I want to write different words for you by Nizar Qabbani
Translated by Bassam K. Frangieh and Clementina R. Brown
I want to write different words for you
To invent a language for you alone
To fit the size of your body
And the size of my love.
I want to travel away from the dictionary
And to leave my lips.
I am tired of my mouth
I want a different one
That can change
Into a cherry tree or a matchbox,
A mouth from which words can emerge
Like nymphs from the sea,
Like white chicks jumping from the magician’s hat.
Take all the books
That I read in my childhood,
Take all my school notebooks,
Take the chalk,
The pens,
And the blackboards,
But teach me a new word
To hang like an earring
On my lover’s ear.
I want new fingers
To write in another way,
High like masts of ships,
Long like a giraffe’s neck
So I can tailor for my beloved
A garment of poetry.
I want to make you a unique library
In it I want
The rhythm of the rain,
The dust of the moon,
The sadness of the grey clouds,
The pain of the fallen willow leaves
Under the wheels of autumn Art by Anja Weyer
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