Poem: O Night, Do Not Depart, I Do Not Desire
By Ibn Zaydun:
O night, linger on, I desire nothing
Except for a reunion that is brief and sweet.
If my moon were to stay with me,
I would not need to guard your light.
O night, tell me if indeed
I savor your news without him.
By God, tell me, did he remain true?
He replied, no, but rather he betrayed you.
Poem: The Aesthetics of Betrayal
By Ghada Al-Samman:
I cherish your betrayals because they affirm your presence,
Incapable of deceit, donning no masks.
The masks inflict more pain than the betrayal itself!
I love you for being a contradiction,
For embodying many men within a single moment of intensity.
I adore your innocent hurts against me,
And your fangs that do not recognize the malice of vampires.
I appreciate your stabs, for they have never come from behind.
With a creative poet like you,
I surrender completely to the madness of your spirit.
You remain a pure child in a world
Where the gloved hands conceal daggers beneath their nails.
I love you because you sneak away from glory,
Only to return as a beggar at the doors of longing.
I love you for climbing, together, the orbits of wonder and mythology.
When we connect, I can comprehend the conversation
Between the seagulls and the sea.
A man like you cannot be contained by many women,
So how can I be all of them at once, my beloved?
Diverse Poems on Betrayal in Love
Here are various poems reflecting themes of betrayal in love:
Do You Expect Me to Forgive the One Who Betrays?
Do you expect me to forgive, while you betray?
I won’t return to a love that feels like decay.
I’m not one to seek reconciliation with a second embrace,
I thought you would come to greet me at the airport’s space.
You were the first person my eyes would meet,
But you left me wondering, a befuddled heartbeat.
Oh, how I imagined you shedding tears upon return,
Your poignant whispers enlighten my heart’s yearn.
You say the homeland is bright, while I know the trick,
Your words weave through me, every shift, every flick.
The caresses of your hand, once kissed by time,
Left marks of your love, now wrapped in a rhyme.
I’ve grown accustomed to your fleeting joy,
Because of you, I wish to seclude myself, and to destroy.
May You Never Return to Me, Nor Wish To
May you never return, nor seek to come back.
I pray for your missteps in my supplicant track.
May your life falter, never to arise again,
For you’ve become the ending of my heart’s domain.
Once you were my everything, the garden of my soul,
Full of beauty, vibrant, where your essence would console.
Now your gaze is heavy, it no longer stays true,
I believed in promises that shattered, rare and few.
You swore loyalty would never stray away,
But now betrayal lingers, each night and day.
Raising an oath, you hid behind false grace,
Yet I see the stabs behind your lovely face.
I Can No Longer Love You
I can no longer be in love with you,
Not for a moment, nor for an hour too.
The day of joy is now the day we part,
My heart finds solace from the pain you impart.
Deceitful lover, you’re devoid of trust,
Seek another who shall calm your lust.
The shield is raised, our bond is forsaken,
Feel free to be angry, in silence I shall awaken.
With you, my life was a cruel game,
Now I strip away love, you’ve sullied my name.
Please forget me, as I’ll forget you,
And with time, this burden shall fade from view.