The Book of Light and Clarity: A Reading in the Diwan "The Book of Sana'a"

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Khaled Al-Ruwaishan The collection "Kitab Sana'a" (The Book of Sana'a) must have been a song sleeping within the heart of the poet Abdulaziz Al-Maqaleh for a long time. When and how did the song open its eyes, and reveal the fragrance of its braids and the light of its purity? Light and purity... the light of a city and the purity of a poet. And it must have been a moment like a lifetime when light embraced purity, and this sweet, long, single song, "Kitab Sana'a," was born. I call it, then, the book of light and purity. "On the downpour of light she awakens And emerges from the darkness of time A lady In the fullness of femininity Did she descend from the book of legends Or did she rise from the song of violets Or did the Mawwals carry her From the spring of an ancient dream. It is Sana'a, the tavern of light, so enter In peace and kiss the earth ten times And squeeze from its captivating beauty the nectar A nectar that adds life to life" These manifestations of light had their beginnings breathing in the horizons of the collection "Abjadiyat Al-Rouh" (The Alphabet of the Soul), but they shone brightly in the collection "Kitab Sana'a," and in my opinion, they are a unique twin drawing from a new horizon of light. What distinguishes this new horizon - and it is new even within the framework of the poet's skies and experience - is that it is an energy for the soul, and a refuge from sadness. A horizon that begins where it is thought to end, so it is a perpetual beginning. A horizon that not only illuminates but also generates its own light. Therefore, I believe that the poet's wings, fluttering towards and within this horizon, will remain soaring, wandering, content amidst a drizzle of light that will not be tiresome for a period of time that I think will be long. For "Kitab Sana'a" is only the opening of a book written by light and clouds, written by the soul in its most splendid manifestations. In "Kitab Sana'a," the poet merged with the place of refuge as a source of light and an oasis of purity... as a final refuge for the fighting soul in the journey of life, ideas, and people. The place, then, is times past and a time to come. The place is the eye of the real and expected truth. The place is anticipation and vision, and therefore, reassurance. Here, after a long and eventful experience, the poet sees and believes that the place is what remains, and everything else is fleeting and does not bother, and everything else is dust and illusions.