Glance Poem by nadia abduljabbar

A glance of two
Hazelnut eyes,
Sweeter than pure honey,
Fresher than spring water,
Declared to mine
What daring lips
Fear to confess,
I got a bit nervous,
I thought I didn’t like it,
I flew to the stairs,
To run far away
From their penetrating glaze,
Thereof, they were again,
Looking at me in tenderness,
My tongue whispered to my lip:
“Oh, how charming
This gaze is”.
……
My night became
As awake as dawn,
I began to sing like a nightingale,
While others were asleep:
Two hazelnut eyes,
Sweeter than pure honey,
Fresher than spring water,
Reached me eagerly,
Touched every cell,
Every curve,
Every nerve;
They aroused my ecstasy,
Their warmth was
As hot bronze is,
They could melt
A heart of steel,
A gift are they,
Or a new test,
From The Most Knowledgeable;
From The Creator
Of weak human hearts,
Were they sent
To heal my wounds,
Or to engrave them,
Like a knife in a copper plate?
Or are they to create
A new stronger pain,
Am I still so naive
To be affected by a grin?
Do I need a new pain to learn from? !
……
Oh, whatever they are,
They brought back
Wisdom to my mind,
Spirit to my heart,
It began to shiver,
After being so numb,
A click... a fast beat,
Followed by another,
Am I beginning
To sense … to feel
To fly in the sky again?
After staying
Semi dead
For so long,
In the intensive care.


Jeddah,1998 (from Women with Wings)

published in poemhunter in

4 May 2013