Jaheen's Quatrains: A Selection

Originally by: Salah Jaheen; Translated by: Ehab Ibrahim

A constant life? I cannot guarantee
To decree something, He says “Be”
So, a tree leaned over my head to say
Life only comes from the blues of decay

*

Close your eyes and delicately with pamper dance
Life is a fair lady and you are her hero
Seeing your elegance, she’ll love you at first glance
But, if you ever look down, you will get zero

*

Listen! You who seek a god to draw
A drowning man will catch at a straw
God’s beauty, mercy, compassion of the sublime
Embrace His attributes you’ll find Him in no time

*

There was once a six-mile lizard
Eyes like caves with giant gizzard
Through it dies, terror has never met mortality
It lived, lives and will do for eternity

*

My heart clutched with loss and agony
And stripped off my ribs with no mercy
Answer me, mirror, when I ask
Is that a face or just a mask?

*

Noah’s gone but continued Inundation
Our Ark is lost with no destination
We are all so weary and need a shore
How can we find it in oceans of gore?

Original Title: رباعيات صلاح جاهين: مختارات