أعلى عيني من الدمع غشاء — Elia Abu Madi

أَعَلى عَيني مِنَ الدَمعِ غِشاء

أَم عَلى الشَمسِ حِجابٌ مِن غَمام

Is there a veil of tears over my eye,

Or a curtain of clouds over the sun?

غاضَ نورُ الطَرفِ أَم غارَت ذُكاء

لَستُ أَدري غَيرَ أَنّي في ظَلام

Has the light of my sight ebbed, or has Dhukā, the sun, vanished?

I do not know, except that I am in darkness.

ما لِنَفسي لا تُبالي الطَرَبا

أَينَ ذاكَ الزَهوُ أَينَ الكَلَفُ

What ails my soul, that it cares nothing for joy?

Where is that delight? Where is that passion?

عَجَباً ماذا دَهاها عَجَباً

فَهيَ لا تَشكو وَلا تَستَعطِفُ

How strange! What has befallen it? How strange!

For it neither complains nor asks for pity.

لَيتَها ما عَرَفَت ذاكَ النَبا

فَالسَعيدُ العَيشِ مَن لا يَعرِفُ

If only it had never known that news!

For happy in life is whoever does not know.

لا اِبتِسامُ الغيدِ لا رَقصُ الطِلاء

يَتَصَبّاها وَلا شَدوُ الحَمام

Neither the smiles of graceful women nor the dance of wine

Beguiles it, nor the cooing of doves.

بِالكَرى عَنّي وَبي عَنهُ جَفاء

أَنا وَحدي أَم كَذا كُلُّ الأَنام

Sleep is estranged from me, and I from it.

Am I alone in this, or is all humankind the same?

لا أَرى لي مِن هُمومي مَهرَباً

فَهيَ في هَذا وَهَذا وَذَيّاكَ الطَريق

I see no escape for me from my cares,

For they are on this road, and this one, and that one.

في الرُبى فَوقَ الرُبى تَحتَ الرُبى

في الفَضاءِ الرُحبِ في الرَوضِ الأَنيق

On the hills, above the hills, beneath the hills,

In the wide expanse, in the lovely garden,

في اِهتِزازِ الغُصنِ في نَفحِ الصَبا

في اِنسِجامِ الغَيثِ في لَمحِ البُروق

In the branch's sway, in the east wind's breath,

In the pouring rain, in the flash of lightning.

كُلَّما أَومَضَ بَرقٌ أَو أَضاء

بِتُّ أَشكو في الدُجى وَقعَ السَهام

Whenever lightning flashes or shines,

I spend the night lamenting, in darkness, the arrows' blows.

في اِبتِسامِ الفَجرِ لِلمَرضى شِفاء

وَاِبتِسامُ الفَجرِ فيهِ سَقام

In dawn's smile there is healing for the sick,

Yet dawn's smile holds sickness.

تَعتَريني هَزَّةٌ كَالكَهرَبا

كُلَّما حَنَّ مَشوقٌ لِمَشوق

A shudder, like an electric shock, seizes me

Whenever one longing soul yearns for another.

عَلَّمَت عَيني السُهادَ الكَوكَبا

وَفُؤادي عَلَّمَ البَرقَ الخُفوق

My eye has taught the star sleeplessness,

And my heart has taught the lightning to throb.

ما دَعَوتُ الدَمعَ إِلّا اِنسَكَبا

يا دُموعي أَنتِ لي أَوفى صَديق

Never did I call for tears but they poured forth.

O my tears, you are my truest friend.

لَم أَرَ كَاليَأسِ يُغري بِالبُكاء

لا وَلا كَالدَمعِ يَشفي المُستَهام

I have seen nothing like despair for coaxing tears,

No, nor anything like tears for healing the lovesick.

فَاِستَعينوا بِالبُكا يا تُعَساء

كُلَّما اِشتَدَّت بِكُم نارُ الهِيام

So seek help through weeping, O unhappy ones,

Whenever the fire of passion rages within you.

خِلتُ قَلبي بِالأَسى مُنفَرِدا

وَأَنا وَحدي صَريعُ المِحَن

I thought my heart alone bore sorrow,

And that I alone lay felled by afflictions.

وَتَوَهَمتُ الأَسى لَم يَجِدا

سَكَناً في غَيرِ قَلبي المُثخَنِ

And I imagined sorrow had found no

Abode outside my wounded heart.

وَظَنَنتُ الدَهرَ مَهما حَقَدا

سَوفَ لا يُفجِعُني في وَطَني

And I thought time, however spiteful,

Would not bring me grief in my homeland.

فَإِذا تِلكَ المَغاني في شَقاء

وَإِذا كُلُّ فُؤادٍ في ضِرام

But behold, those dwellings were in misery,

And behold, every heart was in flames.

ذَهَبَت كُلُّ ظُنوني في الهَواء

وَتَوَلَّت مِثلِ أَضغاثِ المَنام

All my assumptions vanished into the air,

And passed away like tangled dreams.

لا تَلُمني إِن أَنا لِمتُ القَضا

وَلُمِ الدَهرَ الَّذي أَخنى عَلَي

Do not blame me if I have blamed fate;

And blame time, which has laid me low.

لَم تَدَع فِيَّ اللَيالي غَرَضاً

وَالضَنى لَم يُبقِ مِنّي غَيرَ فَي

The nights have left no purpose in me,

And wasting has left of me nothing but a shadow.

لا تَسَلني أَيَّ خَطبٍ عَرَضا

في الحَشا وَجدٌ وَفي المِقوَلِ عِي

Do not ask me what calamity befell me;

In my breast is anguish, and on my tongue, speechlessness.

فَلَّ غَربي سالِبُ السَيفِ المَضاء

وَالشَذى الزَهرَةُ وَالعِقدِ النِظام

My edge was blunted by the robber of the sword's keenness,

The flower's fragrance, and the necklace's string.

وَإِذا ما غَلَبَ اليَأسُ الرَجاء

هانَتِ الشَكوى وَلَم يُجدِ الكَلام

And when despair overcomes hope,

Complaining grows worthless, and words avail nothing.

بَصَرتُ لَكِن مِثلَما شاءَ الكَمَد

شاعِراً مِن مُقلَتي أَرتَجِلُ

I saw, but as grief willed,

A poet, I improvise from my eye.

صَدَّ ما كانَ بِنَفسِيَ عَنهُ صَد

وَتَجافانِيَ الكَلامُ المُرسَلُ

What my soul had once shunned now shunned me,

And unmetered speech forsook me.

عَقَدَ الحُزنُ لِسانِيَّ فَاِنَعَقَدَ

أَيُّ سَيفٍ ما اِعتَراهُ الفَلَلُ

Grief bound my tongue, and it was bound.

What sword has never had its edge blunted?

بي هُمومٍ كُلَّما لاحَ الضِياء

ضَرَبَت فَوقَ عُيوني بِلِثام

Within me are cares that, whenever light appears,

Draw a veil over my eyes.

وَشُجونٌ كُلَّما جَنَّ المَساء

قَطَعَت بَينَ جُفوني وَالمَنام

And sorrows that, whenever evening falls,

Come between my eyelids and sleep.

لا أَرى غَيرَ خَيالاتٍ تَسير

مُهطِعاتٍ عَن يَسارِيَ وَاليَمين

I see nothing but phantoms moving,

Hurrying on my left and right,

فَوقَ أَرضٍ مِن دِماءٍ وَسَعير

في فَضاءٍ مِن هُمومٍ وَشُجون

Over a land of blood and blazing fire,

In an expanse of cares and sorrows.

عَجَباً أَينَ اِبتِساماتُ الثُغور

ما لِقَومي كُلُّهُم باكٍ حَزين

How strange! Where are the smiles upon the lips?

What ails my people, all of them weeping and sad?

كُلُّ ما أَسمَعُ نَوحٌ وَبُكاء

كُلُّ ما أُبَصِّرُ صَرعى وَرِمام

All I hear is wailing and weeping;

All I see are the fallen and decaying remains.

زُلزِلَت زِلزالَها هَذي السَماء

أَم تَرى فُضَّت عَنِ المَوتى الرَجام

Has this sky been shaken by its own quake,

Or do you think the grave-stones have been lifted from the dead?

وَقَعَ الأَمرُ الَّذي لا يُدفَعُ

وَجَنى الجاني عَلى تِلكَ الرُبوع

The calamity that cannot be averted has come,

And the wrongdoer wreaked harm upon those lands.

وَاِحتَواها نَهِمٌ لا يَشبَعُ

فَاِحتَوى سُكّانَها خَوفٌ وَجوع

And a glutton who is never sated engulfed them;

So fear and hunger engulfed their inhabitants.

فَهيَ إِمّا دِمنَةٌ أَو بَلقَعُ

وَهُمُ إِمّا قَتيلٌ أَو صَريع

So the land is either a ruin or a barren waste,

And they are either slain or fallen.

إِن شَكَت قالَت عَلى الدُنيا العَفاء

أَو شَكَوا قالوا عَلى الناسِ السَلام

If it laments, it says, 'May the world perish!'

Or if they lament, they say, 'Farewell to humankind!'

عَبِثَ الإِنسانُ فيها وَالقَضاء

آهِ مِن جَورِ اللَيالي وَالطَغام

Humankind and fate have wreaked havoc there.

Ah, the tyranny of the nights and the rabble!

رُبَّ طِفلٍ طاهِرٍ ما أَثِما

ماتَ مَوتَ الآثِمِ المُجتَرِمِ

Many an innocent child who had never sinned

Died the death of a sinful criminal.

كانَ مِمَّن يُرتَجى لَو سَلِما

لِلعُلى لَكِنَّهُ لَم يَسلَمِ

He was one for whom, had he survived, there was hope

Of greatness—but he did not survive.

كَوكَبٌ ما كادَ يَبدو في السَما

طالِعاً حَتّى اِختَفى كَالحُلُمِ

A star: scarcely had it appeared in the sky,

Rising, when it vanished like a dream.

غاضَ مِثلَ الماءِ في الأَرضِ العَراء

ما عَهِدتُ البَدَر مَثواهُ الرُغام

It sank like water into the bare earth.

I never knew the full moon to make its home in dust.

هَكَذا أَودَت بِهِ ريحُ الشِتاء

زَهرَةٌ لَم تَنفَتِح عَنها الكَمام

Thus winter's wind carried him off,

A flower whose bud-sheaths had not yet opened.

رُبَّ شَيخٍ أَقعَدَتهُ الحادِثاتُ

وَمَشى الأَبيَضُ في لِمَّتِهِ

Many an old man whom misfortunes had laid low,

And whiteness had crept through his hair,

وَثَناهُ الضَعفُ عَن حَملِ القَناة

وَعَنِ السابِقِ في حَلبَتِهِ

And weakness had kept him from bearing the spear

And from the racing steed on its course,

كانَ مِن قَبلِ حُلولَ الكارِثات

آمِناً كَالنَسرِ في وُكنَتِهِ

Before the calamities came, he had been

Safe as an eagle in its nest,

لاهِياً يَذكُرُ أَيّامَ الصَباء

وَلَياليهِ وَفي الثَغرِ اِبتِسام

At ease, recalling the days of youth

And its nights, with a smile upon his lips.

حَكَمَ العاتي عَلَيهِ بِالفَناء

وَأَبى المَقدورُ إِلّا أَن يُضام

The tyrant sentenced him to death,

And fate insisted that he be wronged.

وَفَتىً كَالغُصنِ رَيّانٌ نَضير

تَحلَمُ الخودُ بِهِ إِذ تَحلَمُ

And a young man, like a branch, lush and fresh,

Of whom a fair maiden dreams whenever she dreams,

وَتَراهُ لِلهَوى بَينَ البُدور

فَتراهُ فَوقَهُنَّ الأَنجُمُ

She sees him, for love, among the full moons,

Then the stars see him above them.

أَلمَعِيُّ الذِهنِ وَالقَلبِ الكَبير

مَلَكٌ في بُردَتَيهِ ضَيغَمُ

Brilliant of mind and great of heart,

An angel, a lion beneath his two cloaks,

باتَ لا يَقوى عَلى حَملِ الرِداء

مَنكَباهُ وَهوَ في العِشرينَ عام

Now no longer able to bear a cloak

Are his shoulders, though he is twenty years old.

ما بِهِ عَجزٌ وَلا داءٌ عَياء

غَيرَ أَنَّ الجوعَ قَد هَدَّ العِظام

He has no infirmity, nor incurable disease,

Except that hunger has shattered his bones.

وَصِغارٍ مِثلِ أَفراخِ القَطا

يَتَضاغَونَ مِنَ الجوعِ الشَديد

And little ones, like sandgrouse chicks,

Whimper from intense hunger.

وَهَنَت أَعصابُهُم لَمّا سَطا

وَالطَوى يوهِنُ عَزَماتِ الأُسود

Their nerves grew weak when it struck,

And hunger weakens the resolve of lions.

أَرَأَيتَ العِقدَ إِمّ اِنفَرَطا

هَكَذا دَمعُهُمُ فَوقَ الخُدود

Have you seen a necklace when it breaks apart?

Such are their tears upon their cheeks.

زُهِقَت أَرواحُهُم في شَكلِ ماء

لِلأَسى لِلَّهِ ما أَقسى الحِمام

Their souls drained away in the form of water.

Alas! By God, how cruel death is!

يا رَعى اللَهُ نُفوسَ الشُهَداء

وَسَقى أَجداثُهُم صَوَبُ الغَمام

O, may God guard the souls of the martyrs,

And may the clouds' downpour water their graves.

أَيُّها الجالونَ عَن ذاكَ الحِمى

إِنَّ في ذاكَ الحِمى ما تَعلَمون

O you who have departed from that homeland,

In that homeland lies what you well know:

ضيمَ في أَحرارِهِ وَاِهتُضِما

وَوَقَفتُمُ مِن بَعيدٍ تَنظُرون

It was wronged in its free people, and oppressed,

While you stood looking on from afar.

لا وَمَن شاءَ لَنا أَن نَنعَما

ما كَذا يَجزي الأَبَ البَرَّ البَنون

No, by Him who willed that we should prosper,

Not thus do sons repay a kindly father.

كُلُّكُم يا قَومُ في البَلوى سَواء

لا أَرى في الرُزءِ لُبناناً وَشام

All of you, O people, are alike in affliction;

In this calamity I make no distinction between Lebanon and Sham.

في رُبى لُبنانَ قَومي الأَصفِياء

وَبِأَرضِ الشامِ أَحبابي الكِرام

In Lebanon's hills are my dear people,

And in the land of Sham, my noble loved ones.

اللَيالي غادِياتٌ رائِحَه

بِالدَواهي وَأَراكُم تَضحَكون

The nights come and go

With calamities, yet I see you laughing.

ما اِتَّعَظتُم بِالسِنينَ البارِحَه

لا وَلا أَنتُم غَداً مُتَّعِظون

You took no warning from the years gone by,

No, nor will you take warning tomorrow.

يا لِهَولِ الخَطبِ يا لِلفادِحَه

أُمَّةٌ تَفنى وَأَنتُم تَلعَبون

Oh, the horror of the calamity! Oh, the catastrophe!

A nation is perishing while you play.

فَاِدفِنوا أَضغانَكُم يا زُعَماء

يَبعَثُ اللَهُ مِنَ القَبرِ الوِئام

So bury your grudges, O leaders;

God will raise harmony from the grave.

وَاِبسُطوا أَيدِيَكُم يا أَغنِياء

أَبغَضُ السُحبِ إِلى الصادي الجَهام

And open your hands, O wealthy ones:

To the thirsty, the most hateful cloud is the rainless one.