Elia Abu Madi
Elia Abu Madi (also known as Elia D. Madey; Arabic: إيليا أبو ماضي Īlyā Abū Māḍī ) (May 15, 1890 – November 23, 1957) was a Lebanese-born American poet.
Ilyâ Abû Mâdî was born in the Lebanon in 1889. From there he moved to Egypt where he worked for a short while before moving to the USA in his early twenties. Apart from his early schooling he was mostly self-educated. He had several books published the most important being Al-Jadowil or “The Brooks” published in 1925. In 1929 he set up a bi-weekly literary review entitled al-Samir which proved such a success that, in 1936, it became a daily publication. He edited this until his death in 1957. He was known as a romantic poet, a poet of moods.
I came, I do not know from where, but I came
I saw in front of me a path, so I walked
I must keep walking whether I want to or not
How did I come? How did I see my path?
I do not know
(Ilya Abu Madi)