1. يا قلبُ كمْ فيكَ مِنْ دُنا محجَّبَةٍ

    كأَنَّها حين يبدو فجرُها إرَمُ

    O heart, how many veiled worlds lie within you,

    As though they were Iram when their dawn appears!

  2. يا قلبُ كمْ فيكَ مِنْ كونٍ قدِ اتَّقَدَتْ

    فيه الشُّموسُ وعاشتْ فوقَهُ الأُممُ

    O heart, how many universes within you have blazed

    With suns, while nations lived upon them!

  3. يا قلبُ كمْ فيكَ مِنْ أُفْقٍ تُنَمِّقُهُ

    كواكبٌ تتجلَّى ثُمَّ تَنْعَدِمُ

    O heart, how many horizons within you are adorned

    By stars that shine forth, then cease to be!

  4. يا قلبُ كمْ فيكَ مِنْ غابٍ ومن جَبَلٍ

    تَدْوي بهِ الرِّيحُ أَو تسمو بهِ القممُ

    O heart, how many forests and mountains lie within you,

    Where the wind resounds, or the summits soar!

  5. يا قلبُ كمْ فيكَ مِنْ كهفٍ قدِ انبجستْ

    منهُ الجداولُ تجري مَا لها لُجمُ

    O heart, how many caves within you have poured forth

    Streams that flow from them without bridles!

  6. تمشي فتحملُ غُصناً مُزهراً نَضِراً

    أَوْ وَرْدَةً لم تُشَمِّهْ حُسنَها قَدَمُ

    They walk on, bearing a fresh, blossoming branch,

    Or a rose whose beauty no foot has marred,

  7. أَو نحلَةً جرَّها التيَّارُ مُنْدَفِعاً

    إلى البحارِ تُغنّي فوقها الدِّيَمُ

    Or a bee dragged along by the rushing current

    Toward the seas, above which steady rains sing,

  8. أَو طائراً ساحراً مَيْتاً قَد انْفجرتْ

    في مُقْلَتَيْهِ جِراحٌ جمَّةٌ وَدَمُ

    Or an enchanting, dead bird—there have erupted

    In its eyes many wounds and blood.

  9. يا قلبُ إنَّكَ كونٌ مُدْهِشٌ عَجَبٌ

    إن يُسأَلَ النَّاسُ عن آفاقِهِ يَجِموا

    O heart, you are an astonishing universe, a marvel;

    If people are asked about its horizons, they fall silent.

  10. كأَنَّكَ الأَبدُ المجهولُ قَدْ عَجَزَتْ

    عنكَ النُّهى واكْفَهَرَّتْ حولكَ الظُّلَمُ

    As though you were unknown eternity, beyond

    The grasp of reason, with darkness scowling around you.

  11. يا قلبُ كم مِنْ مسرَّاتٍ وأخْيلةٍ

    ولذَّةٍ يَتَحَامَى ظِلَّها الألمُ

    O heart, how many joys and imaginings,

    And delights whose shadow pain avoids,

  12. غنَّتْ لفجرِكَ صوتاً حالماً فرِحاً

    نَشْوانَ ثمَّ توارتْ وانقضَى النَّغمُ

    Have sung for your dawn in a dreamy, joyful voice,

    Rapturous; then they vanished, and the melody ended.

  13. وكم رأى ليلُكَ الأَشباحَ هائمةً

    مَذْعورةً تتهاوَى حَوْلَها الرُّجمُ

    And how often your night saw wandering specters,

    Terrified, as hurled stones tumbled around them,

  14. ورَفْرَفَ الأَلمُ الدَّامي بأجنحةٍ

    مِنَ اللَّهيبِ وأَنَّ الحُزْنُ والنَّدَمُ

    And bleeding pain fluttered with wings

    Of flame, and grief and remorse groaned.

  15. وَكَمْ مشتْ فوقكَ الدُّنيا بأَجمعها

    حتَّى توارَتْ وسارَ الموتُ والعدمُ

    And how often the whole world walked over you,

    Until it vanished, and death and nothingness walked on.

  16. وشيَّدَتْ حولكَ الأَيَّامُ أبنيةً

    مِنَ الأَناشيدِ تُبْنَى ثُمَّ تنهدمُ

    And the days built buildings around you

    Of songs, built up and then collapsing.

  17. تَمضي الحَيَاةُ بماضيها وحاضرِها

    وتذهَبُ الشَّمْسُ والشُّطْآنُ والقِممُ

    Life passes on with its past and its present,

    And the sun, the shores, and the peaks depart.

  18. وأَنْتَ أَنْتَ الخِضَمُّ الرَّحْبُ لا فَرَحٌ

    يَبْقى على سطحكَ الطَّاغي ولا أَلمُ

    And you—you are the vast ocean; no joy

    Remains on your surging surface, nor any pain.

  19. يا قلبُ كم قَدْ تملَّيتَ الحَيَاةَ وَكَمْ

    رقَّصتَها مَرَحاً مَا مسَّكَ السَّأَمُ

    O heart, how often you have savored life, and how often

    You made it dance for joy; boredom never touched you!

  20. وَكَمْ توَشَّحْتَ من ليلٍ ومن شَفَقٍ

    ومِنْ صَباحٍ تُوَشِّي ذيلَهُ السُّدُمُ

    And how often you cloaked yourself in night and twilight,

    And in morning whose hem the mists embroider!

  21. وَكَمْ نَسَجْتَ من الأَحلامِ أَرديةً

    قَدْ مزَّقَتْها اللَّيالي وهي تَبْتَسِمُ

    And how often you wove robes from dreams,

    Which the nights tore apart while smiling!

  22. وَكَمْ ضَفَرْتَ أَكاليلاً مورَّدَةً

    طارتْ بها زَعْزَعٌ تدوي وتَحْتَدِمُ

    And how often you braided rosy wreaths,

    Carried off by a roaring, raging gale!

  23. وَكَمْ رسمتَ رسوماً لا تُشابِهُها

    هذي العَوالِمُ والأَحلامُ والنُّظُمُ

    And how often you drew pictures unlike

    These worlds, dreams, and systems!

  24. كأَنَّها ظُلَلُ الفِرْدَوْسِ حافِلةً

    بالحُورِ ثمَّ تلاشتْ واختفى الحُلُمُ

    As though they were the canopies of Paradise, filled

    With houris; then they faded, and the dream vanished.

  25. تبلُو الحَيَاةَ فتبلِيها وتخلَعُها

    وتستجدُّ حياةً مَا لها قِدمُ

    You test life, wear it out, and cast it off,

    And take on a new life that knows no age.

  26. وأَنْتَ أَنْتَ شبابٌ خالدٌ نضرٌ

    مثلُ الطَّبيعَةِ لا شَيْبٌ ولا هرَمُ

    And you—you are youth, eternal and fresh,

    Like nature: neither gray hair nor old age.