He Is Calm

Acrylic On Canvas Painting By : 

Yasmeen Abdullah -

He is calm, and so am I 

He sips tea with lemon

And I drink coffee, 

This is the differing thing between us.

He wears, like me, a loose and striped shirt

And I read, like him, the evening papers.

He doesn't see me when I glance furtively,

I don't see him when he glances furtively,

He is calm, and so am I.

He is the seen and the seer I am the seen and the seer.

I move my left leg He moves his right leg.

I hum the tune of a song,

He hums the tune of a similar song.

I think: Is he the mirror in which I see myself?

Then I look toward his eyes,

But I don't see him...

So I leave the café hastily:I think:

Perhaps he is a killer,

Or perhaps he is a passerby who thought I was a killer

 He is afraid and so am I

Mahmoud Darwish