Ounsi El Hage

1937 / Lebanon

The Cup

I shall not stop,
I shall not stop
Beneath the moon clothed in white,
Drowning in the morrow
With a fast-beating heart.
You remain mine, when I am aware,
You remain mine, when I am unaware.
There, in the wells of spacious churches,
In festivals
And the glimmering of windows,
The fields of folksong,
The desperate hum of din,
The departure of ships and wine,
You remain mine.
The shrivelled and the fresh stop short,
And the earth stretches forth its head
And pursues us from word to word,
From bird
To bird.
I heard from afar,
And from afar,
And when I tried to approach,
You held up your hand.
I heard from afar
And saw the ancient peoples
There, beyond the woods.
235 Total read