The Complete Poetic Works of Nizar Qabbani, Volume Two

Is he a Syrian poet from Lebanon or a Lebanese poet from Syria? Every Arab reader may find themselves in him. Nizar Qabbani's poetry transcends geographical boundaries to become a universal language. He carried the burden of poetry, even if he didn't preach theories. His poem was his statement, and people's love was its highest seal. And this poetry, infused with fragrance, was not swept away by artificiality. It remained integrated with his spontaneity. He is a craftsman, not a manufacturer, a singer from the depths of the forest and from the silk of the bed, and his rhythm is like a gold scale. Just as Nizar dipped his pen into the heart of feeling, so too is it our duty to dip our pens into Nizar's poetry. But alas! Who can rival him in his spontaneous flow? The poet of burning longing and stinging anger, the poet of the most incandescent moments, our fire falls short of you, for your glow penetrates through time. There is a fever within you that bridges absence with the hand that God extended to man in the image of Michelangelo.