Yusuf al Khal

Yusuf al Khal Poems

Yusuf al Khal Biography

Yusuf al-Khal (December 25, 1917 – 1987) was a Lebanese poet of Syrian descent. He made his career largely in Lebanon. He was Greek Orthodox. With Ali Ahmad Said (a.k.a. Adonis), al-Khal founded the magazine Shi'r ("Poetry") in Beirut in 1957. [Irwin, 24] His poetry has also been recognized in Near East poetry collections. (Nye, 76))

The Best Poem Of Yusuf al Khal

The Voyage

At daybreak we descend to our sheltered harbors
And the ships with their sails unfurled depart. we call out: O beloved sea,
Close to us as these eyelids to our eyes !
We come alone, choosing to venture forth,
While our comrades, behind those mountains, choose to slumber on.
Our shepherds have told us
O islands in love with danger
And hanting sloth and caution;
Of islands wrestling with fate,
Planting, with tooth and nail,
cities in the desert,
And letters of light encoding histories
To fill men's eyes eith wonder.
Of them, and their magic color, the great dream while young.
Then we embark on the ships,
Laden with glass and pinewood,
With silk and fruit and wines,
We call out: O ships !
O upward-bearing ladder !
Bringing us precious treasure
and bearing out finery in return !
O ships !
We have come to you alone .
Our comrades, there in the desert, chose to remain
At the mercy of heat and croaking boredom.
While we choose to voyage.
Our mountain shepherds have told us
Of islands drenched in clouds, in lavender and rain,
Of islands that know no boredom.
Of them, and their magic color, the great dream while young.
Before we set sail we slaughter sheep,
One for Astarte, one for Adonis
And one for baal.
Them from the seabed
We haul in the iron anchor
And begin our voyage.
Halleluja !
Halleluja !
An instant, and there vanish from our sight
The mountains,
The shepherd meadows,
The land brimming over with flowers.
Halleluja !
Halleluja !
Halleluja !
We begin our voyage
And the tale of struggle, of triumph and homecoming.

Yusuf al Khal Comments