ELEGY FOR LOVE

The cloud
did not regain its nest. Amazement
did not depart from its shadow. The star
did not enjoy its evening.
The master
did not abandon his death.

They all opened wide
a gate to death, a gate to the night
and a thousand gates to war

O
friends, drinking
companions, stop this desolation.

Besides,
I do not like women
who paint my steps with the wind

I like
all women.

I don’t like the mountains
that reach closer to the sky of speech. I like the paths
that lead secretly to the heart, pull
the soul back to its retraced steps, and take me
to the limits of the earth.

I don’t mean
the earth
I mean a woman’s lips, or a bunch of grapes
or a glass, or a moon, or a lap that shelters me
from August’s sun, or from rain pouring on my hands.

I don’t mean
the night, I mean the following morning.

And
I don’t remember anything.
I remember that his face was calm,
his body cold. I remember
my own amazement. When I die, where will
the women hiding inside my heart go?

Will Leila keep to her silence?
Butaynah might appear in the hall.
Jocelyn might embrace Elsa.
They might gather around me,
for a little chat.

He was a friend of war,
says Leila.
A pal to the air,
adds Jocelyn.
He didn’t depart from his shadow,
he was a wise man,
and a Friend
                    to all
                            this
                                void.

ELEGY FOR LOVE