392
(10)
I am sending my message:
It opens the cups of the flowers
And makes the doves speak in the trees
As it goes to a distant friend who dwells
In my very body
Although my eyes have no sight of him.
PARTISAN REVIEW
Do not think that absence makes me forget you.
God, that will never happen.
(11 )
If
he were not a star,
Eyes that enjoyed his glow,
Would shadow shroud them so,
Now he is far?
Salud.'
from one who's sad,
Yet may it still address
Virtues and powers above,
Which as they onward move
Took from me all I had
Of fortune, happiness.
(12)
In the still of the night
Ask the cloud with its beating heart
If it has spent the night with my love, remembering me:
Ay, it has given my heart
Its beat and, heavens above,
Given the lids of my eyes this rain
That pours down my cheeks.
(13)
Shall I come to you or will it be my place?
My heart always gives in to your desire.
You will be safe from the sun's heat,
And you will not be thirsty
When you make me welcome:
My lips are water sweet and fresh ,
And the branches of my braids give deep shade.
Answer me now: you'll be doing her no favor, Yamil*
If you do what your Butayna is waiLing for-.
-Note: the names allude
to
the classica l Arabic
'udri
("Platonic") poet Vamil and his
