تعالى المبدعُ القدُسُ

مثالٌ عنه مقتبسُ

The blessed creator comes,

An example derived from him,

ومرآةٌ عليها نو

رُ وجهِ اللهِ ينعكسُ

And a mirror on which a light

Of God's face is reflected.

فما أَدري أَظلّ الل

هِ أَمْ من نورِه قبسُ

So I don't know if it's God's shade

Or a spark of his light,

بدا كالشمسِ لكنْ سرُّ

ه عيَّت به النُطُسُ

He appeared like the sun but the mystery

Of him is shrouded in obscurity.

ففي الأَبصارِ معروفٌ

عَلَى الأَفهام ملتبس

In visions he's well known,

To minds he's ambiguous,

فكمْ عَنَتِ الوجوهُ له

وربضتْ أَنفسٌ شُمُسُ

So many faces looked to him

And souls bowed down.

وكم ذا طأْطأَتْ هامٌ

وذَلَّتْ آنفٌ عطس

And how many heads hung low

And proud noses sneezed,

له من روحِنا جندٌ

ومن أَنظارِنا حرس

For him our souls are soldiers

And our eyes guards,

وقالوا: إِنه نسبٌ

بها الأَلبابُ تختلس

And they said he's a relative

Whose wonders make minds steal.

شجاني أَنه عَرَضٌ

معالمُهُ ستندرس

It saddened me that he's fleeting,

His features will fade away,

ونبتٌ إِنْ يهج يوماً

فغايةُ أَمرِهِ البيس

A plant that if it blooms one day

Its matter will end in misery,

ضلالٌ أَن يحدَّ بما

رأَوه منه أَو لمسوا

An error to limit him by

What they saw of him or touched,

وفوقَ حدودِهم روحٌ

طليقٌ ليس يحتبسُ

Above their limits there's a spirit

Unrestrained, unconfined,

وسفرٌ فيه آياتٌ

من الإِبداعِ تلتمس

And a journey in which there are signs

Of creativity to seek,

تصبّاني الجمال وفي الْ

فؤادِ هواه منغرسُ

Beauty pours into me and in my

Heart his love took root,

ولجَّ هواه بي حتى

وهمتُ بأَنه هوس

His love so grasped me that

I fancied he's obsession,

يطلُّ عليَّ من عينِ الْ

حبيبِ ولَحْظُهُ خُلَسُ

He looks upon me from the eye of

The beloved and his gaze is furtive,

فينفي النومَ عن عينيَّ

وهو بعينها نعسُ

Banishing sleep from my eyes

While he's drowsy in hers,

ويجري ماؤه في وجْ

هِها فيكادُ ينبجس

His water flows in her cheeks

Nearly gushing out,

ويذكو عرْفُهُ في ثغْ

رِها ما رُدّد والقعس

His fragrance wafts from her neck

However much she chided and snapped,

ويزهو بين عطفيها

هناك النيهُ والقعس

He blooms between her shoulders

Where the kiss and snap sound,

وأَلمحُهُ بومضِ البر

قِ إِمّا عَسْعَسَ الغَلَسُ

And I perceive him in the lightning of

Dawn, did the darkness mutter?

وأَسمعه من الأَطيا

رِ والأَنهار ترتجس

And I hear him in the birds

And rivers murmuring,

وأَدركه بنفسي وهْ

و معنى ما به لبس

And I grasp him with my soul though

He's a meaning shrouded in ambiguity.