The Poem "You Are Mine" by the Poet Hadeel Nofal

You Are Mine

You are mine
a hand pushing my swing to the boundaries of God
my shadow is still asleep in it
my dress and my hair play a piece of music for joy
on the way out
my breath catches and I do not draw it in
and on the way back my heart beats like a horse
You are mine
and here I am, waiting
crossroads divide me between them
and so do the traffic lights
you were not born of me, nor do you return to me
your root is not here
nor is the harvest season here
You are mine
when you kissed me in the streets of Damascus
I left my heart on the front of the old café
and my soul was overtaken by its soul
and I was radiant with you that day
at first my heart hurt me
when I was forgotten like a notebook on a bus
as though the silver chain a lover once gave you
had had its vein cut
and her love ran out into the sand
and she turned her back on the smoke of the train
and because it was your kiss
it brought down the leaves of my autumn
so that a pomegranate bud might grow on my heart
I caught sight of you…
I did not notice how our shadows met
before I crossed the street
the fall of my footsteps has become chronic
the pavement at that stop notices my shadow
when it echoes back and forth
about rebounding
about exploding
You are mine, an earthen heart that does not die
of age
and in the graveyards
is never visited
You are mine
I did not find paradise on the map
and I did not plant the fire
You are mine
and I am Hadeel, the dove's cooing
I have the nature of doves
and I fear the longing for home
I fear the longing for home