Tunisian poet

I visited TUNISIA in late-March and April. While in the city of Tozeur, I met a fellow poet. Her name is SOUAD KHCHIM.

I'm pleased to share one of her poems, translated into English by Dr. Abdellatif Ben Halima:

LOVE

 

When you loved me,

trees had more leaves

and the morning dew appeared

with the light of the sun

and the light of the moon.

When you loved me,

every bird found for itself a nest

and every butterfly a flower.

Palaces found their

kings and life its meaning.

When you loved me,

my heart started to beat

and my lips had a fire in them

and my bosom yielded nothing

but tenderness.

It is your tenderness that gives more

life to my life

and that resurrects me into

an antelope that springs in the desert,

an ever-blossoming flower that knows

no other season but Spring!