"travel in the cities of your eyes"
short love poems from Syria
Window, Syria, 18th century
3 Love Poems by Nizar Tawfiq Qabbani
A Syrian poet, he lived from 1923 to 1998.
Translated by B. Frangieh And C. Brown
In the summer
In the summer
I stretch out on the shore
And think of you. Had I told the sea
What I felt for you,
It would have left its shores,
Its shells,
Its fish,
And followed me.
The Difference
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.”
And I Decided
And I decided to go
Round the world on freedom's bicycle
By ways illegal
As the travels of wind.
When asked for my address
I give the address of all sidewalks
I chose as permanent residence.
When asked for my papers,
I show them your eyes
And am allowed to pass
For they know that travel
In the cities of your eyes, my dear,
Is the right of all world citizens.
وقررت
نزار قباني
وقررت
أن أطوفَ العالمَ على درّاجة الحرِّية..
وبنفسِ الطريقةِ غيرِ الشرعيِّة
التي تستعملها الريح عندما تسافر..
وإذا سأَلوني
عن عُنواني
أعطيتُهم عنوانَ كلِّ الأرصِفة
التي اخترتها مكاناً دائماً لإقامتي.
وإذا سألوني عن أوراقي
أريتُهُم عينيكِ، يا حبيبتي..
فَتَرَكوني أمرّ..
لأنهم يعرفونَ أنَّ السفر في مدائن عينيكِ..
من حق جميع المواطينَ في العالم”
Creative Invitation
Who is your most eternal-feeling relationship with?
What would the relationship’s essence look like, if it were drawn as a colorful abstract shape?
Write one exchange — one sentence from you and one sentence from them — that expresses the unique nature of this bond.