1. يا نَيل لَم تَحبس لإِنسان

    يَخفق مِن جَنبيك قَلبان

    O Nile, you have not held back for any man;

    two hearts beat from your banks,

  2. في زَورَق أَخضَر مُستَبشر

    مُبارك الصبوة ريان

    in a green, rejoicing boat,

    blessed in youthful passion, lush and fresh.

  3. مَشى بِأَيار عَلى زَهوه

    وَطوق اللج بِنيسان

    It moved with May in its splendor,

    and garlanded the deep with April,

  4. كَقُبلة سَكرى سَماوية

    تَهبط في وَجنة نَشوان

    like a drunken, heavenly kiss

    descending onto the cheek of one enraptured.

  5. يُعابث المَوج عَلىغرة

    مِن زاخر أَهوج غَضبان

    It toys with the waves, taken unawares

    by a surging, headstrong, angry swell.

  6. وَينهَب القُبلة نَظافة

    يَرمي بِها في صَدر وَلهان

    And steals the kiss in its purity,

    casting it into a love-stricken breast.

  7. يَنفضها مِن بَلل راضيا

    عَن لَهوِهِ المُستمرئ الهاني

    It shakes the moisture from it, content

    with its enjoyable, carefree play.

  8. يا زَورَقاً يَفرج عَن دارة

    دَوارة تزحم أَركاني

    O boat, unveiling a circle

    that whirls and crowds my corners,

  9. تَنفج كَالهالة منساقة

    يَنسجها حَولك بدران

    swelling like a halo, borne along,

    woven around you by two full moons:

  10. هِب لي حَبيبك أَطارحهما

    نَجية مِن برج أَشجاني

    Give me your beloved, that I may share with them both

    a whispered confidence from the tower of my sorrows.

  11. هِب لي نَجيّيك أَبوئهما

    قَلبي وَأَنفاسي وَوجداني

    Give me your two confidants; I will lodge them in

    my heart, my breaths, and my feelings—

  12. مقاصر اللُؤلؤ في خافق

    مِني وَفي بُؤبؤ أَحضاني

    chambers of pearl within a beating heart

    of mine, and in the pupil of my embraces.

  13. وَفي ضِفاف الرُوح مِن مُلتَقى

    دُنياي يَرتاح النجيّان

    And on the soul's banks, at the meeting place

    of my world, the two confidants find rest.

  14. هُناكَ يا زَورَق دار الهَوى

    مَوفورة النعمى بِشطآني

    There, O boat, is love's dwelling,

    abounding in bliss upon my shores.

  15. وقفت أَرسيت أَم أستأثر

    النيل بِنجواك وَأَقصاني

    Have you stopped, have you anchored, or has

    the Nile kept your whispers to itself and shut me out?

  16. اللَهُ في الزَورَق مِن غافل

    يا نَيل لَم يَظفر بربان

    God, how heedless the boat is!

    O Nile, it has found no helmsman.

  17. شِراعه الحُب وَمجذافه

    قَلبان طفلان غَريران

    Its sail is love, and its oar

    two hearts—two innocent children.

  18. يَسدر في نَشوتِهِ ذاهِلاً

    مِن مبعد آن وَمِن دان

    It drifts in its rapture, oblivious

    to one kept far away and sighing, or one nearby.

  19. اِحفَظ صَبييه وَباركهما

    لِلحُب يا نَيل وَأَلحاني

    Guard its two children and bless them both

    for love, O Nile, and for my melodies.