I see you resisting tears, patience your nature; does love…
Quote
I see you resisting tears, patience your nature; does love have no command or prohibition over you?
Arabic original
أراك عصي الدمع شيمتك الصبر، أما للهوى نهي عليك ولا أمر؟
What it means
Outward composure does not prove an absence of feeling. The poem questions someone who seems unmoved, then suggests that longing persists beneath silence and self-command.
The story behind this quote
This line opens Abu Firas’s well-known Araka ‘asiyya al-dam‘. The following verse answers by acknowledging longing and inward pain.
The text takes the form of a question to someone whose emotions remain hidden. It opens a dialogue between outward appearance and inward experience. The next verse’s reply is essential to understanding that visible patience does not exclude longing or emotional pain.
The source
أراك عصي الدمع شيمتك الصبر, مطلع القصيدة
The text appears in the indicated source. A traditional attribution remains distinct from proof of authorship: see the context.
More quotes by Abu Firas al-Hamdani
Yes, I yearn and carry a burning ache, but a man like me does not let his secret be spread.
My people will remember me when their trials grow grave; in the dark night, the full moon is missed.