1. في لَيلَةٍ حالِكَةٍ كَالهُمومِ

    هابِطَةٍ الجَوِّ بِثِقلِ الغُيوم

    On a night as dark as sorrows,

    Its sky sagging beneath the weight of clouds,

  2. كَأَنَّها قد حُبِلَت بِالرُجوم

    كانَ الفَتى الشاعِرُ مخدِعِه

    As though it were pregnant with hurled stones,

    The young poet was in his bedchamber,

  3. يَبكي فَيَجري القَلبُ في أَدمُعِه

    شِعراً يَعيهِ الحُزنُ في مَسمَعِه

    Weeping, his heart flowing through his tears

    As verse that sorrow grasped within his hearing.

  4. وَكانَت الشَمَعَةُ في حُجرَتِه

    تَنزَعُ كَالمَيِّتِ في ساعَتِه

    And the candle in his room

    Was struggling like a dying man in his final hour.

  5. أَكلُّ شَيءِ مِثلُها لا يَدوم

    وَكانَت الوحدَةُ كَالمَدفَنِ

    Does everything, like it, fail to endure?

    And solitude was like a tomb,

  6. موحِشَةً في ذلِكَ المَسكَنِ

    وَقَد سَطا النَومُ عَلى الأَعيُنِ

    Desolate within that dwelling,

    And sleep had overpowered all eyes.

  7. وَاِستَيقَظَ الشاعِرُ من سَكرَتِه

    وَحَوَّلَ العَينَ الى شَمعَتِه

    And the poet awoke from his stupor,

    And turned his gaze toward his candle,

  8. أَنيسَةِ الأَشجانِ في وُحدَتِه

    وَبَعدَ أَن مَرَّت عَلَيهِ ثَوان

    Companion of sorrows in his solitude.

    And after seconds had passed over him,

  9. كَأَنَّها من دامِياتِ الزَمان

    قالَ بِصَوتٍ راعِشٍ مُحزِنِ

    As though they were among time's bleeding moments,

    He spoke in a trembling, sorrowful voice:

  10. يا شَمعَتي ماذا وَراءَ النَزاع

    ما هذِهِ القَطرَةُ تَحتَ الشُعاع

    O my candle, what lies beyond the death throes?

    What is this drop beneath the radiance?

  11. وَلِم أَرى فيها اصفِرارَ الوَداع

    في دَمعِكِ الشاحِبِ نورٌ يَذوب

    And why do I see in it the pallor of farewell?

    In your pale tears, a light melts away;

  12. ماذا تَقولينَ بهِ لِلقُلوب

    لِم يَغمُر الشُعلَة هذا الشُحوب

    What do you tell hearts through it?

    Why does this pallor engulf the flame?

  13. أَيَنتَهي الحُبُّ كما تَنتَهين

    يا شَمعَتي يا مَثَل العاشِقين

    Does love end as you do,

    O my candle, O image of lovers?

  14. لَذّاتُهُ تَأتي وَتَمضي سِراع

    وَإِذ تَلاشى نَفَسُ الشَمعَةِ

    Its pleasures come and swiftly pass.

    And as the candle's breath faded,

  15. مِثلَ تَلاشي الروحِ في المَيِّتِ

    يا مَدفَنَ الاِنوارِ ماذا وَراء

    Like the soul fading in a dying man,

    O tomb of lights, what lies beyond

  16. هذا الدُجى الحالِكِ هذا الغِطاء

    ماذا وَراءَ اللَيلِ هَل من ضِياء

    This pitch-black darkness, this covering?

    What lies beyond night? Is there any light?

  17. لِم يَنقَضي اللَيلُ وَيَأتي السَحَر

    مَهزَلَةٌ من مَهزَلاتِ القَدَر

    Why does night pass and daybreak come?

    A farce among the farces of fate.

  18. في ذلِك اللَيلِ العَصيبِ الطَويل

    تذَكَّرَ الشاعِرُ عَهداً جَميل

    In that long, grievous night,

    The poet remembered a beautiful time,

  19. لم يَرَ مِنهُ غيرَ شَطرِ ضَئيل

    إِذا كانَ في مَيعَتِهِ الناعِمَه

    Of which he had seen only a tiny part,

    When he was in his tender youthful prime,

  20. يَحلمُ بِالسَعادَةِ الدائِمَه

    خابَ رَجاءُ الأَنفُسِ الحالِمَه

    Dreaming of everlasting happiness.

    The hopes of dreaming souls were dashed.

  21. يا خافِقاً أَلِلَّهَ ما أَوجَعَك

    ما أَبخلَ الدُنيا وَما أَطمَعَك

    O beating heart—by God, how you ache!

    How miserly the world, and how grasping you are!

  22. تُعطي وَلا تُمنَحُ حَتّى القَليل

    في ذلِكَ اللَيلُ وَما أَظلَمَه

    You give, yet are not granted even a little.

    In that night—and how dark it was—

  23. ذِكرُ الصِبى في الأَكبُدِ المُغرَمَه

    وَنورُه في اللَيلَةِ المُظلِمَه

    The memory of youth in love-stricken hearts,

    And its light in the darkened night.

  24. تَذكَّرَ الشاعِرُ فَجرَ الشَباب

    وَذلِكَ الوادي وَتِلكَ الهِضاب

    The poet remembered the dawn of youth,

    And that valley, and those hills,

  25. وَعودَةَ القُطعانِ عِندَ الغِياب

    وَوالِداً مَرَّ مُرورَ الشَبح

    And the flocks returning at sundown,

    And a father who had passed like a ghost,

  26. كَأَنَّه يومُ صَفاءٍ سَنَح

    فَقالَ يا قَلبي الى الجَلجَله

    As though he were a day of serenity that had appeared.

    Then he said: O my heart, to Golgotha

  27. حَملتَ آمالَ الصِبى المُثقَلَه

    وَلم تَدَع مِنها سِوى الأَخيِلَه

    You carried youth's burdened hopes,

    And left of them nothing but phantoms.

  28. أحلِ غَلواءُ وَأَجلِ العَذاب

    كَتَبتَ لي في الحُب هذا الكِتاب

    Sweeten the ardor and dispel the torment.

    You wrote this book for me in love,

  29. يا شُعلَةً مَحجوبَةً بِالهِضاب

    يا قَلبِ

    O flame hidden by the hills,

    O my heart!

  30. إِذا بِهِ في الحُجرَةِ المُظلِمَه

    يُصغي إِلى حَشرَجَةٍ مُؤلِمَه

    Suddenly, there he was in the darkened room,

    Listening to a painful death-rattle,

  31. بَينَ خفوقَ القَلبِ وَالتَمتَمَه

    وَراءَ في قَلبِ الدُجى والِدَه

    Between the beating of the heart and murmuring.

    And he saw his father in the heart of darkness,

  32. يَغيمُ في شَفّافَةٍ صاعِدَه

    من صُلبِ تِلكَ اللَيلَةِ البارِدَه

    Growing misty in a translucent form rising

    From the loins of that cold night,

  33. كَأَنَّها وهيَ تَشُقُّ القَتام

    لَوحَةُ فَجرٍ في إِطارِ الظَلام

    As though, while cleaving the murk,

    It were a picture of dawn framed by darkness,

  34. أَو وَمضَةٌ من شُعلَةٍ مُبهَمَه

    قُدِّستِ يا غَيبوبَةَ الشاعِرِ

    Or a flash from an indistinct flame.

    Hallowed are you, O trance of the poet,

  35. رُؤيا كَمَرِّ الحُلُمِ الطاهِرِ

    أَو كَالهَوى في عَهدِهِ الساحِر

    A vision like the passing of a pure dream,

    Or like love in its enchanting days.

  36. قُدِّسَت في أَحلامِكِ الشاحِبَه

    قَدَّستِ في آلامِك الذائِبَه

    Hallowed in your pale dreams,

    Hallowed in your melting sorrows,

  37. في روحِكِ الحاضِرَة الغائِبَة

    في كُلِّ ما تَحمِلُ مِنكِ العُيون

    In your spirit, both present and absent,

    In all that eyes carry of you,

  38. في سورَةِ الحُب وَسُكر الجُنون

    وَفي اِختِلاجٍ الخافِقِ الحائِر

    In love's ardor and the intoxication of madness,

    And in the bewildered heart's fluttering.

  39. في جَوفِ تِلكَ اللَيلَةِ البارِدَه

    كَأَنَّها ضَمائِرٌ جاحِدَه

    In the depths of that cold night,

    As though it were ungrateful consciences,

  40. تخطُرُ فيها فِكرَةٌ حاقِدَه

    وَلِلرياحِ الهوجِ بَينَ الوَرَق

    Within which a spiteful thought flitted,

    And the raging winds among the leaves

  41. عَزفٌ كَأَنَّ الجِنَّ فيهِ زَعَق

    فَمَزَّقَ الأَرواحَ ثُمَّ انطَلَق

    Made music as though the jinn shrieked within it;

    It tore souls apart, then swept away.

  42. تَحَرَّكَ اللَيلُ وَقالَ الخَيال

    من لَيسَ يَبكي في اللَيالي الطِوال

    The night stirred, and the phantom spoke:

    Whoever does not weep through the long nights,

  43. وَلا يَدمي المقلةَ الساهِدَه

    من لَم يَذُق في الخُبزِ طعمَ الأَلَم

    Nor makes his sleepless eye bleed,

    Whoever has not tasted pain in his bread,

  44. وَلم يُنَكِّر وَجنَتَيهِ السَقَم

    وَتَسلخِ الأَوجاعُ مِنهُ حِطَم

    Whose cheeks sickness has not disfigured,

    Nor been flayed to shreds by agonies,

  45. مَن لا يَرى في الشَمسِ طيفَ الغُروب

    وَيَسمَعُ اللَيلَ اِختِلاجَ القُلوب

    Whoever does not see sunset's ghost in the sun,

    Nor hear, at night, the fluttering of hearts,

  46. وَيَرصُدُ الشَمعَة حَتّى تَذوب

    من لَم يَغمس في هواهُ دمه

    Nor watch the candle until it melts,

    Whoever has not steeped his blood in his love,

  47. من يَمنَع الأَهوالُ أَن تُطعِمَه

    وَلا يَرى في كُلِّ جُرحٍ حِكَم

    Whoever keeps terrors from feeding him,

    Nor finds wisdom in every wound,

  48. من لَيسَ يَرقى ذَروَةَ الجَلجَلَه

    وَلم يُسمِّر في الهَوى أَنمُلَه

    Whoever does not climb Golgotha's summit,

    Nor nail his fingertips down for love,

  49. وَيُرفَعِ العَلقَمُ وَالخَلُّ لَه

    مَن يَصرف العُمرَ عَلى المخمَلِ

    Nor have gall and vinegar held up to him,

    Whoever spends his life upon velvet,

  50. وَلا يَذوقُ البُؤسَ في الأَوَّلِ

    وَلا الاسى في مخدِعٍ مُقفَلِ

    And tastes no misery at its outset,

    Nor sorrow in a locked bedchamber,

  51. لَن يَعرِفَ العُمرَ شعاعَ الإِله

    وَلن يَرى آمالَهُ في رؤاه

    Will never know life as a ray of God,

    Nor see his hopes in his visions,

  52. بَل عالِماً يَخبِطُ في مَهزَلَه

    وَاِنسَحَبَ الطَيفُ الى ظُلمَتِه

    Only a world floundering in a farce.

    And the phantom withdrew into its darkness,

  53. يَجُرُّ بِالأَذيالِ من وَمضَتِه

    عَينَ الفَتى الغَرقى بِغَيبوبَته

    Dragging in the trailing skirts of its gleam

    The young man's eye, drowned in his trance.

  54. حَتّى إِذا سادَ السُكونُ المُخيفُ

    وَكان في الخارِج صَوتُ الحَفيف

    Until, when the fearful stillness reigned,

    And outside, the sound of rustling

  55. يَعلو شَديداً مِن غُصونِ الخَريف

    أَفاقَ من سَكرَتِهِ الشاعِرُ

    Rose fiercely from autumn's boughs,

    The poet awoke from his stupor,

  56. وَقالَ هل يُرجى لَه آخِرُ

    هذا الدُجى الغارِقُ في ثورَتِه

    And said: Is there hope of an end

    To this darkness, submerged in its fury?

  57. قَد يَحمِلُ الفَجرَ عَزاءً إِلَيّ

    إِن حَمَلَ النورَ إِلى مُقلَتَيَّ

    Dawn may bring me solace,

    If it brings light to my eyes,

  58. فَاللَيلُ قَد أَخنى عَلى كاهِلَيَّ

    يُخيفُني اللَيلُ بِأَرواحِه

    For night has worn down my shoulders.

    Night frightens me with its spirits,

  59. ثائِرَةً كَالهَولِ في ساحِهِ

    وَبِالرُؤى من بيضِ اِشباحِه

    Raging like terror in its expanse,

    And with visions of its white phantoms.

  60. لا أنشِدُ البُؤسَ وَلا أَرغَبُ

    في حَمل حُبٍّ قَومُهُ عُذِّبوا

    I do not seek misery, nor do I desire

    To bear a love whose people were tormented,

  61. فَالحُبُّ في الآلامِ ثِقلٌ عَلَيَّ

    يُخيفُني في مَخدِعي البارِدِ

    For love amid suffering is a burden to me.

    In my cold bedchamber, I am frightened by

  62. خَيالُ حُبِّ مُبهَمٍ جامِدِ

    أَبكَمَ كَالأَرماس يا والِدي

    The image of an indistinct, frozen love,

    Mute as graves, O my father.

  63. يُخيفُني اللَيلُ فَأَينَ السَحَر

    يَطرُدُ مِن عَينَيَّ هذي الصُوَر

    Night frightens me; where is the dawn

    To drive these images from my eyes,

  64. وَما عَلَيها من شَقاءِ البَشَر

    كانَ الدُجى لمّا يَزَل ثائِرا

    And all the human misery upon them?

    The darkness was still raging,

  65. وَالريحُ تُدمي الأُفُقَ الماطِرا

    بِالبَرقِ جُرحِ المَلإِ الخالِدِ

    And the wind made the rain-filled horizon bleed

    With lightning—the wound of the eternal host—

  66. كَأَنَّ لِلَّيلِ هَوىً حائِرا

    ذاقَ الأَسى فَلَم يَزَل ساهِرا

    As though night had a bewildered love

    That had tasted sorrow and still remained awake.