يا صَميمَ الحَيَاةِ إنِّي وَحيدٌ

مُدْلجٌ تائِهٌ فأَينَ شُرُوقُكْ

O Essence of Life, I am all alone,

A night-traveler lost; where is your dawn?

يا صَميمَ الحَيَاةِ إنِّي فؤادٌ

ضائعٌ ظامئٌ فأَينَ رَحيقُكْ

O Essence of Life, I am but a heart,

Lost and athirst; where is your nectar drawn?

يا صَميمَ الحَيَاةِ قَدْ وَجَمَ النَّايُ

وغام الفضا فأَينَ بُرُوقُكْ

O Essence of Life, the flute has ceased its play,

The skies have dimmed; where is your lightning’s glare?

يا صَميمَ الحَيَاةِ أَيْنَ أَغانيكَ

فَتَحْتَ النُّجومِ يُصْغي مَشُوقُكْ

O Essence of Life, where have your anthems fled?

For 'neath the stars, your lover listens there.

كنتُ في فجركَ الموشَّحِ بالأَح

لامِ عِطْراً يَرِفُّ فوقَ وُرودِكْ

I was within your dawn, adorned with dreams,

A scent that fluttered o’er your roses’ bloom,

حالماً يَنْهَلُ الضِّياءَ ويُصغي

لكَ في نشوةٍ بوحيِ نَشيدِكْ

A dreamer drinking light, who bent an ear

To you, enraptured by your sacred hymn.

ثمَّ جاء الدُّجى فأَمسيتُ أَور

اقاً بِدَاداً من ذابلاتِ الورودِ

Then darkness fell, and I became as leaves,

Scattered abroad from withered, dying flowers,

وضَباباً مِنَ الشَّذى يتلاشى

بَيْنَ هولِ الدُّجى وصمتِ الوُجودِ

A mist of fragrance fading into naught,

Betwixt the night's dread and the silent hours.

كنتُ في فجركَ المغلَّفِ بالسِّحْرِ

فضَاءً مِنَ النَّشيدِ الهادي

I was within your dawn, encased in spells,

A boundless realm of quiet, holy song,

وسَحَاباً مِنَ الرُّؤى يتهادى

في ضميرِ الآزالِ والآبادِ

A cloud of visions drifting slow and soft,

Through conscience of the ages, deep and long;

وضِياءً يعانِقُ العالَمَ الرَّحْبَ

ويَسْري في كلِّ خافٍ وبَادِ

A light embracing all the vast expanse,

Flowing through all that hides or stands revealed.

وانقضى الفجرُ فانحدرتُ منَ

الأُفْقِ تراباً إلى صميمِ الوادي

But dawn has passed, and I have tumbled down

From the horizon—dust within the field.

يا صَميمَ الحَيَاةِ كم أَنا في الدُّنيا

غَريبٌ أَشقى بغُرْبَةِ نفسي

O Essence of Life, how strange I find this world,

A stranger suffering in my soul’s exile,

بَيْنَ قومٍ لا يَفْهَمونَ أَناشيدَ

فؤادي ولا معانيَ بؤسي

Among a people who cannot perceive

My heart’s true songs, nor sorrow’s heavy trial.

في وجودٍ مُكَبَّلٍ بقيودٍ

تائهٍ في ظلامِ شَكٍّ ونحسِ

In an existence shackled by its chains,

Lost in the gloom of doubt and ill-starred fate.

فاحتضِنِّي وضُمَّني لكَ كالما

ضي فهذا الوُجُودُ عِلَّةُ يأسي

Embrace me, hold me close as in the past,

For this existence breeds a desperate state.

لم أجد في الوُجُودِ إلاَّ شقاءً

سَرْمَديًّا ولذَّةً مُضْمَحِلَّةْ

I found naught in this life but misery,

Eternal pain, and pleasures that decay,

وأَمانيَّ يُغرِقُ الدَّمعُ أَحلاها

ويُفني يَمُّ الزَّمانِ صَداها

And hopes where the sweetest are submerged in tears,

And time’s vast ocean washes them away;

وأَناشيدَ يأكُلُ اللَّهَبُ الدَّا

مي مَسَرَّاتِها ويُبقي أَساها

And songs consumed by flames of bloody hue,

That eat the joy and leave the grief behind,

ووُروداً تموت في قبضَةِ الأَشْ

واكِ مَا هذه الحَيَاةُ المملَّةْ

And roses dying in the grip of thorns—

What is this life, this dull and weary grind?

سَأَمُ هذه الحَيَاةُ معَادٌ

وصباحٌ يكرُّ في إثرِ ليلِ

A tedium, where life repeats itself,

Where morning cycles on the heels of night.

ليتني لم أفدْ إلى هذه الدُّنيا

ولم تَسْبَحِ الكواكبُ حولي

Would that I never came into this world,

Nor saw the planets swimming in their height.

ليتني لم يعانقِ الفجْرُ أَحلامي

ولمْ يَلْثُمِ الضِّياءُ جفوني

Would that the dawn had not embraced my dreams,

Nor morning light ever kissed my eyes.

ليتني لم أزلْ كما كنتُ ضوءاً

شائعاً في الوُجُودِ غيرَ سَجينِ

Would I had stayed as I was meant to be:

A free-spread light beneath the open skies.