# Lebanus explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by Ameen Rihani.

## What happens

The speaker addresses a beloved, urging them to return to Lebanon (Lebanus), which is personified as a waiting, ancient figure. The poem evokes the beauty and sorrow of the landscape—cedars, temples, birds, and flowers—all longing for the beloved's presence, which alone gives meaning to the natural and sacred world.

## Themes in this chapter

### Exile and Belonging

The beloved is absent, and Lebanon calls out in longing, emphasizing a sense of separation and the desire to return.

### Nature and Mortality

The natural world—cedars, birds, flowers—is depicted as both beautiful and sorrowful, reflecting the passage of time and loss.

### Love and Loss

The speaker's address to the beloved is filled with yearning and the pain of separation, with love as the central force that gives meaning to all things.

## Character check-ins

### Unknown Narrator

The speaker who passionately calls to the beloved, personifying Lebanon and its elements.

### Lebanus

Personified as a waiting, ancient tower and house of flowers, song, and light, embodying the land of Lebanon.

## Key lines

> O my Love, how long wilt thou continue Fondly nursing every dreaming Hour!

My love, how much longer will you hold on to idle dreams?

_The speaker implores the beloved to stop delaying and respond to Lebanon's call._

> Yea, a sea of Siren witchery, Like the sundown inundates the heaven, Rolling o'er a sea of boughs emblossomed

A magical, enchanting flood of song and color spreads across the blossoming trees like sunset.

_Describes the overwhelming beauty and allure of the Lebanese landscape._

> Yea, without thee, neither song nor flower Nor star nor temple of antique Lebanus, Has aught compelling of the Soul's devotion.

Without you, nothing in Lebanon—song, flower, star, or ancient temple—can truly inspire the soul.

_The beloved's presence is essential for the land to hold spiritual meaning._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters/lebanus
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_2_se/chapters