June 13, 2026 | Love Letter #71 by Nizar Qabbani

Nizar Qabbani's "Love Letter 71"

The day you find a man
Who can transform your every atom
Into Poetry,
And who turns each strand of your hair into a poem,
The day you find a man
Who can--as I did--
Make you bathe yourself in Poetry,
Line your eyes with Poetry,
Comb your hair with Poetry,
Then I will beg you
To follow him without hesitation.
It doesn't matter that you belong to me,
And it doesn't matter that you belong to him.
What matters...is that you belong to Poetry.

(Translated by M. Taavon)

NB: This poem, originally published in Arabic, is from Qabbani's 100 Love Letters (1970).

>1 sirens_and_warnings: How beautiful! Thank you for sharing M.