Poem of the day: A valentine from Egypt

[pallas_athena]

Since the incredible situation in Egypt began to unfold, I've been diving into a book of ancient Egyptian literature. Among other wonderful things, it contains some excellent love poems from the Ramesside period (13th-12th centuries BCE.) Here is one of them, in a translation by Vincent A. Tobin:

Poems of Great Delight, Stanza IV

My heart swiftly betakes itself to flight
Since I have remembered my love for you.

It does not permit me to walk like an ordinary person,
But leaps from its proper place.
It does not permit me to put on a dress,
Nor can I don my mantle.

I put no makeup on my eyes
Nor anoint myself in any way.
"Do not delay! Go straight to his house!"
So it says to me each time I think of him.

Do not create folly for me, my heart.
Why do you act like a fool?
Sit quietly, and your lover will come to you,
And many others as well.

Do not let people say about me,
"She is a woman distraught by love."
Be strong each time you remember him,
O my heart, do not take flight!

Comments

[veritate.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing this.

I have studied Middle Eastern dance for six years and I find myself increasingly swept away by Arabic music and lyrics. It's just so expressive, passionate and poetic - more than anything I've really found in English literature.

[artnouveauho.livejournal.com]

Glad you liked it! There are some more (including a different translation of this one) here. (http://www.humanistictexts.org/egyptlov.htm)

I'm off to dance classs tonight myself! Hope you have fun at yours.