أقبل اللّيل فقومي وانثري

فوق هذا الرّوض من وجهك نورا

The night has come, so rise and scatter

The night has arrived, so rise and scatter

From your face, light over this garden.

Upon this garden the light of your face;

واقطفي لي وردة قبّلها

لؤلؤ الصبح نظيما ونثيرا

And pluck for me a rose, kiss it,

And pick for me a rose, kissed by

Strung with the pearls of dawn as ornament and scatter.

The pearls of dawn, both strung and scattered.

واملأي كأسك لي من ريقة

تسكر الأرواح طيبا و عبيرا

And fill your cup for me with saliva

And fill your cup for me with a nectar

That intoxicates the spirits with fragrance and incense.

That intoxicates souls with sweetness and perfume.

ورد خدّيك نضير مستح

فدعيني ألثم الورد النّضيرا

The rose of your cheek is the counterpart of a polished sword—

The roses of your cheeks are fresh and shy,

So let me kiss this counterpart rose.

So let me kiss the fresh roses.

طهّر الحبّ فؤادي فغدا

كفؤاد الطفل يا ميّ طهورا

Love has purified my heart so it became

Love has purified my heart, until it became

Like a child’s heart—O pure water!

Like the heart of a child, O May, completely pure.

عمر النفس شعورا بالأسى

و الأسى يخلق في النفس الشعورا

The life of the soul is a feeling of sorrow,

It filled the soul with a feeling of sorrow,

And sorrow creates feeling in the soul.

And sorrow creates true feeling in the soul.

إملأي المصباح زيتا و اتركي

لعبيد الوهم نور الكهرباء

Fill the lantern with oil and leave

Fill the lamp with oil, and leave

The slaves of illusion in electric light,

The electric light to the slaves of illusion.

وتغنّي بأناشيد الهوى

تسكر الأرواح ألحان الغناء

And sing the songs of passion—

And sing the anthems of passion,

May the tunes of song intoxicate the spirits.

For the melodies of song intoxicate the souls.

وارفعي للأفق عينيك تري

أيّ حسن و جلال في السماء

And lift your eyes to the horizon to see

Raise your eyes to the horizon, and you shall see

What beauty and majesty is in the sky.

What beauty and majesty reside in the sky.

كوخنا يا ميّ في هذي الربى

لا تساميه قصور الأمراء

Our cottage, O Mayya, in this land

Our hut, O May, in these hills,

Cannot be compared to the palaces of princes.

Cannot be rivaled by the palaces of princes.

قد أمنّا قوّة الناس به

أيّ كسب عندنا للأقوياء

We have secured the strength of people through it—

In it, we are safe from the power of men;

What gain is there for the powerful among us?

What profit could the strong find in us?

صعفاء نحن يا ميّ و ذا

كلّ ما نملك كفّ الضعفاء

We are weak, O Mayya, and this

Weak we are, O May, and this

Is all we own—the palm of the weak.

Is all we possess: the hands of the weak.

إسمعي أخبار جنّات الرّبى

ودعينا من أحاديث البشر

Listen to the news of the gardens of the land

Listen to the tales of the hill gardens,

And leave us from the talk of people.

And let us leave behind the chatter of mortals.

بلبلي اليوم حزين صامت

ليت شعري أيّ ألف قد ذكر

My nightingale today is sad and silent—

My nightingale today is sad and silent;

I wonder which beloved he has remembered?

I wish I knew which mate it has remembered.

و الرّياحين زهت و ابتسمت

حينما غازلها جفن المطر

The sweet basil bloomed and smiled

And the basil bloomed and smiled,

When the eyelid of rain flirted with it.

When the eyelid of the rain flirted with it.

ذلك الدّوح الذي ظلّلنا

داعبته الريح ليلا فانتثر

That fig tree that shaded us—

That great tree which offered us its shade,

The wind toyed with it at night and it scattered.

The wind caressed it by night, and its leaves scattered.

أشرق الصبح على زهر الربى

ناثرا لؤلؤه فيما نثر

Dawn shone on the garden’s flowers

The morning shone upon the flowers of the hills,

Scattering its pearls on what was scattered.

Scattering its pearls among all it scattered.

فاقطفي ما شئت منها و ارفعي

فوق ذا المفرق تيجان الزّهر

So pluck what you wish from it and lift

So pick whatever you wish of them, and raise

Crowns of flowers over this parting.

Crowns of flowers above this parted hair.

لا تقولي : قصّ أنباء الورى

حسبنا أنباء هذي الزهرات

Do not say: Tell the news of people,

Do not say: "Tell the tidings of mankind."

The news of these flowers is enough for us.

Sufficient for us are the tidings of these blossoms.

و اربإي بالسّمع عن أخبارهم

إنّها تدمي قلوب الفتيات

And deafen me to their news—

And spare your ears from hearing their news,

It wounds the hearts of young women.

For it makes the hearts of young women bleed:

أمّة تقتل ظلما أختها

و غنيّ مستبدّ بالعفاة

A nation that unjustly kills its sister,

A nation unjustly killing its sister nation,

And a tyrant with the weak.

And a rich man tyrannizing the destitute.

ودماء خضبت وجه الثرى

ودموع كالغوادي جاريات

Blood dyed the face of the land,

And blood that has dyed the face of the earth,

And tears flowing like valleys.

And tears flowing like the morning rainclouds.

و شعوب باكيات تشتكي

عنت الأسر و أخرى ضاحكات

And weeping nations complaining

And weeping peoples complaining

Of the misery of captivity, and others laughing.

Of the hardship of captivity, while others laugh.

وحياة كلّ ما فيها أذى

لا سقى عهد الحيا هذي الحياة

And a life whose entirety is harm—

And a life in which everything is harm;

This life has not watered the covenant of life.

May the rain never water the era of this life!

إسمعي : لن تسمعي في أرضهم

غير أصوات عويل و بكاء

Listen: You will hear in their land

Listen: you will not hear in their land

Only voices of weeping and crying,

Anything but the sounds of wailing and crying:

والد يبكي ابنه أودت به

في الوغى أطماع قوم أقوياء

A father crying for his son, whom

A father weeping for his son, destroyed

The greed of mighty people has claimed in turmoil,

In battle by the greed of powerful men.

ورؤوم فقدت واحدها

فتعزّت فيه عن حسن العزاء

And a compassionate woman who lost her only one

And a tender mother who lost her only child,

So she sought solace in mourning.

Refusing all fair comfort in her grief for him.

ضحكات الأقوياء ارتفعت

و علا بالنوح صوت الضعفاء

The laughter of the mighty rose up

The laughter of the strong has risen,

While the voice of the weak rose in lament.

While the voice of the weak rises in wailing.

أفسدوا الماء على شاربه

فغدا حسرة أكباد ظماء

They corrupted the water for its drinkers

They ruined the water for its drinker,

So it became regret in the livers of the thirsty.

So it became the heartbreak of thirsty livers.

كيف يروي غلّة الصادي و قد

مزجوه بشابيب الدماء

How can the crop of fields water

How can it quench the thirst of the parched, when

When they mixed it with torrents of blood?

They have mixed it with downpours of blood?

ميّ : عفوا ما لعينيك و هي

فيهما سلك اللآلي فانفرط

Mayya: Sorry, why do your eyes—

May: forgive me, what ails your eyes, in which

In them, the threads of pearls have scattered?

The string of pearls has weakened and scattered?

أما أحزنتك يا ميّ فهل

يغفر الرحمن لي هذا الشطط

Have I not saddened you, O Mayya? Will

Have I saddened you, O May? And will

The Merciful forgive me for this digression?

The Merciful forgive me this transgression?

إحسبيني كاذبا وابتسمي

ودعيني أرتشف هذي النقط

Count me a liar, and smile,

Consider me a liar, and smile;

And let me sip these drops—

And let me sip these falling drops:

أدمع طاهرة ، ذوب الندى

فوق أكمام الأزاهير سقط

Pure tears dissolve the dew

Pure tears, melting dew,

That fell above the sleeves of flowers.

Falling upon the petals of blossoms.

لا رعى الله قويّا فاتحا

المنايا ناشطات ما نشط

God does not shepherd a strong invader

May God not protect a conquering tyrant,

With swords active and unsheathed.

By whose actions the fates of death are energized.

أنّت الثكلى فولّى ضاحكا

ورأى الأسياف تدمى فاغتبط

You are bereaved, yet he laughs

The bereaved mother moaned, yet he turned away laughing,

And sees the blood-smeared swords and gloats.

And he saw the swords bleed, and so he rejoiced.

كفكفي دمعك يا ميّ فقد

جرحت قلبي هذي الأدمع

Stop your tears, O Mayya, for they have

Dry your tears, O May, for

Wounded my heart, these tears.

These tears have wounded my heart.

و تناسي عالم الشرّ فما

في هدى هذي البرايا مطمع

And forget the world of evil—for there is no

And forget the world of evil, for there is

Covetousness in the guidance of these wilds.

No hope of guiding these creatures.

و اتركي القصر منيعا عاليا

حسبنا هذا الفضاء البلقع

And leave the formidable, lofty palace—

And leave the palace, fortified and high;

This open space is enough for us.

Sufficient for us is this vast, empty expanse.

و اقنعي : أشقى البرايا طامع

سادر في غيّه لا يقنع

And be content: the most miserable of wilds is a covetous one,

And be content: the most wretched of creatures is the greedy,

Wandering in his ignorance, never content.

Wandering recklessly in his delusion, never satisfied.

تحت أغصان الدوالي بالربى

هيكل الحبّ الطّهور الأرفع

Under the branches of tufts in the wild

Beneath the branches of the grapevines in the hills,

Is the most sublime temple of pure love,

Stands the temple of the purest, most sublime love.

هيكل الحبّ الذي أجثو به

خاشعا : ما حبّ من لا يخشع ؟

The temple of love in which I kneel

The temple of love in which I kneel

Reverently: For what love is without reverence?

Humbly: what is the love of one who shows no reverence?

ها هنا في الروض و الروض شذى

بيعة الله تضمّ المؤمنينا

Behold, here in the garden—and the garden is the scent—

Here in the garden, while the garden is full of fragrance,

Is the pledge of God that brings believers together.

God's sanctuary gathers the believers.

فالبسي الإكليل يا ميّ فقد

أشرق الصبح على الدنيا مبينا

So wear the wreath, O Mayya, for dawn has

So wear the crown, O May, for

Shone on the world, making clear.

The morning has shone clearly upon the world.

حفلة العرس و من زهر الربى

قد دعونا يا ابنة الخير مئينا

The wedding feast—and the garden’s flowers

It is the wedding feast, and from the flowers of the hills

Have invited us, O daughter of Goodness, in droves.

We have invited hundreds, O daughter of goodness.

و طيور الروض يا فاتنتي

قد أقمناها مقام المنشدينا

And the garden’s birds, O my beauty,

And the birds of the garden, O my enchantress,

We have appointed as singers.

We have set them in the place of the choir.

أقبل البلبل فاجثي و اخشعي

و اتركي الأزهار يلثمن الجبينا

The nightingale comes—so kneel and bow down

The nightingale has arrived, so kneel and be humble,

And leave the flowers to kiss the forehead.

And let the flowers kiss your brow.

يا له من مؤمن يمنحنا

بركات الأتقياء الصالحينا

O you who grant us the blessings

What a true believer he is, granting us

Of the devout and righteous.

The blessings of the pious and the righteous!