Sunday, May 29, 2011

Song For Mourning a Cat



You became wild, you became a street cat!
Did you not fly around my heart like a nightingale?

No longer is your beauty a revelation,
Your face no longer a place of worship.

Your former tenderness grew coarse,
What were your fineries, became torn…

How can your beauty betray itself,
How can wine turn to quinine?

I’m afraid for you – decorated with jewelry –
And now you’ve become like a gypsy
Prostituting herself.

An existentialist cat roaming the streets at night –
But who’s still dreaming of you? 

– nizar qabbani

1 comment:

  1. I'm sad that you're no longer posting. I hope that you are alive and well, and that you will return to your blog.

    I got this poem from the book Cairo of Cairo, where it was listed as though part of a poem. Do you know if this is true?

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