إِنَّindeed فيin المَكتَبِthe school خَشفاًa gazelle fawn
إِنَّ في المَكتَبِ خَشفاً
جُعِلَتmay be made نَفسيmy soul فِداهُa ransom for him
جُعِلَت نَفسي فِداهُ
Indeed, there is a gazelle fawn in the school.
In the office there is a lover
Within the schoolroom dwells a tender fawn,
May my soul be his ransom.
I would give my soul for him
May my own soul be ransom for his sake;
شادِنٌa young gazelle يَكتُبُhe writes فيon اللَوthe writing- (beginning of 'writing-board')
شادِنٌ يَكتُبُ في اللَو
حِ-board (completion of 'writing-board') لِتَعليمِfor instruction in هِجاهُhis letters
حِ لِتَعليمِ هِجاهُ
A young gazelle writes upon the writing-
A young man writing in the air
A young gazelle who writes upon the slate,
board, to learn his letters.
Teaching his love poems by heart
To practice spelling and to learn his lines.
كُلَّماwhenever خَطَّhe writes أَباabā (first part of 'abā jād,' the alphabet) جاjā- (beginning of 'jād')
كُلَّما خَطَّ أَبا جا
دٍ-d (completion of 'jād') قَراهُhe reads it فَمَحاهُthen he erases it
دٍ قَراهُ فَمَحاهُ
Whenever he writes 'abā jā-
Whenever he writes a verse wrong
Whenever he inscribes the alphabet,
d'—the alphabet—he reads it, then erases it
He reads it and wipes it away
He reads it, then erases what is there
بِلِسانٍwith a tongue فَتَراهُso you see him الthe (article attached to 'time')
بِلِسانٍ فَتَراهُ ال
دَهرَtime (here, all the time) قَدhas (marking completed action) سَوَّدَblackened فاهُhis mouth
دَهرَ قَد سَوَّدَ فاهُ
with his tongue; so you see him all the
With a tongue that time has blackened its mouth
With his own tongue; and so you see the lad,
time, having blackened his mouth.
Forever with a mouth made black by ink.
Partial English translation: 7 of 8 Arabic lines translated.
Sol 6.1