أبو فراس يناجي حمامة
ترجمة: محمود عباس مسعود

Abu Firas and the Dove
Translated by: Mahmoud Abbas Masoud

أقُولُ وَقَدْ نَاحَتْ بِقُرْبي حمامَةٌ:
أيَا جَارَتَا، هَلْ تَشعُرِينَ بِحَالي؟

I said as a dove mournfully cooed near me:
O neighbor! Are you aware of my situation,
Is your cooing in sympathy for my condition

مَعاذَ الهَوَى! ما ذُقتِ طارِقةَ النّوَى
وَلا خَطَرَتْ مِنكِ الهُمُومُ ببالِ

I have tasted of sorrow and separation
More than you have ever experienced
And the worries I have known
Never occurred to you

أتَحْمِلُ مَحْزُونَ الفُؤادِ قَوَادِمٌ
عَلى غُصُنٍ نَائِي المَسَافَةِ عَالِ؟

Is it possible that you carry sorrow in your heart
While perching on a high branch,
With a respectable distance above the ground

أيَا جَارتَا، ما أنْصَفَ الدّهْرُ بَينَنا!
تَعَالَيْ أُقَاسِمْكِ الهُمُومَ، تَعَالِي!

O my neighbor, the dove!
Life has not dealt fairly with us.
Come hither, that I may share
My uneasy feelings with you

تَعَالَيْ تَرَيْ رُوحاً لَدَيّ ضَعِيفَةً،
تَرَدّدُ في جِسْمٍ يُعَذّبُ بَالي

Come nigh, and you shall find a soul: my soul
Frail and feeble, in a body that tortures my mind

أيَضْحَكُ مأسُورٌ، وَتَبكي طَلِيقَةٌ،
وَيَسْكُتُ مَحزُونٌ، وَيَندبُ سالِ؟

Must a prisoner laugh while a free bird weep?
Shall the sorrow-filled be quiet
While the indifferent wail

لَقد كنتُ أوْلى مِنكِ بالدّمعِ مُقلَةً،
وَلَكِنّ دَمْعي في الحَوَادِثِ غَالِ!

O dove, my eyes are more deserving
Of shedding tears than yours
My tears, however, are, in adversity, hard to flow

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