Distances

Listen to the poem, recorded over Erik Satie's music

Oh I've told him
That I love him
I wrote poems for him
I waited for him
Hoping for a look
A word
Anything from him,
But he's far tonight
Like every other night

With him I've learnt silence
With him I've loved silence
Entire nights
With nothing but the talk of silence
The silence of the skies and the Earth
And I, in between
I love without a voice
And he listens
Without an ear

If he truly loved me
He'd cross galaxies
He'd abandon the skies
He'd walk out on the sun
Then he'd learn to speak
And he'd roll a million years
Just to whisper in my ears
One word or may be two or three
And it would be enough for me

They say I am obsessed
They'll say I'm lunatic,
All humans love other humans
Except me,
I love a moon.
The night is long
But time is short
How many human lifetimes
Does one wait
For that moon?

I've read and read
To understand distances
To understand times and years
But I've lost it !
Dear scientists,
You should know 

That distances are not measured 

By the speed of light
Or the speed of sound,
But rather

By the slowliness 
Of love

I've grown jealous 

Of every star that comes near him
Saturn, Mercury, Jupiter, Mars
All are dancing around him
They come close, they go far
And I remain
Where I am.
He's so far
Yet so close
Or perhaps
He is both 
Far and close
Ever more
Every night 


Abu Dhabi, 28 March 2013

This poem was originally written in Arabic. It is part of a series of "moon poems". This is only an attempt to translate it into English. It doesn't sound nor feel like the original. The musicality and the concepts are different. But it is just a try ... I hope you enjoy it ! 

Check out the original Arabic poem: مسافات
Or listen to the Spanish version: Distancias