We did not know at the moment of parting that it was a parting

Art by Kristina Closs

There Was No Farewell
by Taha Muhammad Ali

We did not weep
when we were leaving-
for we had neither
time nor tears,
and there was no farewell.
We did not know
at the moment of parting
that it was a parting,
so where would our weeping
have come from?
We did not stay
awake all night
(and did not doze)
the night of our leaving.
That night we had
neither night nor light,
and no moon rose.
That night we lost our star,
our lamp misled us;
we didn’t receive our share
of sleeplessness-
so where
would wakefulness have come from?

from So What: New and Selected Poems