The Lone Traveler

The tireless traveler is finally tiring,
Requesting a permit to settle,
At the edge of a lake,
Bank of a river,
Deep in the woods,
Foot or back of the hill.
How could he settle 
Afar from mother, father,
Afar from childhood beloveds?
How could he settle
Afar from the narrow streets,
In the ancient cities,
From the heated seas,
Flanking the Fertile Crescent?
The Fertile Crescent is no longer fertile,
The Nile and the Euphrates,
The broken circle is bleeding.
He wishes to return to the Fertile Crescent,
Under the unsullied skies,
Entranced by harmonies of whales,
Seducing, being seduced,
Melodies ascending from the depth of the enchanted seas,
Mingling with stories of a wandering sailor,
Songs of migrant canaries, carrying messages,
From the Red to the Mediterranean Sea.

......

(The above is an excerpt from a poem which I wrote years ago.)

Azzam Elayan