War Poetry

In The Battle

I remembered Sulayma
when the ardor of the battle
was like that of my body
when I left her.

I saw her slim waist
among the lances
and when they leaned toward me
I embraced them.


by Abu l-Hasan ibn al-Qabturnuh
Translated by Cola Franzen
from the Spanish version of the Arabic by Emilio García Gómez