Nizar Qabbani

“My lover asks me:“What is the difference between me and the sky?”The difference, my love,Is that when you laugh,I forget about the sky”

“Non so scrivere su Damasco senza che si intrecci il gelsomino sulle mie dita. Non so pronunciare il suo nome senza che sulla mia bocca si addensi il nettare dell’albicocca, del melograno, della mora e del cotogno. Non so ricordarla senza che si posino su un muretto della memoria mille colombe… e mille colombe volano.”

“When a man is in love how can he use old words? Should a woman desiring her lover lie down with grammarians and linguists? I said nothing to the woman I loved but gathered love's adjectives into a suitcase and fled from all languages.”

“Because my love for you is beyond words, I decided to shut up.”

“Your love taught me to grieveand I have been needing, for centuriesa woman to make me grievefor a woman, to cry upon her armslike a sparrowfor a woman to gather my pieceslike shards of broken crystal”

“In the summerI stretch out on the shoreAnd think of you. Had I told the seaWhat I felt for you,It would have left its shores,Its shells,Its fish,And followed me.”

“My Master...Say all you wish of me.It does not matter to me:Shallow.. Stupid.. Crazy.. Simple minded.It does not concern me anymore.For whoever writes about her concerns.in the logic of Men is calleda stupid woman.and didn't I tell you in the beginningthat I am a stupid woman?”

“O Sultan, my master, if my clothes are ripped and torn it is because your dogs with claws are allowed to tear me.”

“never believe a man can change a womanthose men are pretenderswho thinkthat they created womenfrom one of their ribs”

“Jerusalem! My Love,My TownI wept until my tears were dryI prayed until the candles flickeredI knelt until the floor creakedI asked about Mohammed and ChristOh Jerusalem, the fragrance of prophetsThe shortest path between earth and skyOh Jerusalem, the citadel of lawsA beautiful child with fingers charredand downcast eyesYou are the shady oasis passed by the ProphetYour streets are melancholyYour minarets are mourningYou, the young maiden dressed in blackWho rings the bells at the Nativity Church, On sunday morning?Who brings toys for the childrenOn Christmas eve?Oh Jerusalem, the city of sorrowA big tear wandering in the eyeWho will halt the aggressionOn you, the pearl of religions?Who will wash your bloody walls?Who will safeguard the Bible?Who will rescue the Quran?Who will save Christ, From those who have killed Christ?Who will save man?Oh Jerusalem my townOh Jerusalem my loveTomorrow the lemon trees will blossomAnd the olive trees will rejoiceYour eyes will danceThe migrant pigeons will returnTo your sacred roofsAnd your children will play againAnd fathers and sons will meetOn your rosy hillsMy townThe town of peace and olives”

“Oh Jerusalem, the city of sorrowA big tear wandering in the eyeWho will halt the aggression?On you, the pearl of religions?Who will wash your bloody walls?Who will safeguard the Bible?Who will rescue the Quran?Who will save Christ, From those who have killed Christ?Who will save man?يا قدسُ، يا مدينةَ الأحزانيا دمعةً كبيرةً تجولُ في الأجفانمن يوقفُ العدوان؟عليكِ، يا لؤلؤةَ الأديانمن يغسل الدماءَ عن حجارةِ الجدران؟من ينقذُ الإنجيل؟من ينقذُ القرآن؟من ينقذُ المسيحَ ممن قتلوا المسيح؟من ينقذُ الإنسان؟”

“And I Decided (From Arabic)And I decided to goRound the world on freedom's bicycleBy ways illegalAs the travels of wind.When asked for my addressI give the address of all sidewalksI chose as permanent residence.When asked for my papers,I show them your eyesAnd am allowed to passFor they know that travel in the cities of your eyes, my dear,Is the right of all world citizens. وقررتنزار قبانيوقررتأن أطوفَ العالمَ على درّاجة الحرِّية..وبنفسِ الطريقةِ غيرِ الشرعيِّةالتي تستعملها الريح عندما تسافر..وإذا سأَلونيعن عُنوانيأعطيتُهم عنوانَ كلِّ الأرصِفةالتي اخترتها مكاناً دائماً لإقامتي.وإذا سألوني عن أوراقيأريتُهُم عينيكِ، يا حبيبتي..فَتَرَكوني أمرّ..لأنهم يعرفونَ أنَّ السفر في مدائن عينيكِ..من حق جميع المواطينَ في العالم”

“Light is more important than the lantern,The poem more important than the notebook”

“وكيفَ أمحوكِ مِن أوراقِ ذاكِرتي؟وأنتِ في القلبِ مثلُ النقـشِ في الحجرِأنا أحِبُّـكِ .. يا مَـنْ تسكُنينَ دَميإنْ كُنتِ في الصّينِ أو إنْ كُنتِ في القَمَر”

“keep silent . . the most beautiful voice ,is the talk of your hand on the table.قليل من الصمت . . ياجاهلةفأجمل من كل هذا الحديثحديث يديك على الطاولة”

“The sword has spoke the truth - in authority and wisdom - only the sword O Damascus is certain!”

“Arab children,Corn ears of the future,You will break our chains,Kill the opium in our heads,Kill the illusions.Arab children,Don't read about our suffocated generation,We are a hopeless case.We are as worthless as a water-melon rind.Dont read about us,Dont ape us,Dont accept us,Dont accept our ideas,We are a nation of crooks and jugglers.Arab children,Spring rain,Corn ears of the future,You are the generationThat will overcome defeat. ”

“Our shouting is louder than our actions,Our swords are taller than us,This is our tragedy.In shortWe wear the cape of civilisationBut our souls live in the stone age”

“We killed you and it was not new for us, we killed the companions of the Prophet and the friends of God. O how many Messengers did we slay? O how many imams? We killed you and you prayed the night prayer, as all of our days are struggle - and all of our days are Karbala.”

“We are a thick skinned people with emtpy souls. We spend our days playing dice, chess, or sleeping - and we say we are the best people that ever came to mankind?”

“We lost the war and it is not a surprise because we entered it with everything Eastern of the illusions of speeches. We invoke Antar and yet cannot slay a fly, because we entered it with the logic of the reed and the flute.”