Sol 6.1

  1. مَفازَة ٌهيَ .. نَطويها وتَطوينا

    جِدِّي خُطى فَلَقَد جَدَّ السُّرى فينا

    A wasteland it is: we fold it away, and it folds us away.

    Hasten, footsteps: our night journey has grown urgent.

  2. لا غابَة ُالشَّوكِ أثرَتْها عَرائِشُنا ؟

    وَلا الهَجيرَة ُأغْنَتْها سَواقينا ؟

    Our arbors have not enriched the thorn-forest?

    Nor have our watercourses sated the midday heat?

  3. ولا السَّوافي ، وقَد أدمَتْ مَحاجِرَنا

    ألوى بَها ما لَوَيْنا مِن سَوافينا ؟

    Nor were the dust-laden winds, though they bloodied our eye sockets,

    turned aside by the dust-winds of ours we twisted?

  4. كأنَّنا لم نُطامِنْ مِن شَوامِخِنا

    وَلا أذ َبْنا حَشانا في تَحاشينا

    As though we had not bowed our towering heights,

    nor melted our entrails in our avoidance,

  5. وَلا الرِّجامَ حَرَثناها ؟..ولا دَمُنا

    رَوَّى ؟..وَلا زَرَعَتْ شَيئا ًأيادينا ؟!

    nor plowed the stones? Nor had our blood

    watered them? Nor had our hands planted anything?!

  6. جِدِّي خُطى إنَّنا حَرَّى جَوانِحُنا

    حَرَّى مَواطِؤنا ، حَرَّى مَهاوينا

    Hasten, footsteps: our breasts are burning;

    our footholds burn, our abysses burn.

  7. لَقَد تَحَمَّلْتِنا جَرحى نَمُجُّ دَما ً

    تَحَمَّلينا غِضابا ًمَستَفَزِّينا !

    You have borne us wounded, spitting blood;

    bear us angry, provoked!

  8. تَحَمَّلينا وَفَرْط ُالغَيْظِ يَهرُسُنا

    هََرْسَ الرَّحى ، وَمَهيضُ الجُرح ِيُطغِينا

    Bear us while excessive rage grinds us

    as a millstone grinds, and the wound's anguish drives us beyond bounds.

  9. تَحَمَّلينا فَإنَّ الصَّبْرَ يَلفُظُنا

    وَإنَّ ألْفَ دُجىً سُودا ً تُنادينا

    Bear us, for patience spits us out,

    and a thousand black night-glooms call us,

  10. وَإنَّ مَجْمَرَة ً شَعْوا تَرَصَّدُنا

    وَإنَّنا نَحوَها تَسعى سَواعِينا !

    and a raging brazier lies in wait for us,

    and our strivings hasten toward it!

  11. جِدِّي خُطى..إنَّ هذا الدَّرْبَ أوعَرُه ُ

    غُيَيْمَة ٌوَعَشَيْبٌ يُورِثُ اللينا !

    Hasten, footsteps: this road's roughest stretch

    is a little cloud and a tuft of grass that breeds softness!

  12. كَم مِن خَضيل ٍتَوَسَّدنا ، وَمُنبَجِس ٍ

    ماءً غَشِينا هُ حتى كادَ يُغوينا

    How much lush growth we took for a pillow, and many a spring

    gushing water we came upon, till it nearly led us astray!

  13. وَكَم مُظِلٍّ تَفَيَّأ نا عَرائِشَه ُ

    لَم نَدْر ِأنَّا تَفَيَّأنا ثَعابينا

    How often we sheltered in a shady tree's arbors,

    not knowing we had taken shade beneath snakes,

  14. حَتَّى تَدَلَّتْ عَلَينا كلُّ مُفْرِعَة ٍ

    بِألفِ أرْقَط َ مِلْءَ النَّابِ يُصْمينا

    until every branching bough hung down over us

    with a thousand speckled snakes, slaying us with the full bite of their fangs.

  15. فَعادَ يَمضَغ ُمِن جَنْبَيهِ جائِعُنا

    وَيَكتَسي دَمَه ُالمُهْراقَ عارينا

    Then our hungry one resumed chewing his own flanks,

    and our naked one clothed himself in his spilled blood.

  16. لَقَد زَهِدْنا فَيا أحشاءَنا انخَسِفي

    حَدَّ الظهورِ، وَيا أشباحَ ماضينا

    We have renounced desire: O our entrails, cave in

    all the way to our backs; O ghosts of our past,

  17. شُدِّي على كلِّ عِرْق ٍمِن جَوارِحِنا

    حَتَّى تَحُزَّ الشَّرايينُ الشَّرايينا

    tighten around every vein in our limbs,

    until arteries sever arteries,

  18. حَتَّى نَعودَ ولا وَهْمٌ يؤرِّ قُنا

    وَلا سَرابٌ عَلى البَلوَى يُمَنِّينا !

    until we return, with no illusion to keep us sleepless,

    and no mirage to feed us hopes amid affliction!

  19. جِدِّي دَؤوبُ فَكََم مِن واحَة ٍحَفَرَتْ

    لَونَ الظِّلال ِعلى أهدابِ سارينا !

    Hasten, tireless one: how many an oasis has etched

    the color of shade upon our night-traveler's lashes!

  20. إنَّا نُذِرْنا لِهذا الرَّمل ِ، نَمضَغُهُ

    حينا ً، وَيَمضَغ ُمِن آماقِنا حينا

    We were vowed to this sand: we chew it

    at times, and at times it chews at our eye-corners.

  21. نُشوَى علَيهِ ، فَيَسقينا على ظَمَأٍ

    جَمرا ً، وَتَسقيهِ مِدرارا ًدَوامينا

    We are roasted upon it; in our thirst it gives us to drink

    embers, while our bleeding wounds drench it in torrents.

  22. وَنَلتَقي والرِّياح الهُوج تَصفَعُنا

    فَما تُُشابِكُ أهدابا ً مَآ قينا !

    And we meet while the raging winds slap us,

    yet our eye-corners interlace no lashes!

  23. قَد يَقرَبُ الظِّلَّ حَدَّ اللَّمْس ِمُجْهَدُنا

    وَيَجْرَعُ الماءَ حَدَّ الحَلْق ِظامينا

    Our exhausted one may approach shade to the point of touch,

    and our thirsty one gulp water as far as the throat;

  24. وَقَد يَمُرُّ بِنا دَهْرٌ وَلَيسَ يَرى

    ظِلا ً وَلَو لِجَناح ِالطَّيْر ِرائينا

    or an age may pass over us, and our watcher sees

    no shade, not even that of a bird's wing.

  25. وَيَمَّحي ظِلُّنا مِن فَرْطِ ما التَصَقَتْ

    بِهامِنا الشَّمسُ نُدْنيها وَتُدنينا !

    Our shadow is erased, so tightly has

    the sun clung to our heads: we draw it near, and it draws us near!

  26. جِدِّي حَمُولُ ، فَما أشقى أخا سَفَر ٍ

    لِلشَّمس ِيَمشي لَها والظِّلَّ والطِّينا !

    Hasten, burden-bearer: how wretched is the traveler

    who walks sunward—toward it, with shadow and clay!

  27. لَقَد بَذ َرْنا سَناها في مَحاجِرِنا

    وَقَد سَجَرْنا لَظاها في مَحانينا

    We have sown its radiance in our eye sockets,

    and stoked its blaze in our body's curves,

  28. وَقَد زَحَمْنا لَها أمضى قَوافِلِنا

    فَأرقَلَتْ .. وَحَدا بالنَّاس ِحادينا

    and pressed toward it our most resolute caravans;

    so they trotted swiftly, and our driver sang the people onward.

  29. وَلَم نَزَلْ ما استَوى طِفْلٌ على قَدَم ٍ

    إلاّ لِيَدرِجَ في أعقابِ تا لينا !

    And still, no child has stood upon his feet

    except to toddle on the heels of our rearmost follower!

  30. يا خالَ عَوفٍ رَعا كَ اللهُ حَيثُ سَرَتْ

    بِكَ الخُطى ، وَسَقى شَوقُ المُحِبِّينا

    O Awf's uncle, may God guard you wherever

    your steps have borne you; may the lovers' longing water you,

  31. وَرَفَّ حَولَكَ أنْدى ما بِأضلُعِنا

    إنْ كا نَ فَضْلُ نَدِيٍّ في مَطاوينا

    and may the dewiest thing within our ribs flutter around you,

    if any dewy bounty remains in our inward folds;

  32. وَقَبَّلَتْ فَمَكَ المِعطاءَ نازِعَة ٌ

    مِن الحَنين ِبِنا تَطغى فَتَشجينا

    and may your bountiful mouth be kissed by a surge

    of longing that swells within us, then saddens us.

  33. إنَّا لَيَحظى هُنا مَن عََنكَ يَسألُنا

    بِسائِل ٍعَنكَ ما غَصَّتْ نَوادينا !

    Indeed, whoever asks us about you here will find

    another who asks about you, so long as our gatherings teem

  34. بِمُرتَج ٍ نَفْثَة ً حَرَّى تُسَعِّرُنا

    وَمُرتََج ٍ نَثَّة ً رَيَّا تُهَدِّينا

    with one hoping for a burning breath that sets us aflame,

    and one hoping for a moist spray that soothes us.

  35. فَلا حُرِمنا هَديرا ًمِنكَ يُزْبِدُنا

    ولا عَدِمنا نَميرا ًمنكَ يَسقينا

    May we never be denied a roar from you that makes us foam,

    nor lack pure water from you that gives us drink;

  36. وَلا عَدَتْكَ ، وإنْ شَحَّتْ ، نَسائِمُنا

    وَلا جََفَتْكَ ، وإنْ جَفَّتْ ، غَوادينا

    and may our breezes never pass you by, even if they grow scant,

    nor our morning rains forsake you, even if they run dry!

  37. يا خالَ عَوفٍ وَفينا مِنكَ مَأثَرَة ٌ

    أنَّا تَجاوَبُ والبَلوى قَوافينا

    O Awf's uncle, we carry a noble legacy from you:

    our rhymes exchange answers with affliction.

  38. نَرى التِماع َالمِدى قَبْلَ انفِلاتَتِها

    فَيَحْضُنُ الجُرْحَ قَبْلَ الطَّعْن ِفادينا

    We see the knives' flash before they break loose,

    and our redeemer embraces the wound before the thrust.

  39. وَنَسمَعُ الآهَة َالخَرساءَ ما انفَرَجَتْ

    عَنها الشِّفاهُ فَتَشجينا ، وَتُورينا

    We hear the mute sigh before the lips have parted

    to release it; it saddens us and sets us aflame.

  40. يا خا لَ عَوفٍ شَدَدْنا كلَّ جارِحَة ٍ

    فينا بِمُستَقتِل ٍ يَدمى وََيُدمينا

    O Awf's uncle, we bound every limb

    within us to a fighter courting death, bleeding and making us bleed,

  41. بِمُثْْخَن ٍمُستَميتٍ نَحْوَ قِمَّتِه

    يَسعى فَيَهوي قَرابينا ً قَرابينا

    to one grievously wounded, determined unto death, who toward his summit

    strives, then falls—sacrifice after sacrifice.

  42. يُذيبُ في كلِّ يَوم ٍ مِن حُشا شَتِه ِ

    حتى يَكادَ .. وَيَعلو صَوتُ ناعينا !

    Each day he melts away some of his lingering life,

    until he almost... and our death-announcer's voice rises!

  43. يا خا لَ عَوفٍ ألا أ ُنْبيكََ ما خَبَأتْ

    لَنا المَقاديرُ مِمَّا كُنتَ تُنْبينا

    O Awf's uncle, shall I not tell you what has been stored

    for us by fate, of what you used to foretell us?

  44. أ ُنْبيكَ أنَّا بِعَين ٍنِصْفِ مُغمَضَة ٍ

    نَغفو،وبالكَفِّ فَوقَ الكَفِّ تَطمينا

    I tell you that, with an eye half closed,

    we doze, with palm over palm for reassurance.

  45. وَما بِنا رَهْبَة ٌ، لكنَّ أفْرُخَنا

    لا يأ لَفونَ الأفاعي في مآوينا

    There is no fear in us, but our nestlings

    are not accustomed to the vipers in our shelters.

  46. فَنحنُ نُسْلِمُهُم كَفَّا ً، وَنُسْلِمُ لِلأ

    نيابِ كَفَّا ً.. فَنَلويها ، وَتَلوينا

    So we give them one hand, and give to the

    fangs one hand; we twist them, and they twist us.

  47. وَنَكتمُ الآهَ عُمْقَ الجُرح ِنَدفُنُها

    لِنَحفَظ َ الزُّغُبَ الغافينَ غافينا !

    We stifle the sigh, burying it deep in the wound,

    to keep the dozing downy nestlings asleep!

  48. أ ُنْبيكَ أنَّا ، وَإنْ قُصَّتْ قَوادِمُنا

    لم نَألُ نَشهَقُ ما اسْطاعَتْ خَوافينا

    I tell you that, though our primary flight feathers were clipped,

    we spare no effort to soar as far as our secondary feathers can.

  49. وأنَّنا كَيفَما هَبََّتْ مُزَعزِعة ً

    هُوجُ الرِّياح ِتَها وَتْ عَن مَراقينا

    And however they blow, seeking to shake us,

    the raging winds fall away from our ascending paths.

  50. فَلَم تَمِلْ بِجَناح ٍمِن شَواهِقِنا

    وَلا التَوَتْ وَمَجاريها مَجارينا !

    They have not tilted a wing of our lofty heights,

    nor twisted, though their courses are our courses!

  51. يا خالَ عَوفٍ وَما حُزَّتْ كَما وَهِمُوا

    أعناقُنا .. لا ولا جُزَّتْ نَواصِينا

    O Awf's uncle, not severed, as they imagined,

    were our necks—no, nor were our forelocks shorn.

  52. إنَّا ضِخامٌ كما تَهوى ، عَمالِقَة ٌ

    كَما عَهِدْ تَ ، مُخيفاتٌ عَوادينا

    We are mighty, as you desire—giants,

    as you have known us; fearsome are our charging forces,

  53. سُودٌ تَعاوَرُها البُؤسَى فَتَسجُرُها

    كَما تَعاوَرَت الرِّيحُ البَراكينا !

    black, assailed in turn by misery that stokes them,

    as the wind has assailed volcanoes in turn!

  54. إنَّا امتُحِنَّا بِأيام ٍ بِنا امتُحِنَتْ

    تَعْدو عَلَينا ، وَتَشكو مِن تَغاضِينا !

    We were tested by days that were tested by us,

    which charge upon us and complain of our disregard!

  55. لا صَيفُها كانَ ذا زَرع ٍ فَيُطعِمُنا

    ولا شِتاها بِذي ضَرْع ٍفَيُرْوينا

    Their summer bore no crop to feed us,

    nor their winter an udder to quench us;

  56. ولا عَرَفْنا بِها طَلا ً يُباكِرُنا

    وَلا وَجَدْ نا بِها ظِلا ً يُغادينا

    nor did we know dew in them to greet us at dawn,

    nor find shade in them to meet us in the morning.

  57. بَلَى ، رُزِقْنا جَراد ا ًفي مَراتِعِنا

    نَرُبُّه ُ بِحَصادٍ مِن مآ سينا

    Yes, we were granted locusts in our pastures,

    which we rear on a harvest of our tragedies,

  58. وَحُرْقَة ًقَرِحَتْ أنْدى جَوانِحِنا

    مِنْ لَفْحِها ..وَفَراغا ًمِلْءَ أيدينا

    and a burning ache—our dewiest ribs grew sore

    from its scorching—and emptiness filling our hands;

  59. وَلَهْفَة ًلِقُطَيْراتِ النَّدى جَمَعَتْ

    لُهاثَ سبْعينَ جيلا ًمِن أضاحينا !

    and yearning for little drops of dew that gathered

    the panting of seventy generations of our sacrificial victims!

  60. يا خالَ عَوفٍ وَقَد ضاقَتْ مَذاهِبُنا

    وانداحَت الأرضُ أغوارا ًأفانينا

    O Awf's uncle, our paths have narrowed,

    and the earth has opened into chasms of every kind,

  61. تُطِلُّ منها ذ ُنابَى ما لَها عَدَ دٌ

    يُحْصَى ، وأنيابُ أغوال ٍمَلايينا

    from which tails peer out, too numerous

    to count, and ogres' fangs in millions.

  62. لَم نَألُ نَرصُدُها دَهْرا ًوَتَرصُدُنا

    نَدنُو وَتَدنُو،وَنُحْصيها وَتُحْصينا

    We have spared no effort, watching it for an age as it watches us;

    we draw near and it draws near; we count it and it counts us,

  63. حَتَّى تَبَيَّنَ مِنَّا ما تُحاذِرُه ُ

    في حين ِأسفَرَ مِنها ما يُجَرِّينا

    until what it fears of us became clear,

    while what emboldens us in it stood revealed.

  64. وَلَم نَزَلْ نَتَمَلا َّها مُرَوَّعَة ً

    وَلَم تَزَلْ تَتَمَلا َّها مُريعينا

    And still we contemplate it, terror-stricken as it is,

    and still it contemplates them as terrifiers.

  65. وَإنَّنا ، لَو أرَدْ نا أن نُطاحِنَها

    دُ رْ نا عََلَيْها بِأ ضْراس ٍطَواحينا

    And if we wanted to grind it down,

    we would turn upon it with molars like grinding mills.

  66. لكِنَّنا كَرَما ًمِنَّا نَرى سَبَبَا ً

    لِلخَيْر ِأنْ يَتَرَوَّى سَهْمُ رامينا !

    But, out of our generosity, we see a means

    to good in our archer's arrow taking its time!