ADUNIS AND THE NEW POETRY 237the poet and his generation, expressed in bold and effective language. One of
the most bitter satires on modern Arab society, it is also one of Adunis's most
optimistic poems: the poet is confident that Phoenix-like Arab society will
renew itself.
In Songs ofMihyar the Damascene Adunis adopts the mask or persona of
Mihyar, the medieval Arab poet, to express his feelings and attitudes to
reality, political, social and psychological. But Mihyar is identified with
other figures from Greek and biblical and Koranic mythology, such as Noah
who survives the Flood and destruction of the world to rebuild another better
one, or Shaddad ibn 'Ad who created a world of great architectural beauty
and splendour, or Ulysses the eternal wanderer, the symbol of restless man in
an endless quest. The poet is mystically aware of a deeper truth behind the
world of appearances and the distinctions between good and evil, and he
gives expression to a twilight state of consciousness where man and God are
one, a pantheistic experience marked by its fluidity and dream-like quality.
Despite the growing mysticism and inwardness in this volume, Adunis is
tragically concerned about the future of his society and of Arab culture. He
can write a poem charged with mystical feeling like 'I Said to You':
I said to you I have listened to the seas
Reciting their poetry to me, I have listened
To the music that lies dormant in shells.
I said to you I have sung
At the devil's wedding, at the banquet of fables.
I said to you I have seen
In the rain of history, in the blaze of distance
A fairy and a mansion.
Because my sea journeys take place in my eye
I said to you I was able to see all
At the very first step I took. (1,388)He can also write "You Have No Choice' which is a metaphysical as well as
a cultural comment:
What? You will then have to destroy the face
Of the earth and form another.
What? You will then have no choice
Other than the path of fire
Other than the hell of denial —
When the earth becomes
A dumb guillotine or a god. (i,431)
or 'The Little Times' which similarly operates on two levels (i,481), or the
even more complex 'Homeland':