A thousand years ago, I used to pace back and forth all night
on my balcony in the Square of the Damascus Star,
calling for a love that never comes.
Today, they destroyed the building, but the balcony still hangs
and my ghost still paces back and forth all night…
in search of a love that never comes!
The poem is from “Al-badiyya Lahzat Hub” (Eternity: A Moment of Love) Ghada Samman Publications, Beirut, 1999.
Translated from the Arabic by Rim Zahra and Razzan Zahra.
This poem appeared in Al Jadid Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 44, Summer 2003.
Copyright © 2012 AL JADID MAGAZINE