Woe if it remains behind
Author: Joumana Haddad
Translated by: Issa J. Boullata
I will be strewn about on your bed
Like fingerprints of fire.
I will be implanted in your night,
And my day will come out from your jar.
I will know your rooms by heart word for word,
And your verses line by line.
I will run and run in front of you,
And I will press the wind’s hand and bring it on.
My mouth will move from your forehead to your neck,
From your neck to the most significant crux,
And I will let down my dreams on your shoulders
And you will let me wander.
Come forth.
The earth is collapsing on me
And I will not flee into myself.
Lust wishes to taste me
But I will not guide it to my home.
My dress is devouring me
But I will not chase it away alone.
Come forth.
You penetrate my head
And so I veil myself with my fancy, and I chase you.
Come forth. I shall not call you for long.
Come, cling
And don’t waste my dizzy craze.
Woe to you from my fragrance
If it remains behind
And I go!