By
Abdulkareem Al-Ofairi
I came from Sheba, reciting my rhyme,
Wandering in lovestruck bliss so sublime
Inebriated in rapture that makes senses reel
As though lost in time’s unmindful wheel
I gave her my soul, holding nothing behind
For her sake, I think nothing too dear to find
I reveled in her beauty for ages untold\
She welcomed me in her arms, gentle and bold
She embraced me without fear or shame
Her lips rained on me wine and honeyed flame
Until my mouth was lost in her sweet lips
I sank in waves of passion’s deep eclipse
On her bosom I found my head resting
And in her mouth’s softness, my ships were nesting
It was I who was smitten by her charm
Is there any temptation but her to disarm?
By God, none can equal her likeness\
Above this earth, now and for time’s fullness
I left her with tears of ardor streaming
My heart cries in wilderness, wildly dreaming
God knows I’ll never leave her behind
It was my soul that left, though my body declined
Mourn in black, braid strands of her hair
To wrap my body, my chosen death shroud wear
Bury my corpse in the dust of her soul’s place
Mark my grave “Lover of Yemen” to trace
I recited love’s verses in her shrine\
In scripture, tradition and odes so fine
Have you heard the legend of Arwa al-Sulayhi?
None but she held power under heaven’s sky
Her palace throne rivaled Balqis the Great
Desired by all who enter Sanaa’s gate
Why is she afflicted now with such pain?
Crying violations and tyranny’s bane?
Aden, her veins bleed from oppression’s cut
In Sana’a, Hell’s furnace makes anguish erupt
Take heart my Queen, smile through Qahtan’s drought,
Embrace me, for our separation makes me fraught.
With Balqis’s vision, I came dressed in armor,
Bearing the sword of ironclad valor
I’m envoy of my land in her torment
And voice of her freedom round the earth sent
If I could choose where to take birth\
I’d say “O world, I’m proudly Yemeni”.
translated by
Hatem Al-Shamea Sounding the Alarm from the Abyss: A Critique of Yemeni Patriarchy in Asseri’s Short Story,”The Hole”
