نظرتُ إلى الرغيفِ فردّ رُوحِي

نظرتُ إلى الرغيفِ فردّ رُوحِي

لدى حجرٍ يرُضُّ ولا يُرَضُّ

لدى حجرٍ يرُضُّ ولا يُرَضُّ

I looked upon the loaf, and it restored my spirit,

I looked at the loaf, and it restored my spirit,

there with a stone-hearted man who tames, yet cannot be tamed.

beside a stone that crushes but is not crushed.

فتىً ما زالَ ينهضُ للمخازي

فتىً ما زالَ ينهضُ للمخازي

وليس له إلى العَلياء نَهْضُ

وليس له إلى العَلياء نَهْضُ

A fellow who never ceases rising to deeds of shame,

A young man forever rising to shameful deeds,

yet toward the heights of honor never rises.

yet never rising toward the heights.

سجيتُهُ طِوال الدهر قبضٌ

سجيتُهُ طِوال الدهر قبضٌ

وكلُّ سجيَّةٍ بسطٌ وقبضُ

وكلُّ سجيَّةٍ بسطٌ وقبضُ

His nature, all his days, is a clenched fist;

His nature, throughout time, is withholding,

his whole being is, by nature, opening and closing.

while every disposition has its giving and withholding.

ولؤم الناس طولٌ دون عَرضٍ

ولؤم الناس طولٌ دون عَرضٍ

ولكن لؤمُهُ طُولٌ وعَرض

ولكن لؤمُهُ طُولٌ وعَرض

Other people’s baseness has length but no breadth;

People's baseness has length without breadth,

his baseness, though, has both length and breadth.

but his baseness has both length and breadth.

تعادى كُل شيء منه لؤماً

تعادى كُل شيء منه لؤماً

فبعضٌ منه يهربُ منه بعض

فبعضٌ منه يهربُ منه بعض

Every part of him, through baseness, has turned against the rest,

Everything in him turned hostile to the rest through baseness,

so one part of him flees another.

so one part of him flees another.

يخَفِّضُهُ المناذِل وهو نَصْبٌ

يخَفِّضُهُ المناذِل وهو نَصْبٌ

وينْصِبُهُ الفواعلُ وهو خَفضُ

وينْصِبُهُ الفواعلُ وهو خَفضُ

The ranks decline him, though he is in the accusative—worn with toil;

His rival in baseness lowers him, though he stands erect;

and grammatical agents make him accusative, though he is genitive—and abased.

and the active agents raise him, though he is low.

أراني عنده يوماً رغيفاً

أراني عنده يوماً رغيفاً

يُقاتِلُ عنه جيشٌ لا يُفضُّ

يُقاتِلُ عنه جيشٌ لا يُفضُّ

One day, at his house, he showed me a loaf

One day he showed me a loaf at his place,

defended by an army that could not be dispersed.

defended by an army that could not be dispersed.

فقبّلتُ الرَّغيف وقلتُ خيراً

فقبّلتُ الرَّغيف وقلتُ خيراً

وشُكرُ المحسنِ المأمول فرض

وشُكرُ المحسنِ المأمول فرض

So I kissed the loaf and spoke a kindly word;

So I kissed the loaf and spoke words of praise,

for thanking the hoped-for benefactor is a duty.

and thanking a hoped-for benefactor is a duty.

فلما أن فغرتُ فمِي عليه

فلما أن فغرتُ فمِي عليه

لأكْدمَهُ وفي الأحشاءِ مضّ

لأكْدمَهُ وفي الأحشاءِ مضّ

But when I opened my mouth wide over it,

But when I opened my mouth wide over it,

to bite it, while a pang gnawed at my entrails,

to bite into it, with a gnawing pain in my entrails,

إذا رجلٌ يقول وليس يَكنى

إذا رجلٌ يقول وليس يَكنى

ألا ترضى تُقَبل أو تَعَضُّ

ألا ترضى تُقَبل أو تَعَضُّ

suddenly a man spoke plainly, without euphemism:

suddenly a man said, speaking without hints:

“Will you not be content to kiss—or else turn away?”

"Won't you settle for kissing, or must you bite?"

فقلتُ وما سبيلُ الخبزِ فيكم

فقلتُ وما سبيلُ الخبزِ فيكم

فقال سبيلُه بيْعٌ وقرض

فقال سبيلُه بيْعٌ وقرض

I said, “And how does one obtain bread among you?”

So I said, "How does one get bread among you?"

He said, “Its way is by sale or loan.”

He said, "By sale and loan."

ولستُ أقول من هوَ فاعرفوهُ

ولستُ أقول من هوَ فاعرفوهُ

وهل في الأرض غيرُ الأرض أرضُ

وهل في الأرض غيرُ الأرض أرضُ

I will not say who he is—recognize him from this:

I will not say who he is; recognize him yourselves.

is there upon the earth, besides the earth itself, another earth?

And is there on earth any earth but the earth?

سرى في عِرضهِ دنسٌ قديمٌ

سرى في عِرضهِ دنسٌ قديمٌ

وتأنيث فما يَنْفيه رحضُ

وتأنيث فما يَنْفيه رحضُ

An ancient stain has spread through his honor,

An old stain has spread through his honor,

and an effeminacy no hard riding can drive away.

and effeminacy; no washing can remove it.

فليس لرأيه في الخيرِ فتلٌ

فليس لرأيه في الخيرِ فتلٌ

ولا لدهائهِ في الشرِّ نَقضُ

ولا لدهائهِ في الشرِّ نَقضُ

His judgment never bends toward good,

So his judgment twists no thread for good,

nor can his guile in evil be unraveled.

nor does his cunning unravel one for evil.

تراهُ وكلُّ شيءٍ فيه مذْقٌ

تراهُ وكلُّ شيءٍ فيه مذْقٌ

ولكن لؤْمُهُ مذ كان مَحْضُ

ولكن لؤْمُهُ مذ كان مَحْضُ

You see him: everything in him is adulterated,

You see him, and everything in him is watered down,

but his baseness, ever since he was, is pure.

but his baseness has been pure since he came into being.

مخضتُ فما اتّقى مخضِي بزبدٍ

مخضتُ فما اتّقى مخضِي بزبدٍ

وهل يُعطيكَ زُبدَ الماءِ مخضُ

وهل يُعطيكَ زُبدَ الماءِ مخضُ

I churned him, but he offered no butter to halt my churning;

I churned, but he did not ward off my churning with butter.

and can the churning of water ever give you butter?

And can churning give you butter from water?

أريْناه الطبيبَ فجسّ مِنه

أريْناه الطبيبَ فجسّ مِنه

فأقسم ما لجودٍ فيه نبضُ

فأقسم ما لجودٍ فيه نبضُ

We showed him to the physician, who felt his pulse;

We showed him to the physician, who felt him over,

then he swore that your generosity had no pulse in him.

and he swore that generosity had no pulse in him.