You Who Pass Between Our Fleeting Words

kardeşim

Annemin rahminde yedi dakika boyunca beni terk ettiği için ikiz kardeşimi asla affetmeyeceğim.

Beni orada, karanlıktan korkarak, o yapışkan sıvının içinde bir astronot gibi yüzerek, diğer tarafta onu nasıl öpüp ona taptıklarını dinleyerek yalnız bıraktı.

Bunlar hayatımın en uzun yedi dakikasıydı ve onu ilk doğan ve annemin gözdesi olmaya adayan şeydi.

Bundan sonra, her zaman Pablo'dan önce bir yerlerden ayrılmaya özen gösterirdim: yatak odası, ev, okul, kitle, tiyatro… bu filmin sonunu kaçırmak anlamına gelse bile.

Bir gün dikkatim dağıldı ve kardeşim benden önce gitti ve o sevimli gülümsemesiyle beni izlerken bir araba geldi ve ona çarptı.

İkiz kardeşim öldüğünde, annem cesedini tuttu ve adımı haykırdı ve ben şimdiye kadar ona söylemedim...

Ben öldüm ve kardeşim yaşadı.

Rafael Noboa - My Brother

Nizar Qabbani (1923–1998)

Nizar Qabbani was one of the most renowned and influential Arab poets of the 20th century. He was born in Damascus, Syria, into a well-off, artistic family. His father, Tawfiq Qabbani, was a businessman and a political activist, and his mother, Faiza Akbik, hailed from a family with strong intellectual roots. His childhood in Damascus, surrounded by traditional Arab culture and the cosmopolitan currents of the time, had a lasting influence on his poetry.

Early Life and Education

Nizar Qabbani’s fascination with poetry began at a young age, and his education at the National Scientific College School in Damascus further nurtured his literary talents. He later pursued law at Damascus University, from which he graduated in 1945. While studying, Qabbani was already writing poetry, and he published his first collection, The Brunette Told Me, at the age of 21. This collection focused on themes of love and femininity, topics that would define much of his career.

Diplomatic Career

After graduating, Qabbani embarked on a long diplomatic career. He served as a cultural attaché and diplomat for Syria in various countries, including Egypt, Turkey, Lebanon, and the United Kingdom. His diplomatic work exposed him to diverse cultures and political environments, shaping his global outlook and influencing his poetry. While he continued to work as a diplomat, Qabbani never stopped writing and publishing poetry.

Poetry and Themes

Nizar Qabbani’s poetry is marked by its simplicity, emotional depth, and bold exploration of taboo subjects. His works often dealt with themes of love, sensuality, and the role of women in society. He was one of the few Arab poets who openly wrote about romantic and erotic love, which caused controversy in conservative circles. His poetry also questioned traditional gender roles and advocated for women’s rights, earning him admiration among progressive audiences. However, his themes were not limited to love. As he matured, Qabbani’s poetry became more political, particularly after the devastating loss of his second wife, Balqis al-Rawi, in a bombing during the Lebanese Civil War in 1981. He began to write about Arab nationalism, the oppression of the Arab people, and the failures of Arab governments. His poetry took on a tone of rebellion and anger, reflecting his frustration with the state of the Arab world.

Personal Life and Tragedy

Nizar Qabbani’s personal life was marked by both great love and profound tragedy. He was married twice. His first wife, Zahra, with whom he had two children, died young, leaving him devastated. His second marriage was to Balqis al-Rawi, an Iraqi woman who became a significant figure in his life and works. Balqis’s death in the 1981 bombing deeply affected Qabbani, and he wrote several moving poems dedicated to her memory. One of his most famous pieces, “Balqis,” reflects his grief and sense of loss. Qabbani’s poetry also carried the scars of personal tragedy from his early years. His older sister’s suicide, after being forced to marry someone she did not love, deeply influenced his views on women’s rights and societal restrictions, fueling his lifelong advocacy for love and personal freedom.

Memoirs

Qabbani also wrote prose, including memoirs that provide insights into his personal life, creative process, and the political landscape of the Arab world during his lifetime. His memoir, My Story with Poetry (Qissati Ma’a Al-She’r), offers a detailed account of his journey as a poet, his inspiration, and the events that shaped his works. In it, Qabbani reflects on how love, politics, and personal experiences intertwined in his poetry. In his memoirs and other prose writings, Qabbani often spoke candidly about his frustrations with Arab politics, the impact of his personal losses, and his complex relationship with his homeland, Syria. His writings reveal a poet deeply affected by both the joys and sorrows of life, committed to using poetry as a means of emotional and political expression.

Legacy

Nizar Qabbani’s poetry remains widely read and celebrated across the Arab world. He is often referred to as the “poet of love” because of his numerous poems on romance and women, but his later political works have also earned him the title of a revolutionary poet. His simple yet powerful style, combined with his boldness in addressing both personal and political issues, has made his poetry timeless. Qabbani’s works have been translated into several languages, and his influence extends beyond the literary world. Many of his poems have been set to music by prominent Arab singers, further cementing his place in Arab cultural history. Qabbani passed away in London in 1998, but his poetry continues to inspire and resonate with readers across generations, reflecting the personal, emotional, and political complexities of the Arab experience.

Wondering who you are?

You’re the purple scar that appears for no reason,

The images that give rise to nostalgia without features,

You are the ecstasy that did not complete,

A torment that lasted for an entire lifetime.

You...

You're like a trip I’ve been saving for months,

and when it was time to go,

I felt a desire not to leave.

A Night Beneath the Palm’s Shadow

The wind hums secrets through the date-laden trees, whispering names of those who once walked this dust, where footprints fade but never truly leave, pressed deep in the memory of the earth’s quiet trust.

Oh, moon of longing, hung low and bright, do you still remember the songs we sang? Verses embroidered in the fabric of night, soft as jasmine, where old echoes hang.

A mother calls, her voice a prayer, threading through the hush of dawn, her hands—cracked, but full of care— building futures from threads long gone.

And here I stand, between past and now, a daughter of sand, of stars, of sea, asking the wind to teach me how to love, to lose, yet still be free.

Had I told the sea

What I felt for you

It would have left

it’s shores

It’s shells

And followed me

- Nizar Qabbani

Amores Perros (2000)

What is life?

Dostoevsky: It's Hell

Socrates: It's an infestation

Aristotle: It is the mind

Nietzsche: It is strength

Marx: It is the conviction

Schopenhauer: It's suffering

Einstein: It is knowledge

Stephen Hopkins: It is hope

Kafka: The Endings

And you, what is your definition of life?

love is out of fashion

poets have killed love they wrote so many things about it that no one believes them anymore i thinks it's very normal because true lovers suffer and remain silent.

في أحضان السكون

هنا أنحرُ الليلَ، أغني الزمان هنا أتلقَّى حديث القمرْ هنا أقتلُ الشِّعرَ عند الغروبِ وأبعثهُ حينَ يأتي السحرْ هنا أصهرُ النورَ حتَّى يذوب وألقي في عيون الزهرْ هنا يرقد الهمُّ في خاطري ويسلبني أملي المنتظَرْ

هنا يومض اللحن في أضلع وينزع أسرارَهُ من دمِي وينحتُ من مقلتيّ الرؤى وتطربُ أوتاره أنجمي ويغرقني في الشقاء اللذيذِ وتملأ أوهامه عالمي

محمد الثبيتي -