"I do not need your red sculpted lips, Nor hair in loops like a serpent’s coils, Nor a nape as graceful as a swan’s, Nor narcissus eyes full of drunkenness, Nor teeth as perfect as pearls of heaven, Nor cheeks ruddy and full as pomegranates, Nor a voice mellifluous as a sarinda, Nor a figure as elegant as a poplar, But show me just this one thing, my love, I seek a heart stained like a poppy flower – Pearls by millions I would gladly cede, For the sake of tears borne of love and grief."
January 1, 1970