يا " ذكرياتُ " تَحَشَّدي فِرقا

تسَعُ الخيالَ وتملأُ الأُفُقا

O memories, gather in groups

That fill imagination and horizon

وتأهَّبي زُمراً تجهزني

محضَ الأسى ، والذُّعرَ ، والقلقا

And prepare legions that equip me

With pure sadness, dread, and anxiety

هُزِّي الرِّتاجَ عليَّ أُحكِمُه

وتقحَّمي البابَ الذي انغلقا

Shake off lethargy upon me, strengthen it

And burst through the door that was shut

الليلُ صُبِّي في قرارتهِ

من وحشةٍ ما يفزَعُ الغَسَقا

The night, pour in its essence

A terror that startles the darkness

والريحُ خلِّيها اذا صفِرَت

في البيت تُوسِعُ من به فَرقَا

And let the wind, when it whistles

Expand the desolation in the house of the separated

خَلِّي الصغار من الأسى فَزَعاً

يتساءلون : من الذي طَرَقا

Let the little ones panic

Wondering: who was it that knocked?

ودَعي الكِبار يرَوْنَ مدخنَةً

فيه ولا يجدون محترِقا

And let the elders see a chimney

With no fire burning inside

والنَوم من فَزَعِ " الرؤى " يبساً

رُدِّيه ، او بدمائها غَرِقا

And sleep deprived by the "visions"

Return it dry, or drowned in its blood

ليعودَ مما " تنفُثين " به

مِسخاً فلا نَوماً ولا أرَقا

To return from what "you spew" upon it

Distorted, neither sleep nor rest

والصبحُ رُدِّيه لَمبْسِمه

شَرِقاً وبالعبرات مُختنِقاً

And return the dawn to its smile

Rising while choking with tears

ثم اطلِعي من كلِّ زاوية

ذاك الجبينَ ووجهَه الطَلِقا

Then show me from every corner

That forehead and its bright face

حتى إذا انتصف الأصيل به

فتكوّري في صُلبه شَفَقا

Until when the early morning makes it halfway

Curl up a sunset in its core

ثم اسكُبي نَضْحَ الدماء به

ثم ابعَثي من نَشْرها عَبِقا

Then pour the shedding of blood on it

Then send from its dispersal a scent

وتمزّقي قِطَعاً مضرّجةً

تمتصُّ من نَضَحاتِه عَلَقا

And tear it into blood-stained pieces

That absorb from its drippings a stain

فكأن فيها الصُلْبَ منغلقاً

بجراحه ، والصدرَ منخرقا

As if the core in them is shut

With its wounds, and the chest perforated

يا ذكريات تجسَّدي بَدَناً

غضَّ الصِّبَا ، وتعطَّري خُلُقا

O memories, embody a body

Young and virtuous

عُريانَ : لا خَتَلا ، ولا وَغَراً

ضَحْيانَ : لا صَلَفاً ، ولا مَلَقا

Bare: no blemish, no defect

Radiant: no roughness, no stain

لم تتركي من كلِّ شاردةٍ

نَمَطاً ، ولا من نأمةٍ نَسَقا

You left no trait of a fleeting moment

No pattern, nor of a soft groan any form

ثم ابدَهيني كلَّ آونةٍ

منها بما يستامُني رَهَقا

Then dazzle me every while

With what makes me seek rest

يا ذكرياتٌ كلُّها حُرقٌ

تَطَأ الفُؤادَ ، وتلهبُ الحَدَقا

O memories, all are burning

That pain the heart, and inflame the eyelids

من لي بشِعرٍ خالقٍ شجناً

للناس يُعجزهم بما خَلَقا

Who do I have with creative poetry

That leaves people in awe of what it created?

هي صُورة حمراءُ من شَجني

تُدمي اليَراع وتُرعب الوَرَقا

It is a red image of my passion

That makes the companion tremble and the sheet shiver

ليَرىَ الذين تجاهَلوا برَمَاً

أسيانَ : كيفُ يُكابد الحُرَقا

So those who ignored the rain would see

The miserable ones: how they endure burning

من لي باطيافٍ تُراوحني

بالهمِّ مُصطبَحاً ومُغتبَقا

Who do I have with specters that console me

Preoccupied at dawn and confused at dusk

متسلسلات كلما وَجَدَتْ

فيها فراغاً ، أفَرغَتْ حَلقا

Successive, whenever it finds

A gap, it pours anguish

مستجمعات كلَّ خاطرةٍ

ما جدَّ من عهدٍ وما خَلِقا

Assembled, every thought

New or old, created or imaginary

ما كان مثلَ القبر مُختفياً

تُبديه مثلَ النجم مُنبثِقا

What was hidden like the grave

It reveals it like the rising star

فَرِحاً ومكتئباً ومختلِطاً

بهما ، ومُتَّحداً ، ومفترِقا

Happy, depressed, and mixed

With both, united and separated

من لي بها وكأنَّها بشرٌ

عن نفسه يَروي اذا نطَقا

Who do I have with them as if they are human

Narrating about himself when he speaks

من لي باشباحٍ أنوءُ بها

رَسْفَ السجين بقيَدِه عَلِقا

Who do I have with specters I sigh with

The moan of the captive hanging with his chain

حتى اذا انصَرَمَت بدا شَبَحٌ

حُلوٌ يكادُ يُطيرني نَزَقا

Until when they are gone, a specter appears

Sweet, it nearly makes me fly with joy

طوراً نَروح معاً على ظَمَاً

منها ، وطوراً نستَقي غَدَقا

Sometimes we roam together on aridity

And sometimes we drink from its downpour

يوماً بقَعر البيت يُوغرنا

حَنَقاً ، قضاءٌ مُوغِر حَنِقا

One day the prison's depth depresses us

An aggravating fate, provoking annoyance

وهُنيهة نرتاد مُرتفِعاً

من هَضْب " لبنانٍ " ومُنْزَلِقا

And one moment we climb the heights

Of Lebanon's slopes and smooth rocks

من لي بها تَعتادُ قارئها

فَرَقاً ، كما تَعتادني فَرَقا

Who do I have with them who grow accustomed

To separation, as I am accustomed to separation

وتردُّ – مثلي – عيشَه رَنِقاً

وتَسُدُّ – مثلي – حَولَه الطُرقا

And return - like me - its meager living

And block - like me - the roads around it

من لي بشِعرٍ خالقٍ حُرَقاً

تطأ الفؤادَ وتُلهِبُ الحَدَقا

Who do I have with poetry that creates burning

That pains the heart and inflames the eyelids

ليريُهم القلبينِ قد لَصِقا

صِنويَن ، كيف اذا هُما افتَرَقا

To show them the two hearts attached

As lanterns, when they are separated

واذا هما – والموت بينهما

مدّا من الجْيدينِ فاعتَنَقا

And when they - and death between them

Extending from the two cheeks - hugged

وتساءَلا : ما ضرَّ لو سلكا

كَفَناً معاً ، وبحبله عَلِقا

And asked: what harm if they took

A shroud together, and with its rope hanged?

حتى اذا استبقى احرُّهما

رَمَقاً ، واسلَمَ خِدنُهُ رَمَقا

Until when the most burning of them

Remained a glimmer, and its ashes gave up a glimmer

وحثا التُرابَ بوجهه قَدَرٌ

عبّا لكل مُفارق طَبَقا

And the predestined sprinkled dust on its face

A penalty for every companion buried

وانداحَتِ الدنيا بناظرِه

حتى لظَنَّ رحابَها نَفَقا

And the world collapsed in its sight

Until it thought its expanse is a tunnel

ومضى حسابُّهما برُمَّته

ما انفكَّ من دَين وما انغَلَقا

And their account was finalized

What was unpaid of debt and unfulfilled of duty

صَفَقَ اليدين كأنَّ مرتجِعاً

يرجُو لصاحِبه بما صَفَقا

It clapped as if returning

Wishing for its friend what it clapped

وكأنما يُعطي الشقيقَ دماً

ان الشقيقَ بدمعه شَرِقا

As if it gave its brother blood

If the brother was overflowing with its tears

وكأنما انشقَّ الضريحُ له

بـ " رعى السحابُ ضريحَه وسَقَى "

As if the grave split open for it

With "the clouds shaded and watered its grave"