Preface
Acknowledgments
IntroductionPart I: Poets Before the FiftiesIlya Abu Madi
The Human Clay
The PhoenixUmar Abu Risha
A Roman Temple
An EagleIlyas Abu Shabaka
You or I?
This Is My Wine
I Love YouAl-Akhtal al-Saghir
The Wisdom of Life
Hind and her MotherSa'id 'Acql
Do Not Show Your Love
More Beautiful Than Your Eyes
Dark Beauty
From: The Book of RosesBadawi al-Jabal
Dark Mirage
The Visit
Immortality
BeautyAl Tijani Yusuf Bashir
Tormented Mystic
Memories of the Village SchoolIlyas Farhat
Quatrains
My Burned Suit
Salma
WildernessGibran Kahlil Gibran
Veiled Land
Earth
The Seven Stages
Fame
The PoetHafiz Ibrahim
Describing a SuitMuhammad M. al-Jawahiri
Come Down, Darkness
Lullaby for the HungryMutran Khalil Mutran
Boycott
EveningAhmad al-Safi al-Najafi
Where is the Guard?
The Pleasures of Darkness
The Ship of Life
The MothIbrahim Naji
Farewell
OblivionAmin Nakhla
To the Beloved Grown Past Youth
Black SongMikha'il al-Rasafi
Poem to al-Raihani
The Abyss of DeathAbu al-Qasim al-Shabbi
Life's Will
Quatrains from "Song of Ecstacy"Ahman Shauqi
Bois de Boulogne
Thoughts on Schoolchildren
An Andalusian Exile'Ali Mahmud Taha
The Blind Musician
Egyptian SerenadeIbrahim Tuqan
The Martyr
PerplexityJamil S. al-Zahawi
Both StrangersPart II: Poets After the FiftiesHasan 'Abdallah
I Remember Having LovedMuhammad 'Abd al-Hayy
Ode of SignsSalah 'Abd al-Sabur
Expectation: Night and Day
The Gist of the Story
The People of my Country
Winter Song
The Sun and the Woman'Abd al-Razzaq 'Abd al-Wahid
Dreaded Road
Reaching Forty
You Rise Among Truths
Shauqi Abi Shaqra
Water for the Family House
The Student
FugueAdunis
A Mirror to Khalida
Beginning Speech
A Song
Mihyar, A King
A Grave for New York'Ali Ja'far al-Allaq
Poet
Lady of ChaosMuhammad al-As'ad
Gardens for the Fire and the Rain
The Princess'Abd-Allah al-Baraduni
From Exile to Exile
A Rose From Al-Mutannabi's BloodSaleen Barakat
Dilana and Diram
The Wild Goat
The Cows of Heaven
The Greyhound
The Hoopoe bird
The Flamingo
The Squirrel'Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayyati
The Impossible
Luzumiyya
The Birth of Aisha and Her Death
Elegy for AishaMohammad Bennis
The Second Coming
Belonging to a New FamilySargon Boulus
Lighter
Poem
My Father's Dream
SiegeMahmoud al-Buraikan
Tale of the Assyrian State
Man of the Stone CityAhmad Dahbur
In Memory of 'Iziddin al-Qalaq
The Death of the ShoemakerMahmoud Darwish
Diary of a Palestinian Wound
Bread
Beirut
Poems After BeirutZuhur Dixon
Overture
Dialogue of the Night of the Roses
Season of Beginning and End
Two Hands on the WaterAmal Dunqul
The Scaffold
Corner
Tomorrow
Trains
The City A Wrecked ShipSalah Fa'iq
PoemsMuhammad al-Faituri
The Story
Incident
The Question and the Answer
The Dervish
The Closed Door
A Scream
The VisionMuhammad al-Ghuzzi
Female
Quatrains for Joy
Your Eyes
A Dream
The Pen
My Sister
Taghore
The Beggar