In The Summer ~ A Poem by Nizar Qabbani

What if your deepest, unspoken feelings were powerful enough to make the ocean abandon its shores?

In The Summer

Nizar Qabbani

In the summer
I stretch out on the shore
And think of you
Had I told the sea
What I felt for you,
It would have left its shores,
Its shells,
Its fish,
And followed me.

Source

eflection

Nizar Qabbani’s concise masterpiece, “In the Summer,” captures the breathtaking, almost terrifying magnitude of unexpressed love. Set against the serene backdrop of a summer shoreline, the speaker contrasts personal stillness with an emotion so immense that, if released, it would disrupt the natural order—drawing the very sea, with all its fish and shells, in passionate pursuit.

In our contemporary life, we are constantly plugged into a hyper-connected world, yet we routinely suppress our deepest truths. We curate shallow digital personas while leaving our most profound vulnerabilities hidden beneath the surface. Qabbani reminds us of the immense weight of the unsaid. The poem serves as a gentle yet urgent critique of modern emotional caution. It suggests that our internal worlds possess a primal, transformative energy capable of moving mountains—or shifting oceans—if we only find the courage to speak. True intimacy requires an vulnerability that modern life often discourages, making Qabbani’s romantic sincerity more radical, and necessary, than ever.

As you read this poem, ask yourself:

What profound truth or deep emotion are you currently holding back from the world, and what beautiful disruption might occur if you finally chose to express it?