Cena De Amor (Love scene)
By IBN BAQI ca 1145
translated from Poruguese
When the night curls up
Its tail of shadow and
Drinks dark wine so thick
That is as lunching on dust,
Absorbed through nostrils;
And it tightens around me
Like a brave man grips
His sword; and its pleats
Hang like standards from
My shoulders;
That’s when I give in to
The sweet weight of sleep
It breaks up our embrace
And I push her away from me,
The object of my love,
‘Cause it is impossible to sleep
On a pulsating pillow