خلق الشاعر و البؤس معا

فهما خلاّن لم يفترقا

The poet and misery were created together

The poet and misery were created together,

For they are two companions who never parted

For they are two companions who never part.

ذهب العمر و لم تمسك بدي

بين أترابي صفيّا أو خليلا

Life passed by and you did not take me as a friend

Life has passed, and my hand never held

Among my peers, neither intimate nor companion

Among my peers, a sincere companion or a friend.

أنا في الكون شقيّ حائر

لا أرى نورا و لا أهدى سبيلا

I am in the universe, miserable and lost

I am in this universe a wretched, bewildered soul,

I see no light and find no path

I see no light, nor am I guided to a path.

أنا طير لم يغرّد فاسمعوا

بالدجى منه نواحا و عويلا

I am a bird that did not sing, so listen

I am a bird that never sang, so listen

To its lament in the darkness, its wailing and weeping

To its wailing and howling in the dark.

أنا إنسان غريب أمره

شرب السمّ و عاف السلسبيلا

I am a strange human, whose affair

I am a human whose affair is strange,

Is to drink poison and avoid the chain

Who drank poison and forsook the sweet waters of Salsabil.

أنا روح حرّة طائرة

رضيت بين الراري مقيلا

I am a free, soaring soul

I am a free, soaring spirit,

Who settled unwillingly in the shelters

Content to make its resting place among the wilds.

تومق الدنيا فتبكي جزعا

و تناجي أهلها جيلا فجيلا

The world smiles then weeps bitterly

It loves the world, yet weeps in anguish,

And whispers to its generations, one after another

And whispers to its people, generation after generation.

شاركت في الحزن من ذاق الأسى

و أبت حين نوى الإلف الرحيلا

I shared in the sorrow of those who tasted anguish

It shared in the sorrow of those who tasted grief,

And refused when companionship bid its farewell

And refused to let go when the intimate friend resolved to depart.

بورك الحبّ و ما أعدله

ملك الروح و لم ينس الهيولي

Blessed is love and how just it is

Blessed is love, and how just it is;

It ruled the soul and did not forget humanity

It possessed the spirit and did not forget the physical form.

قد سرى في الكون حتّى لم يدع

في قلوب الناس قلبا مغلقا

It flowed in the universe until it left

It has flowed through the universe until it left not

No closed hearts in people's souls

A single closed heart among the hearts of men.

هو حزن هادئ في غبطة

و هو لو ذقت نعيم في شقا

It is a serene sorrow in bliss

It is a quiet sorrow within bliss,

And if you taste delight in misery

And it is, if you taste it, a paradise within misery.

إيه يا موج سلاما هكذا

يرسل الصبّ مع الموج سلامه

O wave, greetings, this is how

Ah, O wave, a greeting! For thus

The morning sends its greetings with the wave

Does the enamored one send his greeting with the wave.

أنا مظلوم فمن هذا الذي

يرفع الغمّة عنّي و الظلامه ؟

I am wronged, so who is this

I am oppressed, so who is the one

That will lift the veil and darkness from me?

To lift the gloom and the injustice from me?

مرّ بي الدهر فأدمى مقلتي

بعد أن اثبت في قلبي سهامه

Time passed me by and blinded my eyes

Time passed me by and made my eyes bleed,

After embedding its arrows in my heart

After it had lodged its arrows in my heart.

لم يغيّرني سقاما و هوى

إن يكن غيّرني وجها و قامه

Neither sickness nor passion changed me

It did not change me in sickness and in love,

If it changed me, it was my face and body

Even if it changed my face and my stature.

هات حدّثني عن العهد الذي

كان في ثغر لياليّ ابتسامه

Bring me news of the era when

Come, tell me of the era when

Its nights' lips had a smile

There was a smile on the lips of my nights.

لا أرى من بعد عشرين مضت

عجبا إن عاود القلب غرامه

I see no wonder, after twenty years gone by

I do not find it strange, after twenty years have passed,

If the heart returns to its passion

If the heart were to return to its infatuation.

ذكر الشام سقاها صيّب

طاهر المزن وحيّتها غمامه

The memory of Damascus quenched it

The memory of Ash-Sham—may a pouring rain water it,

With pure wine, and its clouds saluted it

From pure clouds, and may a cloud greet it.

لا تلمه حين يصفيها الهوى

إنّما الشام بوجه الدّهر شامه

Do not blame it when passion describes it

Do not blame him when he offers it pure passion,

Damascus is the cheek of time

For Ash-Sham is but a beauty mark on the face of Time.

كيف لم أقض حنينا ز أسى

يوم فارقت برغمي جلّقا

How could I not fulfill the yearning of sorrow

How did I not perish from longing and sorrow

When against my will I parted from Juluq

The day I parted from Jilliq against my will?

للّقا : قالت : و من أعلمها

أنّني أحيا إلى يوم اللّقا

Juluq said: And who informed her

"Until we meet," she said. And who told her

That I live until the day we meet again

That I would live until the day of meeting?

أنشقي أزهار شعري غضّة

إنّني ألقيتها بين يديك

Bloom, flowers of my fresh poetry

Inhale the tender flowers of my poetry;

I have placed them before you

I have tossed them before your hands.

و اعذريني حين أبكي و اذرفي

دمعة طاهرة من مقلتيك

And forgive me as I weep and shed

And forgive me when I weep, and shed

A pure teardrop from your eyes

A pure tear from your eyes.

حرت في الحبّ إلى أن لاح لي

سرّه مجتجبا في ناظريك

I wandered in love until its hidden secret appeared

I was bewildered by love until it appeared to me,

Concealed in my eyes

With its secret hidden in your eyes.

قوّة قاهرة تجذبني

حيثما يمّمت مضطرّا إليك

An irresistible force pulls me

A conquering force pulls me,

Wherever I head compelled toward you

Wherever I turn, compelled toward you.

هذه الموجة فرّت بعدما

قبّلت بالسرّ إحدى قدميك

This wave fled after it

This wave has fled after

Kissed your foot secretly

It secretly kissed one of your feet.

لا تلوميها فما في قبلة

طهرت إثم عليها أو عليك

Do not blame it, for in a kiss

Do not blame it, for in a kiss

No sin tainted it or you

That is pure, there is no sin upon it or upon you.

و نسيم الصبح ما أسعده

حين ترويه حميّا شفتيك

And the morning breeze, how happy it is

And the morning breeze, how fortunate it is

When you quench it thirstily with your lips

When it is quenched by the intoxicating wine of your lips.

ويح شنفيك قد اهتزّا هوى

حينما شمّا الشذى من وجنتيك

Alas your braids shook with love

Ah, your earrings! They have trembled with passion

When they sensed the fragrance from your cheeks

When they smelled the fragrance of your cheeks.

كلّ ما في الكون يهواك فهل

حلية الزندين تهوى معصميك

All in the universe love you, so does

Everything in the universe loves you, so do

The bracelet adore your wrist?

The ornaments on your forearms love your wrists?

إنّ في نهديك طيبا عبقا

أنشقي الشاعر هذا العبقا

In your breasts is a beautiful fragrance

Indeed, there is a fragrant perfume in your breasts;

Unclasp it, this fragrance

Let the poet inhale this fragrance.

و اذكري الشاعر و البؤس معا

فهما خلاّن لم يفترقا

And remember the poet and misery together

And remember the poet and misery together,

For they are two companions who never parted

For they are two companions who never part.