لم تاتِ
She did not come “and she will not …”, I said
So, I will re-arrange the evening,
as befits my disappointment and her absence:
I extinguished the candles I lit for her,
and turned on the regular lights
I drank her wine cup and broke it
I replaced the rapid violin music with Persian songs
I said: she will not come
I will loosen the elegant tie, this way,
I will be more relaxed
Put on my blue pajamas,
walk barefooted, If I wish.
Sit comfortably cross-legged on her sofa,
and forget her and forget all absent things.
I put back what I have prepared for our celebration
Opened all my windows and curtains.
No secret in my body this night
only what I waited for and lost …
Mocked at myself for cleaning up the air for her,
perfumed it with drizzles of rose water and lemon.
She will not come …
I will move the Orchid plant from the right to the left,
to punish her for forgetting.
I covered the wall mirror with a coat
so that I do not see the radiation of her image … and regret.
I said: forget the love verses I quoted for her from old poetry,
because she does not deserve a poem even a stolen one …
And I forgot her, ate my fast meal standing up
I read a chapter of a textbook on our remote planets,
and wrote, in order to forget her depiction,
a poem
This poem!
Translation by Dr Fayeq Oweis