When I love

I feel that I am the king of time

I possess the earth and everything on it

and ride into the sun upon my horse.

When I love

I become liquid light

invisible to the eye

and the poems in my notebooks

become fields of mimosa and poppy.

When I love

the water gushes from my fingers

grass grows on my tongue

when I love

I become time outside all time.

When I love a woman

all the trees

run barefoot toward me...

Nizar Qabbani, When I Love