Poem: I Weep and Weep in Brightness and Darkness
Written by Al-Haifah bint Sabeeh Al-Qudaiyah:
I weep and weep in the brightness and darkness
For a young man of the Taghlib, a lion by birth.
Alas for him, and what grief can be of any benefit to us
Except to confront knights and clans.
Say to Al-Hujayb, may Allah protect you from a man
Who bears the shame of all people from the descendants of Sam.
Will your son be slain by Ali, O son of Fatima?
And will he drink water, like dreams in turmoil?
By Allah, I shall continue to weep for him and mourn him
Until your uncles and maternal relatives visit you.
With every dark-skinned well-proportioned fellow
And every white pure-faced, very tall.
Poem: Not Easy for You, O Lamiya, My Sorrow
By Ibn Al-Sa’ati:
Not easy for you, O Lamiya, is my sorrow
Between ease of your dwelling and my grief.
How many a branch of the fruit-laden tree is there,
Bearing fruit in the twilight of the night.
Every second sword, a glance and passion,
And the soul’s twin, bent and wafting.
Departing from the dawn’s bright visage,
Gaze from the eye of the graceful gazelle.
It sings with pride, exulting in joy,
For it is but foliage that has called from atop a branch.
It reaps dreams from his cheek,
And the look on lovers it does gather.
When the rain pours down generously on the soil,
That soil is nourished by the rain of my lashes.
And from shame and my tears, a downpour finds me,
If I show myself gentle, bearing the burdens of one who
I thought my patience would save.
Then when I was saved, it dashed my hopes.
So stand firm and prevent your connection,
For we have resigned ourselves to your love through mere longing.
And we asked the shadows about your affection,
So ask it, perhaps it will inform about me.
O my dear, of the clan of ‘Adrah, there is no excuse for you
For a heart you have disrupted after tranquility,
With eyelids sharp as swords, finely tuned.
And with frames soft as the finest threads,
You have denied your severance from me since it was taught to you.
From you, the two blows of strike and stab have kept me away.
So release my heart from the captivity of passion,
For indeed, it is my eyes and ears that brought me into love.
Your passion for me is like
The gratitude I extend for the foundation of faith.
It has settled in my domain, the lashes of vulnerability
Before the thread of rain is undone.
I would not have been, but for the summons of the general public, this
Is a gaze that dominates and a heart that rests.
Keen observer of every virtue it revives,
A preoccupied thought in every art.
It resembles the sun in brilliance and radiance.
Time has not diminished its lofty goals.
So may it have a towering glory far-reaching.
And it has light from the benevolent who grant the world,
I fear the calamities and confront them.
It is my sword when things become grim and troubling.
Majestic, steadfast, bold, full of restraint,
Keen in opinions and intellect.
It is near to fiduciary virtues of its needy,
And distant in resolve from weakness and decay.
O Abu Hamid, rise with a vow,
What a great loss it would be to be with like you.
You allowed the lovers to be wrapped in sorrow,
And it rewards that generosity with meager returns.
How often have we asked the assembly if it would yield aid,
And reproached them as if reproach would suffice.
You have left the glory of kindness and beauty behind.
With you, distance makes a raging fire,
And in your closeness, a garden of Eden.
How can the shores remain tranquil after your absence?
And the birds do not sing except to lament.
Welcome to the conquering king from
The rainclouds that glide to the constructed neighborhood.
The one who gives out high status and wealth,
The one who combats both stinginess and cowardice.
In peace and in the day of battle,
His generosity saves and shields.
When fear strikes him, what is it to him?
It is in his generosity that he finds refuge.
And if I sing of him in praise,
The winds or bolts of lightning shall bear me.
The enemies testify to his precedence,
So they recede from his endeavors and applaud him.
He has never ceased in every situation to uplift himself,
Dismantling wealth, whilst building for enemies.
Your dominion has resorted to the shade of glory,
Rooted deeply within every corner.
It has made a name for itself, to the extent that it has
Made it unnecessary for lineage to boast.
And you have increased to exceed the words of one who wishes the goals.
To you, I have clear kindnesses
In veils from days long gone.
How often have they dampened a heart with longing,
That overwhelmed it with an irritation too heavy.
So hold on to me, for my soul is calling from a lullaby,
A clarion voice yearning for familiarity.
Poem: Farewell, O Friend of a Lifetime
By Nizar Qabbani:
Farewell; O my notebook,
Farewell, O friend of my lifetime, my green lantern.
And farewell to the chest on which I cried for years without tiring.
And you, my rejection and my wrath,
You, my thunder and my lightning.
And you, my pain that has turned into a dagger in my hand,
I leave you in the protection of Allah,
O my wound which blooms in sunlight.
If they steal you from my drawer,
And break your crimson seal,
They will find nothing but a woman
Scattered across a notebook.