Adonis

Rains

He holds the plow to his chest,
clouds and rain in his palms.
His plow opens doors
toward a richer possibility.
He scatters dawn on his field
and gives it meaning.

Yesterday we saw him.
On his path there was
a geyser of daylight’s sweat
that returned to rest in his chest,
clouds and rain in his palms.

Adonis, from Selected Poems, translated by Khaled Mattawa

The Beginning of Speech

The child I was came to me

once,

a strange face

                He said nothing              We walked

each of us glancing at the other in silence, our steps

a strange river running in between

We were brought together by good manners

and these sheets now flying in the wind

then we split,

a forest written by earth

watered by the seasons’ change.

Child who once was, come forth—

What brings us together now,

and what do we have to say?

Adonis, from Selected Poems, translated by Khaled Mattawa