Mustapha Al-Abyad
The timeless verses of the Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani distill with rare eloquence the rawest and deepest feelings of love, superbly exposing the contradictions of the soul in the face of a passion deemed impossible or perilous. Qabbani expresses this existential anguish in these words:
“I am afraid of loving you passionately, of losing you,
and of suffering the unspeakable;
And I’m also afraid of not loving you,
of missing the opportunity for love,
and of regretting it. Tell me, how to love you without pain,
And how not to love you without remorse. »
In these stanzas, the pain of love is manifested in all its psychological complexity. The poet depicts an exceptional state of mind, torn between fear, desire and apprehension. Qabbani fears the intensity of love, because such depth would inevitably lead him to the loss of the loved one, and consequently to unbearable pain.
Simultaneously, he fears holding back, because abstention would mean the waste of a unique opportunity and the certainty of nagging remorse. This constant tension between the fear of loving and the fear of emptiness reveals a real emotional impasse: there is no easy way out, no comfortable choice. Each path has its heavy price.
Love, in the eyes of the poet, is not a simple passing emotion, but an existential state governed by the inescapable laws of suffering and regret. The insistent repetition of the word « I’m afraid » underlines the weight of these anxieties, while the simplicity and sincerity of the language give the words a powerful resonance in the reader’s mind.
The philosophical question that closes the verses – “How to love yourself without pain and how not to love you without remorse” – does not require a factual answer. Rather, it expresses the distress of a heart torn by paradoxical emotions. This deep question invites us to reflect on the very nature of love: is it joy or torment, fusion or separation, life or slow agony? Qabbani’s verses act like a mirror for the soul in imbalance, consumed between the fire of desire and that of fear. Ultimately, Qabbani reminds us that true love is a silent suffering that cannot be avoided, but must be accepted and experienced, because it constitutes an essential part of the human experience, imbued with deep authenticity and a universal emotional charge.
