كانت له حيث لا ظل ولا سعف
من النخيل الخوالي ،ناهد نصف
He had her where there was no shade or palm fronds,
From the empty palms, a half gazelle.
وكان أرغد نصفيها الذي ابتدأت
أو انمحى من صباها الياء والألف
The happier half that she started with,
Before the yaa and alif were erased from her youth.
أغرى ، وأفتن ما في بعض فتنتها
طفولة ،وامتلاء مثمرهيف
More tempting, the most tempting thing about her temptation,
Was childhood, and the fullness of her ripe bosom.
كانت له بعض عام، لا يمت إلى
ماض ولا امتد من إخصابه خلف
He had her for some time, not connected
To a past or a lineage extending from her fertility.
ولى ،ولا خبر يهدى إليه وفي
حقائب الريح، من أخباره تحف
She’s gone, with no news coming to him, and in
The folds of the wind, none of her news as a gift.
وقصة لملم التاريخ أحرفها
فاستضحك الحبر في كفيه والصحف
And the story whose letters history collected,
The ink laughed in his palms and the pages.
وغاب أول يوم عن تذكره
وفي تظنيه من إيمائه نتف
And the first day slipped from his memory,
And in his supposition some of her gestures were picked.
كان الخميس أو الاثنين واحتشدت
مواقف ، تدفع الذكرى وتلتقف
It was Thursday or Monday and gatherings accumulated,
Pushing away the memory and grabbing it.
في بدء تشرين ، نادته نوافذها
فحام كالطيف ، يستأني وينجرف
In early October, her windows called out to him,
So he swooped like a ghost, slowing down and swirling.
هل ذاك مخدعها؟ تومي النجوم على
جبينه وعلى عينيه تعتكف
Is that her bedroom? The stars spill onto
His forehead and camp on his eyes.
بل تلك غرفتها أو تلك أيهما
أو هذه وارتدت ازياءها الغرف
Rather that’s her room, or is it, whichever
One, as her rooms dressed up in their outfits.
وبعد يوم وليل جاء يسألها
عن عمها اخبروه انه دنف
And after a day and night he came to ask her
About her uncle - they told him he passed away.
من ذا تريد؟ وتسترخي عبارتها
فيأكل الأحرف الكسلى ويرتشف
Who is it you want? And she relaxes her words
As the lazy letters eat and sip.
ويدعي أنهم قالوا: أليس لها
عمٌ ويعتصر الدعوى وينتزف
And he claims they said: Doesn't she have
An uncle? And he twists the claim and bleeds it dry.
ويستزيد جواباً هل هنا سكنٌ؟
أظنٌ (بيت فلان) أهله انصرفوا
And he asks for more - is there a house here?
I think (so-and-so's) house, its people left.
وخانه الريق، فاستحلت تلعثمه
وأحضر في شفتيها العذر والأسف
And his saliva betrayed him, so her stuttering
Became permitted, and the excuse and regret appeared.
ونصف (كانون) زارت بنت جارته
فأفشت الخبر الأبواب والشُرف
And halfway through (November) his neighbor’s daughter visited,
Divulging the news, the doors and balconies.
وقالت امرأة: من تلك؟ والتفتت
أخرى، تكذب عينيها وتعترف
And a woman said: who is she? And another turned,
Her eyes denying and confessing.
وعرفتها عجوز كل حرفتها
صنع الخطايا لوجه الله تحترف
And an old woman recognized her, her only craft
Was creating sins for God's sake, a professional.
وقصت امرأة عنها لجدتها
فصلاً، كما ذاب فوق الخضرة الصدف
And a woman told her grandmother about her
A chapter, like coral melting atop the greenery.
فعوذتها وقالت: كنت أشبهها
لكن لكل طويل يا ابنتي طرف
So she protected her and said: she resembled me,
But for each long tale my daughter, there is an end.
وغمغم الشارع المهجور: من خطرت
كما تخطر تل مائج ترف
And the abandoned street murmured: she crossed
Like a mountain flood crossing.
وحين عادت وحياها على خجل
ردت، وما كان يرجو ، ليتها تقف
And when she returned and shyly greeted him,
He responded, not hoping for what he hoped for, if only she would stop.
وخلفها اقتاده وعد السراب إلى
بيت نضيج الصبا جدرانه الشغف
And behind her he followed, and the mirage’s promise led him
To the house whose walls oozed with adolescence.
حتى احتستها شفاه الباب لا أحد
يومي إليه، ولا قلب له ، يجف
Until the lips of the door felt her - no one
Visits him, and he has no heart, dried up.
وظن وارتاب حتى اشتم قصته
كلب هناك وثور كان يعتلف
And he doubted and suspected until his story
Was scorned by a dog there, and a bundled up bull.
وعاد من حيث لا يدري على طرق
من الذهول إلى المجهول ينقذف
And he returned from where he knows not, on roads
Of confusion to the unknown tossed about.
فأعتاد ذكراه بيت مسه فمها
في دربها ، وبظل الدار يلتحف
So he got used to mentioning a house she touched
With her mouth on its road, and the house’s shade he wrapped himself in.
وقربت دارها من ظل ملجئه
يد تعلم من إغداقها السرف
And her house drew near the shade of his shelter,
A hand learning from her generosity to exceed.
وكان يصغي فتدعو غيرها ابنتها
وجارة غيرها تخفي وتنكشف
And he would listen as she called her daughter
And a neighbor other than him she hid from and revealed herself to.
متى تبوح وهل يفضي بخطرتها
درب ويخبر عنها الريح منعطف؟
When will she confide and will a road spill
Her thoughts and inform about her at a turn?
وحل شهر رمادي الخطى هرم
ضاعت ملامحه، واسترخت الكتف
And an ashy month of crooked steps decrepit
Arrived, its features were lost, and shoulders slackened.
وفي نهايته، جاءت تُسائله
عن هرها... لم يزرنا، فاتنا الشرف
And at its end, she came to ask him
About her uncle...he hasn't visited us, missing the honor.
فنغمت ضحكة كسلى ، طفولتها
جذلى، على الرقة المغناج تنقصف
So a lazy laugh, her childhood
Stubborn, cracked on the delicate coyness.
فمد كفاً خجولاً وانحنى فرنا
من وجهها الموعد المجهول والصلف
So he extended a shy hand and bowed, and the
Unknown appointment and disdain fled from her face.
وكان يرنو، وجوع الأربعين على
ذبول خديه يستجدي ويرتجف
And he wished, and the hunger of the forty days
Begged on his withering cheeks, shivering.
وقال ما ليس يدري فأدعت غضباً:
من خلتني؟ قل لغيري: إنني كلف
And he spoke what he knew not, so she faked anger:
“Who left me? Tell others: I am done.”
وأعرضت واستدارت: كيف شارعنا؟
حلو... أما ساكنوه السوء والحشف؟
And she turned away: “How is our street?”
“Nice...and its evil residents and riffraff?”
(فلانة) لم تدع عرضاً و(ذاك) فتى
يغوي ويكذب في ميعاده والحلف
(So-and-so) didn't leave her reputation, and (so-and-so) a
Boy who seduces and lies in his promises and oaths.
من ذلك اليوم يوم(الهر) كان له
عمر ومتجه غض ومنصرف
From that day, the day of (her uncle), he had
A lifetime with no destination, withdrawn.
واحضر قدامه عش تدلله
على رفيق الدوالي روضة أنف
And he imagined before him a nest indulging him
On a companion for chats, a garden of bliss.
أجنت له أيها يدعو مجاعته
وأي أفنانها يحسو ويقتطف؟
It bore for him whoever he calls his companions
And which of its muses he feels and plucks?
ومر عهد كعمر الحلم يرقبه
متى يعود يمنيه ويختلف؟
And an era passed like the lifetime of a dream watching him,
When will it return, changing him?
وكان فيه كمولود على رغد
أنهى رضاعته التشريد والشطف
And in it he was like a newborn in prosperity
Who finished his nursing of wandering and rags.
كانت له ويقص الذكريات على
طيف يقابل عينيه وينحرف
She was his, and he recounts memories to
A ghost meeting his eyes and veering off.
واليوم في القرية الجوعى بضيعة
درب، ودرب من الأشواك يختطف
And today in the hungry village, a trifling road,
And a road of thorns seizing him.
يسيح كالريح في الأحياء يلفظه
تيه، ويسخر من تصويبه الهدف
He walks like the wind in the neighborhoods ejecting him
Astray, and mocking his aim.
