He Is Quiet And So Am I Poem by Mahmoud Darwish

He Is Quiet And So Am I

Rating: 4.8


He is quiet and so am I.
He sips tea with lemon, while I drink coffee.
That's the difference between us.
Like me, he wears a wide, striped shirt,
and like him, I read the evening paper.
He doesn't see my secret glance.
I don't see his secret glance.
He's quiet and so am I.
He asks the waiter something.
I ask the waiter something…
A black cat walks between us.
I feel the midnight of its fur
and he feels the midnight of its fur…
I don't say to him: The sky today
is clear and blue.
He doesn't say to me: The sky today is clear.
He's watched and the one watching
and I'm watched and the one watching.
I move my left foot.
He moves his right foot.
I hum the melody of a song
and he hums the melody of a similar song.
I wonder: Is he the mirror in which I see myself?
And turn to look in his eyes…but I don't see him.
I hurry from the café.
I think: Maybe he's a killer…
or maybe a passerby who thinks
I am a killer.
He's afraid…and so am I.

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Wahab Abdul 25 April 2016

ending is fine, otherwise a badly managed poem...

2 18 Reply
Ratnakar Mandlik 25 April 2016

Amazing write and a bit intriguing too. Thanks for sharing it here.

4 2 Reply
Mahimood 30 July 2022

Where we get full summay of the poem

0 0
M Asim Nehal 25 April 2016

Nice poem, we all feel the same way and this mystery takes us to different level, AWESOME WORK..100++++

4 0 Reply
Mehta Hasmukh Amathalal 25 April 2016

Nice one... beautiful poem./..10 So even if you disagree Try to agree On point of disagreement And make smooth movement

3 0 Reply
Monika Reddy k 01 August 2022

I want summary of the poem

0 0 Reply
Shubha 09 April 2021

Can i get the summary of the poem?

5 0 Reply
Rajnish Manga 25 April 2016

He is quiet and so am I. He sips tea with lemon, while I drink coffee. That's the difference between us...../ I think that is the most sensible part of the poem but the moment 'A black cat walks between us' it becomes a 'Whodunit' thriller.

3 0 Reply
Lupee Awe 25 April 2016

A journey indeed thanks for sharing

2 1 Reply
Susan Williams 25 April 2016

It is whimsical as Moira points out. It can be taken that way and probably should be taken that way. But I have a dark passenger who loves a mystery, a bit of heart-beating-under-the-floor thing going on. I see a spy or maybe two sitting there covertly eyeing each other, sending each other coded signals that may or may not be the Signal of the Day, the Password of the Hour. We live in perilous times, you know. That man reading a self-help book may be an assassin sent to do you in. Oh, all right, that's too ridiculous for words. Let's return to the social exam going on in the whimsical interpretation.. This is a great write and very well handled.

7 0 Reply
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