ترى ما انت ماذا فيك

من سِرٍّ ومن مَعنى

I wonder, what are you? What lies within you

of mystery and of meaning?

أَطَرفةُ ناظرٍ أسمَى

يُقلِّبُ في الوَرى جَفنا

Are you the blink of a higher beholder,

who turns an eyelid upon humankind,

فيُغمِضُ اذ يَرى الأرواحَ

أَسرى والوَرى رَهنا

then shuts it when he sees the souls

held captive, and humankind in thrall?

أمَ انتَ شَرارةٌ كُبرى

قُدِحتَ لتُرشِدَ المُضنى

Or are you a mighty spark,

struck to guide the weary one,

لِيَلمَح من خِلالِ السِترِ

حُسناً جَلَّ لن يَفنى

that he may glimpse through the veil

a sublime beauty that will never perish?

فلم يَفطُن ولم يَحفِل

وظلَّ يُمارِس الحُزنا

Yet he neither noticed nor cared,

and kept on dwelling in sorrow,

وبات بقِسمةٍ ضِئزى

يُناجي هندَ أو لُبنى

and spent the night with an unjust lot,

whispering to Hind or Lubna.

تَرى من أنت هل رَب

هَبَطتَ الأرضَ للسُكنى

I wonder, who are you? A lord

come down to earth to dwell,

سَترتَ بنارِ عاصفةٍ

سَنى اسمائِكَ الحُسنى

veiling with a raging fire

the radiance of your fairest names?

أم انت نُزوعُ روحٍ ثائرٍ

عاتٍ أبي السَجنا

Or are you the yearning of a rebellious spirit,

defiant, refusing imprisonment?

ملاكٌ جطَّه الرَحمانُ

من أعلى إلى أدنى

An angel whom the All-Merciful cast down

from the highest to the lowest,

تحَمَّل نفيَه في الأرض

ثمَّ إلى العلا حَنَّا

who endured his exile on earth,

then yearned for the heights?

حَباهُ يأسُه بأساً

لجلجل والتظى حُزنا

His despair bestowed courage upon him;

he thundered and blazed with grief,

وحطَّمَ فَيدَه حَنَقاً

وطارَ مُيمَّما عَدنا

and shattered his fetter in rage,

and flew, bound for Eden,

يُؤمِّلُ أن سَيبلغُها

فيحظى أو إذَن يَفنى

hoping that he would reach it,

and win his wish—or else perish.

ترى مَن أنت يا بَرقاً

يُردِّدُ رَعدهُ اللَحنا

I wonder, who are you, O lightning

whose thunder repeats the melody?

أنورٌ آبقٌ تَبكيه

أرواح العُلى مُزنا

Are you a fugitive light, for whom

the spirits on high weep rainclouds?

أجُرحٌ في السَماءَِ ومن

تَعمَّدَ شَقَّها طَعنا

A wound in the sky? And who

deliberately rent it with a stab?

أحقّ أنت أم شَكّ

أمَعنىً أنت أم مَبنى

Are you truth, or doubt?

Are you meaning, or form?

وما للَعينِ عالقةً

بنورك كلَّما عَنَّا

And why does the eye cling

to your light whenever it appears?

وما للقلب يَخفُقُ إِن

رآكَ كأنه جُنَّا

And why does the heart beat, when

it sees you, as though gone mad?

يَكادُ يطيرُ من قَفَصٍ

به يحيا ولا يَهنا

It almost flies out of a cage

in which it lives but finds no ease.

أيَحسِبُ أَنَّك الحادي

تَحُثُّ الرَكبَ والظَّعنا

Does it think you are the camel-driver,

urging the riders and the departing caravan onward?

أبرقاً في الدُجى جُنَّا

وغلغَل بعدَما أسنى

O lightning that ran wild in the darkness,

and pierced deep after shining,

تَملَّص فالتظى فانساب

يُورِثُ بعدَه الظَنا

slipped free, then blazed, then streamed away,

leaving conjecture in its wake:

ترى اني مسيرُكَ ثائراً

مُستَعجِلاً أَنّي

I wonder, whither is your course, rebellious,

hurrying—whither?

أتَقصِدُ أن تَطولَ الأوجَ

قُربَ العَرشِ أو أدنى

Do you seek to reach the zenith,

near the Throne, or nearer still?

أطالبَ بعضِ ما نَرجو

أظنُّك واحداً منّا

O seeker of some of what we hope for,

I think you one of us.

فشوقُك لم يَزَل فينا

إلى الاسمى إلى الأسنى

For your longing has ever lived in us,

for the loftiest, for the most radiant.

فمَهلاً ما بلغتَ مُنى

ولست بمُدرِكٍ شأنا

So, gently! You have fulfilled no wish,

nor will you attain high standing.

ظَوَينا عالَمَ الأسرارِ

قبلَك نقصِدُ المَغنى

We traversed the realm of mysteries

before you, seeking the abode.

وحَلَّقنا وغَلغَلنا

ونادينا وفتَّشنا

We soared and delved deep,

and called out and searched.

وكم باباً طرقناه

وبالنجوى توسَّلنا

How many a door we knocked upon!

And we pleaded in whispers.

وقلنا قد يُزاحُ السترُ

أوقد نَلحَقُ الظَعنا

And we said: perhaps the veil will be lifted,

or perhaps we shall catch the departing caravan,

ونَبلُغُ مَرفأ الخُطواتِ

نُحرِقُ بعدَه السُفنا

and reach the harbor of our footsteps,

beyond which we shall burn our ships.

فيا لكِ خيبةً كانت

عَرفنا بعدها الحُزنا

Oh, what a disappointment it was!

After it we came to know sorrow.

وعُدنا من حُدودِ الوَهمِ

لم نبلُغ وما عُجنا

We returned from the borders of illusion,

having neither arrived nor lingered.

فحَسبُك كم تُؤرقُنا

تُمثلُ بعضَ ما كنَّا

Enough, then! How you keep us awake,

embodying something of what we were.

ستُدرِكُ بعضَ ما شِمنا

وتَرجِعُ مثلما عُدنا

You will grasp some of what we glimpsed,

and return as we returned.

وتَخمُدُ شُعلةٌ كانت

تُنيرُ وتَلزَمُ السِّجنا

And a flame will die that once

gave light; and you will stay in prison.

أبرقاً في الدُجى أسرى

يجُرُّ وميضُهُ الرُدنا

O lightning that journeyed by night through the dark,

whose gleam trails its sleeve:

إذا جاوزت شأوَك في

السماءِ ولم تَنَل إذنا

when you have passed your utmost reach in

heaven, without gaining leave,

وقد قاربتَ حَدَّ الفصلِ

بينَ العَوجِ والمَثنى

and have neared the dividing line

between the crooked and the doubled,

وضلَّ دليلكَ الهادي

فرُمتَ العَود أو تفنى

and your guiding leader has lost his way,

and you seek to return—or perish—

تَرى آثارَ قافلةٍ

بها رُحنا كما عُدنا

you will see the traces of a caravan

with which we went, and likewise returned.

فعُد متَتبِّعاً خُطواتِنا

واجلِس هُنا مَعنا

So return, following our footsteps,

and sit here with us.

وحَدِّثنا وذكِّرنا

فإنك واحدٌ منَّا

Speak to us, and remind us,

for you are one of us.

فقد كنَّا وما كنَّا

وأمسَينا وها إِنَّا

For we were, and were not;

and now we have become—behold us—

بُروقٌ نارُها خَمدَت

نُراقِبُ في الدُجى وَهنا

flashes of lightning whose fire has died,

keeping watch, feebly, in the dark.

يقاظى نُبصِرُ الرؤيا

وعميانٌ نرى الحُسنا

Awake, we behold the dream,

and blind, we see beauty.

نعيشُ بذكرِ آمالٍ

فَتِيَّاتٍ وقد شِخنا

We live on the memory of hopes

still young, though we have grown old.

تعالَ فإننا نرضى

بأحلامٍ بها هِمنا

Come, for we are content

with dreams that once enthralled us.

وإِن تكُ نازُك انطفأت

فإِنَّ الفكرَ لا يَفنى

And though your fire has gone out,

thought does not perish.