You could think of sunlight
Glancing off the minarets,
You could think of guavas and figs
And the whole marketplace filled
With the sumptuous din of haggling,
But you could not think of Alexandria
Without the sea, or the sea,
Turquoise and shimmering, without
The white city rising before it.
When suddenly, at midnight, you hear
an invisible procession going by
with exquisite music, voices,
don’t mourn your luck that’s failing now,
work gone wrong, your plans
all proving deceptive—don’t mourn them uselessly.
As one long prepared, and graced with courage,
say goodbye to her, the Alexandria that is leaving.
![MVI_5372[12-38-49]](https://yrakha.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/mvi_537212-38-49.jpg?w=316&h=179 "MVI_5372[12-38-49]")
![MVI_5754[23-44-53]](https://yrakha.files.wordpress.com/2016/08/mvi_575423-44-53.jpg?w=350&h=199 "MVI_5754[23-44-53]")
