Classic Poem

In the Kifah Street, near the Fadl Mosque
One evening I happened to notice
A woman crossing the street
A stranger she was
Flitting through time
Swathed in a black cloak
On her face the stamp of bygone days
And a shadow of ancient Babylon
She might be a hierodule who'd come out
From the temple darkness to the market place
Perhaps to buy an incense burner, or a candle
To light up the gloom of the cloister.

I followed her, gazing at her,
Approaching her, wanting to say a word,
Then drew back:
Ah! The awsomeness of bygone times!