the night, were it not for their sorrow,
Would have no star to erase my sins,
Nor crescent moon to offer repentance
To the mournful songs of the grieving statues!
They left the lamentation to the poems and rested!
As autumn shakes the anguished winds of the West
Against the windowpane of their estrangement,
Like a sad melody!
I remain like a pigeon in their home,
Like their birds,
I attend to their letters on doorsteps
As memories.
And I rain like the cloud over the flowers of their sorrow,
And over their book
Like the olive branch and fig tree!
No wind remains except to echo in the trunks of the poplars
The sorrows they left behind!
No willow without drooping every time they departed
For the flocks of sparrows that
Left her vines barren of grapes,
And returned as repentant souls!
Poem: A Message from New York: Separation by Ghada Al-Samman
Do not tell me that we separated because I left…
Our meeting became a farewell.
Separation is sitting close together in “Carnegie Hall,” applauding
To love songs, each holding the lute of their heart, while immersed
In solitary reflection, alone in the space of their age.
Separation is dining at the “Greenwich Village,”
Each of us drifting alone in our galaxies, a snow-covered planet,
Rushing through the silent darkness.
I did not kill anything by my departure; all had died by then, freeing
A death certificate! I am the scream, not the killer…
Who is the killer? You? I? Others? What difference does it make?
The corpse of love is heavy, and departure brings rebirth…
Poem: The Throes of Separation, Grieving over Bread by Arzy Al-Khabezi
The throes of separation hold tears,
And the separation from the one I love is the separation of my life.
What wonder is it for one to endure the absence of a beloved,
Without dying from countless sighs?
It is like a wild creature at the time of death,
And lovers have their arts of dying!
Whoever has not tasted the flavor of longing and love
Is counted among the dead.
After the Separation
Mohammed Mahdi Al-Jawahiri
O my friend, soothe the heart from this affliction,
And speak, for worry drives the plea.
If only we could find a defense lawyer for our grievances,
We would lay claim to the years that have united us in anguish.
Ask the revolving heavens to ease their course,
For we have reached the maximum of our suffering.
The Tigris has distanced itself from me, and its banks have left me,
And the lush garden far away has receded from me.
By God, I cannot withstand what it stirs within me
From memories; I wish I were strong.
As for Separation, Indeed It Is Unyielding
Al-Mutanabbi
As for separation, indeed it is unyielding,
It is a twin of mine, were it born in between us.
And we have known that we shall obey it,
When we realized we would not endure forever.
And if the steeds were to lead us away from the beautiful charmer,
I would ride the one that performs splendidly.
Whoever condemns separation does not see,
In time, anything worthy of praise.
The Beloved’s Rejection, For the Dog Al-Kalbi
The beloved has turned away, and that is more than separation,
And who among us remains faithful to their promise?
A gazelle steals from him with its eyelashes,
And I think it is sick from its lovers.
I say in my intoxication, with the sweetness of his lips,
While my hand seeks to loosen his girdle.
O cupbearer of the wine, pour a unmingled drink,
And mix for us the wine from his essence.
Exalted is the one who granted him in beauty his promises,
And added his creation to his morals.
Like the branch in its movements and the doe in
Her gestures, and the full moon in its brightness,
I have melted from my longing for him;
And thus the lover melts from his yearnings.
Poem: Wait a Moment by Farouk Goweda
Wait a moment, for you are a day,
And however long you prolong it, the pilgrimage
Will separate us behind the setting sun,
And you will journey amidst the tears of the day,
Leaving us with emptiness and silence,
And casting us atop this wall.
You, like others, long for a new guest,
And the story ends in silence behind the curtain.
Do not forget that hearts have seen in you a dream,
Is every dream light… and fire?
Please be gentle, and do not forget that I
Came to you with a part of my destruction,
For I waited for you for a long lifetime,
Searching for you within the depths of the seas.
And I changed my color and the features of my face,
Wearing a borrowed mask of longing.
And I came to you with an old fear,
To meet you before the train departs.
Wait a moment…
And allow me to travel within her eyes,
And erase some of the sins from my heart.
I have lived a lifetime heavy with sins,
And I arrived with my nest and fear to repent.
Shadows of illusions have led us astray
And left us on a strange land.
On her cheeks lies a long suffering,
And between my ribs are dismal wounds.
And in my heart, there is a river of love,
That has scattered its sadness onto my palms.
And one day I woke to see separation
Binding the river of passion from both hands.
They said the river came with sorrow, the old one,
Piled with despair in his eyes.
All the flowers have vanished from the bank,
And spring has died on its banks.
Wait a moment…
Wanderers will come in groups to you
And they may ask you about two lovers,
Who loved fiercely and died repeatedly,
And melted with longing into two tears.
As if we have transformed into an ocean on the horizon,
Drifting through life without banks.
We came to you despite the darkness,
Illuminating life with two candles.
Wait a moment…
We are both destined to depart one day,
And if the banks of wishes deceive us,
Why do we migrate like birds
And flee from a dream within our silence,
That chases us with fear at death’s door,
Growing like sorrow in our cradle?
Why do we pursue everything
And forget safety on our land?
And despair carries us behind life,
Causing us to detest our years like death?
Wait a moment… for you are a day,
And as we mingle within the crowd, we become remains,
And we drift in the universe as particles of light,
And the skyline showers us with splinters.
We soar on earth with life and pulse,
Despite the departure… and the oppression of mortality.
I breathe fragrance from her palms,
And her essence flows like perfume in my veins.
I glide warmth onto her cheeks,
And her steps echo in my past mistakes.
And like dawn, I shine upon her,
And carry stories through the night.
And I fill my eyes with her light,
Searching for a lifetime… and refreshing my spirit.
She is the beginning of my life’s creation,
And wherever we go, she will be my end.
Wait a moment… for you are a day,
And take some of my life, and remain with you.
Your farewell is burdensome, yet we are both
Connected, despite the distance,
You will become a cloud wandering in the heavens,
And drop tears upon your cheeks.
And the train carries us away on our journey,
We forget life, we forget humanity,
And separation divides us along the paths,
And fate sways us as the winds flow,
Leaving you behind the limits of time,
And we shall mourn you one day, a lifetime long.