قُلتُ يوماً لها وكُنتِ حَياتِي

غائمَ النَّفسِ ذا فُؤادٍ حَزينِ

One day I said to her, though I was

Gloomy, with a sorrowful heart,

إن تَكوني أنتِ الإرادةُ حَقّاً

وقِوَى الكَونِ مِنكِ مِلكُ يَمِينِ

“If you are truly the will,

And the universe's powers are under your command,

إنَّ لي في الورَى عَدُواًّ مُبيناً

انصُرِيني على عَدُوِّي المُبينِ

Then I have a clear enemy in this world,

Help me against my obvious foe.

غاصبٌ قُوَّتي وَوَقتي ومالي

غاصبٌ مِنِّي كُلَّ شَيءٍ ثَمينِ

He has seized my strength, my time and money,

Robbing me of all that is precious.

كُلَّمَا قلتُ رحمةً بي يُجِبني

ارتَقب ما تَراهُ مِن بَعدِ حِينِ

Whenever I show him mercy, he answers me:

‘Wait for what you will see after a while.’

كَأسُ راحٍ إذا تَبَدَّت أَمامي

طالَ شَوقي لها وطالَ حَنينِي

When a cup of rest appears before me,

My longing for it grows, as does my yearning.

كُلُّ هذا وأنتِ خاذِلةٌ لي

إِن ظُنوني أَردَفتُهَا بِيقينِ

All this while you fail me,

Though I buttressed my suspicions with certainty.”

نَظرت لي واستَضحَكَت ثم قالت

خابَ ما بي ظَننتَهُ مِن ظنُونِ

She looked at me and laughed, then said:

“What you suspected of me has proven false.”

ثُمَّ شَدَّت بساعِدي واستَحالت

صارماً عَضباً مُصلَتاً في يَميني

Then she grasped my arm and transformed

Into a sword, wrathful and unsheathed, in my right hand.

وتَبَدَّى العَدُوُّ تِلقاءَ وَجهي

مُطرِقاً فِي استِماتَةٍ وسُكونِ

The enemy appeared before my face,

Head bowed in desperation and stillness.

فاخترَقتُ الأحشاءَ مِنهُ وأسقَي

تُه مِن صارِمي كُؤوسَ المَنونِ

So I pierced his entrails and let him drink

From my sword the cups of demise.

لَعنةَ اللهِ جاوِري شَرَّ قَبرٍ

بِحَشاهُ قَد ضَمَّ شَرَّ دَفِينِ

“May the curse of Allah be with my wretched neighbor.

His belly has embraced the most wretched corpse.”