transemacabre | Sensual Medieval Poem of the Day: Ibn Ubda

I intend to make periodic posts sharing some of the sensual or erotic love poetry of the medieval world. Here's a selection from a Hiberno-Arab poet named Ibn Ubda, who wrote about 1100 at the court of al-Mutasim of Almeria.

I loved a new moon, incomparable in its beauty
The eyes and long lovely neck of the gazelle are modeled in its image
He swaggered in his beauty, which deserves no increase, a full moon shining in perfect proportion
Elegance adorned his slender figure
He is a full moon that triumphs with sheer magic
The down of his neck is curved over jasmine
A lily was placed beside a well-guarded rose whenever he came into view...

Medieval Arab poetry was often frankly homoerotic, and this one is no exception. This poem drips with the oriental and the exotic, the scent of jasmine perfuming the poet's words and the moon's light shining on the object of his affections. And flowers, of course, have long been a potent erotic symbol...