Sol 6.1

  1. حينَ أَقبَلتِ وَالهَوى فيكِ يَحبو

    كانَ حُبّي يَفنى وَناريَ تَخبو

    When you came, and love within you was still crawling,

    my love was dying, and my fire was fading.

  2. قُلتِ لي بي أَسى فَهَل مِنكَ نُصحٌ

    وَبِنَفسي داءٌ فَهَل مِنكَ طِبُّ

    You said to me, 'I have sorrow; have you any counsel?'

    'And my soul is sick; have you any medicine?'

  3. جِئتِ تَستَوصِفينَني في شُؤونٍ

    ما بِها لي يَدٌ وَلا لَكِ ذَنبُ

    You came seeking my prescription for matters

    over which I have no power, and for which you bear no blame.

  4. قُلتِ إِن كانَ لِلشَّرائِعِ رَبٌّ

    مُستَبِدُّ أَلَيسَ لِلقَلبِ رَبُّ

    You said, 'If the laws have a lord,

    a tyrant, does the heart not have a lord?'

  5. قُلتُ هذا بَيني وَبَينَكِ حَقٌّ

    إِنَّما لِلوَرى فُروضٌ وَكُتبُ

    I said, 'Between you and me, this is true;

    but humankind has obligations and books.

  6. أَلقَوانينُ سَنَّها العَقلُ في النّا

    سِ فَبَينَ الضَميرِ وَالعَقلِ حَربُ

    The laws were enacted by reason among the peo-

    ple; between conscience and reason there is war.

  7. إِن بَينَ السَماءِ وَالأَرضِ حرباً

    قُلتِ حَتّى يَصيرَ لِلنّاسِ قَلبُ

    There is a war between heaven and earth.'

    'Until people acquire a heart,' you said.

  8. وَمَضَت أَشهُرٌ وَتِلكَ الأَحادي

    ثُ يَدُبُّ الهَوى بِها وَيَرُبُّ

    Months passed, and through those conversa-

    tions love crept and grew.

  9. قُلتِ لي مَرَّةً أَتَفهَمُ قَلبي

    قُلتُ يا سِتِّ قلتِ لَيلى أَحَبُّ

    Once you said to me, 'Do you understand my heart?'

    I said, 'Madam'; you said, 'Layla is dearer.'

  10. قُلتُ يا لَيلَ كَم خَبِرتُ قُلوباً

    فَبِنَفسي مِن ذلِكَ الخُبرِ حَسبُ

    I said, 'Layl, how many hearts I have known!

    Within me there is enough of that experience.

  11. غَيرَ أَنّي أَرى بِعَينَيكِ ما لَم

    تَرَهُ مُقلَةٌ وَيَلمِسهُ لبُّ

    Yet in your eyes I see what no

    eye has seen, and a mind can feel.

  12. أَتَكونينَ ذلكَ المَلَكَ البا

    قي وَلَو جاءَ مِن جَهَنَّمَ خَطبُ

    Will you be that angel, everlast-

    ing, even if calamity comes from hell?

  13. أَتَكونينَ فيهِ ما لَم تَكُن أُن

    ثى وَما لَم يَكُن مِن الناسِ حُبُّ

    Will you be in it what no wom-

    an has been, and what no human love has been?'

  14. فَتَأَمَّلتِ بي وَقُلتِ وَماضي

    كَ أَلَم تَبقَ مِنهُ نارٌ تُشَبُّ

    Then you gazed at me and said, 'And the past

    of yours—has no fire remained from it to be kindled?

  15. فَأَفاعي الفِردَوسِ ما زِلنَ حَيّا

    تٍ وَما زالَ سُمُّهُنَ يَدُبُّ

    For the serpents of Paradise are still liv-

    ing, and their venom still creeps.'

  16. قُلتُ يا لَيلَ قُلتِ بَعدَ الأَفاعي

    جاءَ شِعرٌ مُرَطَّبُ الحُبِّ عَذبُ

    I said, 'Layl'; you said, 'After the serpents

    came sweet poetry, moistened with love:

  17. صاحِ في عَينَيكَ صَدّاحُ الأَماني

    وَعَلى ثَغرِكَ حُبّي وَحَناني

    Friend, in your eyes is the warbler of hopes,

    and on your lips are my love and tenderness.

  18. ما عَلى الدُنيا إِذا عَنَّت بِنا

    لَيسَ في الدُنيا سِوانا شاعِرانِ

    What is it to the world if it concerns itself with us?

    There are no two poets in the world but us.

  19. فَاِعصُري قَلبَكِ في خَمرِ دَمي

    وَاِجعَلي الأَيّامَ في الكَأسِ ثَواني

    So squeeze your heart into the wine of my blood,

    and turn the days into seconds in the cup.

  20. وَاِرشِفي مِرشَفي

    وَاِهتُفي نَحنُ في

    And sip from my lips,

    and cry out: We are, in

  21. أُذُنِ الزَمانِ

    أُغنِيَّتانِ

    the ear of time,

    two songs.

  22. جَمعَ الحُبُّ بِنا كُلَّ الأَغاني

    كانَ في قَلبي مِنَ الحُبِّ بَقايا

    Love has gathered all songs within us.

    In my heart remained traces of love,

  23. توقظ الماضِيَ وَالماضي خَطايا

    حينَ أَشرَفتِ عَلى قَلبي اِمَّحَت

    awakening the past—and the past was sins.

    When you looked down upon my heart, they vanished;

  24. غَسَلَت روحُكِ بُؤسي وَشَقايا

    وَنَما حُبٌّ جَديدٌ في دَمي

    your soul washed away my misery and wretchedness.

    And a new love grew within my blood,

  25. ما نَما أُختَ روحي في سوايا

    ما اِرتَوى بي جَوى

    one that grew in none but me, sister of my soul.

    No longing in me drank its fill,

  26. وَالهَوى ما رَوى

    إِلّا هوايا

    and passion quenched

    nothing but my own love.

  27. فَإِذا غَنَّيتُ شَعَّت في غِنايا

    جُنَّتِ الدُنيا كَما نَهوى فَجُنّي

    So whenever I sing, you shine in my song.

    The world has gone mad as we wish; go mad yourself.

  28. إِنَّما الدُنيا هَوىً مِنكِ وَمِنّي

    أَنزَلَت عَيناكِ في صَحرائِها

    The world is only love from you and me.

    Your eyes brought down into its desert,

  29. مِن سَماءِ الحُبِّ سَلوايَ وَمَنّي

    هيَ كَنّارَةُ فَتحِ في يَدي

    from the heaven of love, my quails and my manna.

    It is a lyre of triumph in my hand;

  30. طارَ عَن أَوتارِها الشَكُّ فَغَنّي

    فَالغِنا خَمرُنا

    doubt has flown from its strings, so sing.

    For singing is our wine,

  31. وَالمُنى مِلؤُنا

    سَوفَ نَغدو في الوَرى أُسطورَةً

    and hopes fill us.

    We shall become a legend among humankind;

  32. يَنقُلُ الناسُ الهَوى عَنكِ وَعَنّي

    إِنَّ أُنثى غَنَّيتَها مِثلَ هذا ال

    people will recount love through you and me.'

    A woman you have sung of in such

  33. شِعرِ نِسيانُها ولَو شِئتَ صَعبُ

    مَن تُراها تَكون أَيَّة أَرضٍ

    poetry is hard to forget, even if you wish.

    Who, I wonder, is she? What land

  34. كانَ فيها زَرعٌ كَهذا وَخِصبُ

    رَأَيتُكِ في قَلبي فَحُلمي مُنَوَّرُ

    held such crops and such fertility?

    I saw you in my heart, and my dream is illuminated;

  35. وَصُبحيَ مِشراقٌ وَلَيليَ مُقمِرُ

    تَرَكتُ أَباطيلَ التَقاليدِ لِلوَرى

    my morning is radiant, and my night is moonlit.

    I left the falsehoods of tradition to humankind;

  36. فَإِن كُنتُ في إِثمٍ فَعَيناكِ مَطهَرُ

    أُحُبُّكِ لا أَدري لِماذا أُحِبُّها

    if I dwell in sin, your eyes are a purgatory.

    I love you; I do not know why I love her.

  37. كَفانيَ إيماني بِأَنِّيَ أَشعُرُ

    وَأَهوى الَّذي تَهوينَ حَتّى كَأَنَّني

    My faith that I feel is enough for me.

    And I love what you love, as though

  38. بِقَلبِكِ أَستَهدي وَعَينَيكِ أَنظُرُ

    أُحِبُّكِ في قَلبي كَما ثارَ جائِعٌ

    I sought guidance through your heart and saw through your eyes.

    I love you in my heart as a hungry man revolts,

  39. وَهَجَّرَ مُشتاقٌ وَصَلّى مُفَكِّرُ

    وَحَقِّ هَوى غَلوا أُحَسُّكِ في دَمي

    a yearning soul journeys at midday, and a thinker prays.

    By the love of Ghalwa, I feel you in my blood,

  40. وَأُقسِمُ ما في غَلَ حُبٌّ مدمَّرُ

    جَرَت في دَمي وَحياً وَتَجرينَ في دَمي

    and I swear: in Ghal there is no ruined love.

    She flowed as revelation in my blood, and you flow in my blood,

  41. وَلكِنَّ لَونَ الحُبِّ قَد يَتَغَيَّرُ

    أُحِبُّكِ وَالدُنيا سَحابٌ مُغَرِّرٌ

    but the color of love may change.

    I love you, and the world is a deceiving cloud,

  42. سَرابٌ وَقَبضُ الريحِ حُلمٌ مُكَسَّرُ

    جَعَلنا خَيالَ الحُبِّ فيها حَقيقَةً

    a mirage, a grasp at the wind, a shattered dream.

    Within it we made love's imagining a reality;

  43. فَنَحنُ عَلى وَهمِ المُحِبّينَ جَوهَرُ

    أُحِبُّكِ وَالدُنيا تَغيمُ بِناظِري

    thus we are substance upon the lovers' illusion.

    I love you, and the world clouds over in my sight,

  44. غِشاءٌ عَلى عَينِ الشَبابِ مُحَيَّرُ

    أَرى الناسَ مِن حَولي شُخوصاً غَريبَةً

    a bewildering veil over the eye of youth.

    I see the people around me as strange figures,

  45. وَكُلُّ غَريبٍ حينَ تَأتينَ يَحضُرُ

    أُحِبُّكِ وَالدُنيا طَنين بِمَسمَعي

    and every stranger, when you come, becomes present.

    I love you, and the world is a buzzing in my ear,

  46. كَأَنّي بِالدُنيا حَديثٌ مَغَوَّرُ

    تَهَوِّلُ لي فيها طُيوفٌ كَبيرٌ

    as though I were a tale buried deep in the world.

    Great phantoms loom terrifyingly before me in it,

  47. وَكُلُّ كَبيرٍ حينَ أَلقاكَ يَصغُرُ

    أُحِبُّك ما أَشهى صَداها بِمَسمَعي

    and everything great becomes small when I meet you.

    'I love you'—how delicious its echo is to my ear!

  48. سَماعٌ لِأَحلامي العِذابِ مصَوَّرُ

    تَغَلغَلَ في مَهدي لِأُمّيَ مِن أَبي

    A melody giving shape to my sweet dreams.

    It seeped into my cradle, from my father to my mother,

  49. وَباقٍ عَلى قَلبي إِلى حينَ أُقبَرُ

    مَن تُراها تَكونُ طوبى لِحُبٍّ

    and remains upon my heart until I am buried.

    Who, I wonder, is she? Blessed is a love

  50. كانَ فيهِ لِمِثلِ شِعرِك سَكبُ

    أَيُّ حُسنٍ أَوحاهُ أَيةُ أُنثى

    into which poetry like yours was poured.

    What beauty inspired it? What woman?

  51. بي عَذابٌ مِنها كِشِعرِكَ رَحبُ

    تَقرِّبُني نَفسي فَتُبعِدُني غَلوا

    I have torment from her, as vast as your poetry.

    My soul draws me near, then drives me far away, Ghalwa,

  52. وَيَدفَعُني حُبّي فَتَردَعني التَقوى

    أَغالِبُ قَلبي في هَواك فَلا يَني

    and my love urges me on, but piety restrains me.

    I wrestle my heart in loving you, but it never flags;

  53. وَأُوشكُ أَن أَقسو عَلَيهِ فَلا أَقوى

    وَأَشعُرُ في نَفسي بِضَعفٍ أُحِبُّهُ

    I almost treat it harshly, but lack the strength.

    And I feel within myself a weakness that I love,

  54. فَأُلوي بِهِ عَمّا يُقالُ وَما يُروى

    كَأَنِّيَ أَخشى أَن أُطاوِعَ لائِمي

    so with it I turn away from what is said and recounted.

    As though I feared obeying the one who blames me,

  55. فَأَسمَعُ تَبكيتاً وَلا أَفهَمُ الفَحوى

    أُحِبُّكِ لا أَرجو نَعيماً يُصيبُني

    I hear rebukes without understanding their meaning.

    I love you, expecting no bliss to come to me;

  56. وَأَبذُلُ مِن قَلبي وَلا أَبتَغي جَدوى

    وَقَد كُنتُ أَهوى فيكِ حُسناً أَنا لَهُ

    I give from my heart and seek no return.

    I once loved in you a beauty to which I belonged;

  57. فَأَصبَحتُ أَهوى فيكِ فَوقَ الَّذي أَهوى

    أَراكِ عَلى جَفني أُحسُّكِ في دَمي

    now I love in you beyond what I love.

    I see you upon my eyelid; I feel you in my blood,

  58. وَأَنشَقُ في روحي شَذا روحِكِ الحُلوا

    مَزَجتُكِ بي كَالخَمرِ تُمزَجُ بِالنَدى

    and breathe into my soul the sweet fragrance of yours.

    I mingled you with me as wine is mingled with dew;

  59. فَمِنكِ بِجِسمي كُلُّ جارِحَةٍ نَشوى

    غَير أَنّي أَرى بِسائِرِ ما قُل

    through you, every limb of my body is intoxicated.

    Yet I see in all that you have

  60. تَ هَوىً فيهِ لِلشَّقاءِ مَهبُّ

    أَلغَرامُ الَّذي أَطالَ شُجوني

    said a love where misery's wind blows.

    The passion that prolonged my sorrows—

  61. حار قَلبي بِهِ وَحارَت عُيوني

    لا أُطيقُ الغَرامَ في أَلفِ وَجهٍ

    my heart was bewildered by it, and so were my eyes.

    I cannot bear passion in a thousand forms;

  62. فَاِذهَبي ما عَرَفتُهُ يَكفيني

    وَاِطرُحيني مِن مُقلَتَيكِ وَخَلّيني

    go, then: what I have known of it is enough.

    Cast me out of your eyes, and leave me.

  63. تَعالَي في مُقلَتَيكِ ضَعيني

    أَنا في مُقلَتَيكِ أَسعَدُ أَشقى

    Come, place me within your eyes.

    Within your eyes I am happy, I am wretched

  64. فيهِما فَاِذهَبي وَلا تَشقيني

    أَنا أَهوى الشَقاءَ لا لَست أَهوا

    within them; go, then, and do not torment me.

    I love misery—no, I do not love

  65. هُ تَعالَي إِلَيَّ لا بَل دَعيني

    مَن تَكونينَ أَنتِ أَجهَلُ بَل أَع

    it. Come to me—no, rather leave me.

    Who are you? I do not know—rather, I kno-

  66. رِفُ فَاِمضي عَنّي وَمَن شِئتِ كوني

    أَنتِ حُبٌّ في مُهجَتي فَتَعالَي

    w; go away from me, and be whoever you wish.

    You are love within my heart's core, so come.

  67. أَنتِ هزءٌ في ناظِري فَاِترُكيني

    أَنتِ نورٌ في خاطِري وَظَلامٌ

    You are mockery in my sight, so leave me.

    You are light within my mind, and darkness

  68. في خَيالي وَريبَةٌ في جَبيني

    وَسُوَيداءُ في دَمي

    within my imagination, and doubt upon my brow,

    and black melancholy within my blood,

  69. وَهُمومٌ عَلى فَمي

    أَنتِ عرسٌ في مَأتَمي

    and worries upon my mouth.

    You are a wedding within my funeral,

  70. بَسمَةٌ في جَهَنَّمي

    وَجَحيمٌ في مَبسِمي

    a smile within my hell,

    and an inferno within my smile.

  71. آهِ عَيناكِ كَيفَ أُنكِرُ عَينَي

    كِ وَقَلبي عَلَيهِما وَفُتوني

    Ah, your eyes! How can I deny the eyes

    of yours, with my heart and my infatuation resting on them?

  72. حينَ تَغرَورِقانِ بِالحُبِّ يَطفو

    مِن حَناني عَلَيهِما وَحَنيني

    When they brim with love, there floats

    over them some of my tenderness and longing.

  73. أَنتِ في خاطِري وَروحي نَشيدٌ

    زائِلٌ فَاِهدُميهِ أَو فَاِهدُميني

    Within my mind and soul you are a song,

    a passing one; destroy it, then, or destroy me.

  74. وَدَعيني أَعُد إِلى يَقظَةِ الماض

    ي فَأَحيا في ذِكرَياتِ جُنوني

    And let me return to the wakefulness of the pa-

    st, and live amid memories of my madness.

  75. آهِ مِن مُقلَتَيكِ لَم يَبقَ إِلّا

    وَهَجٌ في يَراعَتي يُغريني

    Ah, from your eyes nothing remains but

    a glow in my reed pen, enticing me,

  76. غَرَقٌ في شَواعِري وَذُهولٌ

    في ضَميري وَرِعشَةٌ في جُفوني

    a drowning within my feelings, and a daze

    within my conscience, and a tremor in my eyelids.

  77. قُلتُ يا لَيلَ قُلتِ شِعرُكَ فيها

    حَيَّرَتني فيهِ مَآسٍ تُغِبُّ

    I said, 'Layl'; you said, 'Your poetry about her—

    its recurring tragedies have bewildered me.

  78. أَرجيمٌ أَتى بِوَجهِ مَلاكٍ

    أَم غَزالٌ في قَلبِهِ حَلَّ ذِئبُ

    Did an accursed demon come with an angel's face,

    or a gazelle within whose heart a wolf had settled?

  79. مَرَّ عَلى قَلبي المُعَنّى

    مَرَّ عَصوف عَلى أَخيه

    It swept across my tormented heart,

    as a storm sweeps across its brother.

  80. أَيَعرِفُ القَلبَ كَيفَ جُنّا

    وَكَيفَ جُنَّ الغَرامُ فيه

    Does the heart know how we went mad,

    and how passion went mad within it?

  81. دَعني فَقَد صارَ نَحنُ كُنّا

    وَحَلَّ ما كُنتُ أَتَّقيه

    Leave me: 'we' has now become 'we were,'

    and what I feared has come to pass.

  82. هَوىً تَسَرّى قَلبي وَحَلّا

    عَلى خَطيف

    A love that consoled my heart and settled

    only fleetingly.

  83. جاءَ مَعَ الصَيفِ ثُمَّ وَلّى

    مَعَ الخَريف

    It came with summer, then departed

    with autumn.

  84. كَما يَجيءُ الهَوى عَنيفاً

    يَمضي عَنيف

    Just as love comes violently,

    it departs violently.

  85. وَليمَةٌ مَدَّها الغَرامُ

    وَسادَها الزَهوُ وَالمَرَح

    A banquet spread by passion,

    ruled by exuberance and merriment.

  86. ما كادَ يَصفو بِها المُدامُ

    حَتّى بَدا الشَكُّ في القَدَح

    Scarcely had the wine grown clear within it

    when doubt appeared in the cup.

  87. وَمُذ جَلا عَنّيَ الغَمامُ

    رَأَيتُ في قَعرِهِ شَبَح

    And when the clouds cleared from me,

    I saw a specter in its depths.

  88. سَكَبتُ فيكِ الهَوى أَغاني

    وَالقَلبَ راح

    I poured love into you as songs,

    and the heart as wine.

  89. فَأَيُّ شادٍ عَلى حَناني

    سَطا وَطاح

    Then what singer upon my tenderness

    swooped and fell?

  90. وَأَيُّ مِسخٍ أَحالَ شِعري

    إِلى نُباح

    And what monster turned my poetry

    into barking?

  91. حَلَفتُ بِاِسمِ الهَوى وَبِاِسمِك

    فَبِاِسمِ مَن كُنتِ تَحلِفين

    I swore in love's name and in yours;

    in whose name were you swearing?

  92. وَحَقِّ قَلبي وَحَقِّ سَهمِك

    أَخشى عَلى الخُبثِ أَن يَبين

    By my heart's sacred right, and your arrow's,

    I fear lest malice reveal itself,

  93. أَن يَأكُلَ البُؤسُ جِسمِك

    وَتُبذَلَ النَفسُ وَالجَبين

    lest misery devour your body,

    and your soul and brow be debased.

  94. أَيَحجُبُ الخامِلونَ عَنّي

    ما تَبدِعين

    Do the idle men conceal from me

    what you create?

  95. لَقَّنتُ في مُقلَتَيكِ فَنّي

    لِلعاشِقين

    Within your eyes I taught my art

    to lovers.

  96. وَأَنتِ عِشقي فَلِم أَغنّي

    وَتَصمُتين

    You are my love; why, then, do I sing

    while you remain silent?'

  97. قُلتُ يا لَيلَ إِنَّ حُكمَتِ ظالِم

    فَاِرحَميها فَالحُبُّ كَاللَهِ راحِم

    I said, 'Layl, your judgment is unjust;

    have mercy on her, for love, like God, is merciful.

  98. لَم تَجيئني بِدون قَلبٍ بَريءٍ

    إِنَّما أَلسُنُ الوُشاةِ أَراقِم

    She did not come to me without an innocent heart;

    the tongues of slanderers are serpents.'

  99. قُلتِ في مُقلَتَيكِ مِنها خَيالٌ

    فَهَواها ما ماتَ بَل هُو نائِم

    You said, 'Within your eyes is an image of her;

    your love for her has not died: it is sleeping.

  100. لَيتَني جِئتُ قَبلَها قُلتُ لَو جِئ

    تِ لِأَلفَيتِ في تُرابي جَماجِم

    I wish I had come before her.' I said, 'Had you

    come, you would have found skulls in my soil.

  101. كانَ قَلبي يا لَيلَ يدفُنُ ماضي

    هِ فَلَم تَبتَلي بِتِلكَ المَآتِم

    My heart, Layl, was burying its pa-

    st, so you did not suffer those funerals.

  102. كانَ روحي إِذ أَقبَلَت يَتَنَزّى ال

    حِقدُ فيهِ وَكانَ حُبِّيَ ناقِم

    When she came, there leapt within my soul

    hatred, and my love was vengeful.

  103. فَالأَفاعي لَم تُبقِ إِلّا سُموماً

    في جَناني وَفي ضَمري سَمائِم

    For the serpents left nothing but poisons

    within my heart, and scorching winds within my conscience.

  104. كانَ في صَوتِها ذَرورٌ مِن السِح

    رِ وَهذا الذَرورُ كانَ مراهِم

    In her voice there was a powder of mag-

    ic, and that powder served as healing salves.

  105. فَتَلاشى حُلقومُها في لَظى نَف

    سي يلاشي فَحيحَ تِلكَ الحَلاقِم

    Then her throat dissolved in the blaze of my

    soul, dispelling the hissing of those throats.

  106. حُبُّها كانَ مطهراً لِعَذابي

    قُمتُ مِنهُ إِلى نَعيمٍ قائِم

    Her love was a purgatory for my torment;

    I rose from it into enduring bliss.

  107. فَعَلى مُقلَتَيكِ سِحرٌ غَريبٌ

    فيهِ مِن بَهجَةِ السَماءِ مَباسِم

    Upon your eyes is a strange enchantment,

    holding smiles from the joy of heaven,

  108. وَنَقاءٌ عَلى جَبينِكِ يا لَي

    لى كَأَنَّ المَلاكَ ما زالَ حائِم

    and purity upon your brow, O Lay-

    la, as though the angel were still hovering.

  109. لي إِلى اللَهِ في حَنانِكِ مِرقا

    ةٌ وَفي صَوتِكِ الشَجِيِّ سَلالِم

    Toward God, in your tenderness, I have a stair-

    way, and in your plaintive voice are ladders.

  110. أَنا يا لَيلَ أَسعَدَ الناسِ حُبّاً

    مِلءُ عَيني نورٌ وَقَلبي وَلائِم

    I, Layl, am the happiest of people in love;

    my eyes are filled with light, my heart with feasts.

  111. سَوفَ تُمحى رُؤىً وَتَنهارُ أَحلا

    مٌ وَتَبلى مُنىً وَحُبّيَ دائِم

    Visions will be erased, and dre-

    ams collapse, and hopes wear away, but my love endures.'