ولمّا توسّطنا مدى النيل غدوةً

ظننتُ وقلبُ اليوم باللهو جذلانُ

When we reached the Nile's expanse at dawn,

I thought, with a heart lighthearted and gay,

عُشاريهِ إنساناً لهُ الماءُ مقلةٌ

وليس لها إلاّ المجاذيفَ أجفان

That its waters were people whose eyes were shedding tears,

With nothing but their eyelids as oars.