تجرى و احلامى فى غيها تمضى

تجرى و احلامى فى غيها تمضى

الى حيث البعيد البعيد

الى حيث البعيد البعيد

You flow, while my dreams wander on in their waywardness,

My dreams flow as you flow on,

Toward the far, far distance.

To where the distance is far and long.

انت مجد سالك دربه

انت مجد سالك دربه

يدفعه الشوق الى ما يريد

يدفعه الشوق الى ما يريد

You are a striver following his own path;

You are the glory of one who walks your path,

Longing drives him toward what he desires.

Drawn by yearning to what he desires.

و لى خيال سارح بالمنى

و لى خيال سارح بالمنى

يسوقنى حينا و حينا يحيد

يسوقنى حينا و حينا يحيد

And I have a fancy wandering amid hopes;

While my imagination freely wanders,

It leads me at times, and at times veers away.

Leading me now here, now there astray.

كأننى و الكون فى قبضتى

كأننى و الكون فى قبضتى

موزع فيه شريد طريد

موزع فيه شريد طريد

As though I, with the universe in my grasp,

As though I and the universe in my grasp -

Were scattered through it, a wanderer and an outcast.

A wanderer, driven, dispersed in it.

انت على العهد و قد صنته

انت على العهد و قد صنته

على الزمان السرمدى الابيد

على الزمان السرمدى الابيد

You are true to the covenant, and have preserved it

You keep your promise, protecting it

Through eternal, everlasting time.

Through time everlasting, never to fade.

هل مر فى شطك شاعر

هل مر فى شطك شاعر

له غرام كل يوم جديد

له غرام كل يوم جديد

Has a poet passed along your bank,

Has there e'er been a poet, whose love

Whose passion is new every day?

Is renewed each day, sailing your banks,

يسمو الى الذروة فى زهوها

يسمو الى الذروة فى زهوها

و ينثنى و السهل رحب مديد

و ينثنى و السهل رحب مديد

He soars to the summit in its splendor,

Soaring to the peak in rapture,

And turns back, while the plain is broad and vast.

Then bending as the wide plain stretches ahead?

يا ليتنى و السحر عالى الذرى

يا ليتنى و السحر عالى الذرى

ارقى الى ذاك الجمال الفريد

ارقى الى ذاك الجمال الفريد

Oh, if only I, while enchantment's peaks stand high,

Would that I and the magic of dusk

Could ascend to that peerless beauty,

Could rise to that unique beauty!

و انشق الزهرة فى اوجها

و انشق الزهرة فى اوجها

بين هوى صعب و وصل عنيد

بين هوى صعب و وصل عنيد

And breathe in the flower at its prime,

And the flower bursts open at its peak

Between a difficult love and a union hard to win,

Between hard longing and stubborn union.

و ترتع النجوى على عرشها

و ترتع النجوى على عرشها

و ينتشى الوجد و يحلو النشيد

و ينتشى الوجد و يحلو النشيد

While whispered communion revels upon its throne,

Whispers stir on her throne,

And passion grows intoxicated, and the song grows sweet.

Rapture sweetens, the chant grows sweet.

او ليتنى اهوى الى جدول

او ليتنى اهوى الى جدول

حيث الرضا بعض كفاف زهيد

حيث الرضا بعض كفاف زهيد

Or if only I could descend to a brook,

Or would that I might long for a stream

Where contentment lies in a scant share of bare sustenance.

Where contentment, though little, suffices.

ارتشف القطرة لا ارتوى

ارتشف القطرة لا ارتوى

و رب صاد لا يروم المزيد

و رب صاد لا يروم المزيد

I sip the drop, yet do not quench my thirst,

I sip the drop, but slake no thirst,

And many a thirsty one seeks no more.

While many fish, yet crave no more.

اساله عن شأنه ما له

اساله عن شأنه ما له

عاف الربا و اختار ذاك الصعيد

عاف الربا و اختار ذاك الصعيد

I ask it about its state: why has it

I ask about his state, what is his way,

Spurned the hills and chosen that open ground?

Shunning wealth, choosing this barren place?

اه على همس الجوى حوله

اه على همس الجوى حوله

و قبلة تحيا و اخرى تبيد

و قبلة تحيا و اخرى تبيد

Ah, for the whispers of love's anguish around it,

Ah, the murmur of the breeze around him,

And one kiss lives, while another perishes,

One kiss giving life, another death.

و ساعد يثوى على ساعد

و ساعد يثوى على ساعد

و التف خصران و جيد وجيد

و التف خصران و جيد وجيد

And one forearm rests upon another,

Arm pillowed on arm, waist clasped to waist,

And two waists entwined, and neck with neck.

Cheek to cheek, and forehead to forehead.

خواطر يا نيل ايقظتها

خواطر يا نيل ايقظتها

ماذا على رجع الصدى لو يعيد

ماذا على رجع الصدى لو يعيد

Thoughts, O Nile, that you have awakened—

What thoughts, O Nile, have you awakened,

What harm to the echo's refrain if it repeats them?

If your echo could repeat them anew?

ماذا على الشاعر لوجنحت

ماذا على الشاعر لوجنحت

به القوافى و استجاب القصيد

به القوافى و استجاب القصيد

What harm to the poet if he were carried away

What of the poet, if rhyme bore him on,

By the rhymes, and the verse responded?

And the ode responded to his call?

غدا سأروى لك من قصتى

غدا سأروى لك من قصتى

عن بارق لاح و افق جديد

عن بارق لاح و افق جديد

Tomorrow I shall tell you part of my story,

Tomorrow I will tell you from my tale,

Of a lightning flash that gleamed, and a new horizon.

Of a lightning flash, a new horizon.