وقفنا لدى الشلال وقفة عابد

ففيه لنا نور وفيه ضرام

We stood beside the waterfall as a worshipper stands;

for in it is light for us, and in it a blaze.

تغازله الشمس الحيية مثلما

تغازله الأشجار حين تنام

The bashful sun flirts with it, just as

the trees flirt with it when they sleep.

وهذي نجوم أطلعت دون ليلها

وألوانها فوق الغصون مدام

And these are stars brought forth without their night,

and their colors above the boughs are wine.

ومن حولها الأدغال لكن تهذّبت

فلا ريبة للناظرين تشام

And around them are thickets, yet they have grown tame,

so those who gaze can scent no suspicion.

يغنّي خرير الماء عذبا كأنما

شدت خلفه حور ورف سلام

The murmur of the water sings sweetly, as though

houris sang behind it, and peace fluttered.

وهذي الظلال الناعسات تثاءبت

وأسكرها للحالمين غرام

And these drowsy shadows yawned,

and passion for the dreamers made them drunk.

نسيت مرور الوقت أو قول صاحبي

فما هو وقت ينقضي وكلام

I forgot the passing of time, or my companion's words;

for what are passing time and words?

هنا مظهر الجنات بل ذاك كنهها

وعما عداها في الحياة يصام

Here is the visible form of paradise's gardens—nay, their very essence;

and from all else in life one fasts.

تطلعت مفتونا وحولي أمة

من النبت بل دنيا كذاك تقام

I gazed, entranced, and around me was a nation

of plants—nay, a world brought into being just so:

مشاهد شتى من أراض قصيّة

يجمعها للعارفين نظام

varied scenes from faraway lands,

united, for those who know, by an order.

ويشملها دفء وأحسب أنها

بألفتها تغنى غنى وترام

And warmth enfolds them, and I think that they

through their fellowship grow rich indeed, and are sought after.

تآخت وإن تنسب إلى كل موطن

وباعدها هم وبان خصام

They have formed a brotherhood, though they hail from every land;

and worry has shunned them, and strife has departed.

فكيف بنو الإنسان وهو متوج

كأن ضياء العقل فيه ظلام

What, then, of the sons of man, though man is crowned?

It is as though the light of reason in him were darkness.