Let me convince you: Arabic poetry is to the ears what _ is to the tongue. “What’s the point of listening to a poem I won’t understand?” “But I don’t understand Arabic,” you might be thinking as you skim this article. He spent the last 15 years of his life in London, and when he died, a New York Times obituary quoted another Arab poet’s estimation of Qabbani’s work: “His poetry was as necessary to our lives as air.” “Do You Love Me and I Am Blind?” was written by Damascus-born poet Nizar Qabbani, who, after a diplomatic career with the Syrian government, began a publishing house in Beirut and wrote prolifically, most notably poetry on love, politics, and Arab nationalism. Saddened, he releases her with a parting request: that she promise to care for his eyes. Then, when she wakes up able to see, the woman realizes her lover is himself blind and refuses to marry him. After insisting that she cannot marry without her sight, the man says he will find someone to donate a pair of eyes for her. Today’s poem, recited by Syrian photojournalist Zaher Al Zaher, tells of a man’s love for a beautiful woman who is blind.
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