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culture &
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when
I met Nizar Qabbani, poems... thoughts
(this page
will continuously change and will be updated over
time)
I received a tape of songs from my family
in Beirut, that included poems by Nizar Qabbani sung by Kazem El Saher, this
reminded me of the poetry of Nizar and brought
back memories.
So, I decided to start a
project about Nizar.
Growing up in Lebanon, I
had heard of Nizar Qabbani, later on, in the mountains of Lebanon
in the summer,
the Qabbani family were our
neighbors. As little children then, Nizar's
beautiful little girl & boy, Zeinab
& Omar, played in our house
and yard, I can still remember them vividly as
children. I also remember Nizar &
his wife Balqis visiting with my
parents. Years passed and many things happened
in Lebanon, by then I was a resident
working in the Hospital of the American University of Beirut, during
that time, I witnessed the consequences of the
incidents that led to the passing away of
Balqis.
Nizar Qabbani wrote the most beautiful Poem of
Balqis.
I read that poem many times over the years,
and later purchased Nizar's published works and
followed his news and the Middle East from the
distance of the United States, to which I came
for further medical training.
As I write this,
I am still residing in the United States, and
Nizar passed away in London in 1998,
but his poetry and legacy remains. I
have read some of what have been written about
Nizar, and I think he had a long and remarkable
life before and after Lebanon and Beirut, but,
I also think one cannot understand Nizar without
having experienced Beirut & Lebanon, as
Lebanon embodies the Middle East in its transition
and birth, and Beirut had the freedom
that let Nizar say, what he could not say any
where else, from the Ocean to the Gulf.
Tammam
Farhat, MD
Links
Nizar.Net
Nizar.Net
in English
Nizar
Qabbani Links
"Jismuki Khaaritati or
Your Body is my Map"
Starting with
this poem, I am attempting to translate
few of Nizar's poems to English, but as the
French saying goes "translator traitor",
in other words, there can never be a
translation, that portrays the original language
in its beauty and meaning. But, that does not
mean I am not going to try. I will keep
changing my interpretation with time, so
this is my initial attempt, and I
realize that I am being quite literal in
this attempt. Regarding any language or
typographical issues, I will rectify it in future revisions. I have also
included the poem in Arabic,
but in the letters of the English language (highlighted), so
as to show the rhyme as it is originally,
in the Arabic language.
"your
body is my map"
jismuki
khaaritati
raise me
more love… raise me
zideeni oushkan zideeni
my prettiest fits of madness
ya ahla nawbaati junooni
O’ dagger’s journey… in my flesh
ya safar-al-khanjari… fi ansijati
and knife’s plunge…
ya ghalghalatah-sikkeeni…
sink me
further my lady…
zideeni gharaqan ya sayyidati
the sea
calls me
inna-al-bahra younadeeni
add to
me more death …
zideeni mawtan…
perhaps
as death slays me… I’m revived
aalla-al-mawta, itha yaqtouloni, youhyeeni
your
body is my map…
jismuki khaaritati…
the
world's map no longer concerns me…
ma aadat khaaritato-al-aalami ta’aneeni…
I am the
oldest capital of sadness…
ana aqdamu aasimatin lil-hozni…
and my
wound a Pharaonic engraving
wa-jorhi naqshonn farr’ouni
my pain….
extends like an oil patch
waja-i… yamtaddu kaboqa’ati zaytin
from
Beirut… to China…
min Bayroota… il-a-Seeni
my pain… a caravan…dispatched
waja-i… qafilaton… arsalaha
by the
Caliphs of "A’Chaam"… to China…
kholafaa’ou a'chaami… il-a-Seeni
in the
seventh century of the "Birth"…
fil-qarni a-ssabi'i lil-miladi…
and lost
in a dragon’s mouth…
wa daa’at fi fami tinneeni
bird of
my heart… "naysani"
aasfoorata qalbi. naysani
O’
sand of the sea, and forests of olives
ya raml-al-bahri, wa ya ghaabaati a-zayatooni
O’
taste of snow, and taste of fire…
ya ta’ama a-thalji, wa ta’ama a-nnari…
my
heathen flavor, and insight
wa nak'hata kufri wa yaqeeni
I feel
scared of the unknown… shelter me
ash’ur bil khawfi min al-majhool… fa-aaweeni
I feel
scared of the darkness… embrace me
ash’ur bil khawfi min a-athalmaa’i…
fadummeeni
I feel
cold… cover me up
ash’ur bil bardi… faghatteeni
tell me
children stories…
ehkee li qisasan lil atfaali
rest
beside me…
idtaji’i qurbi…
Chant to
me…
ghanneeni
since
from the start of creation
fa ana min bid’i a-takween
I’ve
been searching for a homeland to my forehead…
abhathu aan watanin li jabeeni
for a
woman’s hair…
aan sha'ari emra’atin…
that
writes me on the walls… then erases me…
yaktoboni fawka a-judrani… wa yamhooni
for a
woman’s love… to take me
aan hobbi emra’atin… ya’a-khuthuni
to the
borders of the sun… and throws me…
li hodoodi a-shamsi… wa yarmeeni
from a woman’s lip… as she makes me
aan shafati emra’atin… taj-a’a loni
like
dust of powdered gold…
ka-ghobari
a-thahabi al-mat'hoon
shine of
my life. my fan
Nawwarata oumri. marwahati
my
lantern. declaration of my orchards
qindeeli. Bawha basaateeni
stretch me a bridge with the scent of oranges…
muddi li jisran min
raa’ihati al-laymoon
and
place me like an ivory comb…
wa da’eeni moshtan aajiyyan…
in the
darkness of your hair… then forget me
fi aatmati sha’araki… wa enseeni
I am a
drop of water… ambivalent
ana noqtato maa’in… haa’iraton
remaining
in the notebook of October
baqiyat fi daftari Tichreeni
your
love crushes me…
yadhasoni hobboki…
like a
mad horse from the Caucasus throwing me under
its hoofs…
mithla hisaanin quqaaziyyin majnooni yarmeeni
tahta hawaafirihi
and
gargles with the water of my eyes…
yataghargharu fi maa’i ouyooni
add to
me more fury… add to me
zideeni ounfan zideeni
O’
prettiest fits of my madness
ya ahla nawbaati junooni
for your
sake I set free my women
min ajliki a’ataqtu nisaa’i
and
effaced my birth certificate
wa shatabtu shahadata meeladi
and cut
all my arteries…
wa qata’atu jamee’a sharaayeeni
edited
by T. Farhat,
MD
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