Poem 115: A King’s Elegy Poem by Samer Madbak

Poem 115: A King’s Elegy



Dethrone me now, depose me
Usurp this gaudy crown
Before I coalesce
With this lofty seat
Put me down
Abash my crest, repose me
Until I learn to bless
This humble earth
Until I know my worth
And lick defeat…
Disrobe me now, expose me
Unshoe my royal feet
And grind my mace
Deport my radiant face
Exile me to a thousand Babels
Omit me there
Upon some ashen bed
To pluck my hair
To bare my head
Interring my disgrace
In cinder and in sables…
Desert me here to die
To welter in my infamy
Until I learn to glorify
This freezing cold
This terrifying heat,
Abandon me, hungered and galled
Thankful to feed
The crumbs the dogs have spared for me
Leave me to bleed
Until my sores are blest
My pain is sweet
Till I discover who I am
And gain my rest
Upon the gentle breast
Of Abraham.


Beirut
April 24th 1996

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