THE EMIGRANT POETS 188(as in, for instance, 'Prayers' and 'The Lost Traveller'). Indeed, like the rest
of the Mahjar romantics, Nu'aima raises the heart above the head, imagina-
tion above reason: he is alarmed when he finds that his heart is not capable
of feeling (as for instance in 'The Frozen River') and rejoices when it is awake
once more ('The Heart Was Awakened'),^20 but compared with other roman-
tics like Abu Shabaka, Shabbi or Abu Madi, Nu'aima's feelings, though deep,
never reach the point of overflowing.
Part of the serenity which characterizes Nu'aima's poetry may be due to
the wonderful simplicity of his language, his choice of homely, almost col-
loquial words which has been attributed to the possible influences of Lebanese
folk-songs,^21 to his use of the rhythm of prose, to his preference for short
metres and stanzaic verse, to the muted tone of his writing. But much of it
is no doubt due to his calm spiritual life. His attitude to outside objects is
marked by his withdrawal into an inner world of the spirit, against which
things of this world are implicitly measured ('If Thorns But Knew'). Real life
for him is life of the spirit: for wisdom we must not look anywhere outside
ourselves ('The Road'). In his poetry there is more of divine love, coloured
by Plotinus' view of emanation, than of human love, 'the fury and the mire
of human veins'. Nu'aima's steadfastness of spirit, his unshakable religious
faith are given a powerful expression in a poem with the significant title
'Certainty',^22 in which he claims that he is proof against all manner of mis-
fortune since 'Fate is his ally and destiny his mate'. In the opening poem in
the volume from which the collection derives its title, 'Close Your Eyelids
and You Shall See', Nu'aima advises the reader to look inwards in times of
trouble. If ever he finds the sky covered in clouds or the earth in snow, or if
he discovers that he is afflicted with an incurable disease, or is fearful that
death is approaching, he should close his eyelids, for then he will be able to
detect stars beyond the clouds, meadows beneath the snow, disease itself
will turn into cure and death becomes life. In this poem one scholar quite
rightly finds the keynote to the whole of Nu'aima's poetry, for
holding to the vision within him, Nu'aima feels he has arrived at the secret
of life Everything in the world of appearance begins to fall into place
In 'The Autumn Leaves' the poet tells the falling leaves... to go gently and
lovingly down, without remorse or bitterness.^23There is nothing of this spiritual certainty or consistent philosophical outlook
in the poetry of Iliya Abu Madi, perhaps the greatest poet of the Pen Asso-
ciation. Unlike Nu'aima, Abu Madi (1889-1957) did not have the advantage
of a regular or systematic education. Born in the Lebanon about 1889, Abu
Madi moved to Egypt in 1900, later working as a tobacconist in Alex-