To the angel Lee J Chaanin

By Charbel Baini

You’ve aged as well as the rose’s age,
And attained the age of the saints
Barsa bejewelled you with loads of flowers,
And at your absence, the birds shed their tears
In the fields of Richdibbine
You were a youth with matured mind,
And the mirth that bent many years.
At heart, your mother is ablaze,
And her eyesight abruptly grew dim.
To your father, you were the light,
His anguish has become awfully unbearable,
To weep and fill many urns
The tear, like a carving knife would befall,
Carried by a treacherous sorrow,
To fend off wretched men
Young and old, we will not wail or cry,
For all of us, you will always be
The loved one who could never die

Translated by Elie Shaanin