Cover by Randa Baini
**
Cover by Randa Baini
**
Translated from Arabic into English by:
Dr. Emile Chidiac
**
MAY YOUR CLORY REMAIN
O my country, I planted, for your sake,
Poetry and flowers in my exile,
And I kept yelling all time you remain
In glory, and my heart was wrenched the while.
**
POETRY
… And poetry, it does not yet exist
Without me, it would not stir up at all
Man’s feeling, if my tears fell not on
The thirsty, quenching them with such a fall.
**
REMEMBER MY POETRY
How beautiful the evening with you,
You are the dearest people in my eyes,
My poetry caresses all of you,
Remember it; forget me, as time flies.
**
MY POETRY IS A PRAYER
In order that you understand my trend,
My poetry is like all mother’s prayer;
With every verse speaks years of my own life,
And every word bespeaks all mothers’ care.
**
BLOOD AND WOE
Your eyes are closed; you are lost in the night,
And your road knows injustice and hardship,
Wake up from this dream, Lebanon, wake up;
Of blood and woe you’ve suffered enough whip.
**
A FOREIGNER
Let us get rid of any foreigner
Who speaks resentment in our household, who
Darkened our sky with all his poison, and
The neighbour to kill neighbour, sad but true.
**
I TRIED
I tried to describe you but I could not,
I gathered my thoughts, many worlds I flew,
The genius which took as a friend
Deserted me, since I have painted you.
**
THEY SLAUGHTERED YOUR CHILDREN
O Cedar, you were so insulted by
Deceitful people without conscience, they
Pretended to be friends, and do believe,
They slaughtered children as in bed they lay.
**
A PROUD MAN
If on the ground a proud man dropped his heart
He would not stoop down even to retrieve,
But yet the nasty man, unloved, would not steal
His mother’s heart to save himself, to grieve.
**
DRUNK
Away from my home I am drunk alone,
I close my doors in any person’s face;
I speak unto the chairs and walls at home,
And argue with my cup to my disgrace.
**
DON'T GO AWAY
You are but purity, a candle in
A monast'ry, a lily envied by
The flowers and your presence brought me joy
And blessing, so don’t go I need you nigh.
**
THE THIEVES OF THE DISTRICT
The gallows, if erected for a while,
For two of three months and of course, not more,
We would get rid of all the district’s thieves
Who had been stabbing all oppressed of yore?
**
SECRETS
What did the bird reveal to that lily?
About our love, and rashness of our youth?
What business such of the bird to tell
Of secrets, to reveal the very truth?
**
THEY STOLE HER
They, treacherously, stole her from my arms,
And her eyes were dimmed by her flowing tears,
And I said to her quietly, my love,
Shall we yet meet again, I have my fears!
**
ADDICT
An addict who drinks poison and madness
And gets merry and dreams then of the world,
Is like a monkey, licking a file then
And chokes with blood such foolishness unfurled.
**
AN ANGEL
I love you just as much as sea and space,
As much as moon, as much as the great sun,
Or darkness, I saw you when I saw light,
As in a dream. I still dream, angel one.
**
CEDARS
Our houses are well built on rocks, and our
Own families, protected cedars thus;
You simply cannot with a word destroy
These in a million tales the likes of us.
**
THE MELODIES OF MY LIFE
Don’t say to me you are annoyed with me.
It’s hard for me my melody to be
Of life, with sirens singing their sweet songs
All stolen from my book of poetry.
**
PARADISE
I spoke to you against my will, and I
Was then confused by what I said to you;
I thought a fire had flared up close by,
But paradise, not fire, near, it’s true.
**
THE CEMETRY OF MEN
History alone the cemetery
Of men, and very fortunate is he
Interred therein, and pages telling tales
Of heroes, hardly turned by destiny.
**
WHAT IS THE MATTER?
What is the matter, tell me what you want?
Just say now what produces great sighs;
You want the moon; I’ll plant it by your side,
And water it with tears from shy eyes.
**
IF ONLY I COULD
If I could only have some wings to fly
Up in the sky and land, just for a while,
On my own terrace, visit my vineyard
Which I had planted, I could hardly sigh.
**
FEAST DAY
I am disgusted with you, feast day, and
Disgusted with your look, in each new dress,
Because the child is naked in our land
And greeting feast days always with distress.
**
A MATTRESS OF FLOWERS
I waited for you at the corner of
Your home long nights and just when minutes creep
This life, to paint you, hang it in my mind,
And close my eyes, and on the flowers sleep.
**
BAALBECK
Baalbeck, once worshipped by gods, and where
The sun kneels in its universal fear,
The very city wails. What is its woe?
I hear the children’s moaning, even here.
**
CHILDREN
Children, so homeless in the universe,
Talk of oppression by their parents, who
Were born oblivious of purpose here-
Though planted in the womb, life lacked a clue.
**
MOSLEMS AND CHRISTIANS
In order to be able to sleep nights
And my eyes to become as great as then
The universe, Islam my right eyes is,
And my left eye beliefs of Christian men.
**
WHY?
Why did we in this world become a curse?
And so uprooted from our fertile soil?
And so degraded in this universe?
And exiled in some land since our turmoil?
**
TEARS AND BLOOD
My country so consists of blood and tears
Combined with mother’s cries of children lost;
She stands at her window, waiting years,
Her shadow being with her to her cost.
**
THE CHRISTMAS TREE
A Christmas tree, bouquets of carols and
The joy of children, such festivity!
All feast days are festivity and glad,
Except the Cedars' country presently.
**
BASKET OF FLOWERS
Why did they call you a New Year while my
Loved country is at present suffering?
The flowers shrivelled in my hand, and you
Closed all doors in my face, the gravest thing!
**
I MISSED YOU, LEBANON
I miss your countryside, my Lebanon
Your land so sacred with the children’s blood;
If all your candles were out you’d still shine
Like stars the scene with brightness would yet flood
**
WE MUST RESIST
..And to be stronger than the wildest wind
That reaped our ears of wheat which was yet green
We must resist vile habits and instead
At crossroads grow bright flowers to be seen.
**
PEOPLE’S TALE
I am a poet, poetry speaks from
My lips a people’s tale, in whom confide?
We were nailed on Calvary, our captors
Just drank our tears, applauded as we cried.
**
WHERE IS REDEMPTION?
O God, do not deprive our Lebanon
Of decorations, of feasts everywhere;
You sent Your Son to save us, where is that
Redemption? Yet our people now despair.
**
A PERFECT PAST
We had a homeland in a perfect past
That there was nothing like it but in dreams,
It has become a ruin, much loved ones
Now scattered by ordeals and children’s screams
**
FIVE
Had only God Created five like me
And put one in each five great continents,
All paper would become the people’s bread,
Their cups filled by the sun’s rays so immense.
**
LONGING
Do not say you are far away from me
The distance is too short. Now realise,
Close as the bird’s own eagerness you are,
Close as the stars above now in my eyes.
**
HOPE
I send a letter but get no reply.
I stand and wait. The postman passes by,
The letterbox left empty, and a cloud
Wraps up my heart on fresh dreams to rely.
**
FLOATING
So many years have passed, O dearest land
Of glory, you’re ill-treated and I say,
I wish that I could use great Moses’ staff
To drown them all, and let you float away.
**
MADMAN
..And anyone who writes two little words
Becomes a writer in this exile, but
The writer whose words cause mighty fire
Is seen as mad and small, from senses shut.
**
MY MOTHER
Your eyes are shedding tears, mother, thus
About a country you were forced to leave;
God, with his gift of Christmas, will yet lift
Your country’s poverty, bright lights retrieve.
**
IT IS ALL AIR
..And I have heard a lot about your greed,
That you would slaughter someone for a cent;
You’re putting air into a pail, indeed,
And paying a grim piece; your life is meant.
**
A LIAR
The people know you lie, yet you remain
The same you would not change your present state
When you inhale, the blow of air has doubts,
When you exhale. Truth's seas evaporate.
**
A NIGHTINGALE
O nightingale, you have a lovely voice
When to the garden you then choose to fly;
Your sweet song echoes in the valleys, and
Your tune lights up and brightens all the sky.
**
A CHAMELEON
Prepare a rod for your son, and then say,
“Behave, be not like a chameleon”
It would be better to cut him in bits
Than subject him to vile condemnation.
**
I LOVE YOU
Why is the war now stealing you from me
And planting all the sighs within my heart?
No one can keep you from me, I love you
As much as the sky that sets us apart.
**
A VILLAIN
You are a villain killing little ones,
A district-leader, the source of all sin;
I swear to God and all prophets that we
Can build lands from your grave-stones to begin.
**
IT IS BETTER FOR YOU
You would be better single than be wed,
You can no longer trust a woman who
You give to her your heart, your misery
Will make her whinge and graceless she leaves you
**
YOU ARE THE INSPIRATION
My sheer discarding of all women makes
You angry, those I once gave flowers, you
Who are my eyes, my paradise, and then
Inspiring a million verses too.
**
LIKE WITCHCRAFT
Each drop of blood that fell into the soil,
A dream much greater than the mighty earth
Had birth, so let our country lose her pain
Thus to rebuild, like witchcraft, her true worth.
**
MY STORY
Publish my story in book-form I shall,
That it may be a lesson from the first
For mankind; Loss and suffering for months,
And such oppression! My heart could have burst!
**
MY FATHER
O father, we remember you so well,
Your name engraved in our hearts down the years
You brought us up in piety: You should
Not fret, for faith should remove your fears.
**
THE DOOR OF HOPE
If Noah’s Ark had not been built at all
What would have happened to our goodly earth?
To have the door of hope still open, we
Must now repent, and pray for all our worth.
**
HOW FORTUNATE I AM
How fortunate I am, my heart delights;
I fell in love with such a lovely blonde
With eyes of blue, a relic in her face
Existing, as in jade, myself in bond.
**
TO BE PROUD
My country must exist just as it should,
And fearing only God, and being proud,
With not a soul determining its lot,
No matter where the people go to crowd.
**
JESUS
A cold night with no stars or candles in
A manger; wherein hay, and most forlorn,
Upon a bed of straw, the Virgin lay
Her baby Jesus who, that night, was born.
**
A DREAM
I had a great dream, O my Lebanon,
That you were laughing and delighted in
The mountains and the coast where peace prevailed
And those who left returned unto their kin.
**
LIKE A POOR MAN
I have been feeling pretty roses are
Too thirsty in the garden of my life,
Because of snow and cold they shiver there,
Just like a beggar who is doomed to strife.
**
YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND
You do not understand, no matter what
You claim and say, no matter how high you
Would fly you would then fall. But if you walked
The distance, you’d return so bored, it’s true!
**
A NOBLE GIRL
Where do you go? You do not say where you
Are destined, though I am your husband, say;
Return to dignity, do not still flirt;
For noble born do not stoop in this way.
**
LIBERTY
It is no wider than that of my sight,
No matter how big is the rolling sea?
Nor bigger than the heart that beats within,
Shedding its blood as price for liberty.
**
YOU ARE WRONG
You are so wrong when you have settled all
Our differences and then tell to all
What our hearts hold, so I now beg of you
To cherish our love, sentiments recall.
**
I GOT OLD
I have so aged, and snow is on my head,
But I would tell the story of my life;
I am forgetful and afraid, and what
I fear, of course, is this state reached in strife.
**
THEY SOLD ITS SOIL
The Cedar which is crying on the top
Of mountains, sees its branches dying, since
They sold its soil, and so the smile has gone
From all its little ones who know offence.
**
THE DESPERATION OF THE YEARS
I worry about you, my Lebanon
But tears have thus been cheapened by their flow
And I am desperate, with a new year,
For years have burned my homeland, sadly so
**
THAT IS ENOUGH
You built a house, and then you do indulge
In your philosophy without restraint;
Enough of this, for now its bricks complain,
And would have you replace them their complaint
**
THEY HAVE TOLD ME
They have told me the stories that would make
A boy go grey, how you have simply sent
All men in town astray, when you returned,
And then divided hours, your body lent.
**
MY LOVE
Surely you were afraid of all my love
Which does not tolerate, can reprimand;
My love is fire, madness, dangerous,
For my heart’s love is missing, understand.
**
BEWARE
Do not advise your brother, understand,
In lands where bitterness and sweetness taste
The same, and do not lend your hand to save
Him, Let him sink, though fretting for his waste.
**
A BOAT
God gave me gifts, and then He said to me,
“Your poetry comes through my hand, you float
Though planted on a hill, for I pushed you
And drove you through the sea just like a boat.
**
IGNORANT
Now all of you are writers in exile
And teachers longing for authority,
You fail in tests, cannot with any ease
Dictate a letter in reality.
**
DO NOT WISH ME WELL
Do not now wish me well, for I do not
Desire such, your gifts well coloured then
A thousand times. For costs just send a cheque
To my land crucified out there by men.
**
A NECK AND A CHEEK
Whenever I smell roses I then find
Their fragrance disappears with every smell,
But if I smell a neck or even cheek
The fragrance will remain, I have to tell.
**
PAIN
Why is pain eating out my bones, and why
It follows me, forever with me stays?
I am afraid that suffering will cling
Throughout the calendar of all my days.
**
YOU WERE CRUCIFIED
They crucified you up on Calvary,
And form your tears and blood they lived afresh,
And when the blood had dropped so much in price,
They sharpened up their knives and cut your flesh.
**
MADMEN
Those who divided up the country to
Give key to others, they are really mad;
The country which had nurtured them, they tear
Away its heart, a wounded bird, fear-clad.
**
DESPOTIC
Despotic is she and she ruins homes,
She claims some knowledge, foolish is her bid;
Truth is so difficult to reach her brain,
Her head is sealed and does not have a lid.
**
I AM FASTING
Swear not before me for I am at fast,
For this month only fasting I must keep,
And be as one of poverty, and dream
Of Eden, and of happiness and sleep.
**
WOLVES
Indeed I am disgusted with myself
And cannot trust a soul on this grim earth;
I see all people as marauding wolves,
The nicest like a devil of no worth.
**
NO
Please do not flatter me, just tell the truth,
For truth alone can win no matter what;
I would prefer the word “No” rather than
Lies and deception which amount to rot.
**
GLORY
If anyone has perished in our land
Eyes will shed tears, our countryside to fill;
We’re people who have suckled glory, not
Like those who suckle, yet unsated still.
**
A PLEA
I have a plea to make before I go,
Do live in peace throughout your very life;
If ever there had been a heart to hurt,
A smile inspires sweetness, and not strife.
**
A DOOR
“You mean to kill me!” said the anguished liar
Who chooses to deceive, he, like a door;
It opens and it closes with the wind,
And not by conscious effort anymore.
**
O BEAUTIFUL
O beautiful, you spend your time at school,
And study things most difficult to heed;
But if you studied the great art of love
Then you would dance to my heart-beat indeed.
**
BLAME
I wish I could close all the doors of blame
And stand out on the road with sunset near;
And say to you, “Without your eyes, I would
Not be the same- no life without you, dear.”
**
ALL FOR THE LEADER
The neighbours fight because their leader does
Lack prudence, dignity, and conscience too;
He let the children who had nothing taste
Resentment, and to live in hell, it’s true!
**
WASTE OF TIME
What is this waste of time that we must know?
We walk like ghosts in streets, for heaven’s sake,
And when we go to bed we hardly sleep,
And when we sleep we find it hard to wake.
**
BE FAITHFUL
Be faithful and let truth be your one guide,
You, who have nurtured truth to full extent;
And do not lend your ears then to vain talk,
To heed the mischief which your foes have meant.
**
THE SOURCE OF POETRY
I am scared that my source of poetry
May dry up, then of course I’d deeply grieve;
If this should happen, my heart would farewell
All; in death my bed and pillow I’d leave.
**
THINK NOT
Think not you are free in this land and all
Your rights protected by society;
We’re people who don’t let the body smirch
Our dignity with sheer frivolity.
**
I HAVE FORGIVEN YOU
I have forgiven you since you have asked,
And so the sighs were calmed within your breast;
You had betrayed, so what? Such nature’s way,
Like light of day betrayed by night at best.
**
I HAVE BECOME A LIAR
I have become a liar harder than
A rock, because of how much I have been
Deceived by people. I thus have become
A moon in their eyes, night myself I’ve seen.
**
A DIFFERENT MAN
O God, I wish to be another man
Than I am now, and have great love to start;
To look about me on the troubled road
And feed the hungry as though from my heart.
**
EVERYBODY’S PROPHET
Mohammed, you are everybody’s seer,
I pray for you throughout the day and night,
You glorified God through your fine Koran
And thereby saved your people from hell’s blight.
**
A SIN
Why was Lord Jesus crucified for me?
And yet sin does not leave my spirit free;
It captivates my body’s fiber and
Just like an intuition lives in me.
**
THE FIRE OF PAIN
The fire of pain is burning in my ribs,
And I no longer see, injustice has
Thus blurred my vision dimmed my candle lights,
Just like the spiteful, thankless one, alas!
**
A GROUP OF DEVILS
I do not want you to love me if you
Are like a snake beneath a heap of straw
With venom underneath your teeth, and then
Like groups of devils, decency ignore.
**
EDUCATION
It is your right to love your precious son,
To pour your blood into his very heart;
But let the brain, before love, plant the seeds
Of education from the very start!
**
A ROSE
I picked a pretty rose just for the scent,
But I went crazy when it said to me,
“O man, have pity, you now steal away
The baby from its mother’s lap you see!”
**
RIGHTS AND DREAMS
They are ill-treating you, O Lebanon,
Depriving you of your days, though you gave
To man his rights, you must achieve in time
Your very dreams, for which you so much crave.
**
LIFE IS A LAUGH
Life is a laugh, and if you fail to laugh
Your life will be so laden with remorse,
To pass without real meaning silently;
You shall be bored with life throughout of course.
**
IT IS POSSIBLE
Achievable I find now all my hopes
To plant my feelings as stars in the sky,
But, O my heart, one thing impossible;
Forget my land, her precious soil deny!
**
O MY EYES
I must restrain from falsehood ever more,
And therefore say to you now, O my eyes!
I wish that we had never been at all
Rather than see your tears and your cries.
**
FLY O BIRD
Fly, fly O bird, and take my greetings home
To my loved ones, I spend my life away
In exile, and I am depressed indeed,
Like a lost butterfly where forests stay.
**
I AM AFRAID
I am afraid our children might yet sink
Into the mud of this world, purity
Becoming rare, mistaking thorns for flowers
Whilst walking in the forests that they see.
**
THE WICKED
Do not be nasty as to then deny
A good turn, but twofold make it return;
And do not turn your back when you have seen
Your brothers crave his hungry mouth to spurn.
**
THE MEANING OF PEACE
Each time the sun sets and the morning comes
Dreams follow dreams. We dream a cedar has
Dressed all the wounds and taught the people peace
Completely, but these dreams are dreams, alas.
**
THERE IS NO WINTER
There is no winter, save us from your ire,
O god of heaven, do not strike us hence;
We must not get bored with our acts of prayer;
We need His Mercy and Benevolence.
**
THE PROPHETS
What would have happened if the prophets failed
To come? They planted verses in the earth,
And brought a thousand colours to the world,
Endowed all creatures with a life of worth.
**
WE MUST STARVE
We must go thirsty, hungry, and then cry,
And get cold, just to know your worth, O God;
You planned a smile on our lips whilst we
Were swearing, and this makes the matter odd.
**
WE PROMISE YOU
We promise you, o God, on this great day
To grow at last lead a decent life;
Foe we accept you with faith and respect,
So live in our hearts, give us grace, not strife.
**
SOME FEATHERS
Creator of the world, I only want
Your love, approval, everyone’s respect,
And then some feathers in my wings to fly
Home to the family in this way decked.
**
MASTERS AND SLAVES
If all creation was to be reborn
The world would still have masters and their slaves.
Some people fret after their little dog
Whilst their own brothers are chained like the waves
**
LEADERS OF THE PACK
Do not believe the stories, they are lies,
For we have shed blood and wars bring decease,
And thousands upon thousands have now died
While leaders of the pack at last made peace.
**
FRIENDSHIP
No permanency does exist at all
In friendship, we are toys in other hands,
For seasons follow seasons and again,
Since warmth we freeze through folks of other lands.
**
GO AWAY
Moslems and Christians we, call out loudly
With one voice, leave us go away, depart,
For it is wrong for you to occupy
Our land, and spread your shadow on our heart.
**
RELIGION FOR THE DEITY
Religion is for Deity not man,
Stop pouring oil upon the mounting fire;
No mosque or church will do you any good
If grudges enter in at your desire.
**
BEIRUT
A lot of people wished to see the death
Of that most pleasant city called Beirut;
Most cities are constructed form the rocks,
But rubies and sapphires are its repute.
**
A NUN
A nun had been betrothed to Lord Jesus
And walked the road of Calvary and death;
She left her country and she crossed the sea
To be the light in darkness, give life breath.
**
THE RIVER Of BITTERNESS
Do not dare turn your back when you would lick
All of your brother’s honey and, therefore,
The river of great bitterness starts where
The bees invade the flowers they adore.
**
A GRAVE
I traveled over all the world; I crossed
The seas, and I accrued wealth such to save,
I built a palace. Five letters I need,
If put together, they’ll build me a “grave”.
**
Festive Day
On this Festive Day
It shines with joy,
Spreading happiness over the world
The valley is awake,
The hill is lit up.
O Sun.. Our sun behind you sets,
And our hearts only pray for you,
Each time the festive face appears,
The world becomes sublime.
O Virgin Mary..
Enough humiliation and oppression
Done by the infidel,
Planting in our children’s chests tuberculosis
To have fun from our children’s tears
Decorate their chests with gardenia,
Remove the bombs,
And spread goodwill from your garment,
Say: The people of Lebanon
Will remain masters,
Protecting the cedar tree at all time;
They are the ones welcomed by God.
**
Lebanon
-1-
Lebanon..
The song of the nightingale,
Lebanon..
A laughter of love and happiness,
Lebanon..
The voice of the bells in the valley,
Lebanon..
A monastery and a mosque for worshipping,
Lebanon..
Blood of the heart,
Spirit of the soul,
And a door wide opened
To the faithful,
Lebanon..
Anointed with healing ointment;
Should the sick wander in its Mountains,
They will be healed and live longer;
God is the healer,
And our land the clinic
-2-
Lebanon!
What a fragrance of a plant
Unlike it anywhere
It seems eternity is its rocks
And fortresses from yonder years
Lebanon..
From the might of mount Sannine
Did build trenches of strength
And tenderness
And from the wood of cedar trees
Did set ships to sail towards eternal light!
**
Virgin Mary
Oh Virgin Mary
No matter what we say,
Words are washed away
For we are far from home.
We distanced ourselves from you,
Hence our misery
And the dream is dead
At your Annunciation,
The smiles to the child are returned.
We long for you
Forget us not
Give us your hand
And meet us all
You, most wonderful of all mothers.
**
The martyr’s blood
The martyr’s blood is wheat in the soil;
It grows to give flour to the people.
It grows to defy the army of hatred
That treads on the necks of believes.
We were a zero on the margin of life,
Too shy to carry our names
If it were not for the martyr in the trench
Ready to protect us,
There would not be an identity
For people in the universe
Without being sealed by a martyr’s finger;
He burnt out the candle of his youth
In the darkness
And on the altar of the Cedar of our Lebanon.
**
Translated from Arabic by:
Paula abdul Ahad
**
DIDGERIDOO
-1-
What's this captivating sound?
It's elating,
Exciting..
I'd like it to go on and on.
The original inhabitant
Who's surrounding me with his love
Dancing with his feast..
If you wish to console me by a sound
Play for me the Didgeridoo.
-2-
The Aborigine has made it round reed,
Higher than him,
It succumbs him when he blows,
His breath always bows to it..
But when he blows!!
He creates this captivating sound.
-3-
Click - Sticks..
The dust is overflowing
Surrounding
Due to the tanned steps
The field was stirred up,
Blown up..
When they turned,
The evening was turned on
And life started to turn..
**
UNEMPLOYED
-1-
Dragging his feet and scared,
He is not used to begging,
Has not seen or stepped into (C.E.S.),
He created a space
Between him and this place.
-2-
He's Lebanese..
Who's picked his sweat,
Spent his expatriation painstaking
And hard work.
I saw him standing anxious,
I asked,
He delayed with the answer:
- I'm just asking for a job,
I feel like I've been out of my body for long time,
Living silently,
The factories became sick of my face,
The sun is too bored to share my morning,
I want a job, any job,
To help me
And my family to survive.
Jobless,
Unemployed,
This encumbrance is killing me
Heavier than money's needs!!
-3-
.. They called him,
And tears came out of his shy eyes.
Death, he said,
But do not Say:
Move it, don't be lazy.
**
COFFS HARBOUR
-1-
Abla was driving the car
While my mind was occupied
With the green banana fields
Which were saying:
Here you are,
Come and taste,
You're welcome in and we're out,
Our visitor has the right.
The (Big Banana)
Stood with its lovely figure
Taking my eye's pupil as its mirror,
Undressing itself for me
And Leila is saying to me:
Hold your breath.
-2-
Coffs Harbour..
We'll never forget it,
We lit three candles,
We celebrated our anniversary,
Wrote it with our tears as a song
And drew magnificent pictures of it
On its spoiled sand
Which climbed up to Abla's waist
Trying to hide her
And go further and further up!
**
SYDNEY
-1-
You are the dream
Which lived in my mind for years,
Its traces didn't wipe out.
I picked you off my parent's laughter,
Off confused eyes' prayers..
O, Sydney..
Which stood calling me
On a shore..
I kissed its dust.
I loved you:
Field's madness,
Mountains..
Which flew off their puberty.
-2-
Kings Cross
The beautiful nights
Tanned on far shores
Used to warmly welcome
To a party with new friends.
I hope days move slowly
And keep us young
To go higher on higher waves
To burn and turn into ashes.
**
SURFERS PARADISE
-1-
Your name is Paradise,
Your beach is heaven,
Your sun is wooing another sun
And your sand is resonant,
On its sound..
Whispering becomes exciting..
Purified raw-gold,
Yellow,
Brown,
Where beauty loves to be encompassed.
-2-
Surfers..
You're turning me mad!
In you..
I'd like to be forever locked up.
Your wave..
Oh..
Comes out of my mouth,
It takes away spirit
And gives back another!
-3-
I visited you with Abla once.
She didn't want to come back home.
She fell in love with you
And that love destroyed my heart.
The word (if only)
Wasn't of use anymore.
I was so jealous..
And when I become as such,
My blood boils and burns like oil.
You have visitors everyday
Don't say you only admired her..
Give my Abla back
And put down the fire.
I admired her long before you did.
**
TAREE
-1-
Abla loved to wipe the night out in you,
To spread my arms,
To take Canopus her mirror
Which gathered in my eye.
She thought your wave is the horse
And my chest is the saddle and the cap.
She flew by us to the other side
And nearly drowned in me.
-2-
She loves to walk on the beach
And tells the sand a story about a village,
The duck adores,
Sprinkling like a star..
About Taree,
Where boons landed as harvest.
Between Abla and Taree
My heart landed
And picking became harder.
**
AUSSIE
-1-
I loved you from the first sight..
I closed my eyes and hid you,
I saw you as my fulfilled dream
A life-boat rescuing a drowned world.
-2-
O, heartbeat
I threw you in my heart..
Who dried the lily flowers?
Who dusted your face?
Who ripped that look?
Which put a parting
Between paucity and plenary
This distresses your people.
Their situation is agitating.
I wish you stand on the glory hills
... and blow mercury bubbles!
-3-
Mum..
You gave me your house away
And named me with an adorned name
Aussie..
How nice this name is
For whom, who loves you today and always.
I'll tell about your oil smear
Your love
Your glory.
I'll tell about the life you gave
Without you it wouldn't have passed,
In four directions
I saw you as a song
With a whooping note.
Your good reputation is over the stars,
Your palm is generosity
And your name is a flag.
**
YOU, I AND THE TOWER
-1-
From Sydney Tower
And space is dark
I saw the land planted with light,
I saw the aurora riding a horse
Its steps are like printed stars.
-2-
I saw the moon's eye winking at the waves
And letting the lights dance on the water.
You're opposite me filming the views
And the camera is my eye.
-3-
I don't know if it was me
Or the tower who was drunk.
The world was running opposite it,
Its head was full
It shook it with boredom
And knitted the evening its scarf.
-4-
Like a lie, the fog showed up
Waking the rain
Which was escaping the hunger,
Wiping shores
Smeared with fire,
Scratching windows with its tears.
-5-
The rain had neither abolished a dream
Nor smothered a city
I've hidden Sydney in the film,
My beloved
Hide me in your heart.
**
AVALON
-1-
Avalon..
The warm beach,
Its waves wake my imagination,
Under the tree I drew a small distance
Which my space can not bind.
On the trunk of the tree
My shoulders left a print
To talk about me.
-2-
In Avalon
I poured out my feelings.
Its rocks
Seemed to me like mountains!
If its waves assailed my rocks
The sands will laugh under the waves.
Off its sun
I'm begging my light..
Between Avalon and me
There is a good bond.
**
CANBERRA
-1-
I hang my love as a decoration on the trees,
O, Canberra
A forest in a city.
I thought I was (Griffin) the architect
And your land is the panel
Your buildings are the pens
But I couldn't draw
Don't reproach me.
-2-
Your soil's smell perfumed forest
Fenced with mountains don't kneel..
The snow landed on their rock
And cooled down,
Burnt up its feelings,
And spilled the moans
To warm up a lake, wider than the sea.
-3-
Your blonde houses showered in the shade
And dried up with light green.
Their trees dropped wet leaves,
Baptised unmatched streets
Which spread its palms
As theatres for the air.
**
LYGON STREET
-1-
I love you..
I said to a pretty brunette,
As young as a gardenia.
A girl from Melbourne with a blooming face
And red rose cheeks.
Lygon Street lit by her
By her smile
Which threw me by a live coal.
Help me Lygon
To spend an evening
With The woman
Who made me drunk
Without the glass and the wine.
-2-
Your visitors became upset
When they saw me saying farewell
With my tears.
The pizza got cooler
We didn't even taste it..
The restaurant asked me
For the due money..
The love moments we had
Were attested by my foolish moments.
The best walk we had
Was on your footpath
O, friend of lovers,
You're awaking the whole world.
-3-
Inside you I'm hiding my love story
Which I'm telling with distracted mind.
I came to you from Sydney
On my way..
Her shadow was standing like a giant.
I loved her?
Don't ask my heart.
Of your nights I beg her love..
She picked me off expatriation's cold
And forced me to imprint on my lips:
O, Lygon your evening isn't cold!!
**
PORT MACQUARIE
-1-
Port Macquarie..
Port Macquarie..
I'm afraid of you spreading my secrets,
How many kisses I flew to her,
How I offered her my flowers.
The sea is girdling it all around,
My heart is drowning
And I don't know..
I feel that its sea is jealous of me
I feel that its beach had collected my stories,
Its sand is becoming a life coal..
Its wave is running off my fire.
I've fallen in with it,
And my blood is boiling
Because my flow is sweeping me away.
-2-
Port Macquarie is a city,
But I'm confused
How did I love it?
How did it love me?
How did it steel my poems?
**
BRISBANE
Daughter of unlimited sea,
Sister of sleepless sun.
Brisbane the lurked treasure
Which dreams are dreaming of.
I visited once and said:
I'll come back
And feast the days' eyes
On prairies, climbing barren mountains
Where the bird has fasted and prayed.
On the sea
Which the sand that's setting camps
Was born from,
To powder smoothest cheeks,
To guild most beautiful figures.
O, Brisbane
Your beach is very popular,
Generosity is acting
And we are one of those films.
**
DROMANA
-1-
Dromana
Abundant gardens
Arthur is sitting to observe attentively.
Its houses are candles in a big village
Which the sea scribbled, beautified
And hung a heavy relic on its chest,
Dromana couldn't carry,
It divided it,
And shared with the neighbourhood.
The waves, which left their atelier
And hid a little wave
The atelier has forgotten to complete.
-2-
Dromana,
The on going magic
Which Victoria stood to meet.
It spun a green fabric
In its spinning wheel,
To warm him.
He saw it blurred..
He tumbled by it
And it fell in him..
It became a flower
And he became a butterfly..
Their secret I'll never reveal.
**
KATOOMBA'S SPRING
-1-
It was snowing flowers
On the hills' cheeks...
Joy became the guard
And we became the songs.
Whenever a light dawn wakes the slumbers
Our sky pours out perfumes
In gatherings..
Not the ones life died in.
-2-
Your voice showed up like glory
Searching our hopes..
Sprinkling happiness as flowers
On our past paths.
.. As if his shadow is barren
You pervaded..
Warm us,
The coldness scratched our eyes,
Of coldness hide us.
-3-
Remember Katoomba and say:
How was the spring set apart
Off seasons made by season
And became the dream in our mind?
Its forests, possible!!
Spinning its echo a scarf..
Covering the fields with trees
As vast as what's been said..
As long as happiness in length
In width, as wide as mountains.
-4-
Merdad..
Like twilight are your laughter's
Beware..
Don't let the basil daughters fall in love,
In gentleness..
Spring season was stolen off burnt hearts
And Katoomba became a tunnel
Between what's stayed in memory
And what's not going to.
**
BONDI
-1-
Snuggle in me..
I'm awaiting you to snuggle in me.
My eyes whoops of your glow
And Bondi, which baptised your body
Breaks the baptismal font
And selects your name,
Offers you the most beautiful gift:
Beach,
Sun and umbrella!
-2-
Snuggle in me..
My hands missed your cheeks,
The plaits of your curly hair
Which on its beaches the water desiccated.
Mermaid..
And you're going to stay for me
The sands' effaced tale,
Soldier standing next to your castle,
Wearing an obscure hat,
Your wrist is dancing with my wrist
And Bondi is chanting a song.
-3-
Snuggle in me..
Return me to my forgotten years.
Sea birds, which flew and rose,
Lifted us as a story's straw
And people who were pointing us out
When you leaned on me,
Didn't you see them
When they showed up their breast
On a sand's mattress?!
Didn't you see them
When their lips snuggle with their lips?!
Don't be afraid of them
All of Bondi is:
Love,
Nipples and freedom..
**
MELBOURNE
-1-
Paradise..
How beautiful are its groves!
Its creator variegated with its creation.
Yarra offers it the water,
It offers us the boons.
Saint Kilda, which gild its sands,
To please Melbourne's lovers eyes,
Washed its feet with its waves
And kneeled kissing the forehead rocks.
-2-
Melbourne..
The charmed star.
I get drunk with its appearance.
My desire slays me to visit it
And smear my eyes with the green colour.
A picture..
How beautiful is that picture?!
Engraved on marble's wrists.
Mansions were planted on its streets
Increase..
Whenever the paradise enlarges.
**
FIRE 1994
Your forest turned into a dragon
Flames tongues is his tongue
And we're running scared
Of his treachery and his smoke..
Hell, we said,
But who will wipe the oppression
And its devil?!
Your men showed up
And the evergreen cypress trunks were crazy.
Their shoulders
Beside the beautiful ladies' shoulders..
They left their families
Choosing not to leave you
Or betray your land's heaven
The orchards,
The hencoop that is cuddling its chicks.
Their fire brigades are full of pride
Integrity is the symbol.
Their hose is knife like
Cutting the flame with its flood.
We thought they were saints!
Saint George on his horse!
Butting the fire out..
The second seemed years,
Protecting the house
And its residents.
Sydney..
Oh garden of jonquil
Planted in the Pacific..
Your people survived by their faith.
**
TASMANIA
-1-
Stay the rock
Which is mounted as a shrine,
The one I'm burning candles for
And hymning a verse
Written with tears on my life's page.
This world is probably overturned
Or your sea is heading up.
I arrived to you with tired paths
Hungry and disgusted of hunger.
O, Tasmania
Fill my pockets with red carob apples,
Picking it is not allowed to people like me.
-2-
Let me swim in your water
My feet drowned in the sands.
The Pacific waves opened up
Their eyes met my eyes.
O, Tasmania
The place, which was born
For summer and winter to meet.
Don't say God processed his offering
Don't say He praised..
Altar has to be in you
And I have to be the holy man.
**
ADELAIDE
-1-
Army of grapevine
Tells you about this guarded city
And the olive trees gesture you
With their leaning branches.
The oranges opposite you
Singing the wind some songs.
Cover your eyes with your kerchief
Adelaide the green heaven
Is going to offer you a gratuity.
-2-
Southerner..
Her forehead is a desert.
Her arms are boon's gardens.
Her breasts are barred mountains
Wooing a bird under the sun.
Her hair is woodlands
The dust is its tint.
And on her feet
There is heavy traffic.
Adelaide..
Its prairies are a flower,
Its streets are like a lit convent
And its lamps are the convent's candles.
**
NANA
-1-
She ran carrying her provisions
Her eyes racing her legs.
Afraid to fail her appointed dates
And be reproached by a boss.
She stopped..
Her sighing didn't stop.
She fell down..
Her arms didn't help.
She poured her wine out of her eyes
Till her eyes' urn was emptied.
-2-
New in her job
And the train doesn't await her
Whatever happens.
She arrived to a city
Its people are in their city visitors.
Sydney..
The person works hard
To collect big concerns.
She loved it,
But her belief in her alienation
Is a dust squall.
It seems like her field denied her
She grew on fire volcanoes
And the morsel on her tongue
Was the left over of young children.
This mum who they called Nana
And still didn't know her address
Her laughter willed in spring.
**
VICTORIA
-1-
Mum and dad lived in you,
Drank your water for long,
Dropped their fears on your bays
And you dusted the anger off their faces.
O, Victoria..
Which I'm talking to,
Your name is a rose on my lips,
Your glamour is the song of your valley,
Your mountains are perfume's swing.
Lend me your past's joy,
I'm sad and love to sing to you
And decorate the poetry with laughter.
-2-
You gave out happiness
On your people in shares,
You haven't forgotten one.
For them..
You emptied your pockets,
You gratified them honour and glory,
You made their hearts your heart
And raised their bodies a mountain,
You consolidated them..
They walk on your paths.
O, Victoria
The lasting glory,
There wasn't and will never be like you.
**
ORANGE
-1-
Your cherries
Are the Blue Mountains' earrings
Opposing the wind.
Embellish with them,
Strut,
Bell with a stunning look.
O, Orange
Your morning is a song in memory,
Your evening is a praise,
Spin me your prairies a scarf..
Offer me your staunch rock
To pick the kohl off the hills
And smear a line on your eyes.
-2-
Your gardens are a bunch of colours
Spreading Lebanon in front of me.
Take me back to my childhood,
To a village with coral houses
Flying birds around me
Melodies danced on its sound.
O, Orange
Your name is a great name,
Riddles in riddle,
To solve it!
I tried hard..
Only He, the Lord, can solve.
**
GOULBURN
One night of the love nights
Our station stopped in you
O, Goulburn
And the heart beats
The longer our night goes.
The ferocious cold covered the way
And pierced its horns in our room..
We couldn't leave the bed
The more the cold gets mad
The less were our sleep hours.
Abla doesn't wake up early
And my night's sleep flew away,
I woke up but Goulburn's birds didn't
Where did they pass the night?
A big ram woke with me
Its eyes are guards on the road
It kept me awake itself.
**
MY MUM
-1-
I'm yearning for your eyes
Yearning for the smile
For bliss dropping lips
Even in dormancy.
O gaze full of hope
My heart is burnt with grief
And afraid to reveal
Destiny is frib bling with my life
And your voice in my ears ringing:
"Do not wail or scream"
-2-
You said to me:
"May God be pleased with you all"
Invocation of God before the death is heard
And void's heart cleaved
As my heart did.
Doctor help my mum
Doctor remedy my mum
Doctor my mum's gone!!
O moment full of pain
Antoine kneeled on his "clot".
George froze and restrained.
Joseph yelled what's wrong with you.
Marcel on your chest nestled.
Michel on his way here,
Upset and drown with tears.
Your daughters in law grief has shone
They lost the unlimited tenderness
Lost the motherhood and the pampering.
Your families are like a kingdom
Bowed its head before you.
-3-
I cried..
By God, I cried..
By God, I cried..
Forgive me, forgive my tears
Don't think I forgot that will
Your clause is a verse engraved on my ribs
But mum, my story is:
I lost the bliss
Lost the hope
And you who were my fortune
I lost you..
I lost you..
Like live coal my agony became
Putting it down with tears
Lighting my eyes as candles on your grave
.. And Jesus cries!!
-4-
They said:
"In July the world is terminating!!"
Apparently the world will end by your death.
Motherhood death is hard
It shouldn't be happening
It quenches hearts beating by your voice.
July is gone and live coal stayed
In eyes became filled with red tears
Why do you leave us why
Into a speed we couldn't inquire!?
Obviously he called you
You missed him
And he missed you
Fine, go to him
It's time to go and meet Sarkis
Living is graceful next to him:
Angel sleeping on saint's chest.
**
NEW CASTLE
-1-
New Castle..
As old as the waves
Running on her beach
Troop is racing troop
To deluge itself in her.
-2-
Her birds are chorus of poets
Warbling for a blast of wind
Feed them,
They'll form a clique of joy
And start to sing.
-3-
Abla..
My little bird,
Surrounded by New Castle birds!!
I snatched her off them
Afraid,
She would flee
And lose her all life long.
**
AUSTRALIA
-1-
What should I tell you?
About a land remoter than imagination,
About a nation values humanity.
Expatriation is heavier than mountains
And yet I loved her,
On my affliction rocks
She planted my hopes
And passed the nights awake
To extend my education.
-2-
What should I tell you?
About her love and kind act.
In her heart, joyful people gathered.
Extract the mankind
And you'll shape her man.
Extract the faith
And you'll reap her faith.
Extract the world
To know who she is.
**
Cover by Randa Baini
**
Translated from Arabic by
Mirna Nehme
**
THE LONG EXILE
-1-
They wrote me on the lips of their children
A poem to their country
Inflamed in fire,
Agony and destruction,
And on the death bed they said to me:
Oh! Long exile,
Tell them what happened
With the tears of the timid eyes
Which froze on the childhood cheeks
And never washed the traces of their farness
-2-
And they said to me:
Our fatigue tired out
And the age plagued
And from the sweat of our prayers
Drank the prayer book
And the houses where we grew up
And built their walls with our hands
And knitted its terraces with our feet
Denied us
And the mother who wept for us
We hid her pictures in our eyes,
Before the sunset, we sent her letters,
She did not open,
She did not read,
In the fire place in front of her house
She burnt them.
Surely, due to our long absence
She forgot us
And in her pure heart our love died.
-3-
Oh exile of long days,
Oh exile of misery and exhaustion,
Tell me before you tell them:
What is hidden for me?
**
KINGDOM OF TALK
-1-
I thought that I talked
But talk is a fog
I see it as I walk
A shining spark of a match
-2-
Don't say that I heard
My talk is tangible
Its letters on a paper I gathered
And I hung them in a pin,
An icon on the chest of the universe
The colour in love with it
And in it the perfume imprisoned.
-3-
In teary nights,
I mixed from the soil of talk
A human being
I ask: he answers
I am sad: he reproaches me
And draws in my Palm a kingdom
Of smoky threads
And says: Oh, my son,
You are the king
How beautiful you are,
I threw the entire world
In your hands to pass time
God created it complicated,
Do not upset the lord
With your boldness, solve it.
-4-
I laughed when I said:
I arrived
Where? Not known
And the path in front of me
Compacted with my bones,
With laments however I leaned
It breaks my words
With sighs which stood rows
On my dreams beaches
And what a falling thought
Never after it a fall
Million small letters
Gather as a guard
On the sides of a tear
And boil my blood
Increase my worry
How do I write quickly?
And the age is a spark
How do I accompany the word?
And the return is not safe!
**
A FOOL IS ASKING
-1-
Migration with black eyes
Not even twenty said:
What are you hoping for?
My miserable poet
You are drawing the return
On rising waves,
Between you and them years
Here you have a house,
There you do not
You carried your hardship and left,
No one supported you
Nor the government wants you
Nor your people embraced you
And the soil was disgusted
From the sweat of your elbow
I am the only one
Who protected you from treason
To overcome your conditions
Who are you without migration?
Tired out by your letters,
Crucified by your poetry
And blood on your palms
They expelled you, I took you in
They hated you, I loved you
You gathered my money,
You were bountiful to your country
You married me,
You deprived me of your children
Why are not you satisfied?
You are living in my heart
And your heart in Lebanon
-2-
I told it: I did not betray you
During these years
Nor did I forget your remunerations
In you I endured agony
To repay you your sorrow
With my body perspiration
I scented your feet,
Gather the gift
And scatter it on you
I came to you young
And I forgot to flirt
In you I suffered so much
And the age goes on
Where will I be!?
A fool is asking!?
**
STRANGE
-1-
Strange the places strange
And the childhood laughters a moaning
Oh sun of love do not disappear,
Shine, My night is gloomy
-2-
The long roads stole me
And threw me at doors and doors
Birds of distance tell me
Why is sorrow meant for me?
-3-
Yearning for the eyes of the loved ones
For the laughs in sleepless evenings
To say: Oh anguish hide!!
The moon will come back to my country
**
A SOIL IS WALKING
-1-
As a rock you would be oh human
And as leaves the trembling hits you
All the creation created by the ruler
Soil returned soil and soil is walking
-2-
Fear god do not fear people
What good will splendour serve you?
Oh if you only taste the bitterness of the cup
You would laugh at the narrowness of your mind
-3-
Your clothes are clean
Your body is dirty
And your appearance from a distance
Is beautiful oh human being!
But, you are an imposter
And your mind is stained with things
Which evil does not know yet
-4-
Do not kneel and pray to the lord of the universe
And your heart is filled with hatred for people
And your injustice: if you treat unjustly god help
You would slaughter a baby to drink a cup
-5-
Not every prayer raises you up
Even if you pray day and night
What is the use of praying wrongly?
And eyes spark flame and fire.
**
A STRANGE WORLD
-1-
A stranger lost in a strange world
Filled with worry
Its brown face traces gloomy
In a blood colour
Its sky rumbles, its cloud, weird,
Rains poison
And when it extends its horrifying hands
And opens the mouth
Its people increase but the tragedy
They don’t have a mother!
-2-
If a boat carries you to this world
Without a sail
And you saw the earth's dress torn
In a shape of villages
Full of poverty and heavy chest
And hungered people,
By the road, gather a bunch of lily
And kneel on a rock and say:
The flowers are for someone like me,
His age perished,
And for an illusion's pride arrogant
Sold his life
-3-
A world, its sun extinguished in my hands
And its moon vanished
I harvested grievance for it a harvest
And I knitted it as clothes
I squeezed despair with my stubborn tears
And I poured it like a drink
I washed agony in my joyful seas
And I opened doors
I whisked their dust to became new
Without fatigue
**
CONVOYS MEN
-1-
Convoys men departed, hurried walking
They left the cedar's home in agony
They planted the seasons, seasons of plenty
And set up their tents in another country
The dew got upset
The bird's voice became husky
And the poplar branches leaned withered
-2-
And who migrated
Hard for him to return
Escaping from deportation
Of the power of the Canon
From a politic of puzzles
From a wider tyranny
From a huge sea's mouth,
Children it is swallowing
-3-
Kids thrown like flowers
On the edge of ditches, tyranny dug
And their eyes lit at night
On a shining dawn
On the remains of a dream
They died out and became a thousand story
About a land longing for the taste of peace
-2-
And who lives treason
No shame for him to leave
And steps in the middle of the sea
Enduring desertion
Who tasted abandonment
It is tough for him to hope for rightness
And dream in a mattress of flowers
On a velvet rug
-4-
But if we remember the days
Before the war broke
How we raced with dreams
How arrogant we were
Towards the kings of the universe
We would say: our joy is when we sleep
Under the shade of our green cedar
-5-
And we fold yesterday's book
And we build our happiness
A wedding is not a wedding
Without our drunkenness
We who gave the sun
From our joy's light
We refuse despair
To play with our lives
**
MY VOICE IS HUSKY
-1-
My voice is husky and my larynx
Dried out of your dust blow
And the song which you were
Was slaughtered thrown on your rocks
Return the song, oh my country
And the laughter to your children's lips
Return my power, my glories
To light the star facing you
My voice is husky and dreaming
Come back and sing, oh my country
Tune out the “oud” and sing for you:
Oh “ghzayil” with dignity
You are in love but suffering
Let us come back to our land
And bring back the youth Era
-2-
Oh “ghzayil” say to him and repeat:
The cedar flag we respect
Remaining for us all Lebanon
From the coast to the hills
-3-
Oh “ghzayil” in our desertion
We did not forget our village
Spread the news of our return
Prior to the sunset
-4-
Oh “ghzayil” whatever strikes it
We are, yes we are its beloved
Mixture from its soil
That land full of goodness
-5-
My voice is husky and for you
I'll knit from “OFI” your scarf
And rejoice when my flute cries
Bring down its tears facing you
What do I say, do I say?
I'm trying from your mountain's rock
And from the strength of your men's faith
Steal, oh my country, your song:
They said: money to you
I said: I do not want it
I want the glory as a mole on my cheek
I am from a country its cedars are jewels
And its soil of gold shining in my hand
-6-
My voice is husky, and my hope
Erase with the tunes the darkness
And hum bit of “qarradi”
Growing living in my mind
Want to sing for you my country
Scared of myself for myself:
My country answer my country
Strikes are many
The spring is running beside you
And my heart on fire
-7-
No matter what happens don't say
They forgot the days
They forgot the childhood period
In desertion of dreams
The soul in your love blended
Hard for us to sleep and see you killed
With the hands of disgrace
-8-
My voice is husky and my faith
In you my country allowed me
Raise the voice and sing for you
I'll plant your name on my lips
And carry your cross on my shoulders
And blow out with tears your rage
Maybe my tender country
In my sound and my eyes tears
Repay you bit of your gratitude.
“Ghzayil, Ofi, Qarradi, Oud, Lebanese names represent our songs, poetry and music”
**
TWO HANDFULS OF MONEY
-1-
Do not die in your desertion do not die
And leave your soil curse you in the tomb
Go and spend your life in Beirut
And shake off your wings from the agony dust
-2-
You remain a stranger in your desertion oh sober
Even if your house is filled with maids
Come on let us together cling to a handful of winds
And return to the land of pride
-3-
Let us together expel the house foreigner
Who ignited in the home hatred and fire
Who allowed the sky to blacken with its poisons
Who allowed with his lies a neighbour
Slaughter a neighbour
-4-
We who were living in prosperity
Dancing and walking like a peacock
We betrayed our country and the cedar dignity
And we sold pride with two handfuls of money
-5-
We are running and gathering
Mirage in our desertion
Destroying the age and wasting it with delusion
And our kids whom we are forgetting behind doors
They are growing
And in their hearts a waterfall of poison
**
KADMOUS
-1-
And you remain Kadmous
Lord of lords:
Ink, pen, lessons
And two brand new exercise books
-2-
Oh tutor of generations
In your book we read
How these children
We make their forehead bigger
-3-
Today we became many
And you were only one
Writing at the fire light
And shining like a sun
-4-
Your vessel till today
Still in our eyes
Do not be afraid
Sleeping cannot get us
-5-
In your feast oh god of letter
My faith increase
To describe it of description
My tongue will tire
-6-
Students like flowers
Are dancing at your feast
They got drunk and drunkenness
From the smell of your wine
-7-
What do I tell them about you?
Oh moon without absence
I will explain to them
That you have been dead for ages
And yet you have not become soil.
**
MADNESS
-1-
My madness is stronger than their madness
My madness is stronger than their madness
When they become crazy I would be crazier
And when they quieten down as usual
I would see the tears in their eyes
-2-
A cursed coincidence brought us
To a world which did not approve of my arts
My poems, it said: to fire
My thoughts what thoughts!
And to leave a memory
I got mad and tore my clothes
I was sliding on my knees
They were all happy and congratulated me
On my crazy championships
-3-
I socialized with them
Though with the company,
The personality changes quickly
And it does not do me any good
No matter how I screamed how I turned
No matter how I became drowsy
I will remain inside their country
And my kids looking similar to their kids
-4-
That past which still hanging
On the gallows of the blue dream
Hatched before me flowers
And I am still waiting to hatch
Like someone making his tomb a bed,
I slept not feeling the day
**
BLACK FLOWERS
-1-
..You are congratulating me
On dreams lost before they were born
Escaped from my imagination and my madness
Planted a crazy delusion in my eyes
Black flowers have grown?
-2-
Tears rolling after tears
And I was unable to sleep
My mother singing for me:
“Sleep pigeon bird”
And crying facing me
I see in her eyes candles flames
-3-
I gathered fire and light from my age
And distributed flowers bouquets to people
People betrayed me and dried my flowers
Which I thought they would never dry
Though who lived treason
Slaughters with his nail the flowers
-4-
Oh you hearing the voice do not be afraid
My voice is an echo of stories
On my lips
I put songs to sleep
And sang them while asleep
And the dream carrying me on its shoulders
And when I woke up
I sensed my dream has died
On its own and no one ever saw it!
**
A POET FAREWELL
-1-
A farewell party?!
Why we have to say goodbye
And recite poems
And speeches at your hearing
If we read a poem you wrote
About your parents,
Your land which you loved
No matter how far you are
We will fly to be with you?!
-2
You are a poet,
Smartness from your quarry,
And all the rhymes drink from your fountain,
If you sing, the whole world dance
And in front of your poems it bows
Like a shadow it walks and follows you
-3-
When destiny exploded your tearful
And with its hard hits it caused you pain
Your loved ones gathered around you
And hid you in their hearts
Because they loved you so much
They stood by you against the one
Wishing you to kneel
-4-
We love you
And this is why we see you
In our eyes dreams planting you
You are loyalty, honesty, love
And you have nobility proud in the heart
On all human kind raising you
-5
Shy I am to make you hear this poem
And all the poems kneeling at your alter
But before you return back to the home land
The land which riots played with it
I love to say to you: God be with you
**
YOU ARE COMING
-1-
Coming.. you are coming
Oh, vessel of beginning
From children's dreams
Born in a story's heart
Which does not know an ending
So they can live in a country
Its swings are high
Its stars are vines
And its years are feasts
-2-
You are coming like a giant
The universe facing you kneeling
And the songs in your ears
The star which does not wake up
Filled an urn from its tears
To wash your feet
Oh, you who were the entire world
You are coming with god's strength
Love bliss in your eyes
-3-
You are coming from fires
A light, a perfume and lilies
Your forehead like a snow
And the childhood laughter
Which is confiscated and killed
Became a prairie space
And the insulted flag
Oh, my Lebanese country
Is raised in the highest tower
-4-
What is the use of sects
And the creator scared of them
If they kneel and worship?!
And what is the use of joy
With prayer and devotion
And your people are homeless?!
Promise me by the right of your children
By your cross,
By your crescent,
You may remain free united
So our nights will shrill
And you become within us
The glorified country
**
LET ME REJOICE
-1-
For the first time in two years
I sense the taste of happiness
The world hit me with an eye,
Hurt me, and after a month it came,
To embrace me and healed its wounds
-2-
Let me rejoice people
And wipe from my cheek the tear
If you taste the bitterness of the cup
Which I drank in the darkness of days
You would summarize the age in a week
-3-
Wishing someone to install me a wing
And fly me in the high
I want to overcome winds
Which blew in my eyes dust
And threw me in the hardest situation
-4-
Wishing someone to sing me a song
And play me music
Escaping from death's hands
And lying under the sun
Sucking the light from its veins
-5-
High and proud
Even I am a human being
Which does not believe in daybreak
I fought hatred with faith
I stole it from the convent's incense
And burnt it, to scent the air
-6-
Congratulate me; congratulate the oppressed
Who never in his age tasted mercy
The clouds started again to gather
Promise a season of plenty
And pour on the earth the grace
**
THE PRESENCE OF THE ABSENT
-1-
With the presence of the absent
The evening party rejoiced
And the string got drunk
How beautiful is drunkenness
It made the cedar
Waiting in the high mountain dance
The return of the loved ones
Who prolonged the trip
And Lebanon which does not know hatred
They killed its children
And tarnished the memory
My people I will make them swear
By the cedar's glory by the blood
And by Sannine to be united
Today not tomorrow
-2-
We left families in our country together
Beloved ones became today a story
No eyes can see them and say:
My eyes’ tears wet your pictures
No joy after you is accepted
And no music will affect me
The agony yoke I drag constantly
At dawn break I cry for Lebanon
And at night I cry for my brother
**
A RIDE
-1-
A ride we came and how do we return!?
And when we would laugh
The eyes produce a tear
And why continue the ride
And at the end of the ride we will kneel?
-2-
Nor the house embraces
The people of the house
Nor God is hearing the tyranny cry
Over the innocent
The evil persons have control
And no one from its creator is scared
-3-
They are kidnapping young brunette girls
Who did not reach their weaning
Half of them are suckling
They said: by the name of the powerful lord
It is fine if a baby suffers
-4-
It is permissible if the chastity of the girl
Collapsed in front of a bad crook mule!
It is fine for a murderous powerful criminal
To wed the sun
And the honour of the girl will be torn!
-5-
Women been sold by a dealer
To men whom their price is manure
Which you do not pay for
To men who painted their faces with charcoal
The world vanishes
And the charcoal does not shine
-6-
They said: it is right to kill the infidels
And people's blood becomes a swamp
They killed each other
And the neighbour liquidated the neighbour
And in god's paradise he is lusting
-7-
They destroyed the planet
Killing became a belt
Wrapping a complicated broken universe
A ride its beginning burning and fire
And at its end the cannon is screaming
**
YOU ARE THE WOMAN
-1-
You are the woman how big you are
A miniature god's picture
You are creating by his order the humanity
A radiant childhood laughter
Without you a stone was not built
Where is the creation by the way?
You give dates like trees
And blooming like roses
-2-
They said a woman is the world
The motherhood she is to take care
On her hand childishness sleeps
And old age kisses her hands
-3-
Like a prayer we consecrate her
Dress her up the purity crown
She does not know cruelty's craziness
And she does not concede to cheating
-4-
We measured the planet on her measure
We measured loyalty by her measure
The eyes lashes her outfit
And her lips laughter is the ruler
-5-
You are the woman who is named
The universe sun in the highest sky
In your arm stars we draw
And there was not a day you were arrogant
-6-
You are the woman
And how pretty is your face as a mother
And as a sister I spoil your presence
You are the girl which full of capacity
-7-
You are the woman meaning the treasure
For upbringing you became a symbol
Without turning and winking
Like you they did not find a jewel
-8-
You are the woman meaning the poetry
Meaning the yarn, meaning the flowers
We wash your feet with a perfume
We dry it and we powder it
-9-
How and how we wait for you
Even in our hands we wrap you
In love only we incense you
So your name becomes a pride
-10-
I make you swear: wake people up
Extinguish the war, erase the danger
There is not a child who did not migrate
We became scattered nations
-11-
You are the woman whom I love
And dream to live near her
And walk the age on her path
Without lying and yapping
-12-
You are the woman
Who oppresses you is a stupid ignorant
Does not understand you
The more he hardens how merciful you are
You throw your forgiveness on him
-13-
You are the woman
For you they kneel
The smallest baby, the biggest king
Oh my mother how pretty you are
Even in the tomb's soil
**
HOW DID MY AGE FOLD?
-1-
The days are rushing
My calendar tired out
With its illusions
Which played with my migration
I wish if I can sleep
And slumber forgets me
In a land thirsting for my eyes tears
To make it love me
And sing for it songs
Which dreams never heard of
-2-
My length, what is the use of my length
If my width a bird's feather?
My body is a flying air
And walking bored of me
Stop all the watches
I am scared of being grey
And my hairs turn messy
Which are used to be tidy
How did my age fold?
I could not reach the moon
The moon will disappear
Wait my moon
To say goodbye with poetry
-3-
My eyes, woe's urns
And I put my eyeliner
I am afraid of the night's neigh
To claim my madness
When I open my hands
They collect people's dust mocking me
In their hearts Judas's hatred
In the sea they threw me
And the wave a horse back
I rode on my assumptions
And I am without energy
-4-
They changed my name,
The shape and the address
My age is a breeze
From its scream I am terrified
If my paths are finished
My walks die!
If my sins are erased
My talks live!
My roads, a human being's fatigue
My sins are devil's joy
Which does not like my life
-5-
Every time the sun rises
My light extinguishes
Oh my age do not hurry
My flowers did not open
And the bud is still a baby
Without a house, parents
The bees sucked its veins
Till my roots withered
Oh birds of dawn
Visit the baby visit
But do not open your mouth
Or fiddle your worry,
The desertion's craziness
And I am scared for my birds
-6-
The coffin is calling out
To the colourful flowers
Quiet, I said quiet
Since I will die
Why to be born?
Why? Tell me why?
To grow old and age?
And living is the biggest lie
We welcome it with lilies
We farewell it with lilies
**
THE AIRSPACE EAGLE
-1-
Oh airspace eagle rise
Do not be scared from the clouds
And on the light's border land
And with your feathers
Wisk away the dusty days face
-2-
Oh sound of wind
Which is whirling in our ears
We draw a line between tears
And our eyes
And the red groans
-3-
You are from here
Stop oh glory and sing
We transformed the universe into a paradise
And the paradise guard
God's green cedars
**
THE ORPHANED
An orphaned aged no more than seven years old, they forced her to sell sweets day and night and after fatigue and insomnia exhausted her she plunged in a deep sleep on her sweet platter in the street.
-1-
Oh my sweetheart magic in your eyes
And the sweet platter is not pretty without you
Your shoe in the leaders’ moustaches
My little one how does the universe sleep?
And the lord of heaven is quiet
About the criminality
So this way you close your eyes
-2-
Where is your bed?
Where is a mattress coloured
With your eyes colour
Which from our dirt is blackened?
The footpath became your bed
In front of people
They take pictures of you
They write news about you
But their wooden hands
Did not extend
To rescue you from destiny
-3-
Where are you to hug you?
To fulfil you of your mother's compassion
To be your father...
To spoil you
To say to you:
Inside my heart I lay your place
Sleep my soul and fly away your worry
The world monsters are lusting for your blood
**
TIRED
-1-
My eyes tired of emigration craziness
And talk withered early
Maybe time closed in my face the door
Maybe destiny throwing on my shoulders
A yoke
My age years wandered like a drain water
Swallowed by a well
And the well is a small urn
Next to it a pen and a book
-2-
I do not have the energy
To overcome the waiting
I hear the horse's neigh
Coming like a memory
It passes on the night's face
To erase tomorrow
-3-
Tired walking and worries so heavy
And the wind is messing my years
The illusion made me almost a man
Worried my head is and I am fed up
No country calling me and no babies
No elbows embracing me warming me
I am living on my own
A load on my back
From my isolation oh God spare me.
**
THE TRAVEL DUST
-1-
The travel dust is stuck to my clothes
It multiplies on its own
It tore my pockets
Its colour the colour of darkness
From it many became crazy
How does a day face me
And all the age lying dreams
-2-
A dust that does not have mercy
On the cry of the yearning
To the stones of a small house
They became old
There in a village on the wind elbow
Between it and between the sun
It drew a line
And on the line it set up swings
To swing poems and longings
-3-
Still the same as I left ages ago
Love and hospitality
Sacrifice and faith
And neighbours from their laughters
Rise a moon
The word welcome greeted all mankind
And despite the hatred,
The war,
The danger craziness
Neighbours remained
So Lebanon remained
-4-
How do I accomplish my return?
And the hope bird drowning in my tears
The hands are waving with a scarf
Long time ago repeating ballads:
The homeland hunger like worries heavy
And Lebanon is not feeling my hunger
**
WE MISSED YOU
-1-
The waves of the sea fold us
And destroy all our crossroads
They throw us a tear on the port
The craziness waiting is burning us
Oh my country which loves us
Do not allow migration to suffocate us
You are within us stay within us
By the life of the cedars
We missed you
-2-
We missed who departed
And left us
Who were the dabke and the folkloric songs
And the sun laughter which is blooming
“Over your branch oh orange tree”
From my madness verses I build
So migration decreases its insanity
My age mirror it is breaking
In it faces who loved us
-3-
We missed oh god we missed you
Oh village extend your hands
And do not forget us
Hide us in the blue of your eyes
We grew up in you
Do not estrange yourself from us
When we were away
We would come back to you
Migration no matter how old its years
We would not forget the dust of your feet
-4-
The beautiful memories pass by
And I do not think I am living them
As a mercury when it pours its laughter
Who would catch it?
I know my days I am burning
And my eyes agony is blinding them
And I do not know if my sun will rise
My presence in migration is deceiving it
**
A LIFE OF JOY
-1-
We lived together
Neighbour next to neighbour
A life of joy
I wish if one day I would come back
And see the water spring, the church,
And find out what happened
With the childhood house
I long to fill in my bag olive
Its grains bunches huge bunches
Oh Mejdlaya, measure my love
Despite my happiness
Despite richness in desertion
Tears in my eyes
And the heart on fire
-2-
I wish to return and see my beloved ones
Whom their faces erased my absence
In the darkness of my exercise books
I scribbled a bunch of names
Returned my youth
Years and years
I keep searching for the photos
If a picture was lost
My pain grows
Far away they are from me
And how I lived
And my soil started calling my soil
Yes I aged
My hair turned grey
A bit deaf I became
Oh Mejdlaya decrease my misery
-3-
I do not want to live in abandonment
I am disgusted of desertion word
Disgusted your son I am
And longing to see you
I am living on my own in my abandonment
Bored I am
I miss to play on your palms
And say to you:
I love you
And the heart is joyful
I miss coming back
Kiss your name letters
And stand at your church door with regret
Help me return your favour
And plant my soil
In Lebanon’s mountain
**
MY TEARS
-1-
If my tears were talk
I would not have tasted crying
But my tears a mirage
They roll disturbed
And on the cheek there is a door keeper
Who loses the battle,
Who opens the door for it,
It declares the law of the jungle
And the kingdom falls
-2-
If my tears were a stone
I would not have hit people with it
The stone would become a building
A wide sight
So a small baby sleeps
Carrying on its shoulders sleeplessness
And to cross out the misery of a mother heart
Which was broken
I will build a big wall
Standing in the face of destiny
-3-
If my tears were wood
I would have inflamed literature
And made from it a sword
From it shines a flame
And erased the word: wrong
Wrong who wrote:
We protected the guest
We guarded the descent
We united winter and summer
But we could not unite the Arabs
**
JUDAS
-1-
They want me to wait for my death
And my death will not be realised
No matter how they suffocated
My mind and my voice
My letter from my pain will be born
It becomes the crazy tear
Which my eyes could not imprison
I said to it: in my seas be
And do not be
My shadow on the intersection
-2-
They want me to terminate myself
And declare my bankruptcy to people
Tear my books..
Distribute my money..
Drown my dreams in my cup
And the people who walked beside me
In days of hardship
They said to me:
Stand in their faces..
It is impossible Judas will win
**
Paula abdul Ahad
**
DIDGERIDOO
-1-
What's this captivating sound?
It's elating,
Exciting..
I'd like it to go on and on.
The original inhabitant
Who's surrounding me with his love
Dancing with his feast..
If you wish to console me by a sound
Play for me the Didgeridoo.
-2-
The Aborigine has made it round reed,
Higher than him,
It succumbs him when he blows,
His breath always bows to it..
But when he blows!!
He creates this captivating sound.
-3-
Click - Sticks..
The dust is overflowing
Surrounding
Due to the tanned steps
The field was stirred up,
Blown up..
When they turned,
The evening was turned on
And life started to turn..
**
UNEMPLOYED
-1-
Dragging his feet and scared,
He is not used to begging,
Has not seen or stepped into (C.E.S.),
He created a space
Between him and this place.
-2-
He's Lebanese..
Who's picked his sweat,
Spent his expatriation painstaking
And hard work.
I saw him standing anxious,
I asked,
He delayed with the answer:
- I'm just asking for a job,
I feel like I've been out of my body for long time,
Living silently,
The factories became sick of my face,
The sun is too bored to share my morning,
I want a job, any job,
To help me
And my family to survive.
Jobless,
Unemployed,
This encumbrance is killing me
Heavier than money's needs!!
-3-
.. They called him,
And tears came out of his shy eyes.
Death, he said,
But do not Say:
Move it, don't be lazy.
**
COFFS HARBOUR
-1-
Abla was driving the car
While my mind was occupied
With the green banana fields
Which were saying:
Here you are,
Come and taste,
You're welcome in and we're out,
Our visitor has the right.
The (Big Banana)
Stood with its lovely figure
Taking my eye's pupil as its mirror,
Undressing itself for me
And Leila is saying to me:
Hold your breath.
-2-
Coffs Harbour..
We'll never forget it,
We lit three candles,
We celebrated our anniversary,
Wrote it with our tears as a song
And drew magnificent pictures of it
On its spoiled sand
Which climbed up to Abla's waist
Trying to hide her
And go further and further up!
**
SYDNEY
-1-
You are the dream
Which lived in my mind for years,
Its traces didn't wipe out.
I picked you off my parent's laughter,
Off confused eyes' prayers..
O, Sydney..
Which stood calling me
On a shore..
I kissed its dust.
I loved you:
Field's madness,
Mountains..
Which flew off their puberty.
-2-
Kings Cross
The beautiful nights
Tanned on far shores
Used to warmly welcome
To a party with new friends.
I hope days move slowly
And keep us young
To go higher on higher waves
To burn and turn into ashes.
**
SURFERS PARADISE
-1-
Your name is Paradise,
Your beach is heaven,
Your sun is wooing another sun
And your sand is resonant,
On its sound..
Whispering becomes exciting..
Purified raw-gold,
Yellow,
Brown,
Where beauty loves to be encompassed.
-2-
Surfers..
You're turning me mad!
In you..
I'd like to be forever locked up.
Your wave..
Oh..
Comes out of my mouth,
It takes away spirit
And gives back another!
-3-
I visited you with Abla once.
She didn't want to come back home.
She fell in love with you
And that love destroyed my heart.
The word (if only)
Wasn't of use anymore.
I was so jealous..
And when I become as such,
My blood boils and burns like oil.
You have visitors everyday
Don't say you only admired her..
Give my Abla back
And put down the fire.
I admired her long before you did.
**
TAREE
-1-
Abla loved to wipe the night out in you,
To spread my arms,
To take Canopus her mirror
Which gathered in my eye.
She thought your wave is the horse
And my chest is the saddle and the cap.
She flew by us to the other side
And nearly drowned in me.
-2-
She loves to walk on the beach
And tells the sand a story about a village,
The duck adores,
Sprinkling like a star..
About Taree,
Where boons landed as harvest.
Between Abla and Taree
My heart landed
And picking became harder.
**
AUSSIE
-1-
I loved you from the first sight..
I closed my eyes and hid you,
I saw you as my fulfilled dream
A life-boat rescuing a drowned world.
-2-
O, heartbeat
I threw you in my heart..
Who dried the lily flowers?
Who dusted your face?
Who ripped that look?
Which put a parting
Between paucity and plenary
This distresses your people.
Their situation is agitating.
I wish you stand on the glory hills
... and blow mercury bubbles!
-3-
Mum..
You gave me your house away
And named me with an adorned name
Aussie..
How nice this name is
For whom, who loves you today and always.
I'll tell about your oil smear
Your love
Your glory.
I'll tell about the life you gave
Without you it wouldn't have passed,
In four directions
I saw you as a song
With a whooping note.
Your good reputation is over the stars,
Your palm is generosity
And your name is a flag.
**
YOU, I AND THE TOWER
-1-
From Sydney Tower
And space is dark
I saw the land planted with light,
I saw the aurora riding a horse
Its steps are like printed stars.
-2-
I saw the moon's eye winking at the waves
And letting the lights dance on the water.
You're opposite me filming the views
And the camera is my eye.
-3-
I don't know if it was me
Or the tower who was drunk.
The world was running opposite it,
Its head was full
It shook it with boredom
And knitted the evening its scarf.
-4-
Like a lie, the fog showed up
Waking the rain
Which was escaping the hunger,
Wiping shores
Smeared with fire,
Scratching windows with its tears.
-5-
The rain had neither abolished a dream
Nor smothered a city
I've hidden Sydney in the film,
My beloved
Hide me in your heart.
**
AVALON
-1-
Avalon..
The warm beach,
Its waves wake my imagination,
Under the tree I drew a small distance
Which my space can not bind.
On the trunk of the tree
My shoulders left a print
To talk about me.
-2-
In Avalon
I poured out my feelings.
Its rocks
Seemed to me like mountains!
If its waves assailed my rocks
The sands will laugh under the waves.
Off its sun
I'm begging my light..
Between Avalon and me
There is a good bond.
**
CANBERRA
-1-
I hang my love as a decoration on the trees,
O, Canberra
A forest in a city.
I thought I was (Griffin) the architect
And your land is the panel
Your buildings are the pens
But I couldn't draw
Don't reproach me.
-2-
Your soil's smell perfumed forest
Fenced with mountains don't kneel..
The snow landed on their rock
And cooled down,
Burnt up its feelings,
And spilled the moans
To warm up a lake, wider than the sea.
-3-
Your blonde houses showered in the shade
And dried up with light green.
Their trees dropped wet leaves,
Baptised unmatched streets
Which spread its palms
As theatres for the air.
**
LYGON STREET
-1-
I love you..
I said to a pretty brunette,
As young as a gardenia.
A girl from Melbourne with a blooming face
And red rose cheeks.
Lygon Street lit by her
By her smile
Which threw me by a live coal.
Help me Lygon
To spend an evening
With The woman
Who made me drunk
Without the glass and the wine.
-2-
Your visitors became upset
When they saw me saying farewell
With my tears.
The pizza got cooler
We didn't even taste it..
The restaurant asked me
For the due money..
The love moments we had
Were attested by my foolish moments.
The best walk we had
Was on your footpath
O, friend of lovers,
You're awaking the whole world.
-3-
Inside you I'm hiding my love story
Which I'm telling with distracted mind.
I came to you from Sydney
On my way..
Her shadow was standing like a giant.
I loved her?
Don't ask my heart.
Of your nights I beg her love..
She picked me off expatriation's cold
And forced me to imprint on my lips:
O, Lygon your evening isn't cold!!
**
PORT MACQUARIE
-1-
Port Macquarie..
Port Macquarie..
I'm afraid of you spreading my secrets,
How many kisses I flew to her,
How I offered her my flowers.
The sea is girdling it all around,
My heart is drowning
And I don't know..
I feel that its sea is jealous of me
I feel that its beach had collected my stories,
Its sand is becoming a life coal..
Its wave is running off my fire.
I've fallen in with it,
And my blood is boiling
Because my flow is sweeping me away.
-2-
Port Macquarie is a city,
But I'm confused
How did I love it?
How did it love me?
How did it steel my poems?
**
BRISBANE
Daughter of unlimited sea,
Sister of sleepless sun.
Brisbane the lurked treasure
Which dreams are dreaming of.
I visited once and said:
I'll come back
And feast the days' eyes
On prairies, climbing barren mountains
Where the bird has fasted and prayed.
On the sea
Which the sand that's setting camps
Was born from,
To powder smoothest cheeks,
To guild most beautiful figures.
O, Brisbane
Your beach is very popular,
Generosity is acting
And we are one of those films.
**
DROMANA
-1-
Dromana
Abundant gardens
Arthur is sitting to observe attentively.
Its houses are candles in a big village
Which the sea scribbled, beautified
And hung a heavy relic on its chest,
Dromana couldn't carry,
It divided it,
And shared with the neighbourhood.
The waves, which left their atelier
And hid a little wave
The atelier has forgotten to complete.
-2-
Dromana,
The on going magic
Which Victoria stood to meet.
It spun a green fabric
In its spinning wheel,
To warm him.
He saw it blurred..
He tumbled by it
And it fell in him..
It became a flower
And he became a butterfly..
Their secret I'll never reveal.
**
KATOOMBA'S SPRING
-1-
It was snowing flowers
On the hills' cheeks...
Joy became the guard
And we became the songs.
Whenever a light dawn wakes the slumbers
Our sky pours out perfumes
In gatherings..
Not the ones life died in.
-2-
Your voice showed up like glory
Searching our hopes..
Sprinkling happiness as flowers
On our past paths.
.. As if his shadow is barren
You pervaded..
Warm us,
The coldness scratched our eyes,
Of coldness hide us.
-3-
Remember Katoomba and say:
How was the spring set apart
Off seasons made by season
And became the dream in our mind?
Its forests, possible!!
Spinning its echo a scarf..
Covering the fields with trees
As vast as what's been said..
As long as happiness in length
In width, as wide as mountains.
-4-
Merdad..
Like twilight are your laughter's
Beware..
Don't let the basil daughters fall in love,
In gentleness..
Spring season was stolen off burnt hearts
And Katoomba became a tunnel
Between what's stayed in memory
And what's not going to.
**
BONDI
-1-
Snuggle in me..
I'm awaiting you to snuggle in me.
My eyes whoops of your glow
And Bondi, which baptised your body
Breaks the baptismal font
And selects your name,
Offers you the most beautiful gift:
Beach,
Sun and umbrella!
-2-
Snuggle in me..
My hands missed your cheeks,
The plaits of your curly hair
Which on its beaches the water desiccated.
Mermaid..
And you're going to stay for me
The sands' effaced tale,
Soldier standing next to your castle,
Wearing an obscure hat,
Your wrist is dancing with my wrist
And Bondi is chanting a song.
-3-
Snuggle in me..
Return me to my forgotten years.
Sea birds, which flew and rose,
Lifted us as a story's straw
And people who were pointing us out
When you leaned on me,
Didn't you see them
When they showed up their breast
On a sand's mattress?!
Didn't you see them
When their lips snuggle with their lips?!
Don't be afraid of them
All of Bondi is:
Love,
Nipples and freedom..
**
MELBOURNE
-1-
Paradise..
How beautiful are its groves!
Its creator variegated with its creation.
Yarra offers it the water,
It offers us the boons.
Saint Kilda, which gild its sands,
To please Melbourne's lovers eyes,
Washed its feet with its waves
And kneeled kissing the forehead rocks.
-2-
Melbourne..
The charmed star.
I get drunk with its appearance.
My desire slays me to visit it
And smear my eyes with the green colour.
A picture..
How beautiful is that picture?!
Engraved on marble's wrists.
Mansions were planted on its streets
Increase..
Whenever the paradise enlarges.
**
FIRE 1994
Your forest turned into a dragon
Flames tongues is his tongue
And we're running scared
Of his treachery and his smoke..
Hell, we said,
But who will wipe the oppression
And its devil?!
Your men showed up
And the evergreen cypress trunks were crazy.
Their shoulders
Beside the beautiful ladies' shoulders..
They left their families
Choosing not to leave you
Or betray your land's heaven
The orchards,
The hencoop that is cuddling its chicks.
Their fire brigades are full of pride
Integrity is the symbol.
Their hose is knife like
Cutting the flame with its flood.
We thought they were saints!
Saint George on his horse!
Butting the fire out..
The second seemed years,
Protecting the house
And its residents.
Sydney..
Oh garden of jonquil
Planted in the Pacific..
Your people survived by their faith.
**
TASMANIA
-1-
Stay the rock
Which is mounted as a shrine,
The one I'm burning candles for
And hymning a verse
Written with tears on my life's page.
This world is probably overturned
Or your sea is heading up.
I arrived to you with tired paths
Hungry and disgusted of hunger.
O, Tasmania
Fill my pockets with red carob apples,
Picking it is not allowed to people like me.
-2-
Let me swim in your water
My feet drowned in the sands.
The Pacific waves opened up
Their eyes met my eyes.
O, Tasmania
The place, which was born
For summer and winter to meet.
Don't say God processed his offering
Don't say He praised..
Altar has to be in you
And I have to be the holy man.
**
ADELAIDE
-1-
Army of grapevine
Tells you about this guarded city
And the olive trees gesture you
With their leaning branches.
The oranges opposite you
Singing the wind some songs.
Cover your eyes with your kerchief
Adelaide the green heaven
Is going to offer you a gratuity.
-2-
Southerner..
Her forehead is a desert.
Her arms are boon's gardens.
Her breasts are barred mountains
Wooing a bird under the sun.
Her hair is woodlands
The dust is its tint.
And on her feet
There is heavy traffic.
Adelaide..
Its prairies are a flower,
Its streets are like a lit convent
And its lamps are the convent's candles.
**
NANA
-1-
She ran carrying her provisions
Her eyes racing her legs.
Afraid to fail her appointed dates
And be reproached by a boss.
She stopped..
Her sighing didn't stop.
She fell down..
Her arms didn't help.
She poured her wine out of her eyes
Till her eyes' urn was emptied.
-2-
New in her job
And the train doesn't await her
Whatever happens.
She arrived to a city
Its people are in their city visitors.
Sydney..
The person works hard
To collect big concerns.
She loved it,
But her belief in her alienation
Is a dust squall.
It seems like her field denied her
She grew on fire volcanoes
And the morsel on her tongue
Was the left over of young children.
This mum who they called Nana
And still didn't know her address
Her laughter willed in spring.
**
VICTORIA
-1-
Mum and dad lived in you,
Drank your water for long,
Dropped their fears on your bays
And you dusted the anger off their faces.
O, Victoria..
Which I'm talking to,
Your name is a rose on my lips,
Your glamour is the song of your valley,
Your mountains are perfume's swing.
Lend me your past's joy,
I'm sad and love to sing to you
And decorate the poetry with laughter.
-2-
You gave out happiness
On your people in shares,
You haven't forgotten one.
For them..
You emptied your pockets,
You gratified them honour and glory,
You made their hearts your heart
And raised their bodies a mountain,
You consolidated them..
They walk on your paths.
O, Victoria
The lasting glory,
There wasn't and will never be like you.
**
ORANGE
-1-
Your cherries
Are the Blue Mountains' earrings
Opposing the wind.
Embellish with them,
Strut,
Bell with a stunning look.
O, Orange
Your morning is a song in memory,
Your evening is a praise,
Spin me your prairies a scarf..
Offer me your staunch rock
To pick the kohl off the hills
And smear a line on your eyes.
-2-
Your gardens are a bunch of colours
Spreading Lebanon in front of me.
Take me back to my childhood,
To a village with coral houses
Flying birds around me
Melodies danced on its sound.
O, Orange
Your name is a great name,
Riddles in riddle,
To solve it!
I tried hard..
Only He, the Lord, can solve.
**
GOULBURN
One night of the love nights
Our station stopped in you
O, Goulburn
And the heart beats
The longer our night goes.
The ferocious cold covered the way
And pierced its horns in our room..
We couldn't leave the bed
The more the cold gets mad
The less were our sleep hours.
Abla doesn't wake up early
And my night's sleep flew away,
I woke up but Goulburn's birds didn't
Where did they pass the night?
A big ram woke with me
Its eyes are guards on the road
It kept me awake itself.
**
MY MUM
-1-
I'm yearning for your eyes
Yearning for the smile
For bliss dropping lips
Even in dormancy.
O gaze full of hope
My heart is burnt with grief
And afraid to reveal
Destiny is frib bling with my life
And your voice in my ears ringing:
"Do not wail or scream"
-2-
You said to me:
"May God be pleased with you all"
Invocation of God before the death is heard
And void's heart cleaved
As my heart did.
Doctor help my mum
Doctor remedy my mum
Doctor my mum's gone!!
O moment full of pain
Antoine kneeled on his "clot".
George froze and restrained.
Joseph yelled what's wrong with you.
Marcel on your chest nestled.
Michel on his way here,
Upset and drown with tears.
Your daughters in law grief has shone
They lost the unlimited tenderness
Lost the motherhood and the pampering.
Your families are like a kingdom
Bowed its head before you.
-3-
I cried..
By God, I cried..
By God, I cried..
Forgive me, forgive my tears
Don't think I forgot that will
Your clause is a verse engraved on my ribs
But mum, my story is:
I lost the bliss
Lost the hope
And you who were my fortune
I lost you..
I lost you..
Like live coal my agony became
Putting it down with tears
Lighting my eyes as candles on your grave
.. And Jesus cries!!
-4-
They said:
"In July the world is terminating!!"
Apparently the world will end by your death.
Motherhood death is hard
It shouldn't be happening
It quenches hearts beating by your voice.
July is gone and live coal stayed
In eyes became filled with red tears
Why do you leave us why
Into a speed we couldn't inquire!?
Obviously he called you
You missed him
And he missed you
Fine, go to him
It's time to go and meet Sarkis
Living is graceful next to him:
Angel sleeping on saint's chest.
**
NEW CASTLE
-1-
New Castle..
As old as the waves
Running on her beach
Troop is racing troop
To deluge itself in her.
-2-
Her birds are chorus of poets
Warbling for a blast of wind
Feed them,
They'll form a clique of joy
And start to sing.
-3-
Abla..
My little bird,
Surrounded by New Castle birds!!
I snatched her off them
Afraid,
She would flee
And lose her all life long.
**
AUSTRALIA
-1-
What should I tell you?
About a land remoter than imagination,
About a nation values humanity.
Expatriation is heavier than mountains
And yet I loved her,
On my affliction rocks
She planted my hopes
And passed the nights awake
To extend my education.
-2-
What should I tell you?
About her love and kind act.
In her heart, joyful people gathered.
Extract the mankind
And you'll shape her man.
Extract the faith
And you'll reap her faith.
Extract the world
To know who she is.
**
**
Translated from Arabic by
Mirna Nehme
**
THE LONG EXILE
-1-
They wrote me on the lips of their children
A poem to their country
Inflamed in fire,
Agony and destruction,
And on the death bed they said to me:
Oh! Long exile,
Tell them what happened
With the tears of the timid eyes
Which froze on the childhood cheeks
And never washed the traces of their farness
-2-
And they said to me:
Our fatigue tired out
And the age plagued
And from the sweat of our prayers
Drank the prayer book
And the houses where we grew up
And built their walls with our hands
And knitted its terraces with our feet
Denied us
And the mother who wept for us
We hid her pictures in our eyes,
Before the sunset, we sent her letters,
She did not open,
She did not read,
In the fire place in front of her house
She burnt them.
Surely, due to our long absence
She forgot us
And in her pure heart our love died.
-3-
Oh exile of long days,
Oh exile of misery and exhaustion,
Tell me before you tell them:
What is hidden for me?
**
KINGDOM OF TALK
-1-
I thought that I talked
But talk is a fog
I see it as I walk
A shining spark of a match
-2-
Don't say that I heard
My talk is tangible
Its letters on a paper I gathered
And I hung them in a pin,
An icon on the chest of the universe
The colour in love with it
And in it the perfume imprisoned.
-3-
In teary nights,
I mixed from the soil of talk
A human being
I ask: he answers
I am sad: he reproaches me
And draws in my Palm a kingdom
Of smoky threads
And says: Oh, my son,
You are the king
How beautiful you are,
I threw the entire world
In your hands to pass time
God created it complicated,
Do not upset the lord
With your boldness, solve it.
-4-
I laughed when I said:
I arrived
Where? Not known
And the path in front of me
Compacted with my bones,
With laments however I leaned
It breaks my words
With sighs which stood rows
On my dreams beaches
And what a falling thought
Never after it a fall
Million small letters
Gather as a guard
On the sides of a tear
And boil my blood
Increase my worry
How do I write quickly?
And the age is a spark
How do I accompany the word?
And the return is not safe!
**
A FOOL IS ASKING
-1-
Migration with black eyes
Not even twenty said:
What are you hoping for?
My miserable poet
You are drawing the return
On rising waves,
Between you and them years
Here you have a house,
There you do not
You carried your hardship and left,
No one supported you
Nor the government wants you
Nor your people embraced you
And the soil was disgusted
From the sweat of your elbow
I am the only one
Who protected you from treason
To overcome your conditions
Who are you without migration?
Tired out by your letters,
Crucified by your poetry
And blood on your palms
They expelled you, I took you in
They hated you, I loved you
You gathered my money,
You were bountiful to your country
You married me,
You deprived me of your children
Why are not you satisfied?
You are living in my heart
And your heart in Lebanon
-2-
I told it: I did not betray you
During these years
Nor did I forget your remunerations
In you I endured agony
To repay you your sorrow
With my body perspiration
I scented your feet,
Gather the gift
And scatter it on you
I came to you young
And I forgot to flirt
In you I suffered so much
And the age goes on
Where will I be!?
A fool is asking!?
**
STRANGE
-1-
Strange the places strange
And the childhood laughters a moaning
Oh sun of love do not disappear,
Shine, My night is gloomy
-2-
The long roads stole me
And threw me at doors and doors
Birds of distance tell me
Why is sorrow meant for me?
-3-
Yearning for the eyes of the loved ones
For the laughs in sleepless evenings
To say: Oh anguish hide!!
The moon will come back to my country
**
A SOIL IS WALKING
-1-
As a rock you would be oh human
And as leaves the trembling hits you
All the creation created by the ruler
Soil returned soil and soil is walking
-2-
Fear god do not fear people
What good will splendour serve you?
Oh if you only taste the bitterness of the cup
You would laugh at the narrowness of your mind
-3-
Your clothes are clean
Your body is dirty
And your appearance from a distance
Is beautiful oh human being!
But, you are an imposter
And your mind is stained with things
Which evil does not know yet
-4-
Do not kneel and pray to the lord of the universe
And your heart is filled with hatred for people
And your injustice: if you treat unjustly god help
You would slaughter a baby to drink a cup
-5-
Not every prayer raises you up
Even if you pray day and night
What is the use of praying wrongly?
And eyes spark flame and fire.
**
A STRANGE WORLD
-1-
A stranger lost in a strange world
Filled with worry
Its brown face traces gloomy
In a blood colour
Its sky rumbles, its cloud, weird,
Rains poison
And when it extends its horrifying hands
And opens the mouth
Its people increase but the tragedy
They don’t have a mother!
-2-
If a boat carries you to this world
Without a sail
And you saw the earth's dress torn
In a shape of villages
Full of poverty and heavy chest
And hungered people,
By the road, gather a bunch of lily
And kneel on a rock and say:
The flowers are for someone like me,
His age perished,
And for an illusion's pride arrogant
Sold his life
-3-
A world, its sun extinguished in my hands
And its moon vanished
I harvested grievance for it a harvest
And I knitted it as clothes
I squeezed despair with my stubborn tears
And I poured it like a drink
I washed agony in my joyful seas
And I opened doors
I whisked their dust to became new
Without fatigue
**
CONVOYS MEN
-1-
Convoys men departed, hurried walking
They left the cedar's home in agony
They planted the seasons, seasons of plenty
And set up their tents in another country
The dew got upset
The bird's voice became husky
And the poplar branches leaned withered
-2-
And who migrated
Hard for him to return
Escaping from deportation
Of the power of the Canon
From a politic of puzzles
From a wider tyranny
From a huge sea's mouth,
Children it is swallowing
-3-
Kids thrown like flowers
On the edge of ditches, tyranny dug
And their eyes lit at night
On a shining dawn
On the remains of a dream
They died out and became a thousand story
About a land longing for the taste of peace
-2-
And who lives treason
No shame for him to leave
And steps in the middle of the sea
Enduring desertion
Who tasted abandonment
It is tough for him to hope for rightness
And dream in a mattress of flowers
On a velvet rug
-4-
But if we remember the days
Before the war broke
How we raced with dreams
How arrogant we were
Towards the kings of the universe
We would say: our joy is when we sleep
Under the shade of our green cedar
-5-
And we fold yesterday's book
And we build our happiness
A wedding is not a wedding
Without our drunkenness
We who gave the sun
From our joy's light
We refuse despair
To play with our lives
**
MY VOICE IS HUSKY
-1-
My voice is husky and my larynx
Dried out of your dust blow
And the song which you were
Was slaughtered thrown on your rocks
Return the song, oh my country
And the laughter to your children's lips
Return my power, my glories
To light the star facing you
My voice is husky and dreaming
Come back and sing, oh my country
Tune out the “oud” and sing for you:
Oh “ghzayil” with dignity
You are in love but suffering
Let us come back to our land
And bring back the youth Era
-2-
Oh “ghzayil” say to him and repeat:
The cedar flag we respect
Remaining for us all Lebanon
From the coast to the hills
-3-
Oh “ghzayil” in our desertion
We did not forget our village
Spread the news of our return
Prior to the sunset
-4-
Oh “ghzayil” whatever strikes it
We are, yes we are its beloved
Mixture from its soil
That land full of goodness
-5-
My voice is husky and for you
I'll knit from “OFI” your scarf
And rejoice when my flute cries
Bring down its tears facing you
What do I say, do I say?
I'm trying from your mountain's rock
And from the strength of your men's faith
Steal, oh my country, your song:
They said: money to you
I said: I do not want it
I want the glory as a mole on my cheek
I am from a country its cedars are jewels
And its soil of gold shining in my hand
-6-
My voice is husky, and my hope
Erase with the tunes the darkness
And hum bit of “qarradi”
Growing living in my mind
Want to sing for you my country
Scared of myself for myself:
My country answer my country
Strikes are many
The spring is running beside you
And my heart on fire
-7-
No matter what happens don't say
They forgot the days
They forgot the childhood period
In desertion of dreams
The soul in your love blended
Hard for us to sleep and see you killed
With the hands of disgrace
-8-
My voice is husky and my faith
In you my country allowed me
Raise the voice and sing for you
I'll plant your name on my lips
And carry your cross on my shoulders
And blow out with tears your rage
Maybe my tender country
In my sound and my eyes tears
Repay you bit of your gratitude.
“Ghzayil, Ofi, Qarradi, Oud, Lebanese names represent our songs, poetry and music”
**
TWO HANDFULS OF MONEY
-1-
Do not die in your desertion do not die
And leave your soil curse you in the tomb
Go and spend your life in Beirut
And shake off your wings from the agony dust
-2-
You remain a stranger in your desertion oh sober
Even if your house is filled with maids
Come on let us together cling to a handful of winds
And return to the land of pride
-3-
Let us together expel the house foreigner
Who ignited in the home hatred and fire
Who allowed the sky to blacken with its poisons
Who allowed with his lies a neighbour
Slaughter a neighbour
-4-
We who were living in prosperity
Dancing and walking like a peacock
We betrayed our country and the cedar dignity
And we sold pride with two handfuls of money
-5-
We are running and gathering
Mirage in our desertion
Destroying the age and wasting it with delusion
And our kids whom we are forgetting behind doors
They are growing
And in their hearts a waterfall of poison
**
KADMOUS
-1-
And you remain Kadmous
Lord of lords:
Ink, pen, lessons
And two brand new exercise books
-2-
Oh tutor of generations
In your book we read
How these children
We make their forehead bigger
-3-
Today we became many
And you were only one
Writing at the fire light
And shining like a sun
-4-
Your vessel till today
Still in our eyes
Do not be afraid
Sleeping cannot get us
-5-
In your feast oh god of letter
My faith increase
To describe it of description
My tongue will tire
-6-
Students like flowers
Are dancing at your feast
They got drunk and drunkenness
From the smell of your wine
-7-
What do I tell them about you?
Oh moon without absence
I will explain to them
That you have been dead for ages
And yet you have not become soil.
**
MADNESS
-1-
My madness is stronger than their madness
My madness is stronger than their madness
When they become crazy I would be crazier
And when they quieten down as usual
I would see the tears in their eyes
-2-
A cursed coincidence brought us
To a world which did not approve of my arts
My poems, it said: to fire
My thoughts what thoughts!
And to leave a memory
I got mad and tore my clothes
I was sliding on my knees
They were all happy and congratulated me
On my crazy championships
-3-
I socialized with them
Though with the company,
The personality changes quickly
And it does not do me any good
No matter how I screamed how I turned
No matter how I became drowsy
I will remain inside their country
And my kids looking similar to their kids
-4-
That past which still hanging
On the gallows of the blue dream
Hatched before me flowers
And I am still waiting to hatch
Like someone making his tomb a bed,
I slept not feeling the day
**
BLACK FLOWERS
-1-
..You are congratulating me
On dreams lost before they were born
Escaped from my imagination and my madness
Planted a crazy delusion in my eyes
Black flowers have grown?
-2-
Tears rolling after tears
And I was unable to sleep
My mother singing for me:
“Sleep pigeon bird”
And crying facing me
I see in her eyes candles flames
-3-
I gathered fire and light from my age
And distributed flowers bouquets to people
People betrayed me and dried my flowers
Which I thought they would never dry
Though who lived treason
Slaughters with his nail the flowers
-4-
Oh you hearing the voice do not be afraid
My voice is an echo of stories
On my lips
I put songs to sleep
And sang them while asleep
And the dream carrying me on its shoulders
And when I woke up
I sensed my dream has died
On its own and no one ever saw it!
**
A POET FAREWELL
-1-
A farewell party?!
Why we have to say goodbye
And recite poems
And speeches at your hearing
If we read a poem you wrote
About your parents,
Your land which you loved
No matter how far you are
We will fly to be with you?!
-2
You are a poet,
Smartness from your quarry,
And all the rhymes drink from your fountain,
If you sing, the whole world dance
And in front of your poems it bows
Like a shadow it walks and follows you
-3-
When destiny exploded your tearful
And with its hard hits it caused you pain
Your loved ones gathered around you
And hid you in their hearts
Because they loved you so much
They stood by you against the one
Wishing you to kneel
-4-
We love you
And this is why we see you
In our eyes dreams planting you
You are loyalty, honesty, love
And you have nobility proud in the heart
On all human kind raising you
-5
Shy I am to make you hear this poem
And all the poems kneeling at your alter
But before you return back to the home land
The land which riots played with it
I love to say to you: God be with you
**
YOU ARE COMING
-1-
Coming.. you are coming
Oh, vessel of beginning
From children's dreams
Born in a story's heart
Which does not know an ending
So they can live in a country
Its swings are high
Its stars are vines
And its years are feasts
-2-
You are coming like a giant
The universe facing you kneeling
And the songs in your ears
The star which does not wake up
Filled an urn from its tears
To wash your feet
Oh, you who were the entire world
You are coming with god's strength
Love bliss in your eyes
-3-
You are coming from fires
A light, a perfume and lilies
Your forehead like a snow
And the childhood laughter
Which is confiscated and killed
Became a prairie space
And the insulted flag
Oh, my Lebanese country
Is raised in the highest tower
-4-
What is the use of sects
And the creator scared of them
If they kneel and worship?!
And what is the use of joy
With prayer and devotion
And your people are homeless?!
Promise me by the right of your children
By your cross,
By your crescent,
You may remain free united
So our nights will shrill
And you become within us
The glorified country
**
LET ME REJOICE
-1-
For the first time in two years
I sense the taste of happiness
The world hit me with an eye,
Hurt me, and after a month it came,
To embrace me and healed its wounds
-2-
Let me rejoice people
And wipe from my cheek the tear
If you taste the bitterness of the cup
Which I drank in the darkness of days
You would summarize the age in a week
-3-
Wishing someone to install me a wing
And fly me in the high
I want to overcome winds
Which blew in my eyes dust
And threw me in the hardest situation
-4-
Wishing someone to sing me a song
And play me music
Escaping from death's hands
And lying under the sun
Sucking the light from its veins
-5-
High and proud
Even I am a human being
Which does not believe in daybreak
I fought hatred with faith
I stole it from the convent's incense
And burnt it, to scent the air
-6-
Congratulate me; congratulate the oppressed
Who never in his age tasted mercy
The clouds started again to gather
Promise a season of plenty
And pour on the earth the grace
**
THE PRESENCE OF THE ABSENT
-1-
With the presence of the absent
The evening party rejoiced
And the string got drunk
How beautiful is drunkenness
It made the cedar
Waiting in the high mountain dance
The return of the loved ones
Who prolonged the trip
And Lebanon which does not know hatred
They killed its children
And tarnished the memory
My people I will make them swear
By the cedar's glory by the blood
And by Sannine to be united
Today not tomorrow
-2-
We left families in our country together
Beloved ones became today a story
No eyes can see them and say:
My eyes’ tears wet your pictures
No joy after you is accepted
And no music will affect me
The agony yoke I drag constantly
At dawn break I cry for Lebanon
And at night I cry for my brother
**
A RIDE
-1-
A ride we came and how do we return!?
And when we would laugh
The eyes produce a tear
And why continue the ride
And at the end of the ride we will kneel?
-2-
Nor the house embraces
The people of the house
Nor God is hearing the tyranny cry
Over the innocent
The evil persons have control
And no one from its creator is scared
-3-
They are kidnapping young brunette girls
Who did not reach their weaning
Half of them are suckling
They said: by the name of the powerful lord
It is fine if a baby suffers
-4-
It is permissible if the chastity of the girl
Collapsed in front of a bad crook mule!
It is fine for a murderous powerful criminal
To wed the sun
And the honour of the girl will be torn!
-5-
Women been sold by a dealer
To men whom their price is manure
Which you do not pay for
To men who painted their faces with charcoal
The world vanishes
And the charcoal does not shine
-6-
They said: it is right to kill the infidels
And people's blood becomes a swamp
They killed each other
And the neighbour liquidated the neighbour
And in god's paradise he is lusting
-7-
They destroyed the planet
Killing became a belt
Wrapping a complicated broken universe
A ride its beginning burning and fire
And at its end the cannon is screaming
**
YOU ARE THE WOMAN
-1-
You are the woman how big you are
A miniature god's picture
You are creating by his order the humanity
A radiant childhood laughter
Without you a stone was not built
Where is the creation by the way?
You give dates like trees
And blooming like roses
-2-
They said a woman is the world
The motherhood she is to take care
On her hand childishness sleeps
And old age kisses her hands
-3-
Like a prayer we consecrate her
Dress her up the purity crown
She does not know cruelty's craziness
And she does not concede to cheating
-4-
We measured the planet on her measure
We measured loyalty by her measure
The eyes lashes her outfit
And her lips laughter is the ruler
-5-
You are the woman who is named
The universe sun in the highest sky
In your arm stars we draw
And there was not a day you were arrogant
-6-
You are the woman
And how pretty is your face as a mother
And as a sister I spoil your presence
You are the girl which full of capacity
-7-
You are the woman meaning the treasure
For upbringing you became a symbol
Without turning and winking
Like you they did not find a jewel
-8-
You are the woman meaning the poetry
Meaning the yarn, meaning the flowers
We wash your feet with a perfume
We dry it and we powder it
-9-
How and how we wait for you
Even in our hands we wrap you
In love only we incense you
So your name becomes a pride
-10-
I make you swear: wake people up
Extinguish the war, erase the danger
There is not a child who did not migrate
We became scattered nations
-11-
You are the woman whom I love
And dream to live near her
And walk the age on her path
Without lying and yapping
-12-
You are the woman
Who oppresses you is a stupid ignorant
Does not understand you
The more he hardens how merciful you are
You throw your forgiveness on him
-13-
You are the woman
For you they kneel
The smallest baby, the biggest king
Oh my mother how pretty you are
Even in the tomb's soil
**
HOW DID MY AGE FOLD?
-1-
The days are rushing
My calendar tired out
With its illusions
Which played with my migration
I wish if I can sleep
And slumber forgets me
In a land thirsting for my eyes tears
To make it love me
And sing for it songs
Which dreams never heard of
-2-
My length, what is the use of my length
If my width a bird's feather?
My body is a flying air
And walking bored of me
Stop all the watches
I am scared of being grey
And my hairs turn messy
Which are used to be tidy
How did my age fold?
I could not reach the moon
The moon will disappear
Wait my moon
To say goodbye with poetry
-3-
My eyes, woe's urns
And I put my eyeliner
I am afraid of the night's neigh
To claim my madness
When I open my hands
They collect people's dust mocking me
In their hearts Judas's hatred
In the sea they threw me
And the wave a horse back
I rode on my assumptions
And I am without energy
-4-
They changed my name,
The shape and the address
My age is a breeze
From its scream I am terrified
If my paths are finished
My walks die!
If my sins are erased
My talks live!
My roads, a human being's fatigue
My sins are devil's joy
Which does not like my life
-5-
Every time the sun rises
My light extinguishes
Oh my age do not hurry
My flowers did not open
And the bud is still a baby
Without a house, parents
The bees sucked its veins
Till my roots withered
Oh birds of dawn
Visit the baby visit
But do not open your mouth
Or fiddle your worry,
The desertion's craziness
And I am scared for my birds
-6-
The coffin is calling out
To the colourful flowers
Quiet, I said quiet
Since I will die
Why to be born?
Why? Tell me why?
To grow old and age?
And living is the biggest lie
We welcome it with lilies
We farewell it with lilies
**
THE AIRSPACE EAGLE
-1-
Oh airspace eagle rise
Do not be scared from the clouds
And on the light's border land
And with your feathers
Wisk away the dusty days face
-2-
Oh sound of wind
Which is whirling in our ears
We draw a line between tears
And our eyes
And the red groans
-3-
You are from here
Stop oh glory and sing
We transformed the universe into a paradise
And the paradise guard
God's green cedars
**
THE ORPHANED
An orphaned aged no more than seven years old, they forced her to sell sweets day and night and after fatigue and insomnia exhausted her she plunged in a deep sleep on her sweet platter in the street.
-1-
Oh my sweetheart magic in your eyes
And the sweet platter is not pretty without you
Your shoe in the leaders’ moustaches
My little one how does the universe sleep?
And the lord of heaven is quiet
About the criminality
So this way you close your eyes
-2-
Where is your bed?
Where is a mattress coloured
With your eyes colour
Which from our dirt is blackened?
The footpath became your bed
In front of people
They take pictures of you
They write news about you
But their wooden hands
Did not extend
To rescue you from destiny
-3-
Where are you to hug you?
To fulfil you of your mother's compassion
To be your father...
To spoil you
To say to you:
Inside my heart I lay your place
Sleep my soul and fly away your worry
The world monsters are lusting for your blood
**
TIRED
-1-
My eyes tired of emigration craziness
And talk withered early
Maybe time closed in my face the door
Maybe destiny throwing on my shoulders
A yoke
My age years wandered like a drain water
Swallowed by a well
And the well is a small urn
Next to it a pen and a book
-2-
I do not have the energy
To overcome the waiting
I hear the horse's neigh
Coming like a memory
It passes on the night's face
To erase tomorrow
-3-
Tired walking and worries so heavy
And the wind is messing my years
The illusion made me almost a man
Worried my head is and I am fed up
No country calling me and no babies
No elbows embracing me warming me
I am living on my own
A load on my back
From my isolation oh God spare me.
**
THE TRAVEL DUST
-1-
The travel dust is stuck to my clothes
It multiplies on its own
It tore my pockets
Its colour the colour of darkness
From it many became crazy
How does a day face me
And all the age lying dreams
-2-
A dust that does not have mercy
On the cry of the yearning
To the stones of a small house
They became old
There in a village on the wind elbow
Between it and between the sun
It drew a line
And on the line it set up swings
To swing poems and longings
-3-
Still the same as I left ages ago
Love and hospitality
Sacrifice and faith
And neighbours from their laughters
Rise a moon
The word welcome greeted all mankind
And despite the hatred,
The war,
The danger craziness
Neighbours remained
So Lebanon remained
-4-
How do I accomplish my return?
And the hope bird drowning in my tears
The hands are waving with a scarf
Long time ago repeating ballads:
The homeland hunger like worries heavy
And Lebanon is not feeling my hunger
**
WE MISSED YOU
-1-
The waves of the sea fold us
And destroy all our crossroads
They throw us a tear on the port
The craziness waiting is burning us
Oh my country which loves us
Do not allow migration to suffocate us
You are within us stay within us
By the life of the cedars
We missed you
-2-
We missed who departed
And left us
Who were the dabke and the folkloric songs
And the sun laughter which is blooming
“Over your branch oh orange tree”
From my madness verses I build
So migration decreases its insanity
My age mirror it is breaking
In it faces who loved us
-3-
We missed oh god we missed you
Oh village extend your hands
And do not forget us
Hide us in the blue of your eyes
We grew up in you
Do not estrange yourself from us
When we were away
We would come back to you
Migration no matter how old its years
We would not forget the dust of your feet
-4-
The beautiful memories pass by
And I do not think I am living them
As a mercury when it pours its laughter
Who would catch it?
I know my days I am burning
And my eyes agony is blinding them
And I do not know if my sun will rise
My presence in migration is deceiving it
**
A LIFE OF JOY
-1-
We lived together
Neighbour next to neighbour
A life of joy
I wish if one day I would come back
And see the water spring, the church,
And find out what happened
With the childhood house
I long to fill in my bag olive
Its grains bunches huge bunches
Oh Mejdlaya, measure my love
Despite my happiness
Despite richness in desertion
Tears in my eyes
And the heart on fire
-2-
I wish to return and see my beloved ones
Whom their faces erased my absence
In the darkness of my exercise books
I scribbled a bunch of names
Returned my youth
Years and years
I keep searching for the photos
If a picture was lost
My pain grows
Far away they are from me
And how I lived
And my soil started calling my soil
Yes I aged
My hair turned grey
A bit deaf I became
Oh Mejdlaya decrease my misery
-3-
I do not want to live in abandonment
I am disgusted of desertion word
Disgusted your son I am
And longing to see you
I am living on my own in my abandonment
Bored I am
I miss to play on your palms
And say to you:
I love you
And the heart is joyful
I miss coming back
Kiss your name letters
And stand at your church door with regret
Help me return your favour
And plant my soil
In Lebanon’s mountain
**
MY TEARS
-1-
If my tears were talk
I would not have tasted crying
But my tears a mirage
They roll disturbed
And on the cheek there is a door keeper
Who loses the battle,
Who opens the door for it,
It declares the law of the jungle
And the kingdom falls
-2-
If my tears were a stone
I would not have hit people with it
The stone would become a building
A wide sight
So a small baby sleeps
Carrying on its shoulders sleeplessness
And to cross out the misery of a mother heart
Which was broken
I will build a big wall
Standing in the face of destiny
-3-
If my tears were wood
I would have inflamed literature
And made from it a sword
From it shines a flame
And erased the word: wrong
Wrong who wrote:
We protected the guest
We guarded the descent
We united winter and summer
But we could not unite the Arabs
**
JUDAS
-1-
They want me to wait for my death
And my death will not be realised
No matter how they suffocated
My mind and my voice
My letter from my pain will be born
It becomes the crazy tear
Which my eyes could not imprison
I said to it: in my seas be
And do not be
My shadow on the intersection
-2-
They want me to terminate myself
And declare my bankruptcy to people
Tear my books..
Distribute my money..
Drown my dreams in my cup
And the people who walked beside me
In days of hardship
They said to me:
Stand in their faces..
It is impossible Judas will win
**
Brotherhood
-1-
The brother they said is a wing
In his lap the sister rests
And they forgot to say that the brother becomes a mother and a father
In his hand hope is the key
-2-
Do not be scared, God is great
And your lap, a warm palace
You put her to sleep in a bed
Wider than.a distance
_3_
Brotherhood, this is how it should be
In an Era of tyranny and suppression
Ruled by Nero
Which will end in the tomb
-4-
And you will live
Bigger than a tip
Which in a crocodile pocket
Tomorrow feathers will grow
On your wings and you will fly
With your sister and the
World becomes joys
-5-
I wish if I was beside you
To wipe the tears
Off her checks and your checks
And to turn back hours
And change the ruling of outlaws
Stealing my money
And tarnished Lebanon's name
Which is dear to our hearts.
**
Cover by Randa Baini
**
Translated from Arabic into English by:
MAHA A. BECHARA
**
BURN ME WITH YOUR LIGHT
-1-
Burn me..
Burn me with Your light,
Baptise me again in Your seas.
I always love to see You
Bless me, so I can fulfil Your desires.
Draw me a sword against the slavery,
A reality coming out of a dream,
Exploding all kinds of love and feelings
Make me a song on people's lips
A dove, with a peace mission
Oh God!...
You're always on my mind.
Blow me a cloud wider than earth
To rain crops everywhere,
To blow the hate away;
And decorate baskets, instead
By the waiting flowers
On the children's lips
-2-
Plant me a palm tree in the faraway desert,
So I can be the shade in the hot days
And the water for a thirsty person
Whom is lost between yesterday
And tomorrow.
Oh God!...
Help me to tow the red crosses,
To change slavery to freedom,
To throw away the bitter cup
And let the fanatic admit
That You are the One
The unbreakable One
Between the human sects.
**
BUSINESS
-1-
Business,
Business is the faith today,
Between the hands of some hopeless men,
Sheiks, Priests and Rabbis.
On their lips, the word "GIVE" is printed out,
To collect millions in their pockets.
-2-
I dug the surfaces of the world,
Till my hands burnt,
I found this life full of hatred,
People, cheating each other...
The child without honour,
Shame all over her forehead,
O, God..
Let me tell You what happened!...
I went everywhere
To know why the miscreants vanished
From the streets
And became numerous in our temples!...
-3-
I saw the man with my eyes
Roving between the religions,
Once he believed in the Bible
And once in the Koran.
He thought Your religion was only words
And Your Books were sent for no reason!.
Millions of miles are between You and him,
And jumbled faith...
He thought he could get away with his lies
And satisfy You and us,
But he was only pleasing the devil.
-4-
I saw them drinking wine in the mass,
To spread the faith
And I saw them prohibit it for people
And pretend, it's stronger than poison.
I saw things which could not be measured,
In quality and quantity,
Became basic to religion
And their ceremonies depended on them,
God, the Creator of many human kinds,
I cannot believe that the origin of this world
Has been made of one " Father and Mother ".
-5-
They told me not to have a headache,
Not to be too conscientious,
They served Your mass!!...
They called for prayer to wake the world!!..
-6-
They told me many scary things about You,
About the fire of hell,
They asked me to calm my poetry
And to regret my past...
Oh Lord! Believe me, I know,
That You are suffering like me,
Of a world which is not honourable anymore,
Its religions are struggling against each other
And still in heaven dreaming on...
**
BETWEEN US
-1-
Between us, is only a blink of an eye,
O God!...
Do not think I have forgotten,
I can see You right here with Your full hands,
I see You with two wings of a pigeon,
And that we are flying in very difficult moments.
-2-
Between us, is only a flash of lightning,
That quickly disappears
And no matter if it burns
The forehead of the east,
The clouds that were built up,
Will walk over it like a flood.
-3-
Between us, is only a spirit,
Separating me from my sins,
From this world
Which is full of wounds
Wherever I go,
And however far I reach
Its plains,
Mountains and valleys
Continue repeating the same scenery
In front of me.
-4-
Between us, is only a scream ,
Forgive me Lord , forgive me please !...
Whatever mistakes I have made in my life,
Whatever I have betrayed in the sunlight ,
You will be always the only Father ,
And I will be waiting here for You to call me.
**
PAGANISM
-1-
O God, Maker of the whole world,
All Your creations
Have been made through Yourself,
You are incarnate in many things,
Which can be understandable for humans.
-2-
People adored the sun
But You were the light,
People adored the star
But You were just behind.
You blessed the moon with Your hand,
To brighten the lovers' night.
-3-
They adored the bull, for he is big,
For its good and healthy meat.
They adored the fire sparkles
In the air...
To make a volcano.
-4-
They adored the dawn to wipe off the night,
They adored the unseen on the other side.
When a disaster struck them,
They resorted to the other idols.
-5-
They all knew You through Your creations,
Even without seeing You.
They all adored Things to adore You,
Without preaching of religions.
**
NUN
-1-
The nun who is related to God,
Has to be shy of His Holiness ...
Has to be away from desire,
Which is denied in heaven.
-2-
She must create angels on her palm,
To be proud of herself,
So when, people come to her,
With tears in their eyes,
She can relax their minds,
With one word.
-3-
The convent that she has chosen,
She must consecrate its sanctity,
And keep its page always white,
So when You decide to come,
The violet smell spreads out,
From her pure white dress.
**
JEWS, CHRISTIANS
AND ISLAM
-1-
Whenever jealousy knocks on my doors
I will not open them..
O God!...
Whenever desire seduces my youthfulness,
I will exchange it with a word of love,
Even if they throw me away in the forest,
Full of unfairness, hatred and lies,
I will only read my book,
In which You, have written its letters,
Perhaps I could be baptised by crucifixion.
-2-
I don't want my angels to say:
This is one of the millions..
Who chose a candle as tall as him,
He lit it ...
And he was indebted.
Whatever happens I will not make a vow,
Because I know the drums won't beat,
And the doors of heaven will be closed,
In the face of a mad man.
-3-
I know that You will never leave me alone.
Especially in the black days,
I am walking and Your hand is blessing me,
You're the eye that never goes to sleep,
I came from the soil ...
When the hands touch me, I become dreams
No one can obsess me,
If he makes a difference,
Between Jews, Christians and Islam.
**
GOD AND A DROP OF OIL
-1-
Please don't be sad,
O God !..
Because many people are really mad,
They ring their lying bells
For a statue they have created
The oil is seeping from its plaster
Then Your convent becomes a "house",
Women burning incense for religion.
-2-
Your love is the purest love,
Becoming a deal in a secular auction,
And vows for mad people.
O God!...
What happened?!.
They can see You only in a drop of oil,
They forgot that You are...God
And that You have made them all
In silence,
Yes..
You have created the whole world.
-3-
They did not see You in the cedars of God,
Years have died at its feet,
Many people slept calmly in its shade,
Many people sang for it,
From all their hearts...
-4-
They did not walk on the way,
That takes them to Sannine
Or to Baalbeck...
Don't get upset ...They are naive,
They only see You in miracles,
Forgive them..
They crucified You...
And they cried afterward ...
But those who are like me
Always love You ...
Because You're a Father,
Wider than paradise is Your heart.
-5-
They didn't notice the earth turn
And its speed appear to stop,
The stars were obliged
To open a light balcony in the darkness,
And keep shining all the time...
Forgive me please if I say :
Naive is he who believes in a drop of oil...
Lamps...
Fairy tales...
And drumbeats.
You are the breadth and the width,
The generation creating another generation,
Spaces and distances we pass by,
And good seeds that we are planting,
You are living in our hearts...
But killed by some miracles
If You see them,
You will laugh and laugh,
For they are only lies.
-6-
You created the sun...
With your light they could see,
You created the night...
They were frightened by the darkness,
You created the sea ...
They floated upon Your waves,
But they are still making fun of You,
You are the eternal God,
You are the partner for lonely people.
They are very poor without You,
But we are always meeting You
In the smallest creatures of the world,
In the overflowing colours of a flower,
In the songs of a bird,
In the energy of a bee,
In the breath which is coming out of me,
In the growth of a baby living here,
In the day that is followed by another,
In the seasons after season,
In the way which a man is walking along,
And brains are planning his way.
As much as they pray for You...
Do not believe them my Lord,
They mocked You,
Do not mature their wines
Their wine is full of faults and lies.
-7-
Everything You've created tells about You,
About Your love,
Your laughter
Your open hands,
And Your goodness overflowing,
You're the tree on top of the hill,
You're the wheat in the ant hill.
You're always here alive with us,
You are born in a heart beat..
In a lily..
We do not need miracles to pray,
We believe in You very deeply,
With every sunset,
We feel so desperate to have your dream,
You're the dream that is coming true.
**
SINS
-1-
I'm hiding lots of things in my heart,
I expel them,
But after a while they return to me.
Please ... Answer me God..
Those mistakes that we have forgotten,
And by the good hearted have been made,
Are You going to presume that as a sin?
-2-
Those people who fell in love,
They were in a very bad situation,
Because some religious matters
Oppressed them.
What is going to happen to them?
And You created desire, born in their bodies
Like an inaudible scream...
Are You going to presume that as a sin?
-3-
That mother whose husband is a gambler,
She does not see him till the next morning,
Her children are dying of hunger;
To feed them,
She opened the house door,
To foulness and whoredom.
Are You going to presume that as a sin?
-4-
The man whose right has gone,
In this materialistic life,
He saw one day a loaf of bread,
He stole it...
Not to accumulate improper money,
But to feed only himself.
Are You going to presume that as a sin?
-5-
The people who have so many wolves
And thieves grasping at their homes,
It is not an offense!...
If they get rid of the enemy,
By killing them on their doorsteps.
Are You going to presume that as a sin?.
**
YOU'RE EVERLASTING
-1-
I've heard people remonstrating against You,
For holding the sword of death in Your hands,
I beg You God..
Kill me..
Take me to your paradise today,
Accept me as a guest.
-2-
You have been merciful towards the people,
When You saved them
From an unknown world,
Full of mysteries...
They walk and walk and walk
But they remain in their places.
-3-
They're having fun in their suffering,
They're pretending their suffering is a joy.
They inherited Adam's place,
Without tasting the apple.
-4-
You created the earth in the image of heaven,
They adored the picture but hated the reality,
O God...
You're always alive in my heart,
Give me peace of mind,
And hide me in Your divine eyes.
-5-
All the people who died before me
Were relieved,
They passed away with a smile,
We did not miss them when they left,
Because their days
Entered the complete stage.
-6-
You're everlasting
And we are traversal
In front of Your eyes,
O God...
I'm not reaping my age by pilfering,
I have grown Your words in my heart.
-7-
I've read the Torah and the New Testament
And the verses of the Holy Koran,
I found You an impartial scale,
Whatever the people try to bluff.
**
SMALL BRAINS
-1-
"Listen to their words ", You said,
And we truly listened to them,
But we cannot accept their deeds,
We will not keep silent
Dear Jesus,
They are trying to disgrace Your words.
-2-
The army of the pity...What a pity!...
They made fun of both of us,
They spread out the grudge in this world,
They grow viciousness in people's hearts,
And they forbid that pity to come to You.
-3-
We became scared of You ...
Because of their acts,
We were frightened to follow Your path,
They did not care, for they're Your men,
They pierced You with the spear of venom
And they drank Your blood on the Altar.
-4-
You can see the jealousy in their eyes,
Black as the darkness of the night,
And You feel shy of their artistic acts,
When You see one of them,
Racing his colleague for a cent.
-5-
You can see the curse on their lips,
Swinging day and night,
Boasting of their big shoulders,
Proud of the big size of their skulls,
Which are bigger than a cooking pot,
But they have tiny brains.
-6-
Not all of them...
Please don't condemn me,
For this ugly image that I have given You,
You know much better than me,
But the word in my heart
Will burn my heart,
If I don't let it out.
**
THE PROPHET
-1-
I've always knelt down in your hassock
And you've always granted my demand,
You are the words that I hear all the time,
You are the honest and the purest Prophet...
O Mohammed...
I am living with you and my feelings too,
Your love grows stronger in my heart,
I will never lose you,
You are the faith of my religion.
-2-
Please let me complain about the clique,
Who have been obtaining your yield,
If my heart will not speak out
It will refuse your call.
You lived modestly, very poorly...
And the kingdom,
That you have built with your faith,
Became very complicated after you...
Devils were playing with it
And thieves were asking your sanctuary.
**
BETWEEN HELL
AND HEAVEN
-1-
I extended my hand to You my Lord,
With my address embroidered on my palm
And a picture of my eyes and my heart,
With lots of words on my tongue
Do not return them...
Take them with Your hand
Bless them...
Make them a trust, a consignment...
Tomorrow on Your Feast Day,
My faith will shine brightly out of my hand.
-2-
Tomorrow...
And the distance of tomorrow
Is an age hanging on Your doorstep..
A beginning..
With a well-known ending..
A dust knocking on Your doors,
Endow my hand with the truth
And let it search in Your Book,
Trying to collect their words
And then deleting them,
They lied to the people in Your absence.
-3-
Some of them said that in hell,
The evils will make us suffer,
But we are suffering now
And we don't know to whom
This earth belongs..
I came to it forcibly,
Carrying years on my shoulders,
It's impossible for it to be a heaven
And all its angels are insane.
-4-
Some of them said that in heaven,
We will find bundles
Of goodness everywhere,
And young girls brighter than the sun,
Innocence did not meet any man;
If heaven is only pleasure and enjoyment,
Then let me tell You:
It is unavailing to obtain the deliverance
Of the spirit,
When heaven is full of sex and money.
**
YOU ARE EVERYTHING
-1-
I can see You in a cave
And the animals kneeling down,
All around You, to warm You,
But those, who You made
As a mole on Your cheek...
They cut the trees that You created, for them,
To use their wood to crucify You.
-2-
I can see You growling in the temple
And hitting the thieves with a whip,
To renew the world with faith,
Which now becomes
Burning candles
And learning words.
-3-
I can see You standing
On the Jordan riverside,
Blessing and baptising the people,
But some of those that You have baptised,
Still squeezing the dirt of the earth
To get out the wine,
And fill up the cups.
-4-
I can see You raising Your hand,
To heal the subdued blind man
And open his eyes to give him sight,
But after You've changed
His blindness into light
He killed the light.
-5-
I can see You with the people,
When hunger was all around,
And there were only a few fish...
So they called You to stop their starvation,
But when they were satisfied...
They uttered many unspeakable things
About You.
-6-
I've heard You saying to them:
"Love one another
And be the pure salt of this earth".
But when You finished speaking,
They swore at Your words,
Because the unvirtuous
Was walking unshod towards them.
-7-
I've heard You saying to them:
"Go in peace and knock on all the doors,
Even the unknockable ones...
Keep following my path...
I don't want you to get lost..."
But when You left them...
They got lost...
And they strangled the voice of righteousness
With their lies.
-8-
I've heard You saying to them:
"Blessed be all who have a good heart,
Pure white as snow..."
They thought that the time
For Your sunset was over,
So they've tarred their hearts with sins
And hidden them in their pockets
-9-
In front of the Jews
Which were screaming to crucify You,
Pilate revealed his faith
And Saint Peter denied You
Because he was scared of crucifixion
-10-
"These are your children".
You said to Your Mother, Mary
And You were pointing out to us.
But when You died
We drank Your blood,
We stole Your clothes to sell them
And in every square
We auctioned You.
-11-
At last,
When the stone rolled away,
I saw You..
Coming out
Walking on the past and the future,
So all the people get to know
That "YOU ARE EVERYTHING ".
**
MYTHS
-1-
They want me to believe,
The story of Adam and Eve.
But who searches and scrutinises,
In the trueness of this story,
Which played with the human mind,
Will not ask God to have mercy
Upon their dead.
-2-
They want me to say:
"Moses opened the sea
And let people...
Chickens and calves go across,
And saved his people from Pharaoh.
I'm begging You my God...
The monitor of this world,
Why did You create some people
With small brains?!...
They always think that You are an oppressor,
And that You hold a sword of fire,
To kill all kinds of people on earth
Except the chosen people.
-3-
They want me to go and tell
The story of the dragon
Who kept on killing women
Till You sent the best Knight.
But why was he only killing women?!...
O God ...
That is the secret of this lie.
-4-
If I only have patience to count
The Myths that we are following,
In between serio-comic...
You will block Your ears my God
And You will say to Yourself:
It is a shame for the Faithful
To believe in Myths.
**
MY FRIENDS
-1-
I've given my hand to my friends,
Who came to me
And stood at my doors,
I thought they knew that I consecrated
My friends,
O God...
In one moment they've eaten me,
And they have thrown my bones in the forest.
-2-
When You see their faces
For the first time..
Your eyes show the feelings of happiness
Because of their form.
You can read love between the lines
That could never be there without You,
But suddenly they float in Your mind,
To play on the strings of Your madness.
-3-
All they wanted was to take my money,
And I've never hidden any money,
Their relief was giving me happiness,
Their poverty was demolishing me,
What a shame!...
They destroyed me...
When I gave them peace of minds.
-4-
They are liars...
They tell You about
The humanity's truthfulness,
To inspire You with their lies
That they are a flame of the faith
But in a twinkling of an eye...
They'll trap You ...
..... And what it was, it was !!...
-5-
This world is full of thieves,
They were named "friends" spuriously,
I've tried to light their lamps
But they became dim,
Their hearts were full of darkness
Which we despised,
They stole me
And they desecrated the holy words,
Which have been written for a long time.
-6-
I believed them ...
But the ropes of the lie
Were prepared for me secretly
In a tree
Which they have named "Friendship",
Its leaves were always pale,
I watered it with the blood of my heart,
The tree absorbed my blood ...
But my heart became pale.
-7-
I'm not scared of them...
I am not scared...
My fingernails can reach their eyes,
Can chop off the high nose,
Which is like a curse underneath their horns,
Which is like a pile on cracked lips...
Because of their dishonesty.
-8-
They didn't know that their loss is bigger,
And with my death,
Their stomachs will be empty,
Because the one who eats a morsel,
Unlike the one who eats more and more,
And the friendship
Which has been killed by a grudge,
Could never be rekindled.
-9-
They didn't know
That on judgment day,
Their punishment will be miserable
And their last stop
Will be in front of You..
Your judgment does not need
Any explanation,
And he who betrays his friends
Will be thrown in the fire of purification.
-10-
They didn't know that my death,
Would make me come back as a giant...
With a brilliant laugh,
And my faith is much stronger
In a person who does not kneel
But for You..
O God...
Every time, a love dies,
We will collect newborn love on its end.
-11-
The people of the ominous lie,
Who named them Friends?!...
No priest is serving in a church,
No sheik is administering
Extreme unction to a swindler.
O God...
The criminal intent
Cannot be forgiven in any Book
**
THE FUTURE OF MY DAYS
-1-
I don't want to interfere with them,
I don't want to approach You by mediation,
You don't only listen to them
And You don't accept down payment.
Saints!!...
We've heard of them,
We will strive to be like them,
To become part of them.
Standing beside You,
Shining..
Near You the candle never melts.
-2-
I don't want to covet in heaven,
I only want to be with You,
So Your lights will shine out of me,
To make me as a sun...
I feel very happy
Every time I sing Your name
And the world changes into a wedding.
I know that You will never leave me,
Only You..
The future of my days
And the others just a memory of the past.
-3-
They will say that I'm an atheist
Tell them...
The atheists are not like that,
The one who is waiting for Your blessing,
You will not send him to hell.
O God!...
You are always traveling in my mind,
Without You, there is no mind,
You are the sufficient active brain,
Who could create me in many shapes,
And then erase me in one day.
-4-
Help me...
Help me more
To change all the people.
To call Allah The Great,
To make the sign of the cross..
O God...
Help me to call for prayer,
With the enlightened dawn,
Help me to serve Your mass
And make the colour melt down.
Help me to stand on the rostrum,
Holding all Your Books in my hands,
I want to unify the universe with Your Books.
**
THEY LOST YOU
-1-
Look at them...
You will only see deceit in their eyes
Shiver in their hands.
And towards hell
They walked in lines,
Yes..
With their religious clothes on
-2-
They are the curse...
They are the lie...
Their vile acts are too many,
They were born...
But without a heart,
And not for being a spectacle to look at,
They replaced the heart with a sponge
No one would dare to squeeze it.
-3-
They forgot that their end is soon
And their ages are shorter than a second,
They forgot that the person who isn't aware
Of that terminal point...
Will cry at the end.
They have lost our love...
They have lost You, which is worse
Because You don't complain...
You don't speak.
-4-
I know that whatever I write against them,
Between them..
There are still good people,
They lived as reformers on this earth,
Their target was to beat the devil,
Their destination was to help humanity,
Which is desperate to find in them ,
The goodness,
The holiness
And the faith.
Then..
O God..
I wish to become a mole on their cheek,
To be stuck to them,
So my heart can be filled,
With their floral smell.
**
WORDS
-1-
Mohammed who was a scream of love
And his prophecy was a feeling,
An intuition...
They explained his words:
Jihad
Holy war
And people killing people.
Sheiks having inside of them
Lies, hatred and discrimination.
They changed the Koran
To a law serving a political group,
And made money bags
Out of the Koran's papers.
-2-
They are carrying big crosses
On their chests..
To hide their bad acts
Underneath
Away from the eyes of the people.
-3-
The crown of Jesus was made of thistle,
The blood was all over His Holy Head,
They burnt the thistle and said:
"The clergymen should have
Diamond crowns instead".
-4-
The earth is the earth,
In length and width,
But the holy people are still waiting
For a land which has the manna,
The munificence and the generosity.
Hands creating art,
Building plains and mountains
To bring back the Jews!!...
-5-
Why is religion changing its way?!...
And the religious men tiring of Your ways?!..
They have chosen to follow You
And they became scared
Of being crucified like You.
-6-
-1-
Praise be with You...
O Father..
Your work tells about You,
If the malady is very dangerous
You can cure the weak, ill body,
With a drop of water...
And a small plant.
-2-
Every rock that You have planted on earth,
Has a hammer and a lever beside it.
And every neck that You lifted up,
You have lowered before.
And the family that You have united
In a house,
Later, You separated its members
To go through plains and mountains.
What a life!..
You have created it Your way,
Brothers go against each other,
And enemies reunite as one family.
-7-
-1-
Those friends that I've always loved,
And I gave them my tears to drink,
They left me alone hung by my tongue,
They laughed at me..
At my sadness,
Then they pierced my heart
where I used to hide them...
-2-
I carried them as a smile on my face,
I took care of them like a mother,
I breast fed them...
But they bit my breasts,
And on my thirsty days
They gave me poison from their own hands.
-3-
O God!...
Help me please...
Help me to find the person
Who can make me very happy,
Who can make me see You in his eyes
Opening Your hands for me,
To take me away..
.. Away from everyone..
**
I FOUND YOU, LOVE
-1-
I don't know what to say to You
You're always on my tongue..
Every idea that I'm thinking of,
Every word that I'm publishing
You have possessed
All their scripts.
-2-
They told me
That You are not compassionate
And more oppressive
Than any oppressors.
But when I associated with You...
I found You, love
And all their words are only lies
Then I began dreaming
Of Your paradise.
-3-
They told me that You are Christian,
Muslim,
Your Book is the Koran..
Jewish,
Your people have been chosen
But when I associated with You
Everything changed in my essential faith.
-4-
I found You...
All of them, in one,
Balancing between the religions.
And I saw them covetous
To get Your love..
Thinking that their Book
Is the key to Your heart
But they are still quarrelling together.
-5-
You're the God
Who's giving hand
To each person on this land
Except the fanatical one..
Because whatever he is bigoted with You,
He will stay a swamp of crimes and hatred.
-6-
Let us be brothers in this world
Living together in harmony
Power will come out of our love
And every time You bless it with Your hand
All the religions will melt away
To be unified as one.
**
CONDEMN THEM
-1-
I drew a picture for You in my eyes,
More beautiful than the world,
I've hidden You in my heart,
And burnt my heart as incense for You...
With Your stars,
You have changed the darkness
Of my days into light,
To shine and sparkle everywhere...
You are eternal,
Change me...
Make me a bird...
So I can fly to Your paradise
And live Your love...
O Jesus!...
Only You,
Can wash the sins away.
-2-
You are the baby
Who is born,
In a cave...
And the night is torn
By its offenses ...
With the street people groaning at night ...
With the matured wine...
Let the sun shine more tomorrow
Let the prairie speak to the lily
And let my country be free of agony and pain,
Let it live in the blue atmosphere, in peace...
You are the Son of glory and power,
Don't let my country die!...
Save it...
Let it be born with Your nascence.
-3-
Only You can help us...
Save us...
From disasters that keep hitting us,
From war destroying and separating people,
Who have sold their religion.
Do not leave them..
Renew their faith with Your compassion...
And take them to Your haven of love...
You're greater than a master...
O God...
You are fraternising with us...
Take the black times away from us,
From this earth...
Where the evils are playing around.
-4-
We didn't know that life was too short,
And that our end will never change,
Till we planted the lie...
And let the black evil go higher and higher...
Everywhere we look with our eyes,
We see the white colour turning into red,
We are hopeless...
Help us...
Save us from the Big Monster...
Which is chopping off our hands...
Which is taking away the peoples' lives
To become inebriated from their blood.
-5-
There's no life without You,
O...Son of Mary,
The world is without a faith,
The world is dominated by apes.
You, who decorated the universe
And created the people
With different skin colours
To prevail in equality...
And get the colours mixed,
But they hated You...
They hated the purpose,
They became shy of the human colour
And killed each other intentionally
Red,
White,
Yellow and black.
-6-
..That girl who You created
And planted life in her womb
To become a mother ...
Joining her family under her wings..
She became a piece of merchandise,
Selling herself.
... And that man
Who You gave the key of life,
So he could give birth to a new generation,
He became a drug pusher
A pleasure seller
To test his poison.
On his children.
-7-
I loved You...
Without seeing You...
You were the spirit in my body,
Living in my heart beat
In the vitality
In the strong arm...
Send me to sleep
And make me rise as a sun
In the darkness of the oppressive nights,
So the people with melted candles,
Can take the light off me...
Then..
I will deface graves
And illuminate places.
-8-
Let me walk on Your way
By myself,
Which will take me to Your love.
Your men were numerous...
But they got reduced to few
When they walked the stages
Of Your crucifixion...
... And the religion
Which You have drawn
To take Your people to heaven...
They sold it..
And they pretended
That they were praying.
Condemn them all
Without pity...
They all pierced Your heart
With a spear.
**
NEW CANDLES
-1-
Let me stand
On the affliction's borders...
Carrying the light
In my hand...
Perhaps the darkness of the night
Could steal new candles of my light.
-2-
Plant me on the edges of the days
A flower...
And submerge me in the colour
So I can colour in all the dreams,
Which are passing in the eyes of the world.
-3-
Make me a story scribbled by Your hand...
So people can tell it to each other
Splashing it on their lips
Like the wine without a cup.
-4-
O God...
What is passing through my life today
Will not come back tomorrow,
So do not forget me in a torn past
Dress me "the present "...
To shine
And shine..
-5-
Throw me into a forgettable world
So I can brush off its dust
And plant it in a beautiful song
Which fell off the bird's beak.
-6-
And in the drowsy hours
Blow me as a wind
As a lightning...
Perhaps the hours will run fast
Through me
Till they reach the Eastern Countries.
-7-
Create me a butterfly in the sky
Carrying the human worries on its wings,
So I can burn myself with a light
And after death..
I will come back alive.
**
CONFESSION
-1-
He was praying alone
With his tears flooding over his cheeks,
I started filling up my ears with his words
Which were saying:
-2-
- To tell You that I'm not a sinner...
I am a sinner
The lowliness is pricking my bones,
And behind my days
I am hiding myself
But my days are ashamed of me.
-3-
- When I speak ...
I don't respect my words,
I cheer up when the evil is all around
And I always prepare my moments
To get drunk on tears and blood.
-4-
- For stealing...
I should have my hands cut off
And thrown in fire,
My eyes should be switched off
Because I've hidden the shame in my eyes.
-5-
- O God!...
My black lies cannot be counted,
I'm going to destroy this world
And this world
Still cannot control my desperate acts.
-6-
Suddenly...
He raised his voice and said:
- Human still a human,
He keeps on collecting money till he drops
And finally he goes to You... NAKED.
-7-
Then I said to myself:
Who is the greatest?...
The conceited religious man
Or this regretful man
Who is going to change
His darkness into light.
**
WE WILL NOT MARTYR
-1-
They kill the people and say:
They have become martyrs...
Their names are written with light,
Their age is vowed to their country,
Their death... What death!?...
They sang for it...
To become a mother's joy
For a false word...
Who still doesn't understand.
-2-
Please, Our Maker..
Separate between the tyrant
And the tyrannised,
Between who is strangling us with his hand
And who is wiping off our blood.
We were born so that we could live,
Dawn will come out of our eyes
Shining the world in the betrayal of night
And from its tomb
It will rise again..
-3-
Their lie is much more
Than You could imagine,
You can see it on their lips
Yellow,
Dry like a curse
Waiting for ears
To get drunk on its wine.
Their lie...
From the beginning was a "dealer"
His deals will never lose,
A builder...
His houses are tombs,
We are paying him for them
But they were built from our skulls.
-4-
We were born to glorify Your name
And drew a picture of You
As big as the world,
Staring at it without fatigue.
And You take us in Your dream
So we can grow bigger...
Till we become hoary..
Children are playing around us
With love,
Goodness and feeling,
Not one Judas
Can come near them
To fill up his cup with their blood
To wither their golden bunch.
-5-
We will not let our present and future
Be wasted together.
And those who were born of our flanks
We will not send them to death as a gift
For the leaders
To be more powerful,
For their dirty politics
And their large vaults
That are full of money
Jewels,
Young girls,
And men were castrated on a morning.
-6-
It was too late for us to learn
How to resist a criminal temper!...
How to wipe off the black word
In the darkness of the night!...
But when they require more martyrs
For their great high rank...
We will stand against them face to face,
Holding a poisoned sword in our hands
To cut off their necks and say:
"O God...No more pity".
-7-
In the name of religion
We have been deceived by evil men
They said: "We are holy men"
It's impossible for devils to go to heaven.
O God..
Our problem is..
We always believe what they say,
Your Book is held in their hands
And we do dignify Your Books.
But in the same vessel
We will give them more,
We will judge them
Because in Your name
They slaughtered brains,
So we could grow up to be proud of You.
-8-
We don't want to martyr...
We want to die the way
You choose for us,
Only You can help us
To annihilate some traitors...
Every time we get along
They separate us..
Their hell
Makes us forget the real hell.
What are they?!...
A gang..
Proud of its shame?!..
They opened a bank in our temple
And changed our country into a brothel.
-9-
The death which is called "destiny"
Occurred under Your command,
Whenever history is slashed
We will find more mysteries:
Governors inheriting governors,
Regime dominating other regimes,
Castles are foddering some men,
Masters full of lies,
But who defended to save his country
From the colonist...
Became a forgettable song
A word with unmentionable memory.
.. And the enemy whom he was fighting,
Became the governors of his country
.. And the people
Which he martyred his blood for them
To accomplish their dreams
Became servants for the enemies.
-10-
Not every martyrdom can be truly called...
Or should be consecrated...
Like, the mother who died
When her family was threatened by evil
Like, who gave the world the light
To rub off the gloominess
With their words
And like, who were crucified coercively
By Lucifer..
To execute his rules.
-11-
We are passing away
But everything is staying behind:
The house...
The decorated land with creeks,
The borders which have been drawn
On paper
To separate a unified humanity
In a world..
Will inoculate human kind forever.
-12-
We will always be brothers
No matter how far, is the distance,
Our " seed " is very well known.
Why do I need the power
Against brothers
They used to be on my side
Before, they followed their self-interests
And their days have beaten my days.
I left them behind...
They forgot me...
The perplexity was confused between us.
And the time was representing them
Like enemies in front of me.
-13-
I won't kill my brother with my own hand
Nor carry his blood on my shoulders.
O God...
I want to spread a new idea:
"He who will martyr in a world
Based, from the beginning, on a lie
Will be wasting his life".
**
THE FIRST WORD
-1-
I am standing in front of You
To revise my steps of the past,
And count my sins
Which I didn't know that I had committed..
I've got eyes on my face
But I can't see...
You did not enlighten
The darkness of my days.
I lived with fear all this life
Of You...
Of myself...
Of the people...
And of Your commandments...
Which I have never forgotten.
-2-
You are fair...
Save me ...
I was born weak
And You are strong.
I am a tiny person...
Forgive me,
You hold in Your hand
Everything I possess
The sea,
The earth,
The heaven,
The love,
The hatred,
The justice
And the grievance...
You always know what I do
Before it happens
So do not oppress me
Let me walk the way of piety.
-3-
I love You..
No matter how many mistakes I make.
I love You.. No matter how mad the night will go.
I love You.. Walking over my steps.
I love You.. A laughter, a smile
And hands hiding my shame
Consoling me when I cry,
You are the most beautiful line
On my life's pages,
You are the first word that I have ever heard
And still resounding in my ears.
-4-
I cannot survive without You,
You are my unchanging friend
I pinned You as feathers on my wings..
Since I was a baby,
I went looking for Your love
To clear up this life.
O God!... Make me live poorly
And don't let me love the wealth of this world.
Without standing on Your side,
No one can reach the real wealth.
**
Cover by Randa Baini
**
Translated from Arabic by
Elie Shaanin
**
Cheers
Sarkis and Samantha
I love you, yes I do, my nephew
You are carrying my father’s name: Sarkis.
When you asked Samantha to marry you,
We celebrated.
Because she is beautiful, like a Chilean flower,
O, the only son,
We love to sing for you a thousand songs,
And congratulate your beloved father,
Look at him, at his smile to feel his happiness,
In his only son’s wedding,
We lit the candles of joy,
And represented them as a gift,
Your mother Therese threw on us
In the wedding of love, all the red roses
There is a magic line between you and her,
That’s why you become like her full of kindness,
We could not find a name like yours,
“Sarkis Tony”.. Show off a little.
Before your grandmother died
She wrote a will, a beautiful will,
We cried when we read it:
She gave you her wedding ring as a gift,
We raised our hand to heaven
And near us there was a bible,
We heard a lot of blessing from above,
And you are blessed a million times,
Samantha is now your wife,
And we are proud to welcome her
From now and on as “Mrs Baini”.
**
April Moon
When I received the news of the marriage of my cousins Elie Shaanin and Louise Baini, I composed this poem especially for them.
-1-
I wished for so long to be there
For your bolt of the blue nuptial day!
I can tell the past and teach the present
How long I waited
For this magical moment
To cheer a brother and a sister
And share their most happy day.
-2-
Elie, my loyal and spirited cousin,
April moon envied your persona
Wherever you walk in shadow of your steps
The Jasmine blossoms everywhere
With the name of Elie written on their leaves
Elie who eternalises Lebanon’s name.
-3-
Dearest Louise, my tender-loving cousin,
You are the sister I never had,
The Nightingale danced on your wedding day
And chanted: O what a creative mind,
And instructive thoughts.
Treasure within your heart,
The love for your endeared spouse.
I swear by Almighty God,
You are and you will always be;
Our dearest and most loved couple.
**
Egypt
Egypt, you’re the mother,
Please, lend your ear…
I miss you overwhelmingly
I add to your famous Nile
Another river flow of my tears
If the Pyramids divulged my true love
You would’ve surely known,
My heart has stayed behind
In my endless expatriation,
I’m drowned in my sorrow
Since I embraced your iconic soil,
All my suffering has vanished
A shining smile has burst,
Upon the lips of the loved ones
I thought, the stars have hastily fallen
Mother of the world! Is what I see, true?
Are the nations listening to my beseeching?
Kindly, extend your hand to me
For he who cannot bring glory, is not a creator
I poured my passion in a fragrant poem
Enjoy this love and be pampered
You, Egypt, are the art and tongue
Your rhythmic tunes and your songs
Overwhelmingly, enriched my hearing
You are, and you will always be .
The tender motherly embrace
Who shall unite your children?
If you, yourself, did not.
**
Joe and Therese
The wedding of Joe M Baini and Therese A Draybi
-1-
When love unites two hearts we say:
Roses came into buds in gardens.
Today, we celebrate the wedding
Of the most beautiful couple
-2-
Joe Baini, the son of Marcel
My youngest brother whom I love
If the fate ever touched one hair of his head
I sacrifice my life for him and a lot more
Like the prophet Jobe, who endured so much
To give pleasure to the gracious Lord
So is Laure, your tender loving mother,
Wrapped around you a shawl of prayers
Charbel’s mother a loving caring mom
You can learn from her, passion and sacrifice
This family is enriched with sainthood,
To her the mountains would bow in respect
When it comes to love, passion and sacrifice
She would attain the highest credentials
You are a flag of glory, no one can achieve,
Bearing in its centre, a Cedar from Lebanon
-3-
This bride whose beauty prettified Hadchit
She was my student, and I know her persona
She told me like her mother she was raised
Wearing the same grace of her deeds
Antoinette, like her no one can ever bear
The world would attest to her generous doings
And Tony Draybi, my passionate father,
Raised me with love and tenderness
Two daughters he only has
Which one will he treasure more?
With my brothers, I walk the same path
In our small and beautiful family,
However, I did not forget her heartbreak
When the bishop performed her marriage
I asked myself while my eyes dimmed with tears,
Where is her brother Pierre, to carry her?
-4-
In my dream, I saw Pierre coming
Like an angel from heaven
I heard him saying to me:
Embrace for me, the bride and groom
And offer them many congratulations
Therese in her gown, is like the sun,
The mirror is jealous of her smile.
In the darkness of repatriation,
She once said to me:
Brother, your love is like a verse
When I left, I held no fear for my father Antoine
I feared that my mother, with a heavy heart,
Would give up living, without me
-5-
Oh Therese, the poem always tells me
That St Roumanos increased our yields
The saint of Hadchit is a star in heaven
During the time of infidelity, death and scarcity
Like you I shall burn more incense
So He could find a solution for these issues
After the wedding, a change will take place
For the Lord to protect your Joseph
To Saint Joseph, you must say few prayers.
**
Audrey
Audrey… The angel child who lost her father when she was barely one month old. Her mother Melanie celebrating her first birthday in royal style. Why should she not, when Audrey is the crowned queen of our hearts.
-1-
I told him: your daughter is a queen,
He choked and couldn’t utter a word.
I told him: She often smiles at me,
I see his big smile emerge.
-2-
Jimmy left and travelled too far,
He is certainly watching and celebrating,
Overjoyed for his daughter happiness,
While she glows in her new attire.
-3-
When Audrey blows the candles,
Jimmy’s engraved in her heart,
She reluctantly holds her tears,
She cannot bear to see him sad.
-4-
Every day that goes by,
Melanie tells her story,
How sleep had forsaken her,
And the bitterness of your departure
-5-
For Audrey, your daughter,
Tula and Arthur are always there,
With overwhelming warmth and love,
With their unbelievable care,
And the scent of a lovely man
-6-
Therese, Audrey’s grandmother,
Wove her, a shawl of tenderness
As for Michel, her grandfather,
She is really driving him mad.
-7-
I won’t tell you about her ma,
A rare mother like no other,
After her, the mould was broken.
Caring for Audrey unceasingly,
As if you were still here.
-8-
Audrey is pampered by us all,
Relax and never fear for her,
As you watch her well surrounded,
She’s adored by one and by all.
-9-
O Jimmy, we are here your guests,
We came to thank you for your deeds,
Audrey, the epitome of beauty,
We see you, when we see her.
**
First Communion
The first communion of Joseph Anthony Baini
14 June 2015
-1-
Dear Joseph, you’ve become a young man
You carry your grandfather’s name
A name, we pray, is blessed with a long life.
Your smiley face, your bright eyes
And lips which are like the flowers
Compliment your elegant stature.
When you stand before your dad
And you are the light of his eyes
He proudly compares you to our Cedars.
On the face of your loving mother
She wears you as a beauty spot
And to show you off, she would say:
This is my only son and his sister
JOSEPH and Ella are all my dreams.
-2-
Today, at your Holy Communion
You take with Jesus, the walk of faith
Jesus loves you; He holds your hand
You joyfully receive Him into your heart.
He will grant you, every wish
Ask Him, as He’s our ultimate judge
To prolong your dear parents life.
And to provide your little sister
With a dress of an infinite grace
That’s woven by Saint Joseph’s hands.
Ask Jesus, to protect your parents
Who are a vineyard of generosity
So they don’t lose one single grape.
-3-
Your gene is “Baini”, of a proud descent
And your blood is mixed with Sarhan’s
That supports the pillars of your house.
**
My niece Georgette
Baptism of niece and God daughter Georgette George Sarkis Baini
-1-
Georgette, my goddaughter,
The pride of my homeland,
I came today, to pour my tears,
In the holy font of your baptism
You are the light of my eyes,
I dream of your glowing face,
I dream of your lovely smile,
Sleeping has forsaken me.
I swear by Almighty God,
My heart fears no blasphemy,
You’re the daughter I never had.
-2-
This occasion is for your eyes,
You’re our faith and happiness,
Children will inherit Paradise,
Our Saviour has verily said.
In your eyes, we see paradise,
I wish I could lay at your feet,
The highest of the world’s peaks,
And decorate the green valleys,
On your wedding day,
Beg the plains, for a melody,
Which begins in Sydney Australia
And ends in Mejdlaya, Lebanon.
**
Antoine and Therese
The day I knew of the marriage of my oldest brother Antoine Baini to our neighbour Miss Therese Anissi, year 1967, I composed this poem.
From Lebanon, I call on Melbourne,
To tell my brother Antoine,
I’ll always be grateful to him,
And cherish his memory.
Father’s son is getting married
In the darkness of expatriation,
His beacons light the way,
Antoine is our oldest brother,
At his door the sun shines,
And his Therese beside him,
Full of goodness and generosity,
Her smile quenched his thirst.
He loved her since they were kids,
And offered her all his heart,
My dear brother is getting married,
To our dearest neighbour Therese,
My poetry will always tell:
Of a lovely couple untarnished,
In their auspicious expatriation,
And ever since their departure,
Our cedars never ceased to miss them.
**
George and Anne
I composed this poem the day I received the news of the marriage of my brother George Baini to our cousin Antoinette Bahri, year 1969.
-1-
My brother George is smitten,
Flowers of love shape
His Anne’s name
I pray to Almighty God,
To shine upon and protect them
My brother is young and handsome,
And Anne is like a fragrant rose,
Her smile made his heart palpitate,
For her, he has forsaken all.
-2-
Pour O God your abundant blessings,
Upon them and protect Sydney,
Adorn their way with silk and flowers.
Anne is a princess and George her prince,
A hero and a knight like no other,
Protect them always, O Divine Judge,
Kfirsgab joyfully danced for them,
Mejdlaya chanted jovial poetry;
And sent its heart a special gift
**
Joseph and Veronica
I was in Sydney, when I received the news of the marriage of my brother Joseph to our cousin Veronica Bahri 3/9/1972
-1-
Joseph, my brother is getting married,
In saint Joseph’s hedged abbey,
Saint Joseph is very happy,
The wedding is held in His place.
-2-
All the people of Sydney,
Attest to Veronica Bahri,
When she stood in the Church,
God blessed her with His right.
My father Sarkis proudly asked,
My mother to release her cheers.
-3-
My brother Joe is my companion,
Ever since we were little,
With a heart full of joy,
I prayed to God and asked Him,
To complete his happiness,
We stood together in our youth,
And we will remain very close
When we get to be old.
A bridegroom brimful of love,
O Mejdlaya, beat your drums,
O Sydney, cover them with flowers.
**
Michael and Therese
While in Sydney, I received the news of the marriage of my brother Michael to our cousin Therese Yammouni, on the island of Cyprus year 1976, I composed this poem especially for the happy occasion.
O Cyprus!
For God’s sake let me know
How my tears become so bountiful
And my heart throbbing sturdily
O Cyprus!
On my behalf,
Decorate your city squares
And embrace my brother so tenderly.
O My neighbour!
Congratulate Therese - His bride
And from your flowers
Give them a gift
And let a choir of birds
Sing in their wedding!
George, her father
And her mother Carmen
So happy for their obedient daughter!
To his daughter-in-law
My father said:
Your wishes will be granted
Your aunt Patronella will cover for me
My dearest niece from Barsa
A bride and a ray of sunshine
To you I will say it once:
You and Micho are forever in my heart
You are not only my niece
But also my only daughter
Congratulations my dearest daughter.
**
Marcel and Laure
The day I received the news of the marriage of my youngest brother Marcel Baini to the daughter of beloved Rechdibbine, Laure Deeb year 1976, I composed this poem:
My youngest brother is in love,
With a young lass from Rechdibbine,
Laure is her beautiful name,
And she’s like a fragrant rose.
My brother adored her,
And passionately embraced her
He chose her from her father’s vineyard,
And said: Laure will always be mine.
He selected her ring so carefully,
To adorn her soft and delicate hands
He then swore by Almighty God,
To make her happy and be loyal to her
From Australia, I whisper in her ear:
With you among us dearest Laure,
Thank God, our happiness is complete.
Although we live on a remote island,
You’ll always dwell in our heart,
Our gorgeous sister-in-law
**
The Wedding of Elias and Nicole Baini
-1-
O Elias..! Here I come to tell you what happened
You father fell in love with a beautiful girl
As he honoured us in Sydney
Your mother’s face flickered with love
I couldn’t describe the manifested
I abso-bloody-lutely know how the lovers’ talk
Their wedding was blessed by the virtue of God
Your beloved father loved by us all
In alienation he helped everyone he knew
And your mother with her magic brush
If it wasn’t for her beauty you would never begotten
-2-
You are a Baini, you live in our heart
Your reputation was knead in heaven’s kneading
I’ve named you the son of glory and faith
You embraced love and you hugged loyalty
Your grandfather "Bakhos" was a hero
Who honoured the name of Lebanon
And your grandfather "Malak" is the king
And you’re his kingdom.
-3-
You’ve chosen the most beautiful girl in the land
Her father sacrificed so much for this special day
And with love,
Her mother has charmed the entire world
And with tenderness,
She softened the hardest of rocks.
Nicole Simic, with a ringtone to her name
Her hand has beautified the wedding ring
My congratulations to parents and to you all
And to the most beautiful newly weds
Who embellished this wedding
I want to remind you my dear Elias
Of your motherland
And the shrine of St Elias in Mejdlaya
To whom I would entrust you and Nicole.
**
Tears
The flower of my life
Dedicated to the soul of my beloved father Sarkis Baini 1915 – 1982
-1-
O my dear father, I love so
I find it hard to say: good-bye,
To show the world my suffering,
Will certainly be the ultimate blow.
-2-
The painful sorrow of you departure,
Is flowing on our mother’s cheeks,
And also shows on our brothers’ faces.
Our uncles, aunts and all loved ones
Locked their doors and came from far
To farewell you and to say: good-bye!
O dear father, flower of my life.
-3-
Convey my love to my grandmother
And embrace my grandfather for me,
A special hello to your beloved brother,
"Bakhos" the brave, protector of our quarter,
He fed the hungry and gave the thirsty, water.
-4-
We are grateful to those who came to share,
With us, the bitterness of this imminent cup,
In the town’s church, where you once prayed
The candles are lit with abundant love,
You became the cup and the mass.
-5-
O dear father, how treacherous is the time!
It deceived me and stole you from me,
Despite your untimely departure,
I still believe in Almighty God,
I only wish, my darling father,
You stayed longer in our paradise.
-6-
O father, your departure is not fair
It seems that you’ve forgotten
That our homeland is burnt down,
And that we are here alienated
Please, don’t burn our hearts again.
Our consolation is that we know,
You are pious and you are a saint
God’s lap is your final resting place.
**
Aunty Rahil Baini
To the soul of my beloved aunty Rahil Baini
O my aunty and godmother, we lost
Our motherly cosy fort that was once our shelter.
It's difficult to have mothers like you,
Haughty as a great Cedar tree,
We nurtured and matured in your shade.
Rahil, your name embellished the words,
It's revealed in the Bible,
And we are grateful for all your grace.
When your daughter Mary departed
Your tears dried out, as well as ours
And you faced affliction
And your anguish became ours.
For Clark your beloved inspirational son,
You shed many tears and we shared your sorrow
O Aunty, you’re the last grape of the cluster,
The cluster that shattered on our threshing floor
From Boulos to Bacchus
With his distinguished moles,
And Georgette with Karma who passed in alienation,
And Peter, your remarkable brother
We waited so long, for his shining laughter.
And Tony Yammouni and his magic melody,
We stayed up for hours listening to his guitar.
And now with your sorrowful death,
The stars have lost their shine
And we became orphans in this world
To my dad and mom, I send my love,
And cheers to my youngest brother Marcel,
Tell them all our stature is curved,
And grieves have caused us to age.
O aunty, you are an optimal aunt,
The best of them all,
I envy the tomb that embodied you,
We pleaded for tears from the distant clouds,
And if you ask your people, they’d say:
Onyour departure we shed the last of our tears.
**
Tony Yammouni
1
Why is there so much pain upon us?
And why are there tears nested in our eyes?
Departed are those who were our elite
Many loved names have been wiped from this world
Marie departed and Clark her brother as well
While the voice of Marcel still echoes
And today, we lost Tony the beloved only son
Who once encircled us with happiness
Our woes would have increased and tipped the scale
If it wasn't for the tenderness of God
Surely, we would have all gone mad.
Where are you Carmen to embrace the loved one
Your son, your only endeared son
On his way to meet you, you can tell the mighty God
Bou Elias in our heart you will dwell evermore.
2
Your guitar is silenced and its strings torn apart
And your melodies will awfully miss you
Discourses fell in love with your words
And birds soared to the seventh heaven.
Elias, your only son will embrace his sisters
Whose heads are bowed to the ground
And Lena, the happy loving mother
Is now stricken by an unknown influx of pain
And the tears of overwhelmingly envy
The burning tears in your sisters' eyes
Today, I swear by your valued life
Your picture will be etched in our heart,
For the rest of our lives and for eternity
**
Clark Baini
O grief... O tears... O wailing
Your death is a cross,
How can I carry it?
Rahil whose laughter was as big as the world
The laughter died
And the tears became deep red.
Clark, your sister before you
Hunched your mum’s back
Death was so mean
To take away her children,
While in life, her sun is reaching the dusk.
Today all of us are shocked
By your early passing.
Rosanna! Today I don’t know what happened to me,
Our unique beloved has gone
He whose mind was valued
More than the world's wealth
He who immortalized me with books -
The literature has died
Clark, your age cannot be measured by time,
But by an admirable family you raised
With love and good deeds
I never met anyone like you
In this whole world
A tender-loving father
And an exemplary man
Together, we grew up!
Remember our early childhood?
We shared every laugh,
Every flaw,
And every meal.
Mejdlaya your town is shrouded in grief,
Above it, the White Mountain is at half-mast.
Mary, the Virgin attested to your heritage
And your decency
She grieved for her care-free neighbour
And no matter how far you travel and roam,
To the Virgin you’ll always be a good friend at home
Like a saint, you lived
And raised a righteous family
Temper their torment a little
In this difficult time.
It doesn’t matter if the body perishes,
Your good repute will always live on.
Your picture is engraved in my heart
To keep you close to me forever and ever.
**
My beloved brother Marcel
1
When our heart weeps
Our brains stop, laughter is switched off
We become painfully strayed
Pain renders us speechless.
2
When night after night
We feel the savage knives
Cut through our heart
We call on the Lord
No one answers
The agonizing words
Freeze on our lips.
3
My brother is in a different world
Like an extinguished church candle
It burns deep into my heart
How can I drink this bitter cup?
4
I couldn’t believe you’d do this to us
You were always loving, truthful and generous
Your tenderness was overwhelming
Why then, you caused us all this pain?
5
Why tell me why, the surprise?
You were like the moon waning quietly
And your unduly farewell
Caused your loved ones lots of grieve.
6
And laure, whose madness reached heaven
Eyes burning, eyes erupted like a volcano
A weeping tree inside your home
Her branches are totally broken.
7
Charbel your son, who carries my name
He kneeled and kissed your feet
Thus making even the breeze weep
The burning flame in his heart
His kiss became an eternal seal.
8
And Joseph your son and neighbour
With a bowed head and a curbed back
When he passes by, I see you in him
We share together a neighbourly cry.
9
Natalie and Claire, your two girls
I wish you could see them now
They are two eyes wiping one another
When shouting your name, I fear for them
The shout has inflamed both their hearts.
10
Your brothers could not bear the shock
You were the youngest and they are sore
They implore the Virgin to look upon them
Their spoken words have turned to stones.
11
My dear brother and Charbel’s father
Your departure is a painful cry
To all your relatives and friends
For you they came from near and far
Lebanon grieved and Mejdlaya wept you.
12
A son and a brother-in-law
To beloved Rechdibbine El Koura
Your picture is proudly engraved
And framed in eternal pledges.
Within the heart of one and all.
13
Now, how am I going to pass my time?
And how can I ever forget you/
While you were my world
I pray unceasingly to all the saints
And you passed, I got angry with God.
14
God only knows why all this anger
Your passing is hard for any human
You and I were like identical twins
For God’s sake, keep this picture alive.
15
Tell me how to bid you farewell
You always sweetened my bitterness
I’ll close my eyes watching your smile
And every time I think of you, I shall pray.
**
My aunt Sayde
Dedicated to the soul of my aunt Sayde Baini
A long life God blessed you with
so that we can all have time to love you,
Our love aged in your heart.
O Sayde, my beloved aunt!
Back home, Bakhos your hero still awaits,
in Lebanon his name is a legend,
and you never left his sight.
Your sons and your daughters
enlighten your humble house,
with purity you have raised them,
protecting all the family’s values
boldness and piety reside within your walls,
our God in heaven attests to my words.
2
Dear aunt, times are treacherous,
Robbing the loved ones of your family
Yolla, before farewelling her children, cried:
“O father, the walls of our home crumbled”
She faded away like a shadow;
we still mourn her passing now,
And Bakhos my uncle the hero
martyred to protect our mighty Cedars.
and Joseph your son-in-law,
stolen from amongst his loved ones
like a dream, no one could figure out how.
And Carlos, your endeared grandchild
with his echoing laughter,
he lived briefly like a rose
and died early in his spring.
Marcel my brother, what an agony!
it filled my heart with burning flames
up there you will be comforted
by loved ones who were once here
and now a tolling memory.
We lived with them in harmony,
you loved us dearly child and man.
Dear aunt, your love was our asset.
with every morning sun.
We pray God to rest your soul.
I cannot say, you have passed away
You are a mother pure at heart
I refuse to accept a mother’s death
but I will certainly say:
you went to heaven for a stroll.
**
My maternal uncles
1
I never knew my uncle Joseph
I might have seen him in my dream,
Swimming in the treacherous waves;
That extinguished the candle of his life,
And swallowed his beaming smile;
Leaving but a prayer booklet and a towel
2
The windows of his house in Barsa,
Have always told me his story,
He died young and a bachelor,
Barsa, his town still awaits;
To celebrate his wedding day,
And remember his radiant smile,
That filled the air with magic;
In his absence silence reigned.
3
My learned uncle Lawrence,
His name in Lebanon is revered,
I was honoured when they said:
You surely take after him.
He excelled in history and poetry,
Exactly like his father George was;
An excellent thinker and linguist,
Lawrence was brought up at his hands.
My uncle, my grandfather and faith,
They form a holy three,
I inherited their mannerism,
Their abode is in Paradise.
I sadly missed my dear uncles,
My life resembles a glass that slipped,
Through the fingers of oblivion;
I walk daily upon its fragments.
**
My grandfathers
Dedicated to the soul of my maternal grandfather Girgis Abboud Maroun, whom I only knew through his ecclesiastical publications, and to the soul of my paternal grandfather Tansa Youssef Al Khoury Baini, who served the church of Our Lady in Mejdlaya; for his entire life.
1
People unceasingly tell me,
Pour your poetry generously,
To flow freely verse by verse,
For your talent is the legacy,
Of Girgis Abboud, your grandfather;
Whose improvised fluent verses,
Glitter overwhelmingly.
I will lay at your grave,
Some roses and say to you:
You went before I was born,
But you are always on my mind.
Stay with me, my dear grandfather,
2
My grandfather Tansa with his fez,
The chieftain of our town,
His generosity touched everyone,
And he valued his love for us.
He was so brave at heart,
We all inherited his manhood,
His roots which grew in the church;
Rightfully reached seventh heaven.
3
My grandfathers, Girgis and Tansa.
Departed, but they are still in my eyes,
Their remains; the icons of my country,
Are buried under our immortal Cedars.
They both served the Almighty Lord,
Praying was their riches and provision,
O Virgin Mary, abide in their heart.
**
Boutros the magnificent
Dedicated to soul of my uncle Boutros Youssef Al Khoury Al Baini, the magnificent, who donated towards the publication of my first book “Adolescence” year 1968.
1
O my generous uncle, Boutros,
Your caring spirit protects me.
Ever since I was a little boy,
My grandfather taught me,
To honour and praise your name.
2
You were my grandfather’s brother,
You were my gentle, delightful kin,
And were always like our cedars,
Generously distributing your shade;
And when your relatives were at ease,
They gathered under your branches.
3
During an evening of revelation,
The poetry knocked at my door,
I gathered the chosen poems,
You helped me with an open hand;
When I published my first book.
4
I am grateful, my dear uncle,
And as long as I live,
Your name will be my beacon.
You are a Baini, well revered,
I still cannot bear your departure.
**
Bakos, the hero
1
They say: The hero is asleep,
But his eyes are half-closed,
His banner is ever-fluttering,
And I wear his name on my lips.
2
O Bakos Baini, my dear uncle,
You are always in my eyes,
I will plant a garden for you,
A weeping willow at the entrance.
3
Courage, was your middle name,
A lesson that we learned, by heart,
When you told your mother:
“Have no fear, I am here”.
4
You were only fifty nine,
When you said your farewell,
Your kind parents Tansy and Chris,
Have bitterly wept your departure.
5
Heroes like you, my dear uncle,
Shed their blood for our cedars,
Your name is our daily song,
And your memory is vivid in our hearts.
6
I missed that distinctive spot,
Which made your cheek unique.
You were like a father to me,
I will never forget your warmth.
**
My maternal aunts
1
My aunty Clara,
Indiscriminate love
Was her motto.
Her smile glittered
Like the stars
And like the candles
In the church
2
The amazing tenderness
Of my aunt Hannah
Has no boundary.
She always presents like a flower,
And with pride, I utter her name
3
My aunt Therese,
An abundant fountain
That flows with warmth
And with compassion.
She is like a book of prayer,
With letters more precious than diamonds
4
I missed my beloved mother,
Who alleviated all my worries,
She knitted me an attire of love.
And with a constant sign of the cross.
She kept me, blessed and protected.
5
They went beyond the pearly gates,
But in my heart, they will always be,
The flowers with an eternal bloom.
I refuse to let my life
Be like an empty glass,
Void of my loved ones.
**
Yolla
Dedicated to the soul of my cousin Yolla Bakos Baini…July 1983
-1-
For you, I pour my poetry in tears,
Beloved mother of seven kids,
My dear and proud cousin.
Like father, you cherished the cedars,
And the mountains of our motherland.
What happened, what changed you?
Your uncharacteristic departure,
Caused your dear children to grieve,
They call for you to stay by them.
Your beloved Charbel carries your icon,
And desperately follows your shadow,
Your brothers, sisters and your family,
Weep your person with a deep sorrow,
In Sydney and in Melbourne,
They wove a shawl of sighs,
Which cut like the sharp swords.
This pain broke your mother’s back,
And madness overcame her mind.
2
You, the youngest of your sisters,
Don’t you know what your passing did?
Don’t you know, you still have little ones?
Who are still suckling from your youth?
Don’t you know, your house is near empty?
Your departure extinguished our candles.
The Issas are shedding a flood of tears.
And your town laments at your door.
My dear cousin, tell me what happened?
We, abroad, our hearts are burning,
Why did you orphan the poetry?
When the best belongs in your book.
Sister, why does this have to happen?
My dream was to see you again,
Now, to only kiss the grave, is unfair.
3
Bakos, my dear uncle, interred in glory,
Yolla’s heart has long yearned for you.
When you meet, crown her with lights,
Your death has left her heart crushed.
Introduce her to little Carlos, her nephew,
Tell my father to receive her with hugs,
For, she was the sister I never had,
Her absence is unbearable to all of us.
**
My grandmother
Martha Maroun
1
O my grandma I long wanted,
To let you know,
How much I really love you,
In my eyes, you’re a treasure,
Your love flows in my veins.
Even in my expatriation,
You’re always on my mind,
After your sorrowful passing,
We still gather in your name.
To us, you will always be revered,
Like the cedars of Lebanon.
You are my love song,
Your name flourished on my lips,
2
I still remember those days,
And your glowing appearance,
I see you in my dreams,
A saint from the town of Barsa.
Every night I go to sleep,
With you, as my prayer-book.
O grandma, years have lapsed,
And you’re still living in my heart.
Using my eyes as the paint,
A divine painter painted you,
A mural on heaven’s wall.
**
Battoura
Dedicated to the soul of my beloved uncle Peter Tansi Baini
1
My grandma called him “Battoura”,
The youngest of her family,
As he migrated, she was saddened.
She hid his picture, Close to her heart.
2
Uncle Peter, a perfect gentleman,
Impeccable appearance and stature,
All expatriates attest to this fact,
With open heart and open arms,
He was welcomed everywhere,
His name was the beacon,
On our Lebanon’s ensign.
3
Melbourne was his home,
For numerous years,
Where he begot three gifted boys,
Named Romeo, Joe and Tony.
He could never have believed,
His time would come so soon,
Without saying “Good bye”,
To his beloved homeland.
4
He yearned evermore,
To revisit motherland,
To embellish his own town,
And make his forefathers proud.
Pity! Death has claimed his life,
And our Cedars wept his passing.
5
O dear uncle, I should not weep,
While you’re still by our side,
Living, with your voice constantly heard.
Forgive me, if you see my burning tears,
For we all bitterly morn,
Your early departure.
**
My aunt Madeleine
Dedicated to the soul of my aunt Madeleine Chaanine
1
I was still a boy at school,
I always called on aunt Madeleine,
Who lived in Abou Samra, Tripoli,
I prayed for God to protect her,
And her image never left my heart.
2
She always welcomed me saying:
You must be hungry, my dear!
Step inside, eat and drink merrily,
You are my darling nephew,
And I do love you very much,
With tenderness and a big heart,
And a smile which shines like the sun.
3
I migrated and always dreamed
To one day, fulfil my promise,
Delivering the pledges I made,
To burn incense in Richdebbine,
And pray for my dear aunt Madeleine.
The lady who taught me to love,
My love for her is my riches.
4
Today, I will not shed my tears,
You taught me how to be joyful,
And how to always wear a smile,
You were my exemplary aunt.
You have attained your ultimate goal,
Enjoying your loving parents company,
And residing with them in paradise.
Here, we are abroad expatriated,
And we’ll miss you as long as we live.
**
My aunt Karma
Dedicated to the soul of my aunt Karma Yammouni
1
Aunt Karma, the epitome of generosity,
Her heart is always open to loved ones,
She is the symbol of love and devotion
Those who knew her succumbed to her passion.
Her God-given daughters and only son,
The living asset of this hospitable land,
Today, they kneel before the Almighty God
Imploring Him to rest their mother’s soul,
The mother, who with her own hands,
Raised the bars of her alienation
And on the alter in her own house,
She lit-up candles for all the saints.
Today, our Cedars shed their tears,
To morn Lebanon’s beloved daughter.
2
Karma, my tender-loving aunt,
No grave can ever steal her from us,
Her image is still vivid in our hearts,
Despite her passing, her smile is still here.
Her likes will never pass this way again,
She earned her way and built her home.
When she migrated, I was still a boy,
Our homeland misses her dearly.
3
Why the crying? It will do no good
You were our joy, whenever we talked,
And if Melbourne ever complains,
It’s because, it misses you, aunty!
And Mejdlaya, seems lost and perplexed
Unable to steady and comprehend
The demise of its graceful daughter
Who, with her sorrowful passing
The kingdom of generosity collapsed.
**
My cousin
Joseph Yammouni
The departure of handsome Joseph is unwarranted,
He adorned the years with his good deeds
His passing, like a sword, inflicting wounds,
To the family, that is envied by all
Generous Joseph, with his abundant passion,
And an affection like a river of love
He sadly passed to a world beyond.
In the darkness of his repatriation,
If his beaming smile could ever talk,
It would've told the story of an earthly moon
That lit-up the tallest towers,
Which he has built with prayers and patience,
His wife Christine, my beloved cousin
With a bleeding heart and eyes dimmed with tears
He stood by her side, and he never let her weep
Joseph Yammouni, her husband and soul mate
His soul has dwelled in Jesus’ paradise
O son of Barsa, who’s loved by all
You will always live within our hearts.
**
My beloved mother
Patronella Baini
The choking agony, oh, my dear mother,
Shredded my body and dried my blood.
Your death filled me with sufferance,
My grievance is overwhelming.
Your absence tormented my heart,
And the smile froze on my lips.
I once left my homeland,
And now, in turn, you left me.
Your embrace was my haven.
Then I was left with a dream,
I dream of your tender hugs.
Your death, oh, my beloved mother,
Is stronger than the thunder claps,
It burnt my entrails and my mind.
I could easily ask you why,
But, it will be to no avail.
Let me be the forgotten page,
That is torn from an Oriental book.
I wake up, eyes dimmed with tears
I sleep. your head leaning on me,
My blood is drying in my veins.
What can I say, what can I tell you,
And you’re the light of my eyes.
Wherever you are or may be,
You will never leave my heart.
You were the inspiration of my poetry,
That shook the corners of the world.
You were the artist, who painted my art,
Your absence ruptured my arteries,
It made me age and made me stray,
During my teasing and crazy expatriation.
Patronella and cedar are two big names,
Patronella, value and esteem knelt at your feet.
And the whole world attested for you.
You were a mother…like no other,
You wore saintliness as your jewel.
Your eyes were the vigilant guardians,
You jealously protected your family,
And guided them to God’s path.
**
My grandmother
Christine Hitti Baini
Oh, my beloved grandma,
Pray for us from up above.
I cry with abundant tears,
That can almost fill the seas.
We heard the voice of Jesus,
Calling your name, Christine!
We knew that you’re heaven’s gain,
And that only heaven is the winner.
Lord Jesus who loved you so,
Altered the order of creation,
You became the shining sun,
That cast upon us, the holy rays.
You have shone upon this earth,
The glorious span of your age,
Then you set, forsaking this world,
Before we fully enjoyed your warmth.
Your ashes were a gift to Reshdibbine,
The town of your Madeleine Chaanine
We now call on the people of Mejdlaya,
To regain what is rightfully theirs,
And replant their gardenia at home.
We live abroad, we miss our homes,
For as long as we stay upon this land,
And no matter how much time lapses,
We’ve taken a sacred oath,
To keep you for an eternity,
An icon, deep in our hearts.
**
Our son-in-law
Jimmy Goldberg
Oh, our dearly beloved Jim…What can I say?
You know that you reside in our hearts.
That little girl you held in your hands,
You loved her dearly with your eyes.
Her love for you has possessed her heart.
Melanie, my niece, who loves you madly,
Like your mother, she sheds burning tears,
Like your father, her heart is full with sorrow,
And like your sisters, she has a heavy heart.
Why is this painful farewell, to your families?
And still a bridegroom, with gleaming laughter.
Audrey, your daughter, who is barely a month,
Is crying and saying: good bye my dad!
And yet, she is still too young to talk.
All the Bainis and all their families.
Shall not forget you, as long as they live.
You are the gain, to the blissful paradise,
And the winged angels rushed to welcome you.
A word with you, my darling niece,
A little word that comes to mind..
Jimmy gave you dear Audrey, a gift,
As company, for as long as you shall live,
And every time you call her name, will say:
I’m still living here, amongst my families.
**
**
Translated from Arabic into English by:
MAHA A. BECHARA
**
BURN ME WITH YOUR LIGHT
-1-
Burn me..
Burn me with Your light,
Baptise me again in Your seas.
I always love to see You
Bless me, so I can fulfil Your desires.
Draw me a sword against the slavery,
A reality coming out of a dream,
Exploding all kinds of love and feelings
Make me a song on people's lips
A dove, with a peace mission
Oh God!...
You're always on my mind.
Blow me a cloud wider than earth
To rain crops everywhere,
To blow the hate away;
And decorate baskets, instead
By the waiting flowers
On the children's lips
-2-
Plant me a palm tree in the faraway desert,
So I can be the shade in the hot days
And the water for a thirsty person
Whom is lost between yesterday
And tomorrow.
Oh God!...
Help me to tow the red crosses,
To change slavery to freedom,
To throw away the bitter cup
And let the fanatic admit
That You are the One
The unbreakable One
Between the human sects.
**
BUSINESS
-1-
Business,
Business is the faith today,
Between the hands of some hopeless men,
Sheiks, Priests and Rabbis.
On their lips, the word "GIVE" is printed out,
To collect millions in their pockets.
-2-
I dug the surfaces of the world,
Till my hands burnt,
I found this life full of hatred,
People, cheating each other...
The child without honour,
Shame all over her forehead,
O, God..
Let me tell You what happened!...
I went everywhere
To know why the miscreants vanished
From the streets
And became numerous in our temples!...
-3-
I saw the man with my eyes
Roving between the religions,
Once he believed in the Bible
And once in the Koran.
He thought Your religion was only words
And Your Books were sent for no reason!.
Millions of miles are between You and him,
And jumbled faith...
He thought he could get away with his lies
And satisfy You and us,
But he was only pleasing the devil.
-4-
I saw them drinking wine in the mass,
To spread the faith
And I saw them prohibit it for people
And pretend, it's stronger than poison.
I saw things which could not be measured,
In quality and quantity,
Became basic to religion
And their ceremonies depended on them,
God, the Creator of many human kinds,
I cannot believe that the origin of this world
Has been made of one " Father and Mother ".
-5-
They told me not to have a headache,
Not to be too conscientious,
They served Your mass!!...
They called for prayer to wake the world!!..
-6-
They told me many scary things about You,
About the fire of hell,
They asked me to calm my poetry
And to regret my past...
Oh Lord! Believe me, I know,
That You are suffering like me,
Of a world which is not honourable anymore,
Its religions are struggling against each other
And still in heaven dreaming on...
**
BETWEEN US
-1-
Between us, is only a blink of an eye,
O God!...
Do not think I have forgotten,
I can see You right here with Your full hands,
I see You with two wings of a pigeon,
And that we are flying in very difficult moments.
-2-
Between us, is only a flash of lightning,
That quickly disappears
And no matter if it burns
The forehead of the east,
The clouds that were built up,
Will walk over it like a flood.
-3-
Between us, is only a spirit,
Separating me from my sins,
From this world
Which is full of wounds
Wherever I go,
And however far I reach
Its plains,
Mountains and valleys
Continue repeating the same scenery
In front of me.
-4-
Between us, is only a scream ,
Forgive me Lord , forgive me please !...
Whatever mistakes I have made in my life,
Whatever I have betrayed in the sunlight ,
You will be always the only Father ,
And I will be waiting here for You to call me.
**
PAGANISM
-1-
O God, Maker of the whole world,
All Your creations
Have been made through Yourself,
You are incarnate in many things,
Which can be understandable for humans.
-2-
People adored the sun
But You were the light,
People adored the star
But You were just behind.
You blessed the moon with Your hand,
To brighten the lovers' night.
-3-
They adored the bull, for he is big,
For its good and healthy meat.
They adored the fire sparkles
In the air...
To make a volcano.
-4-
They adored the dawn to wipe off the night,
They adored the unseen on the other side.
When a disaster struck them,
They resorted to the other idols.
-5-
They all knew You through Your creations,
Even without seeing You.
They all adored Things to adore You,
Without preaching of religions.
**
NUN
-1-
The nun who is related to God,
Has to be shy of His Holiness ...
Has to be away from desire,
Which is denied in heaven.
-2-
She must create angels on her palm,
To be proud of herself,
So when, people come to her,
With tears in their eyes,
She can relax their minds,
With one word.
-3-
The convent that she has chosen,
She must consecrate its sanctity,
And keep its page always white,
So when You decide to come,
The violet smell spreads out,
From her pure white dress.
**
JEWS, CHRISTIANS
AND ISLAM
-1-
Whenever jealousy knocks on my doors
I will not open them..
O God!...
Whenever desire seduces my youthfulness,
I will exchange it with a word of love,
Even if they throw me away in the forest,
Full of unfairness, hatred and lies,
I will only read my book,
In which You, have written its letters,
Perhaps I could be baptised by crucifixion.
-2-
I don't want my angels to say:
This is one of the millions..
Who chose a candle as tall as him,
He lit it ...
And he was indebted.
Whatever happens I will not make a vow,
Because I know the drums won't beat,
And the doors of heaven will be closed,
In the face of a mad man.
-3-
I know that You will never leave me alone.
Especially in the black days,
I am walking and Your hand is blessing me,
You're the eye that never goes to sleep,
I came from the soil ...
When the hands touch me, I become dreams
No one can obsess me,
If he makes a difference,
Between Jews, Christians and Islam.
**
GOD AND A DROP OF OIL
-1-
Please don't be sad,
O God !..
Because many people are really mad,
They ring their lying bells
For a statue they have created
The oil is seeping from its plaster
Then Your convent becomes a "house",
Women burning incense for religion.
-2-
Your love is the purest love,
Becoming a deal in a secular auction,
And vows for mad people.
O God!...
What happened?!.
They can see You only in a drop of oil,
They forgot that You are...God
And that You have made them all
In silence,
Yes..
You have created the whole world.
-3-
They did not see You in the cedars of God,
Years have died at its feet,
Many people slept calmly in its shade,
Many people sang for it,
From all their hearts...
-4-
They did not walk on the way,
That takes them to Sannine
Or to Baalbeck...
Don't get upset ...They are naive,
They only see You in miracles,
Forgive them..
They crucified You...
And they cried afterward ...
But those who are like me
Always love You ...
Because You're a Father,
Wider than paradise is Your heart.
-5-
They didn't notice the earth turn
And its speed appear to stop,
The stars were obliged
To open a light balcony in the darkness,
And keep shining all the time...
Forgive me please if I say :
Naive is he who believes in a drop of oil...
Lamps...
Fairy tales...
And drumbeats.
You are the breadth and the width,
The generation creating another generation,
Spaces and distances we pass by,
And good seeds that we are planting,
You are living in our hearts...
But killed by some miracles
If You see them,
You will laugh and laugh,
For they are only lies.
-6-
You created the sun...
With your light they could see,
You created the night...
They were frightened by the darkness,
You created the sea ...
They floated upon Your waves,
But they are still making fun of You,
You are the eternal God,
You are the partner for lonely people.
They are very poor without You,
But we are always meeting You
In the smallest creatures of the world,
In the overflowing colours of a flower,
In the songs of a bird,
In the energy of a bee,
In the breath which is coming out of me,
In the growth of a baby living here,
In the day that is followed by another,
In the seasons after season,
In the way which a man is walking along,
And brains are planning his way.
As much as they pray for You...
Do not believe them my Lord,
They mocked You,
Do not mature their wines
Their wine is full of faults and lies.
-7-
Everything You've created tells about You,
About Your love,
Your laughter
Your open hands,
And Your goodness overflowing,
You're the tree on top of the hill,
You're the wheat in the ant hill.
You're always here alive with us,
You are born in a heart beat..
In a lily..
We do not need miracles to pray,
We believe in You very deeply,
With every sunset,
We feel so desperate to have your dream,
You're the dream that is coming true.
**
SINS
-1-
I'm hiding lots of things in my heart,
I expel them,
But after a while they return to me.
Please ... Answer me God..
Those mistakes that we have forgotten,
And by the good hearted have been made,
Are You going to presume that as a sin?
-2-
Those people who fell in love,
They were in a very bad situation,
Because some religious matters
Oppressed them.
What is going to happen to them?
And You created desire, born in their bodies
Like an inaudible scream...
Are You going to presume that as a sin?
-3-
That mother whose husband is a gambler,
She does not see him till the next morning,
Her children are dying of hunger;
To feed them,
She opened the house door,
To foulness and whoredom.
Are You going to presume that as a sin?
-4-
The man whose right has gone,
In this materialistic life,
He saw one day a loaf of bread,
He stole it...
Not to accumulate improper money,
But to feed only himself.
Are You going to presume that as a sin?
-5-
The people who have so many wolves
And thieves grasping at their homes,
It is not an offense!...
If they get rid of the enemy,
By killing them on their doorsteps.
Are You going to presume that as a sin?.
**
YOU'RE EVERLASTING
-1-
I've heard people remonstrating against You,
For holding the sword of death in Your hands,
I beg You God..
Kill me..
Take me to your paradise today,
Accept me as a guest.
-2-
You have been merciful towards the people,
When You saved them
From an unknown world,
Full of mysteries...
They walk and walk and walk
But they remain in their places.
-3-
They're having fun in their suffering,
They're pretending their suffering is a joy.
They inherited Adam's place,
Without tasting the apple.
-4-
You created the earth in the image of heaven,
They adored the picture but hated the reality,
O God...
You're always alive in my heart,
Give me peace of mind,
And hide me in Your divine eyes.
-5-
All the people who died before me
Were relieved,
They passed away with a smile,
We did not miss them when they left,
Because their days
Entered the complete stage.
-6-
You're everlasting
And we are traversal
In front of Your eyes,
O God...
I'm not reaping my age by pilfering,
I have grown Your words in my heart.
-7-
I've read the Torah and the New Testament
And the verses of the Holy Koran,
I found You an impartial scale,
Whatever the people try to bluff.
**
SMALL BRAINS
-1-
"Listen to their words ", You said,
And we truly listened to them,
But we cannot accept their deeds,
We will not keep silent
Dear Jesus,
They are trying to disgrace Your words.
-2-
The army of the pity...What a pity!...
They made fun of both of us,
They spread out the grudge in this world,
They grow viciousness in people's hearts,
And they forbid that pity to come to You.
-3-
We became scared of You ...
Because of their acts,
We were frightened to follow Your path,
They did not care, for they're Your men,
They pierced You with the spear of venom
And they drank Your blood on the Altar.
-4-
You can see the jealousy in their eyes,
Black as the darkness of the night,
And You feel shy of their artistic acts,
When You see one of them,
Racing his colleague for a cent.
-5-
You can see the curse on their lips,
Swinging day and night,
Boasting of their big shoulders,
Proud of the big size of their skulls,
Which are bigger than a cooking pot,
But they have tiny brains.
-6-
Not all of them...
Please don't condemn me,
For this ugly image that I have given You,
You know much better than me,
But the word in my heart
Will burn my heart,
If I don't let it out.
**
THE PROPHET
-1-
I've always knelt down in your hassock
And you've always granted my demand,
You are the words that I hear all the time,
You are the honest and the purest Prophet...
O Mohammed...
I am living with you and my feelings too,
Your love grows stronger in my heart,
I will never lose you,
You are the faith of my religion.
-2-
Please let me complain about the clique,
Who have been obtaining your yield,
If my heart will not speak out
It will refuse your call.
You lived modestly, very poorly...
And the kingdom,
That you have built with your faith,
Became very complicated after you...
Devils were playing with it
And thieves were asking your sanctuary.
**
BETWEEN HELL
AND HEAVEN
-1-
I extended my hand to You my Lord,
With my address embroidered on my palm
And a picture of my eyes and my heart,
With lots of words on my tongue
Do not return them...
Take them with Your hand
Bless them...
Make them a trust, a consignment...
Tomorrow on Your Feast Day,
My faith will shine brightly out of my hand.
-2-
Tomorrow...
And the distance of tomorrow
Is an age hanging on Your doorstep..
A beginning..
With a well-known ending..
A dust knocking on Your doors,
Endow my hand with the truth
And let it search in Your Book,
Trying to collect their words
And then deleting them,
They lied to the people in Your absence.
-3-
Some of them said that in hell,
The evils will make us suffer,
But we are suffering now
And we don't know to whom
This earth belongs..
I came to it forcibly,
Carrying years on my shoulders,
It's impossible for it to be a heaven
And all its angels are insane.
-4-
Some of them said that in heaven,
We will find bundles
Of goodness everywhere,
And young girls brighter than the sun,
Innocence did not meet any man;
If heaven is only pleasure and enjoyment,
Then let me tell You:
It is unavailing to obtain the deliverance
Of the spirit,
When heaven is full of sex and money.
**
YOU ARE EVERYTHING
-1-
I can see You in a cave
And the animals kneeling down,
All around You, to warm You,
But those, who You made
As a mole on Your cheek...
They cut the trees that You created, for them,
To use their wood to crucify You.
-2-
I can see You growling in the temple
And hitting the thieves with a whip,
To renew the world with faith,
Which now becomes
Burning candles
And learning words.
-3-
I can see You standing
On the Jordan riverside,
Blessing and baptising the people,
But some of those that You have baptised,
Still squeezing the dirt of the earth
To get out the wine,
And fill up the cups.
-4-
I can see You raising Your hand,
To heal the subdued blind man
And open his eyes to give him sight,
But after You've changed
His blindness into light
He killed the light.
-5-
I can see You with the people,
When hunger was all around,
And there were only a few fish...
So they called You to stop their starvation,
But when they were satisfied...
They uttered many unspeakable things
About You.
-6-
I've heard You saying to them:
"Love one another
And be the pure salt of this earth".
But when You finished speaking,
They swore at Your words,
Because the unvirtuous
Was walking unshod towards them.
-7-
I've heard You saying to them:
"Go in peace and knock on all the doors,
Even the unknockable ones...
Keep following my path...
I don't want you to get lost..."
But when You left them...
They got lost...
And they strangled the voice of righteousness
With their lies.
-8-
I've heard You saying to them:
"Blessed be all who have a good heart,
Pure white as snow..."
They thought that the time
For Your sunset was over,
So they've tarred their hearts with sins
And hidden them in their pockets
-9-
In front of the Jews
Which were screaming to crucify You,
Pilate revealed his faith
And Saint Peter denied You
Because he was scared of crucifixion
-10-
"These are your children".
You said to Your Mother, Mary
And You were pointing out to us.
But when You died
We drank Your blood,
We stole Your clothes to sell them
And in every square
We auctioned You.
-11-
At last,
When the stone rolled away,
I saw You..
Coming out
Walking on the past and the future,
So all the people get to know
That "YOU ARE EVERYTHING ".
**
MYTHS
-1-
They want me to believe,
The story of Adam and Eve.
But who searches and scrutinises,
In the trueness of this story,
Which played with the human mind,
Will not ask God to have mercy
Upon their dead.
-2-
They want me to say:
"Moses opened the sea
And let people...
Chickens and calves go across,
And saved his people from Pharaoh.
I'm begging You my God...
The monitor of this world,
Why did You create some people
With small brains?!...
They always think that You are an oppressor,
And that You hold a sword of fire,
To kill all kinds of people on earth
Except the chosen people.
-3-
They want me to go and tell
The story of the dragon
Who kept on killing women
Till You sent the best Knight.
But why was he only killing women?!...
O God ...
That is the secret of this lie.
-4-
If I only have patience to count
The Myths that we are following,
In between serio-comic...
You will block Your ears my God
And You will say to Yourself:
It is a shame for the Faithful
To believe in Myths.
**
MY FRIENDS
-1-
I've given my hand to my friends,
Who came to me
And stood at my doors,
I thought they knew that I consecrated
My friends,
O God...
In one moment they've eaten me,
And they have thrown my bones in the forest.
-2-
When You see their faces
For the first time..
Your eyes show the feelings of happiness
Because of their form.
You can read love between the lines
That could never be there without You,
But suddenly they float in Your mind,
To play on the strings of Your madness.
-3-
All they wanted was to take my money,
And I've never hidden any money,
Their relief was giving me happiness,
Their poverty was demolishing me,
What a shame!...
They destroyed me...
When I gave them peace of minds.
-4-
They are liars...
They tell You about
The humanity's truthfulness,
To inspire You with their lies
That they are a flame of the faith
But in a twinkling of an eye...
They'll trap You ...
..... And what it was, it was !!...
-5-
This world is full of thieves,
They were named "friends" spuriously,
I've tried to light their lamps
But they became dim,
Their hearts were full of darkness
Which we despised,
They stole me
And they desecrated the holy words,
Which have been written for a long time.
-6-
I believed them ...
But the ropes of the lie
Were prepared for me secretly
In a tree
Which they have named "Friendship",
Its leaves were always pale,
I watered it with the blood of my heart,
The tree absorbed my blood ...
But my heart became pale.
-7-
I'm not scared of them...
I am not scared...
My fingernails can reach their eyes,
Can chop off the high nose,
Which is like a curse underneath their horns,
Which is like a pile on cracked lips...
Because of their dishonesty.
-8-
They didn't know that their loss is bigger,
And with my death,
Their stomachs will be empty,
Because the one who eats a morsel,
Unlike the one who eats more and more,
And the friendship
Which has been killed by a grudge,
Could never be rekindled.
-9-
They didn't know
That on judgment day,
Their punishment will be miserable
And their last stop
Will be in front of You..
Your judgment does not need
Any explanation,
And he who betrays his friends
Will be thrown in the fire of purification.
-10-
They didn't know that my death,
Would make me come back as a giant...
With a brilliant laugh,
And my faith is much stronger
In a person who does not kneel
But for You..
O God...
Every time, a love dies,
We will collect newborn love on its end.
-11-
The people of the ominous lie,
Who named them Friends?!...
No priest is serving in a church,
No sheik is administering
Extreme unction to a swindler.
O God...
The criminal intent
Cannot be forgiven in any Book
**
THE FUTURE OF MY DAYS
-1-
I don't want to interfere with them,
I don't want to approach You by mediation,
You don't only listen to them
And You don't accept down payment.
Saints!!...
We've heard of them,
We will strive to be like them,
To become part of them.
Standing beside You,
Shining..
Near You the candle never melts.
-2-
I don't want to covet in heaven,
I only want to be with You,
So Your lights will shine out of me,
To make me as a sun...
I feel very happy
Every time I sing Your name
And the world changes into a wedding.
I know that You will never leave me,
Only You..
The future of my days
And the others just a memory of the past.
-3-
They will say that I'm an atheist
Tell them...
The atheists are not like that,
The one who is waiting for Your blessing,
You will not send him to hell.
O God!...
You are always traveling in my mind,
Without You, there is no mind,
You are the sufficient active brain,
Who could create me in many shapes,
And then erase me in one day.
-4-
Help me...
Help me more
To change all the people.
To call Allah The Great,
To make the sign of the cross..
O God...
Help me to call for prayer,
With the enlightened dawn,
Help me to serve Your mass
And make the colour melt down.
Help me to stand on the rostrum,
Holding all Your Books in my hands,
I want to unify the universe with Your Books.
**
THEY LOST YOU
-1-
Look at them...
You will only see deceit in their eyes
Shiver in their hands.
And towards hell
They walked in lines,
Yes..
With their religious clothes on
-2-
They are the curse...
They are the lie...
Their vile acts are too many,
They were born...
But without a heart,
And not for being a spectacle to look at,
They replaced the heart with a sponge
No one would dare to squeeze it.
-3-
They forgot that their end is soon
And their ages are shorter than a second,
They forgot that the person who isn't aware
Of that terminal point...
Will cry at the end.
They have lost our love...
They have lost You, which is worse
Because You don't complain...
You don't speak.
-4-
I know that whatever I write against them,
Between them..
There are still good people,
They lived as reformers on this earth,
Their target was to beat the devil,
Their destination was to help humanity,
Which is desperate to find in them ,
The goodness,
The holiness
And the faith.
Then..
O God..
I wish to become a mole on their cheek,
To be stuck to them,
So my heart can be filled,
With their floral smell.
**
WORDS
-1-
Mohammed who was a scream of love
And his prophecy was a feeling,
An intuition...
They explained his words:
Jihad
Holy war
And people killing people.
Sheiks having inside of them
Lies, hatred and discrimination.
They changed the Koran
To a law serving a political group,
And made money bags
Out of the Koran's papers.
-2-
They are carrying big crosses
On their chests..
To hide their bad acts
Underneath
Away from the eyes of the people.
-3-
The crown of Jesus was made of thistle,
The blood was all over His Holy Head,
They burnt the thistle and said:
"The clergymen should have
Diamond crowns instead".
-4-
The earth is the earth,
In length and width,
But the holy people are still waiting
For a land which has the manna,
The munificence and the generosity.
Hands creating art,
Building plains and mountains
To bring back the Jews!!...
-5-
Why is religion changing its way?!...
And the religious men tiring of Your ways?!..
They have chosen to follow You
And they became scared
Of being crucified like You.
-6-
-1-
Praise be with You...
O Father..
Your work tells about You,
If the malady is very dangerous
You can cure the weak, ill body,
With a drop of water...
And a small plant.
-2-
Every rock that You have planted on earth,
Has a hammer and a lever beside it.
And every neck that You lifted up,
You have lowered before.
And the family that You have united
In a house,
Later, You separated its members
To go through plains and mountains.
What a life!..
You have created it Your way,
Brothers go against each other,
And enemies reunite as one family.
-7-
-1-
Those friends that I've always loved,
And I gave them my tears to drink,
They left me alone hung by my tongue,
They laughed at me..
At my sadness,
Then they pierced my heart
where I used to hide them...
-2-
I carried them as a smile on my face,
I took care of them like a mother,
I breast fed them...
But they bit my breasts,
And on my thirsty days
They gave me poison from their own hands.
-3-
O God!...
Help me please...
Help me to find the person
Who can make me very happy,
Who can make me see You in his eyes
Opening Your hands for me,
To take me away..
.. Away from everyone..
**
I FOUND YOU, LOVE
-1-
I don't know what to say to You
You're always on my tongue..
Every idea that I'm thinking of,
Every word that I'm publishing
You have possessed
All their scripts.
-2-
They told me
That You are not compassionate
And more oppressive
Than any oppressors.
But when I associated with You...
I found You, love
And all their words are only lies
Then I began dreaming
Of Your paradise.
-3-
They told me that You are Christian,
Muslim,
Your Book is the Koran..
Jewish,
Your people have been chosen
But when I associated with You
Everything changed in my essential faith.
-4-
I found You...
All of them, in one,
Balancing between the religions.
And I saw them covetous
To get Your love..
Thinking that their Book
Is the key to Your heart
But they are still quarrelling together.
-5-
You're the God
Who's giving hand
To each person on this land
Except the fanatical one..
Because whatever he is bigoted with You,
He will stay a swamp of crimes and hatred.
-6-
Let us be brothers in this world
Living together in harmony
Power will come out of our love
And every time You bless it with Your hand
All the religions will melt away
To be unified as one.
**
CONDEMN THEM
-1-
I drew a picture for You in my eyes,
More beautiful than the world,
I've hidden You in my heart,
And burnt my heart as incense for You...
With Your stars,
You have changed the darkness
Of my days into light,
To shine and sparkle everywhere...
You are eternal,
Change me...
Make me a bird...
So I can fly to Your paradise
And live Your love...
O Jesus!...
Only You,
Can wash the sins away.
-2-
You are the baby
Who is born,
In a cave...
And the night is torn
By its offenses ...
With the street people groaning at night ...
With the matured wine...
Let the sun shine more tomorrow
Let the prairie speak to the lily
And let my country be free of agony and pain,
Let it live in the blue atmosphere, in peace...
You are the Son of glory and power,
Don't let my country die!...
Save it...
Let it be born with Your nascence.
-3-
Only You can help us...
Save us...
From disasters that keep hitting us,
From war destroying and separating people,
Who have sold their religion.
Do not leave them..
Renew their faith with Your compassion...
And take them to Your haven of love...
You're greater than a master...
O God...
You are fraternising with us...
Take the black times away from us,
From this earth...
Where the evils are playing around.
-4-
We didn't know that life was too short,
And that our end will never change,
Till we planted the lie...
And let the black evil go higher and higher...
Everywhere we look with our eyes,
We see the white colour turning into red,
We are hopeless...
Help us...
Save us from the Big Monster...
Which is chopping off our hands...
Which is taking away the peoples' lives
To become inebriated from their blood.
-5-
There's no life without You,
O...Son of Mary,
The world is without a faith,
The world is dominated by apes.
You, who decorated the universe
And created the people
With different skin colours
To prevail in equality...
And get the colours mixed,
But they hated You...
They hated the purpose,
They became shy of the human colour
And killed each other intentionally
Red,
White,
Yellow and black.
-6-
..That girl who You created
And planted life in her womb
To become a mother ...
Joining her family under her wings..
She became a piece of merchandise,
Selling herself.
... And that man
Who You gave the key of life,
So he could give birth to a new generation,
He became a drug pusher
A pleasure seller
To test his poison.
On his children.
-7-
I loved You...
Without seeing You...
You were the spirit in my body,
Living in my heart beat
In the vitality
In the strong arm...
Send me to sleep
And make me rise as a sun
In the darkness of the oppressive nights,
So the people with melted candles,
Can take the light off me...
Then..
I will deface graves
And illuminate places.
-8-
Let me walk on Your way
By myself,
Which will take me to Your love.
Your men were numerous...
But they got reduced to few
When they walked the stages
Of Your crucifixion...
... And the religion
Which You have drawn
To take Your people to heaven...
They sold it..
And they pretended
That they were praying.
Condemn them all
Without pity...
They all pierced Your heart
With a spear.
**
NEW CANDLES
-1-
Let me stand
On the affliction's borders...
Carrying the light
In my hand...
Perhaps the darkness of the night
Could steal new candles of my light.
-2-
Plant me on the edges of the days
A flower...
And submerge me in the colour
So I can colour in all the dreams,
Which are passing in the eyes of the world.
-3-
Make me a story scribbled by Your hand...
So people can tell it to each other
Splashing it on their lips
Like the wine without a cup.
-4-
O God...
What is passing through my life today
Will not come back tomorrow,
So do not forget me in a torn past
Dress me "the present "...
To shine
And shine..
-5-
Throw me into a forgettable world
So I can brush off its dust
And plant it in a beautiful song
Which fell off the bird's beak.
-6-
And in the drowsy hours
Blow me as a wind
As a lightning...
Perhaps the hours will run fast
Through me
Till they reach the Eastern Countries.
-7-
Create me a butterfly in the sky
Carrying the human worries on its wings,
So I can burn myself with a light
And after death..
I will come back alive.
**
CONFESSION
-1-
He was praying alone
With his tears flooding over his cheeks,
I started filling up my ears with his words
Which were saying:
-2-
- To tell You that I'm not a sinner...
I am a sinner
The lowliness is pricking my bones,
And behind my days
I am hiding myself
But my days are ashamed of me.
-3-
- When I speak ...
I don't respect my words,
I cheer up when the evil is all around
And I always prepare my moments
To get drunk on tears and blood.
-4-
- For stealing...
I should have my hands cut off
And thrown in fire,
My eyes should be switched off
Because I've hidden the shame in my eyes.
-5-
- O God!...
My black lies cannot be counted,
I'm going to destroy this world
And this world
Still cannot control my desperate acts.
-6-
Suddenly...
He raised his voice and said:
- Human still a human,
He keeps on collecting money till he drops
And finally he goes to You... NAKED.
-7-
Then I said to myself:
Who is the greatest?...
The conceited religious man
Or this regretful man
Who is going to change
His darkness into light.
**
WE WILL NOT MARTYR
-1-
They kill the people and say:
They have become martyrs...
Their names are written with light,
Their age is vowed to their country,
Their death... What death!?...
They sang for it...
To become a mother's joy
For a false word...
Who still doesn't understand.
-2-
Please, Our Maker..
Separate between the tyrant
And the tyrannised,
Between who is strangling us with his hand
And who is wiping off our blood.
We were born so that we could live,
Dawn will come out of our eyes
Shining the world in the betrayal of night
And from its tomb
It will rise again..
-3-
Their lie is much more
Than You could imagine,
You can see it on their lips
Yellow,
Dry like a curse
Waiting for ears
To get drunk on its wine.
Their lie...
From the beginning was a "dealer"
His deals will never lose,
A builder...
His houses are tombs,
We are paying him for them
But they were built from our skulls.
-4-
We were born to glorify Your name
And drew a picture of You
As big as the world,
Staring at it without fatigue.
And You take us in Your dream
So we can grow bigger...
Till we become hoary..
Children are playing around us
With love,
Goodness and feeling,
Not one Judas
Can come near them
To fill up his cup with their blood
To wither their golden bunch.
-5-
We will not let our present and future
Be wasted together.
And those who were born of our flanks
We will not send them to death as a gift
For the leaders
To be more powerful,
For their dirty politics
And their large vaults
That are full of money
Jewels,
Young girls,
And men were castrated on a morning.
-6-
It was too late for us to learn
How to resist a criminal temper!...
How to wipe off the black word
In the darkness of the night!...
But when they require more martyrs
For their great high rank...
We will stand against them face to face,
Holding a poisoned sword in our hands
To cut off their necks and say:
"O God...No more pity".
-7-
In the name of religion
We have been deceived by evil men
They said: "We are holy men"
It's impossible for devils to go to heaven.
O God..
Our problem is..
We always believe what they say,
Your Book is held in their hands
And we do dignify Your Books.
But in the same vessel
We will give them more,
We will judge them
Because in Your name
They slaughtered brains,
So we could grow up to be proud of You.
-8-
We don't want to martyr...
We want to die the way
You choose for us,
Only You can help us
To annihilate some traitors...
Every time we get along
They separate us..
Their hell
Makes us forget the real hell.
What are they?!...
A gang..
Proud of its shame?!..
They opened a bank in our temple
And changed our country into a brothel.
-9-
The death which is called "destiny"
Occurred under Your command,
Whenever history is slashed
We will find more mysteries:
Governors inheriting governors,
Regime dominating other regimes,
Castles are foddering some men,
Masters full of lies,
But who defended to save his country
From the colonist...
Became a forgettable song
A word with unmentionable memory.
.. And the enemy whom he was fighting,
Became the governors of his country
.. And the people
Which he martyred his blood for them
To accomplish their dreams
Became servants for the enemies.
-10-
Not every martyrdom can be truly called...
Or should be consecrated...
Like, the mother who died
When her family was threatened by evil
Like, who gave the world the light
To rub off the gloominess
With their words
And like, who were crucified coercively
By Lucifer..
To execute his rules.
-11-
We are passing away
But everything is staying behind:
The house...
The decorated land with creeks,
The borders which have been drawn
On paper
To separate a unified humanity
In a world..
Will inoculate human kind forever.
-12-
We will always be brothers
No matter how far, is the distance,
Our " seed " is very well known.
Why do I need the power
Against brothers
They used to be on my side
Before, they followed their self-interests
And their days have beaten my days.
I left them behind...
They forgot me...
The perplexity was confused between us.
And the time was representing them
Like enemies in front of me.
-13-
I won't kill my brother with my own hand
Nor carry his blood on my shoulders.
O God...
I want to spread a new idea:
"He who will martyr in a world
Based, from the beginning, on a lie
Will be wasting his life".
**
THE FIRST WORD
-1-
I am standing in front of You
To revise my steps of the past,
And count my sins
Which I didn't know that I had committed..
I've got eyes on my face
But I can't see...
You did not enlighten
The darkness of my days.
I lived with fear all this life
Of You...
Of myself...
Of the people...
And of Your commandments...
Which I have never forgotten.
-2-
You are fair...
Save me ...
I was born weak
And You are strong.
I am a tiny person...
Forgive me,
You hold in Your hand
Everything I possess
The sea,
The earth,
The heaven,
The love,
The hatred,
The justice
And the grievance...
You always know what I do
Before it happens
So do not oppress me
Let me walk the way of piety.
-3-
I love You..
No matter how many mistakes I make.
I love You.. No matter how mad the night will go.
I love You.. Walking over my steps.
I love You.. A laughter, a smile
And hands hiding my shame
Consoling me when I cry,
You are the most beautiful line
On my life's pages,
You are the first word that I have ever heard
And still resounding in my ears.
-4-
I cannot survive without You,
You are my unchanging friend
I pinned You as feathers on my wings..
Since I was a baby,
I went looking for Your love
To clear up this life.
O God!... Make me live poorly
And don't let me love the wealth of this world.
Without standing on Your side,
No one can reach the real wealth.
**
**
Translated from Arabic by
Elie Shaanin
**
Cheers
Sarkis and Samantha
I love you, yes I do, my nephew
You are carrying my father’s name: Sarkis.
When you asked Samantha to marry you,
We celebrated.
Because she is beautiful, like a Chilean flower,
O, the only son,
We love to sing for you a thousand songs,
And congratulate your beloved father,
Look at him, at his smile to feel his happiness,
In his only son’s wedding,
We lit the candles of joy,
And represented them as a gift,
Your mother Therese threw on us
In the wedding of love, all the red roses
There is a magic line between you and her,
That’s why you become like her full of kindness,
We could not find a name like yours,
“Sarkis Tony”.. Show off a little.
Before your grandmother died
She wrote a will, a beautiful will,
We cried when we read it:
She gave you her wedding ring as a gift,
We raised our hand to heaven
And near us there was a bible,
We heard a lot of blessing from above,
And you are blessed a million times,
Samantha is now your wife,
And we are proud to welcome her
From now and on as “Mrs Baini”.
**
April Moon
When I received the news of the marriage of my cousins Elie Shaanin and Louise Baini, I composed this poem especially for them.
-1-
I wished for so long to be there
For your bolt of the blue nuptial day!
I can tell the past and teach the present
How long I waited
For this magical moment
To cheer a brother and a sister
And share their most happy day.
-2-
Elie, my loyal and spirited cousin,
April moon envied your persona
Wherever you walk in shadow of your steps
The Jasmine blossoms everywhere
With the name of Elie written on their leaves
Elie who eternalises Lebanon’s name.
-3-
Dearest Louise, my tender-loving cousin,
You are the sister I never had,
The Nightingale danced on your wedding day
And chanted: O what a creative mind,
And instructive thoughts.
Treasure within your heart,
The love for your endeared spouse.
I swear by Almighty God,
You are and you will always be;
Our dearest and most loved couple.
**
Egypt
Egypt, you’re the mother,
Please, lend your ear…
I miss you overwhelmingly
I add to your famous Nile
Another river flow of my tears
If the Pyramids divulged my true love
You would’ve surely known,
My heart has stayed behind
In my endless expatriation,
I’m drowned in my sorrow
Since I embraced your iconic soil,
All my suffering has vanished
A shining smile has burst,
Upon the lips of the loved ones
I thought, the stars have hastily fallen
Mother of the world! Is what I see, true?
Are the nations listening to my beseeching?
Kindly, extend your hand to me
For he who cannot bring glory, is not a creator
I poured my passion in a fragrant poem
Enjoy this love and be pampered
You, Egypt, are the art and tongue
Your rhythmic tunes and your songs
Overwhelmingly, enriched my hearing
You are, and you will always be .
The tender motherly embrace
Who shall unite your children?
If you, yourself, did not.
**
Joe and Therese
The wedding of Joe M Baini and Therese A Draybi
When love unites two hearts we say:
Roses came into buds in gardens.
Today, we celebrate the wedding
Of the most beautiful couple
-2-
Joe Baini, the son of Marcel
My youngest brother whom I love
If the fate ever touched one hair of his head
I sacrifice my life for him and a lot more
Like the prophet Jobe, who endured so much
To give pleasure to the gracious Lord
So is Laure, your tender loving mother,
Wrapped around you a shawl of prayers
Charbel’s mother a loving caring mom
You can learn from her, passion and sacrifice
This family is enriched with sainthood,
To her the mountains would bow in respect
When it comes to love, passion and sacrifice
She would attain the highest credentials
You are a flag of glory, no one can achieve,
Bearing in its centre, a Cedar from Lebanon
-3-
This bride whose beauty prettified Hadchit
She was my student, and I know her persona
She told me like her mother she was raised
Wearing the same grace of her deeds
Antoinette, like her no one can ever bear
The world would attest to her generous doings
And Tony Draybi, my passionate father,
Raised me with love and tenderness
Two daughters he only has
Which one will he treasure more?
With my brothers, I walk the same path
In our small and beautiful family,
However, I did not forget her heartbreak
When the bishop performed her marriage
I asked myself while my eyes dimmed with tears,
Where is her brother Pierre, to carry her?
-4-
In my dream, I saw Pierre coming
Like an angel from heaven
I heard him saying to me:
Embrace for me, the bride and groom
And offer them many congratulations
Therese in her gown, is like the sun,
The mirror is jealous of her smile.
In the darkness of repatriation,
She once said to me:
Brother, your love is like a verse
When I left, I held no fear for my father Antoine
I feared that my mother, with a heavy heart,
Would give up living, without me
-5-
Oh Therese, the poem always tells me
That St Roumanos increased our yields
The saint of Hadchit is a star in heaven
During the time of infidelity, death and scarcity
Like you I shall burn more incense
So He could find a solution for these issues
After the wedding, a change will take place
For the Lord to protect your Joseph
To Saint Joseph, you must say few prayers.
**
Audrey
Audrey… The angel child who lost her father when she was barely one month old. Her mother Melanie celebrating her first birthday in royal style. Why should she not, when Audrey is the crowned queen of our hearts.
-1-
I told him: your daughter is a queen,
He choked and couldn’t utter a word.
I told him: She often smiles at me,
I see his big smile emerge.
-2-
Jimmy left and travelled too far,
He is certainly watching and celebrating,
Overjoyed for his daughter happiness,
While she glows in her new attire.
-3-
When Audrey blows the candles,
Jimmy’s engraved in her heart,
She reluctantly holds her tears,
She cannot bear to see him sad.
-4-
Every day that goes by,
Melanie tells her story,
How sleep had forsaken her,
And the bitterness of your departure
-5-
For Audrey, your daughter,
Tula and Arthur are always there,
With overwhelming warmth and love,
With their unbelievable care,
And the scent of a lovely man
-6-
Therese, Audrey’s grandmother,
Wove her, a shawl of tenderness
As for Michel, her grandfather,
She is really driving him mad.
-7-
I won’t tell you about her ma,
A rare mother like no other,
After her, the mould was broken.
Caring for Audrey unceasingly,
As if you were still here.
-8-
Audrey is pampered by us all,
Relax and never fear for her,
As you watch her well surrounded,
She’s adored by one and by all.
-9-
O Jimmy, we are here your guests,
We came to thank you for your deeds,
Audrey, the epitome of beauty,
We see you, when we see her.
**
First Communion
The first communion of Joseph Anthony Baini
14 June 2015
-1-
Dear Joseph, you’ve become a young man
You carry your grandfather’s name
A name, we pray, is blessed with a long life.
Your smiley face, your bright eyes
And lips which are like the flowers
Compliment your elegant stature.
When you stand before your dad
And you are the light of his eyes
He proudly compares you to our Cedars.
On the face of your loving mother
She wears you as a beauty spot
And to show you off, she would say:
This is my only son and his sister
JOSEPH and Ella are all my dreams.
-2-
Today, at your Holy Communion
You take with Jesus, the walk of faith
Jesus loves you; He holds your hand
You joyfully receive Him into your heart.
He will grant you, every wish
Ask Him, as He’s our ultimate judge
To prolong your dear parents life.
And to provide your little sister
With a dress of an infinite grace
That’s woven by Saint Joseph’s hands.
Ask Jesus, to protect your parents
Who are a vineyard of generosity
So they don’t lose one single grape.
-3-
Your gene is “Baini”, of a proud descent
And your blood is mixed with Sarhan’s
That supports the pillars of your house.
**
My niece Georgette
Baptism of niece and God daughter Georgette George Sarkis Baini
-1-
Georgette, my goddaughter,
The pride of my homeland,
I came today, to pour my tears,
In the holy font of your baptism
You are the light of my eyes,
I dream of your glowing face,
I dream of your lovely smile,
Sleeping has forsaken me.
I swear by Almighty God,
My heart fears no blasphemy,
You’re the daughter I never had.
-2-
This occasion is for your eyes,
You’re our faith and happiness,
Children will inherit Paradise,
Our Saviour has verily said.
In your eyes, we see paradise,
I wish I could lay at your feet,
The highest of the world’s peaks,
And decorate the green valleys,
On your wedding day,
Beg the plains, for a melody,
Which begins in Sydney Australia
And ends in Mejdlaya, Lebanon.
**
Antoine and Therese
The day I knew of the marriage of my oldest brother Antoine Baini to our neighbour Miss Therese Anissi, year 1967, I composed this poem.
From Lebanon, I call on Melbourne,
To tell my brother Antoine,
I’ll always be grateful to him,
And cherish his memory.
Father’s son is getting married
In the darkness of expatriation,
His beacons light the way,
Antoine is our oldest brother,
At his door the sun shines,
And his Therese beside him,
Full of goodness and generosity,
Her smile quenched his thirst.
He loved her since they were kids,
And offered her all his heart,
My dear brother is getting married,
To our dearest neighbour Therese,
My poetry will always tell:
Of a lovely couple untarnished,
In their auspicious expatriation,
And ever since their departure,
Our cedars never ceased to miss them.
**
George and Anne
I composed this poem the day I received the news of the marriage of my brother George Baini to our cousin Antoinette Bahri, year 1969.
-1-
My brother George is smitten,
Flowers of love shape
His Anne’s name
I pray to Almighty God,
To shine upon and protect them
My brother is young and handsome,
And Anne is like a fragrant rose,
Her smile made his heart palpitate,
For her, he has forsaken all.
-2-
Pour O God your abundant blessings,
Upon them and protect Sydney,
Adorn their way with silk and flowers.
Anne is a princess and George her prince,
A hero and a knight like no other,
Protect them always, O Divine Judge,
Kfirsgab joyfully danced for them,
Mejdlaya chanted jovial poetry;
And sent its heart a special gift
**
Joseph and Veronica
I was in Sydney, when I received the news of the marriage of my brother Joseph to our cousin Veronica Bahri 3/9/1972
-1-
Joseph, my brother is getting married,
In saint Joseph’s hedged abbey,
Saint Joseph is very happy,
The wedding is held in His place.
-2-
All the people of Sydney,
Attest to Veronica Bahri,
When she stood in the Church,
God blessed her with His right.
My father Sarkis proudly asked,
My mother to release her cheers.
-3-
My brother Joe is my companion,
Ever since we were little,
With a heart full of joy,
I prayed to God and asked Him,
To complete his happiness,
We stood together in our youth,
And we will remain very close
When we get to be old.
A bridegroom brimful of love,
O Mejdlaya, beat your drums,
O Sydney, cover them with flowers.
**
Michael and Therese
While in Sydney, I received the news of the marriage of my brother Michael to our cousin Therese Yammouni, on the island of Cyprus year 1976, I composed this poem especially for the happy occasion.
O Cyprus!
For God’s sake let me know
How my tears become so bountiful
And my heart throbbing sturdily
O Cyprus!
On my behalf,
Decorate your city squares
And embrace my brother so tenderly.
O My neighbour!
Congratulate Therese - His bride
And from your flowers
Give them a gift
And let a choir of birds
Sing in their wedding!
George, her father
And her mother Carmen
So happy for their obedient daughter!
To his daughter-in-law
My father said:
Your wishes will be granted
Your aunt Patronella will cover for me
My dearest niece from Barsa
A bride and a ray of sunshine
To you I will say it once:
You and Micho are forever in my heart
You are not only my niece
But also my only daughter
Congratulations my dearest daughter.
**
Marcel and Laure
The day I received the news of the marriage of my youngest brother Marcel Baini to the daughter of beloved Rechdibbine, Laure Deeb year 1976, I composed this poem:
My youngest brother is in love,
With a young lass from Rechdibbine,
Laure is her beautiful name,
And she’s like a fragrant rose.
My brother adored her,
And passionately embraced her
He chose her from her father’s vineyard,
And said: Laure will always be mine.
He selected her ring so carefully,
To adorn her soft and delicate hands
He then swore by Almighty God,
To make her happy and be loyal to her
From Australia, I whisper in her ear:
With you among us dearest Laure,
Thank God, our happiness is complete.
Although we live on a remote island,
You’ll always dwell in our heart,
Our gorgeous sister-in-law
**
The Wedding of Elias and Nicole Baini
-1-
O Elias..! Here I come to tell you what happened
You father fell in love with a beautiful girl
As he honoured us in Sydney
Your mother’s face flickered with love
I couldn’t describe the manifested
I abso-bloody-lutely know how the lovers’ talk
Their wedding was blessed by the virtue of God
Your beloved father loved by us all
In alienation he helped everyone he knew
And your mother with her magic brush
If it wasn’t for her beauty you would never begotten
-2-
You are a Baini, you live in our heart
Your reputation was knead in heaven’s kneading
I’ve named you the son of glory and faith
You embraced love and you hugged loyalty
Your grandfather "Bakhos" was a hero
Who honoured the name of Lebanon
And your grandfather "Malak" is the king
And you’re his kingdom.
-3-
You’ve chosen the most beautiful girl in the land
Her father sacrificed so much for this special day
And with love,
Her mother has charmed the entire world
And with tenderness,
She softened the hardest of rocks.
Nicole Simic, with a ringtone to her name
Her hand has beautified the wedding ring
My congratulations to parents and to you all
And to the most beautiful newly weds
Who embellished this wedding
I want to remind you my dear Elias
Of your motherland
And the shrine of St Elias in Mejdlaya
To whom I would entrust you and Nicole.
**
Tears
The flower of my life
Dedicated to the soul of my beloved father Sarkis Baini 1915 – 1982
-1-
O my dear father, I love so
I find it hard to say: good-bye,
To show the world my suffering,
Will certainly be the ultimate blow.
-2-
The painful sorrow of you departure,
Is flowing on our mother’s cheeks,
And also shows on our brothers’ faces.
Our uncles, aunts and all loved ones
Locked their doors and came from far
To farewell you and to say: good-bye!
O dear father, flower of my life.
-3-
Convey my love to my grandmother
And embrace my grandfather for me,
A special hello to your beloved brother,
"Bakhos" the brave, protector of our quarter,
He fed the hungry and gave the thirsty, water.
-4-
We are grateful to those who came to share,
With us, the bitterness of this imminent cup,
In the town’s church, where you once prayed
The candles are lit with abundant love,
You became the cup and the mass.
-5-
O dear father, how treacherous is the time!
It deceived me and stole you from me,
Despite your untimely departure,
I still believe in Almighty God,
I only wish, my darling father,
You stayed longer in our paradise.
-6-
O father, your departure is not fair
It seems that you’ve forgotten
That our homeland is burnt down,
And that we are here alienated
Please, don’t burn our hearts again.
Our consolation is that we know,
You are pious and you are a saint
God’s lap is your final resting place.
**
Aunty Rahil Baini
To the soul of my beloved aunty Rahil Baini
O my aunty and godmother, we lost
Our motherly cosy fort that was once our shelter.
It's difficult to have mothers like you,
Haughty as a great Cedar tree,
We nurtured and matured in your shade.
Rahil, your name embellished the words,
It's revealed in the Bible,
And we are grateful for all your grace.
When your daughter Mary departed
Your tears dried out, as well as ours
And you faced affliction
And your anguish became ours.
For Clark your beloved inspirational son,
You shed many tears and we shared your sorrow
O Aunty, you’re the last grape of the cluster,
The cluster that shattered on our threshing floor
From Boulos to Bacchus
With his distinguished moles,
And Georgette with Karma who passed in alienation,
And Peter, your remarkable brother
We waited so long, for his shining laughter.
And Tony Yammouni and his magic melody,
We stayed up for hours listening to his guitar.
And now with your sorrowful death,
The stars have lost their shine
And we became orphans in this world
To my dad and mom, I send my love,
And cheers to my youngest brother Marcel,
Tell them all our stature is curved,
And grieves have caused us to age.
O aunty, you are an optimal aunt,
The best of them all,
I envy the tomb that embodied you,
We pleaded for tears from the distant clouds,
And if you ask your people, they’d say:
Onyour departure we shed the last of our tears.
**
Tony Yammouni
1
Why is there so much pain upon us?
And why are there tears nested in our eyes?
Departed are those who were our elite
Many loved names have been wiped from this world
Marie departed and Clark her brother as well
While the voice of Marcel still echoes
And today, we lost Tony the beloved only son
Who once encircled us with happiness
Our woes would have increased and tipped the scale
If it wasn't for the tenderness of God
Surely, we would have all gone mad.
Where are you Carmen to embrace the loved one
Your son, your only endeared son
On his way to meet you, you can tell the mighty God
Bou Elias in our heart you will dwell evermore.
2
Your guitar is silenced and its strings torn apart
And your melodies will awfully miss you
Discourses fell in love with your words
And birds soared to the seventh heaven.
Elias, your only son will embrace his sisters
Whose heads are bowed to the ground
And Lena, the happy loving mother
Is now stricken by an unknown influx of pain
And the tears of overwhelmingly envy
The burning tears in your sisters' eyes
Today, I swear by your valued life
Your picture will be etched in our heart,
For the rest of our lives and for eternity
**
Clark Baini
O grief... O tears... O wailing
Your death is a cross,
How can I carry it?
Rahil whose laughter was as big as the world
The laughter died
And the tears became deep red.
Clark, your sister before you
Hunched your mum’s back
Death was so mean
To take away her children,
While in life, her sun is reaching the dusk.
Today all of us are shocked
By your early passing.
Rosanna! Today I don’t know what happened to me,
Our unique beloved has gone
He whose mind was valued
More than the world's wealth
He who immortalized me with books -
The literature has died
Clark, your age cannot be measured by time,
But by an admirable family you raised
With love and good deeds
I never met anyone like you
In this whole world
A tender-loving father
And an exemplary man
Together, we grew up!
Remember our early childhood?
We shared every laugh,
Every flaw,
And every meal.
Mejdlaya your town is shrouded in grief,
Above it, the White Mountain is at half-mast.
Mary, the Virgin attested to your heritage
And your decency
She grieved for her care-free neighbour
And no matter how far you travel and roam,
To the Virgin you’ll always be a good friend at home
Like a saint, you lived
And raised a righteous family
Temper their torment a little
In this difficult time.
It doesn’t matter if the body perishes,
Your good repute will always live on.
Your picture is engraved in my heart
To keep you close to me forever and ever.
**
My beloved brother Marcel
1
When our heart weeps
Our brains stop, laughter is switched off
We become painfully strayed
Pain renders us speechless.
2
When night after night
We feel the savage knives
Cut through our heart
We call on the Lord
No one answers
The agonizing words
Freeze on our lips.
3
My brother is in a different world
Like an extinguished church candle
It burns deep into my heart
How can I drink this bitter cup?
4
I couldn’t believe you’d do this to us
You were always loving, truthful and generous
Your tenderness was overwhelming
Why then, you caused us all this pain?
5
Why tell me why, the surprise?
You were like the moon waning quietly
And your unduly farewell
Caused your loved ones lots of grieve.
6
And laure, whose madness reached heaven
Eyes burning, eyes erupted like a volcano
A weeping tree inside your home
Her branches are totally broken.
7
Charbel your son, who carries my name
He kneeled and kissed your feet
Thus making even the breeze weep
The burning flame in his heart
His kiss became an eternal seal.
8
And Joseph your son and neighbour
With a bowed head and a curbed back
When he passes by, I see you in him
We share together a neighbourly cry.
9
Natalie and Claire, your two girls
I wish you could see them now
They are two eyes wiping one another
When shouting your name, I fear for them
The shout has inflamed both their hearts.
10
Your brothers could not bear the shock
You were the youngest and they are sore
They implore the Virgin to look upon them
Their spoken words have turned to stones.
11
My dear brother and Charbel’s father
Your departure is a painful cry
To all your relatives and friends
For you they came from near and far
Lebanon grieved and Mejdlaya wept you.
12
A son and a brother-in-law
To beloved Rechdibbine El Koura
Your picture is proudly engraved
And framed in eternal pledges.
Within the heart of one and all.
13
Now, how am I going to pass my time?
And how can I ever forget you/
While you were my world
I pray unceasingly to all the saints
And you passed, I got angry with God.
14
God only knows why all this anger
Your passing is hard for any human
You and I were like identical twins
For God’s sake, keep this picture alive.
15
Tell me how to bid you farewell
You always sweetened my bitterness
I’ll close my eyes watching your smile
And every time I think of you, I shall pray.
**
My aunt Sayde
Dedicated to the soul of my aunt Sayde Baini
A long life God blessed you with
so that we can all have time to love you,
Our love aged in your heart.
O Sayde, my beloved aunt!
Back home, Bakhos your hero still awaits,
in Lebanon his name is a legend,
and you never left his sight.
Your sons and your daughters
enlighten your humble house,
with purity you have raised them,
protecting all the family’s values
boldness and piety reside within your walls,
our God in heaven attests to my words.
2
Dear aunt, times are treacherous,
Robbing the loved ones of your family
Yolla, before farewelling her children, cried:
“O father, the walls of our home crumbled”
She faded away like a shadow;
we still mourn her passing now,
And Bakhos my uncle the hero
martyred to protect our mighty Cedars.
and Joseph your son-in-law,
stolen from amongst his loved ones
like a dream, no one could figure out how.
And Carlos, your endeared grandchild
with his echoing laughter,
he lived briefly like a rose
and died early in his spring.
Marcel my brother, what an agony!
it filled my heart with burning flames
up there you will be comforted
by loved ones who were once here
and now a tolling memory.
We lived with them in harmony,
you loved us dearly child and man.
Dear aunt, your love was our asset.
with every morning sun.
We pray God to rest your soul.
I cannot say, you have passed away
You are a mother pure at heart
I refuse to accept a mother’s death
but I will certainly say:
you went to heaven for a stroll.
**
My maternal uncles
1
I never knew my uncle Joseph
I might have seen him in my dream,
Swimming in the treacherous waves;
That extinguished the candle of his life,
And swallowed his beaming smile;
Leaving but a prayer booklet and a towel
2
The windows of his house in Barsa,
Have always told me his story,
He died young and a bachelor,
Barsa, his town still awaits;
To celebrate his wedding day,
And remember his radiant smile,
That filled the air with magic;
In his absence silence reigned.
3
My learned uncle Lawrence,
His name in Lebanon is revered,
I was honoured when they said:
You surely take after him.
He excelled in history and poetry,
Exactly like his father George was;
An excellent thinker and linguist,
Lawrence was brought up at his hands.
My uncle, my grandfather and faith,
They form a holy three,
I inherited their mannerism,
Their abode is in Paradise.
I sadly missed my dear uncles,
My life resembles a glass that slipped,
Through the fingers of oblivion;
I walk daily upon its fragments.
**
My grandfathers
Dedicated to the soul of my maternal grandfather Girgis Abboud Maroun, whom I only knew through his ecclesiastical publications, and to the soul of my paternal grandfather Tansa Youssef Al Khoury Baini, who served the church of Our Lady in Mejdlaya; for his entire life.
1
People unceasingly tell me,
Pour your poetry generously,
To flow freely verse by verse,
For your talent is the legacy,
Of Girgis Abboud, your grandfather;
Whose improvised fluent verses,
Glitter overwhelmingly.
I will lay at your grave,
Some roses and say to you:
You went before I was born,
But you are always on my mind.
Stay with me, my dear grandfather,
2
My grandfather Tansa with his fez,
The chieftain of our town,
His generosity touched everyone,
And he valued his love for us.
He was so brave at heart,
We all inherited his manhood,
His roots which grew in the church;
Rightfully reached seventh heaven.
3
My grandfathers, Girgis and Tansa.
Departed, but they are still in my eyes,
Their remains; the icons of my country,
Are buried under our immortal Cedars.
They both served the Almighty Lord,
Praying was their riches and provision,
O Virgin Mary, abide in their heart.
**
Boutros the magnificent
Dedicated to soul of my uncle Boutros Youssef Al Khoury Al Baini, the magnificent, who donated towards the publication of my first book “Adolescence” year 1968.
1
O my generous uncle, Boutros,
Your caring spirit protects me.
Ever since I was a little boy,
My grandfather taught me,
To honour and praise your name.
2
You were my grandfather’s brother,
You were my gentle, delightful kin,
And were always like our cedars,
Generously distributing your shade;
And when your relatives were at ease,
They gathered under your branches.
3
During an evening of revelation,
The poetry knocked at my door,
I gathered the chosen poems,
You helped me with an open hand;
When I published my first book.
4
I am grateful, my dear uncle,
And as long as I live,
Your name will be my beacon.
You are a Baini, well revered,
I still cannot bear your departure.
**
Bakos, the hero
1
They say: The hero is asleep,
But his eyes are half-closed,
His banner is ever-fluttering,
And I wear his name on my lips.
2
O Bakos Baini, my dear uncle,
You are always in my eyes,
I will plant a garden for you,
A weeping willow at the entrance.
3
Courage, was your middle name,
A lesson that we learned, by heart,
When you told your mother:
“Have no fear, I am here”.
4
You were only fifty nine,
When you said your farewell,
Your kind parents Tansy and Chris,
Have bitterly wept your departure.
5
Heroes like you, my dear uncle,
Shed their blood for our cedars,
Your name is our daily song,
And your memory is vivid in our hearts.
6
I missed that distinctive spot,
Which made your cheek unique.
You were like a father to me,
I will never forget your warmth.
**
My maternal aunts
1
My aunty Clara,
Indiscriminate love
Was her motto.
Her smile glittered
Like the stars
And like the candles
In the church
2
The amazing tenderness
Of my aunt Hannah
Has no boundary.
She always presents like a flower,
And with pride, I utter her name
3
My aunt Therese,
An abundant fountain
That flows with warmth
And with compassion.
She is like a book of prayer,
With letters more precious than diamonds
4
I missed my beloved mother,
Who alleviated all my worries,
She knitted me an attire of love.
And with a constant sign of the cross.
She kept me, blessed and protected.
5
They went beyond the pearly gates,
But in my heart, they will always be,
The flowers with an eternal bloom.
I refuse to let my life
Be like an empty glass,
Void of my loved ones.
**
Yolla
Dedicated to the soul of my cousin Yolla Bakos Baini…July 1983
-1-
For you, I pour my poetry in tears,
Beloved mother of seven kids,
My dear and proud cousin.
Like father, you cherished the cedars,
And the mountains of our motherland.
What happened, what changed you?
Your uncharacteristic departure,
Caused your dear children to grieve,
They call for you to stay by them.
Your beloved Charbel carries your icon,
And desperately follows your shadow,
Your brothers, sisters and your family,
Weep your person with a deep sorrow,
In Sydney and in Melbourne,
They wove a shawl of sighs,
Which cut like the sharp swords.
This pain broke your mother’s back,
And madness overcame her mind.
2
You, the youngest of your sisters,
Don’t you know what your passing did?
Don’t you know, you still have little ones?
Who are still suckling from your youth?
Don’t you know, your house is near empty?
Your departure extinguished our candles.
The Issas are shedding a flood of tears.
And your town laments at your door.
My dear cousin, tell me what happened?
We, abroad, our hearts are burning,
Why did you orphan the poetry?
When the best belongs in your book.
Sister, why does this have to happen?
My dream was to see you again,
Now, to only kiss the grave, is unfair.
3
Bakos, my dear uncle, interred in glory,
Yolla’s heart has long yearned for you.
When you meet, crown her with lights,
Your death has left her heart crushed.
Introduce her to little Carlos, her nephew,
Tell my father to receive her with hugs,
For, she was the sister I never had,
Her absence is unbearable to all of us.
**
My grandmother
Martha Maroun
1
O my grandma I long wanted,
To let you know,
How much I really love you,
In my eyes, you’re a treasure,
Your love flows in my veins.
Even in my expatriation,
You’re always on my mind,
After your sorrowful passing,
We still gather in your name.
To us, you will always be revered,
Like the cedars of Lebanon.
You are my love song,
Your name flourished on my lips,
2
I still remember those days,
And your glowing appearance,
I see you in my dreams,
A saint from the town of Barsa.
Every night I go to sleep,
With you, as my prayer-book.
O grandma, years have lapsed,
And you’re still living in my heart.
Using my eyes as the paint,
A divine painter painted you,
A mural on heaven’s wall.
**
Battoura
Dedicated to the soul of my beloved uncle Peter Tansi Baini
1
My grandma called him “Battoura”,
The youngest of her family,
As he migrated, she was saddened.
She hid his picture, Close to her heart.
2
Uncle Peter, a perfect gentleman,
Impeccable appearance and stature,
All expatriates attest to this fact,
With open heart and open arms,
He was welcomed everywhere,
His name was the beacon,
On our Lebanon’s ensign.
3
Melbourne was his home,
For numerous years,
Where he begot three gifted boys,
Named Romeo, Joe and Tony.
He could never have believed,
His time would come so soon,
Without saying “Good bye”,
To his beloved homeland.
4
He yearned evermore,
To revisit motherland,
To embellish his own town,
And make his forefathers proud.
Pity! Death has claimed his life,
And our Cedars wept his passing.
5
O dear uncle, I should not weep,
While you’re still by our side,
Living, with your voice constantly heard.
Forgive me, if you see my burning tears,
For we all bitterly morn,
Your early departure.
**
My aunt Madeleine
Dedicated to the soul of my aunt Madeleine Chaanine
1
I was still a boy at school,
I always called on aunt Madeleine,
Who lived in Abou Samra, Tripoli,
I prayed for God to protect her,
And her image never left my heart.
2
She always welcomed me saying:
You must be hungry, my dear!
Step inside, eat and drink merrily,
You are my darling nephew,
And I do love you very much,
With tenderness and a big heart,
And a smile which shines like the sun.
3
I migrated and always dreamed
To one day, fulfil my promise,
Delivering the pledges I made,
To burn incense in Richdebbine,
And pray for my dear aunt Madeleine.
The lady who taught me to love,
My love for her is my riches.
4
Today, I will not shed my tears,
You taught me how to be joyful,
And how to always wear a smile,
You were my exemplary aunt.
You have attained your ultimate goal,
Enjoying your loving parents company,
And residing with them in paradise.
Here, we are abroad expatriated,
And we’ll miss you as long as we live.
**
My aunt Karma
Dedicated to the soul of my aunt Karma Yammouni
1
Aunt Karma, the epitome of generosity,
Her heart is always open to loved ones,
She is the symbol of love and devotion
Those who knew her succumbed to her passion.
Her God-given daughters and only son,
The living asset of this hospitable land,
Today, they kneel before the Almighty God
Imploring Him to rest their mother’s soul,
The mother, who with her own hands,
Raised the bars of her alienation
And on the alter in her own house,
She lit-up candles for all the saints.
Today, our Cedars shed their tears,
To morn Lebanon’s beloved daughter.
2
Karma, my tender-loving aunt,
No grave can ever steal her from us,
Her image is still vivid in our hearts,
Despite her passing, her smile is still here.
Her likes will never pass this way again,
She earned her way and built her home.
When she migrated, I was still a boy,
Our homeland misses her dearly.
3
Why the crying? It will do no good
You were our joy, whenever we talked,
And if Melbourne ever complains,
It’s because, it misses you, aunty!
And Mejdlaya, seems lost and perplexed
Unable to steady and comprehend
The demise of its graceful daughter
Who, with her sorrowful passing
The kingdom of generosity collapsed.
**
My cousin
Joseph Yammouni
The departure of handsome Joseph is unwarranted,
He adorned the years with his good deeds
His passing, like a sword, inflicting wounds,
To the family, that is envied by all
Generous Joseph, with his abundant passion,
And an affection like a river of love
He sadly passed to a world beyond.
In the darkness of his repatriation,
If his beaming smile could ever talk,
It would've told the story of an earthly moon
That lit-up the tallest towers,
Which he has built with prayers and patience,
His wife Christine, my beloved cousin
With a bleeding heart and eyes dimmed with tears
He stood by her side, and he never let her weep
Joseph Yammouni, her husband and soul mate
His soul has dwelled in Jesus’ paradise
O son of Barsa, who’s loved by all
You will always live within our hearts.
**
My beloved mother
Patronella Baini
The choking agony, oh, my dear mother,
Shredded my body and dried my blood.
Your death filled me with sufferance,
My grievance is overwhelming.
Your absence tormented my heart,
And the smile froze on my lips.
I once left my homeland,
And now, in turn, you left me.
Your embrace was my haven.
Then I was left with a dream,
I dream of your tender hugs.
Your death, oh, my beloved mother,
Is stronger than the thunder claps,
It burnt my entrails and my mind.
I could easily ask you why,
But, it will be to no avail.
Let me be the forgotten page,
That is torn from an Oriental book.
I wake up, eyes dimmed with tears
I sleep. your head leaning on me,
My blood is drying in my veins.
What can I say, what can I tell you,
And you’re the light of my eyes.
Wherever you are or may be,
You will never leave my heart.
You were the inspiration of my poetry,
That shook the corners of the world.
You were the artist, who painted my art,
Your absence ruptured my arteries,
It made me age and made me stray,
During my teasing and crazy expatriation.
Patronella and cedar are two big names,
Patronella, value and esteem knelt at your feet.
And the whole world attested for you.
You were a mother…like no other,
You wore saintliness as your jewel.
Your eyes were the vigilant guardians,
You jealously protected your family,
And guided them to God’s path.
**
My grandmother
Christine Hitti Baini
Oh, my beloved grandma,
Pray for us from up above.
I cry with abundant tears,
That can almost fill the seas.
We heard the voice of Jesus,
Calling your name, Christine!
We knew that you’re heaven’s gain,
And that only heaven is the winner.
Lord Jesus who loved you so,
Altered the order of creation,
You became the shining sun,
That cast upon us, the holy rays.
You have shone upon this earth,
The glorious span of your age,
Then you set, forsaking this world,
Before we fully enjoyed your warmth.
Your ashes were a gift to Reshdibbine,
The town of your Madeleine Chaanine
We now call on the people of Mejdlaya,
To regain what is rightfully theirs,
And replant their gardenia at home.
We live abroad, we miss our homes,
For as long as we stay upon this land,
And no matter how much time lapses,
We’ve taken a sacred oath,
To keep you for an eternity,
An icon, deep in our hearts.
**
Our son-in-law
Jimmy Goldberg
Oh, our dearly beloved Jim…What can I say?
You know that you reside in our hearts.
That little girl you held in your hands,
You loved her dearly with your eyes.
Her love for you has possessed her heart.
Melanie, my niece, who loves you madly,
Like your mother, she sheds burning tears,
Like your father, her heart is full with sorrow,
And like your sisters, she has a heavy heart.
Why is this painful farewell, to your families?
And still a bridegroom, with gleaming laughter.
Audrey, your daughter, who is barely a month,
Is crying and saying: good bye my dad!
And yet, she is still too young to talk.
All the Bainis and all their families.
Shall not forget you, as long as they live.
You are the gain, to the blissful paradise,
And the winged angels rushed to welcome you.
A word with you, my darling niece,
A little word that comes to mind..
Jimmy gave you dear Audrey, a gift,
As company, for as long as you shall live,
And every time you call her name, will say:
I’m still living here, amongst my families.
**
