Abd al-Wahhab Al-Bayyati 1926-1999

Secret of Fire

On the last day
I kissed her hands
Her eyes / her lips
I said to her: you are now
Ripe like an apple
Half of you: a woman
The other half: impossible to describe
The words
Escaped me
And I escaped them
Both of us collapsed
Now I pray
For the childhood of this light face
And for this ripe, burning body
I bring my face closer
To this gushing spring
Thirsty
On the last day, I said to her
You are the fire of the forests
The water of the river
The secret of the fire
Half of you cannot be described
The other half: a priestess in the temple of Ishtar