سمعت عويل النائحات عشية — Elia Abu Madi

سَمِعَت عَويلَ النائِحاتِ عَشِيَّةً

في الحَيِّ يَبتَعيثُ الأَسى وَيُثيرُ

One evening she heard the wailing of the mourning women,

In the neighborhood, rousing grief and stirring it.

يَبكَينَ في جُنحِ الظَلامِ صَبِيَّةً

إِنَّ البُكاءَ عَلى الشَبابِ مَريرُ

They weep for a young girl under cover of darkness;

Indeed, mourning the young is bitter.

فَتَجَهَّمَت وَتَلَفَّتَت مُرتاعَةً

كَالظَبيِ أَيقَنَ أَنَّهُ مَأسورُ

So she frowned and glanced about in terror,

Like a gazelle certain it was captive.

وَتَحَيَّرَت في مُقلَتَيها دَمعَةٌ

خَرساءُ لا تَهمي وَلَيسَ تَغورُ

And a tear wavered in her eyes,

Mute, neither streaming nor sinking away.

فَكَأَنَّها بَطَلٌ تَكَنَّفَهُ العِدى

بِسُيوفِهِم وَحُسامُهُ مَكسورُ

She was like a hero whom foes surrounded

With their swords, while his own sword was broken.

وَجَمَت فَأَمسى كُلُّ شَيءٍ واجِماً

النور وَالأَظلال وَالدَيجورُ

She fell silent, and everything grew silent:

The light, the shadows, and the deepest darkness.

الكَونُ أَجمَعُ ذاهِلٌ لِذُهولِها

حَتّى كَأَنَّ الأَرضَ لَيسَ تَدورُ

The whole universe was dazed by her bewilderment,

So much so that the earth seemed not to revolve.

لا شَيءَ مِمّا حَولَنا وَأَمامَنا

حَسَنٌ لَدَيها وَالجَمالُ كَثيرُ

Nothing of what was around us or before us

Was beautiful to her, though beauty was abundant.

سَكَتَ الغَديرُ كَأَنَّما اِلتَحَفَ الثَرى

وَسَها النَسيمُ كَأَنَّهُ مَذعورُ

The brook fell silent, as though it had wrapped itself in soil,

And the breeze grew distracted, as though terrified.

وَكَأَنَّما الفَلَكُ المُنَوَّرُ بَلقَعٌ

وَالأَنجُمُ الزَهراءُ فيهِ قُبورُ

The illuminated firmament seemed a barren waste,

And its radiant stars were graves.

كانَت تُمازِحُني وَتَضحَكَُ فَاِنتَهى

دَورُ المِزاحِ فَضِحكَها تَفكيرُ

She had been teasing me and laughing; now gone was

The time for jesting; her laughter turned to thought.

قالَت وَقَد سَلَخَ اِبتِسامَتَها الأَسى

صَدَقَ الَّذي قالَ الحَياةُ غُرورُ

She said, grief having stripped away her smile:

He spoke truly who said: life is delusion.

أَكَذا نَموت وَتَنقَضي أَحلامُنا

في لَحظَة وَإِلى التُرابِ نَصيرُ

Is this how we die, and our dreams come to an end

In an instant, and we turn to dust?

وَتَموجُ ديدانُ الثَرى في أَكبُدٍ

كانَت تَموجُ بِها المُنى وَتَمورُ

And worms of the soil swarm through livers

Where hopes once surged and seethed?

خَيرٌ إِذَن مِنّا الأُلى لَم يولَدوا

وَمِنَ الأَنامِ جَلامِد وَصُخورُ

Better than us, then, are those who were never born,

And better than humankind are boulders and rocks;

وَمِنَ العُيونِ مَكاحِل وَمَراوِدٌ

وَمِنَ الشِفاهِ مَساحِق وَذُرورُ

And better than eyes are kohl pots and applicators,

And better than lips are cosmetic powders and dusting powders,

وَمِنَ القُلوبِ الخافِقاتِ صَبابَةً

قَصَبٌ لِوَقعِ الريحِ فيهِ صَفيرُ

And better than hearts throbbing with longing

Are reeds that whistle at the wind's impact.

وَتَوَقَّفَت فَشَعَرتُ بَعدَ حَديثِها

أَنَّ الوُجودَ مُشَوَّشٌ مَبتورُ

She stopped, and after her words I felt

That existence was disordered and cut short.

الصَيفُ يَنفُثُ حَرَّهَُ مِن حَولِنا

وَأَنا أُحِسُّ كَأَنَّني مَقرورُ

Summer was breathing its heat all around us,

Yet I felt as though I were chilled.

ساقَت إِلى قَلبي الشُكوكَ فَنَغَّصَت

لَيلي وَلَيسَ مَعَ الشُكوكِ سُرورُ

She drove doubts into my heart and embittered

My night; there is no joy with doubts.

وَخَشيتُ أَن يَغدو مَعَ الرَيبِ الهَوى

كَالرَسمِ لا عِطر وَفيهِ زُهورُ

And I feared that, with doubt, love would become

Like a painting with flowers in it but no fragrance,

وَكَدُميَةِ المَثّالِ حُسنٌ رائِعٌ

مِلءُ العُيون وَلَيسَ ثَمَّ شُعورُ

And like a sculptor's statue: magnificent beauty

Filling the eyes, yet without feeling.

فَأَجَبتُها لِتَكُن لِديدانِ الثَرى

أَجسامُنا إِنَّ الجُسومَ قُشورُ

So I answered her: let the worms of the soil have

Our bodies, for bodies are mere husks.

لا تَجزَعي فَالمَوتُ لَيسَ يَضيرُنا

فَلَنا إِيابٌ بَعدَه وَنُشورُ

Do not despair; death does not harm us,

For after it we have a return and resurrection.

إِنّا سَنَبقى بَعدَ أَن يَمضي الوَرى

وَيَزولُ هَذا العالَمُ المَنظورُ

We shall remain after humankind passes away

And this visible world vanishes.

فَالحُبُّ نورٌ خالِدٌ مُتَجَدِّدٌ

لا يَنطَوي إِلّا لِيَسطَعُ نورُ

For love is an eternal, ever-renewed light:

It withdraws only so that light may shine.

وَبَنو الهَوى أَحلامُهُم وَرُؤاهُمُ

لا أَعيُن وَمَراشِف وَنُحورُ

And the children of love are their dreams and visions,

Not eyes and lips and throats.

فَإِذا طَوَتنا الأَرضُ عَن أَزهارِها

وَخَلا الدُجى مِنّا وَفيهِ بُدورُ

So when earth folds us away from its flowers,

And night is empty of us, with full moons in it,

فَسَتَرجُعينَ خَميلَةً مِعطارَةً

أَنا في ذُراها بُلبُلٌ مَسحورُ

You will return as a fragrant grove,

I will be an enchanted nightingale in its treetops,

يَشدو لَها وَيَطيرُ في جَنَباتِها

فَتَهِشُّ إِذ يَشدو وَحينَ يَطيرُ

Singing to it and flying through its reaches;

It will rejoice when I sing and when I fly.

أَو جَدوَلاً مُتَرَقرِقاً مُتَرَنِّماً

أَنا فيهِ مَوجٌ ضاحِك وَخَريرُ

Or as a rippling, singing stream,

I, within it, a laughing wave and a murmur;

أَو تَرجِعينَ فَراشَةً خَطّارَةً

أَنا في جَناحَيها الضُحى المَوشورُ

Or you will return as a flitting butterfly,

I, the prismatic morning light in its wings;

أَو نَسمَةً أَنا هَمسُها وَحَفيفُها

أَبَداً تُطَوِّفُ في الرُبى وَتَدورُ

Or as a breeze: I, its whisper and its rustle,

That forever roams and circles among the hills.

تَغشى الخَمائِلَ في الصَباحِ بَليلَةً

وَتَأوبُ حينَ تَأوب وَهيَ عَبيرُ

It visits the groves in the morning, dewy,

And returns, when it returns, as fragrance.

أَو تَلتَقي عِندَ الكَئيبِ عَلى رِضىً

وَقَناعَةٍ صَفصافَة وَغَديرُ

Or there will meet beside the sorrowful one, in willing accord

And contentment, a willow and a brook.

تَمتَدُّ فيه وَفي ثَراهُ عُروقُها

وَيَسيلُ تَحتَ فُروعِها وَيَسيرُ

Her roots stretch into him and into his soil,

And he flows and glides beneath her branches;

وَيَغوصُ فيهِ خَيالُها فَيَلفُّهُ

وَيَشِفُّ فَهوَ المُنطَوي المَنثورُ

Her reflection plunges into him, enfolding him,

And shines through, at once enfolded and outspread.

يَأوي إِذا اِشتَدَّ الهَجيرُ إِلَيهِما

الناسِكانِ الظَبي وَالعُصفورُ

To them, when the midday heat grows fierce, come for shelter

The two hermits, the gazelle and the sparrow.

لَهُما سَكينَتُها وَوارِفُ ظِلِّها

وَالماءُ إِن عَطِشا لَدَيهِ وَفيرُ

They have her calm and her ample shade,

And if they thirst, his water is abundant.

أُعجوبَتانِ زَبَرجَدٌ مُتَهَدِّلٌ

نامٍ تَدَفَّقَ تَحتَهُ البَلّورُ

Two marvels: drooping chrysolite,

Growing, with crystal pouring beneath it.

لا الصُبحُ بَينَهُما يَحول وَلا الدُجى

فَكِلاهُما بِكِلَيهِما مَغمورُ

Neither morning nor darkness comes between them,

For each is immersed in the other.

تَتَعاقَبُ الأَيّام وَهيَ نَضيرَةٌ

مُخضَرَّةُ الأَوراق وَهوَ نُمَيرُ

The days succeed one another, and she remains fresh,

Her leaves green, while he remains clear and sweet.

فَالدَهرُ أَجمَعَهُ لَدَيها غِبطَةٌ

وَالدَهرُ أَجمَعَهُ لَدَيهِ حُبورُ

For her, all time is bliss,

And for him, all time is delight.

فَتَبَسَّمَت وَبَدا الرِضى في وَجهِها

إِذ راقَها التَمثيل وَالصَويرُ

So she smiled, and contentment appeared upon her face,

For the likeness and the imagery delighted her.

عالَجتُها بِالوَهمِ فَهيَ قَريرَةٌ

وَلَكَم أَفادَ الموجَعَ التَخديرُ

I treated her with illusion, and she was at ease;

And how often sedation has helped the sufferer!

ثُمَّ اِفتَرَقنا ضاحِكَينِ إِلى غَدٍ

وَالشُهبُ تَهمِسُ فَوقَنا وَتُشيرُ

Then we parted laughing, until tomorrow,

While the bright stars whispered above us and gestured.

هِيَ كَالمُسافِرِ آبَ بَعدَ مَشَقَّةٍ

وَأَنا كَأَنّي قائِدٌ مَنصورُ

She was like a traveler returned after hardship,

And I as though a victorious commander.

لَكِنَّني لَمّا أَوَيتُ لِمَضجَعي

خَشُنَ الفِراشُ عَلَي وَهوَ وَثيرُ

But when I retired to my bed,

The bedding felt rough to me, though it was soft.

وَإِذا سِراجي قَد وَهَت وَتَلَجلَجَت

أَنفاسُهُ فَكَأَنَّهُ المَصدورُ

And lo, my lamp: weakened and faltering

Were its breaths, as though it suffered a chest ailment.

وَأَجَلتُ طَرفي في الكِتابِ فَلاحَ لي

كَالرَسمِ مَطموسا وَفيهِ سُطورُ

And I cast my gaze through the book; it appeared to me

Like an effaced drawing, though lines of writing were in it.

وَشَرِبتُ بِنتَ الكَرمِ أَحسَبُ راحَتي

فيها فَطاشَ الظَن وَالتَقديرُ

And I drank the daughter of the vine, thinking my relief

Lay in her; but my guess and judgment went astray.

فَكَأَنَّني فُلكٌ وَهَتَ أَمراسُها

وَالبَحرُ يَطغى حَولَها وَيَثورُ

So I was like a ship whose cables had weakened,

While the sea surged around it and raged.

سَلَبَ الفُؤادَ رَواه وَالجَفنَ الكَرى

هَمٌّ عَرا فَكِلاهُما مَوتورُ

The heart was robbed of its refreshment, and the eyelid of sleep,

By an anguish that assailed me; both were bereft.

حامَت عَلى روحي الشُكوكُ كَأَنَّها

وَكَأَنَّهُنَّ فَريسَة وَصُقورُ

Doubts circled above my soul, as though it were

Prey, and as though they were falcons.

وَلَقَد لَجَأتُ إِلى الرَجاءِ فَعَقَّني

أَمّا الخَيالُ فَخائِبٌ مَدحورُ

I sought refuge in hope, but it betrayed me;

As for imagination, it was thwarted and repulsed.

يا لَيلُ أَينَ النورُ إِنّي تائِهٌ

مُر يَنبَثِق أَم لَيسَ عِندَكَ نورُ

O night, where is the light? I am lost.

Bid it burst forth—or have you no light?