Beirut! O queen of the world. (poem) (Bearing Witness: Recent Literature from Lebanon)

Beirut! O queen of the world. (poem) (Bearing Witness: Recent Literature from Lebanon)

The Literary Review

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March 22, 1994 | Kabbani, Nizar; Amyuni, Mona Takyeddine | Copyright

Beirut! O Queen of the world . . . Who sold your ruby-chiselled bracelets? Who took away your magic ring, And cut out your golden nails? Who killed the joy in your green eyes, Slashed your face with a knife, And threw burning acid on your lovely lips? Who poisoned the sea water And sprinkled hatred on your rosy beaches? Here we come . . . to apologize . . . to confess That we fired on you with a tribal spirit . . . And killed a woman . . . once called (Liberty) . . .

What can we say, Beirut . . . When the essence of human sorrow is in your eye And the ashes of civil war on your breast? What can we say, O, summer fan and damask rose? Beirut--Who ever thought we would meet As you lay in ruins? Who ever thought the eye one day would be at war with the lashes? What can we say, my pearl . …

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