A Mother's Love

Dedicated to my beloved son Nazih

When my eye first glanced upon you,
and when my ears heard the chime of your beautiful voice,
I felt tenderness flowing through my veins,
and I forgot my pains and my travail!
The more you grow, the more my love for you grows —
that great love which has swept over my heart and eased my sorrow...
A day will come, my son, when you will be a grown man;
may my Lord keep you in His care, and may He watch over you, O my little man!
I love your glowing glances, I love your two green eyes,
whose like I have never seen in the faces of all creation!
I love the echo of your innocent laughter, I love your pure brow,
I love your movements and your turns and your enchanting smiles!
You are my great hope, my soul, and all that I possess —
so give me a sweet kiss, my guardian angel;
tell me, at the hour you rise each morning,
of your nighttime adventures and your beautiful dreams...
Sing, my darling, every evening,
the national anthem, the melody of the days of victory!
No joy in the world matches my delight in you when I see you pulsing with life
before my two eyes, ever longing to behold you —
O unfailing spring of a mother's love,
it is God's power alone that keeps you in perpetual overflowing!!

Damascus, January 6, 1952