St Sebastian
Sometimes, he found it difficult
to dislodge the arrows
preferring to keep them there
reverberating in silence
along with his invisible wounds.
I recently became acquainted with the works of Egyptian poet, Yahia Lababidi. His sixth and largest book of poems is entitled, New and Selected Poems (1993-2015). He describes the collection as "twenty-three years of marveling, questing and helplessly confessing in verse."
He kindly gave me permission to post excerpts of the book, such as the verse on St. Sebastian above. He is also forwarded me several pages of proverbs and aphorisms such as these tidbits of wisdom:
To shield yourself against the evils of this world, keep your lips wet with the taste of revelation.
To accept revelation, and the promise of rebirth, we must be willing to forsake our old life.
He explained his inspiration for them: "Because we live in a time when there is so much unfortunate suspicion and murderous ignorance in regards to the "Muslim world", I attach a selection of my spiritual aphorisms - increasingly composed under the inspiring influence of the mystical branch of Islam, Sufism."
Might poetry and aphorisms, shared across cultures and faiths, create bridges in a time when others would build walls? Might we exchange lines of verse rather than draw lines of fear and aggression? And how does poetry function help us hear each others' heart?
H.L. Hix, speaking specifically (and mysteriously) about Lababidi's Balancing Acts, relates what the poems tell us about themselves:
- They offer readers practice in the “art of storm-riding.”
- They are “unpinpointable thought forms.."
- They create a “fragile filigree.”
- They are inhabited by “stray spirits and ghosts.”
- They refuse “false divisions.”
- They heed “the vulnerability of all Things.”
- They inhabit—or are—“short eternities.”
- They engage in “sweetly spirited protest.”
- They harmonize into “a soundless symphony, mysteriously conducted.”
- They are “woven of whispers, murmurs and chants.”
Hix unpacks each of these phrases, but readers are encouraged to see what each of these statements means in context. Endorsements for the book by other world class poets can be viewed at this website, which we also recommend for orders.
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