The Desert (The Diary of Beirut Under Siege, 1982) - Extracts

Adonis aka Ali Ahmar Said Asbar was born in 1930 in Syria. After 6 months in jail for his political leanings he moved to Beirut in 1956. He now lives in Paris. Extracts from 'The Desert' are below. 

الصحراء

٨

لم نعد نتلاقى 

لم يعد بيننا غير نبذٍ نفيٍ

  ,و المواعيد ماتت، و مات الفضاء 

.وحدة الموت صار اللقاء

8


We no longer meet, 
Rejection and exile keep us apart.
The promises are dead, space is dead,
Death alone has become our meeting point. 

٩

,أغلق الباب، لا ليقيِّد أفراحه  

. ليحرِّر أحزانه   ...

9

He shuts the door

Not to trap his joy,

...but to free his grief

Confession in the Midday Sun

One more by Samih Al-Qasim...

إعتراف في عز الظهيرة

أنا غرست الشجرة

أنا احتقرت الثمرة

أنا احتطبت جذعها

أنا صنعت العود

أنا عزفت اللحن

أنا كسرت العود

أنا افتقدت الثمرة

أنا افتقدت اللحن

أنا...بكيت الشجرة

I planted the tree

I scorned the fruit

I took its trunk as firewood

I made the Oud

I played a tune

I broke the Oud

I lost the fruit

I lost the tune

I...mourned the tree

(own translation)

An interview with three leading Palestinian poets here, accompanied by a short report about al-Qasim here.

The Wall Clock

Another by Samih al-Qasim

ساعة الحائط

مدينتي إنهارت

و ظلت ساعة الحائط

و حينا إنهار

و ظلت ساعة الحائط

و الشارع إنهار

و ظلت ساعة الحائط

و الساحة إنهارت

و ظلت ساعة الحائط

و منزلي إنهار

و ظلت ساعة الحائط

الحائط إنهار

و ظلت...

ساعة الحائط

My city collapsed

The wall clock remained

Our neighbourhood collapsed

The wall clock remained

The street collapsed

The wall clock remained

The square collapsed

The wall clock remained

My home collapsed

The wall clock remained

The wall collapsed

On went

The clock

(my own translation)

Letter From Under The Sea

Nizar Qabbani (1923-88) was a Syrian diplomat and poet. He is one of the most famous Arab poets. He is a controversial figure as he tackles such subjects as mysticism and feminism in his poetry.

رسالة من تحت الماء

 

إن كنتَ صديقي.. ساعِدني

كَي أرحَلَ عَنك..

أو كُنتَ حبيبي.. ساعِدني

كَي أُشفى منك

لو أنِّي أعرِفُ أنَّ الحُبَّ خطيرٌ جِدَّاً

ما أحببت

لو أنِّي أعرفُ أنَّ البَحرَ عميقٌ جِداً

ما أبحرت..

لو أنِّي أعرفُ خاتمتي

ما كنتُ بَدأت...

 

إشتقتُ إليكَ.. فعلِّمني

أن لا أشتاق

علِّمني كيفَ أقُصُّ جذورَ هواكَ من الأعماق

علِّمني كيف تموتُ الدمعةُ في الأحداق

علِّمني كيفَ يموتُ القلبُ وتنتحرُ الأشواق

 

إن كنتَ قويَّاً.. أخرجني

من هذا اليَمّ..

فأنا لا أعرفُ فنَّ العوم

الموجُ الأزرقُ في عينيك.. يُجرجِرُني نحوَ الأعمق

وأنا ما عندي تجربةٌ

في الحُبِّ .. ولا عندي زَورَق

إن كُنتُ أعزُّ عليكَ فَخُذ بيديّ

فأنا عاشِقَةٌ من رأسي حتَّى قَدَمَيّ

إني أتنفَّسُ تحتَ الماء..

إنّي أغرق..

أغرق..

أغرق..

Letter from under the sea 

If you are my friend...help me

   To leave you...

   Or if you are my lover...help me

   So that I may be cured of you

Had I known love was so perilous

I wouldn't have loved

Had I know the ocean was so deep

I wouldn't have set sail...

Had I known my end

I wouldn't have begun...

   I long for you...so teach me

   Not to long

   Teach me

   How to cut the roots of your affection from their depths

   Teach me

   How tears may perish in the eyes

   Teach me

   How the heart may die and yearning may end

If you're a prophet...release me

From this spell...

From this blasphemy

Your love is blasphemy...so cleanse me

From this blasphemy...

If you are strong...pull me out

Of this open sea...

As I don't know how to swim

   The blue waves in your eyes...drag me to the depths

   I'm untried

   In love...and I have no raft...

If I am dear to you...then take me by the hand

I am filled with desire from head to toe

I'm drowning...

      drowning...

      drowning...

(my own translation)

Like many Arabic poems, 'A letter from under the sea' is also well-known in song form. See the famous Egyptian singer Abdel Halim Hafez performing it here and here. 

Cut Lip (or, Slit Lips)

Another poem by Samih al-Qasim:

الشفة المقصوصة

كان في ودي أن أسمعكم

قصة عن عندليب ميت

كان في ودي أن أسمعكم

قصة...

لو لم يقصوا شفتي!

It was a wish of mine to tell you

A story of a dead nightingale

It was a wish of mine to tell you

...The story

!Were it not for this lip they cut

(my own translation)



Travel Tickets

Samih al-Qasim (b.1939) is a Palestinian Druze poet living in Haifa.

تذاكر سفر

وعندما أٌقتَل في يومٍ من الأيام
سيَعثُر القاتل في جيبي
على تذاكِرِ السفر:
واحدة الى السلام
واحدة الى الحقول والمطر
واحدة
الى ضمائر البشر
ارجوك الّا تُهمِل التذاكر )
يا قاتلي العزيز
(..ارجوك ان تسافر

Travel Tickets

On the day you kill me

You'll find in my pocket

Travel tickets

To peace,

To the fields and the rain,

To people's conscience.

Don't waste the tickets.

(translation Abdullah al-Udhari)

I highly recommend this book for a selection of his works: 'Victims of a Map: A Bilingual Anthology of Arabic Poetry'

An interesting interview with him here.

I really love his poetry so I'll post some more soon.

This poem is very special to me. I've memorised it and it's become almost like a prayer. I recite it to myself sometimes. To me it says that our actions and the actions of others - whether good or bad - make us who we are. It tells me that when we part from a loved one, however difficult the circumstances, we should learn the maximum possible from the situation. We should always treasure the love and positive energy offered to us, and use it to take us forward.