ولمّا توسّطنا مدى النيل غدوةً

ولمّا توسّطنا مدى النيل غدوةً

ظننتُ وقلبُ اليوم باللهو جذلانُ

ظننتُ وقلبُ اليوم باللهو جذلانُ

And when we reached the middle of the Nile's expanse early one morning,

When we reached the Nile's expanse at dawn,

I fancied, while the day's heart was merry with play,

I thought, with a heart lighthearted and gay,

عُشاريهِ إنساناً لهُ الماءُ مقلةٌ

عُشاريهِ إنساناً لهُ الماءُ مقلةٌ

وليس لها إلاّ المجاذيفَ أجفان

وليس لها إلاّ المجاذيفَ أجفان

Its riverboat a pupil, with the water as its eyeball,

That its waters were people whose eyes were shedding tears,

And the eye had no eyelids but the oars.

With nothing but their eyelids as oars.