The Stab

The moonlight said:

I am the first of the homeless,

the eternal wanderer;

you find me on the breakwaters,

on the soldier’s helmet,

on the false teeth of the party's general secretary,

in the begging of the willow and in the river's obstinacy,

on the woman's brow

when pleasure lifts it;

on the executioner's fingernails

and the robber's key-ring,

on parliament’s oppressive dome,

on a deserter's medals,

on the tilted surface of a bomber,

on the marble steps,

on a knife blade

which a friend takes from the front of his cloak

and points at your backbone

and in my moment of agony,

I beg the clouds

'Hide me!'

(Translated by Radwa Ashour)

From The Logic of All Beings (1996)