إِذا البَرقُ مِن شَرقِيِّ دَجلَةَ يَنبَري

إِذا البَرقُ مِن شَرقِيِّ دَجلَةَ يَنبَري

عَلى صَفَحاتِ البارِقِ المُتَأَلِّقِ

عَلى صَفَحاتِ البارِقِ المُتَأَلِّقِ

When lightning bursts forth from the Tigris’s eastern quarter,

When lightning flashes forth from east of the Tigris,

across the broad face of the glittering lightning-flash,

Across the faces of the gleaming, lightning-bearing cloud,

أُشَبِّهُهُ دَهراً أَغَرَّ مُحَجَّلاً

أُشَبِّهُهُ دَهراً أَغَرَّ مُحَجَّلاً

نَعِمنا بِهِ في ظِلِّ فَينانَ مورِقِ

نَعِمنا بِهِ في ظِلِّ فَينانَ مورِقِ

I liken it to an age, radiant, blaze-browed and white-stockinged,

I liken it to a time, white-blazed and white-socked,

when we lived in bliss beneath a spreading tree in leaf.

In which we lived in bliss in the shade of a spreading, leafy tree.

فَمَرَّ كَرَجعِ الطَرفِ لَيسَ يَرُدُّهُ

فَمَرَّ كَرَجعِ الطَرفِ لَيسَ يَرُدُّهُ

حَنينٌ إِلى مَخبورَةِ المُتَعَشِّقِ

حَنينٌ إِلى مَخبورَةِ المُتَعَشِّقِ

Then it passed in the flicker of an eye; it cannot be brought back

Then it passed like the blink of an eye; it is not brought back

by an ardent lover’s yearning for one long known.

By longing for what the lover once knew.

وَقَد يَعرُدُ المَحذورُ مِن حَيثُ يُرتَجى

وَقَد يَعرُدُ المَحذورُ مِن حَيثُ يُرتَجى

وَيُمكِنُكَ المَرجُوُّ مِن حَيثُ تَتَّقي

وَيُمكِنُكَ المَرجُوُّ مِن حَيثُ تَتَّقي

What is dreaded may come from where hope is placed,

And what is feared may arise from where hope is placed,

and what is hoped for may be gained from where danger is feared.

And what is hoped for comes within your reach from where you are wary.