Quintrain
by Sa'id Aql
Translated by Mansour Ajami
Once...I heard a bird,
an absorbed ecstatic bird,
eloquently telling
its child:
"Fly away,
soar high:
a few bread crumbs
will suffice you,
but the sky
you need....
the whole sky."
A very inspirational poem indeed!
Sa|id |Aql (B. 1912) was born in Zahle, Lebanon, where he became a teacher and journalist before establishing himself in the 1930s as one of the leading conventional poets in the Arab world. He was influenced by the symbolist school and despite his many innovations in style and content, never deviated from the conventional formula of a poem.
From : The Flag of Childhood : Poems from the Middle East
But, PGR-ji, why is this titled "Quintrain"? What does it mean and what is the significance?
ReplyDeleteAh me. Yes. I need the whole sky! Beautiful!
ReplyDeletewhat is the connotative meaning of the word ecstatic?
ReplyDelete