Abd al Wahhab Al-Bayati

1926–1999 / Baghdad

The Sea Is Far-Off

The sea is far-off, but I hear it sighing
I see ships and seagulls carried far away by the waves
sailors and drunkards trapped in Aphrodite's charm
losing their sanity in darkness
and I, between al-Ma'arri and al-Du'ali, *
search for a manuscript
not knowing its author
or who let it vanish: Sayf al-Dawlah
or Kafur? *
in an age when no soul cares for anyone
or dares to rebel
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