تـرجـمــة الـمـشــاعــر:"الحــزن الـنـبـيـل" * Translating Sentiments: "Noble Sorrows"

The Rosiest of Roses and the Splendor of Noble Sorrow

Succulent baby dates
In demise, hardened into wood
And pollen frailly aged
On the bunch and frond
***********

Petals of deep Crimson roses
Are scatteredly shedding
And wilting as dusk poses
***********

And in desponding distress,
Cocooned Winter Swallows*
Which are meekly docile in their night
Were wrapped in
The Nobel Sorrows*
***********

And Turtle doves wailed
And so did Migrating Birds*
Whimpering, stridulating and cooing
***********

And the desert storms howled
Over mountains and the lush green
That is bracketed by
A Nile and a Nile
***********

Warmly are rushing
Tears of the River in Waves
Tumultuous in rhythm
And its profuse bleeding gushing
***********

Thus in sores of grief blistered
Our bewildered eyes
Deep in their Anguished sockets
And tears that heavily poured
***********

For every one is weeping over the
Chanter of luminosity who sang for them:
The River, The People and the trees
And the loftily august Mountain
On the banks of River Toteel*
***********

The newly born dawn donned
In its rueful lament
Echoing and in agonizing response
To the resonance of doleful hooting
***********

Suddenly, poetry and melodies
Jingled in a lightening
With overwhelming luminous tunes
On the trail of Departure*
***********

Then the dawning morning smiled
With Propitious signs that emulate
The joyful radiance of his Art
Over the beautiful Past
***********

Reclaiming the Days
Of our honorable glory:
Taharqa*
Lofty in name and History
Handing over the Banner to Abdulfadeel*
***********

Thus History records the Birth
Of our people*…honorably soaring*
Seeking prominence*
Generation after generation*
***********

You, inspirer of generations
With the meaning of resolution and determination
In the ascent of stars
Embodying the dreams
Of Azzah* and Khalil*
***********

You narrate to us our History
In a flood of recounts that flow
Melodically similar to Paradise’s River
That quenches severe thirst
***********

You roam over the Horizons of Times
Dressing the deep wounds
In the heart of a bleeding people
And wiping away sicknesses of the Land
With a blissful balm that heals the infirm
***********

They threw you in the belly of the abyss َ
You did not break down in abjectness
On the Contrary, the jailer feared you
And so did the executioner; and adorned you
Their heavy shackles
***********

And you went on chanting
For the workers and peasants
The hungry and the swarms
Of victimized destitute
Who are content with
The least from cesspits
***********

You towered in the lands
Of exile loftily
Like the Beacon of Faith
In the land of virtuous purity
Inciting hopeful chanting ً
That promises an alternative of change
***********

And I licked your wound my motherland
***********

Wardi, my Brother
You are the one who taught us
The meaning of hard struggle*
And the graceful charm of grand victory
***********

You reminded us of Karrari*
The anthem of Glory, with determination
And the gallant knights proudly towering
On the face of alien invaders*
***********

Just like lions being stirred up by battle
And the clang of weapons
Excite them into dancing
At the rhythmic beats of
Hooves and neighs
***********

And I licked your wound my motherland
***********

You are the one who inspired us
The secrets of infatuation
The intonations of fantastic adoration ِ
As a rhythm of
Genuinely original Art
***********

You fed and treated us to drinks
From the language of enchanting attraction
And welcoming of yearning*
In Perfect creativity
Of beautiful poetry
***********
The breeze of your generous Art
Flow in melodies
That musically guide a wondering curl of hair
On a tenderly soft cheek
***********

Our eyes continue to be fixated following
The dancing of hair
As it kisses a cheek’s gab that is adorned
By a charming eye
***********

Then you lead into melodies that rattle
The depth of feelings
Captivating our consciousness with charms
Similar to the beauty of delicate deer*
***********

Thus keeps relentlessly dancing
Every cell in us
And the eye steals
A glance that adores
The elegance of erect physique
And the charm of tight waist
***********

And I licked your wound my motherland
***********

I called on my memory
With all intense affection*
Listening to the songs of yearning*
The light for the eyes*
The dew drops*
And the impossible*
***********

And I spread my sails
On the ships of hope*
Eternally sailing,
Gently led by a pleasant breeze

***********

And I sailed in the seas
Of my intense joy
And hoisted my flags
On the bosoms of clouds
That aspire for the skies,
Without a guide
***********

I sent my breaths
In the darkness of night
Probing the depth of hopes
That led to
Planetary boundaries
In that lengthy orbit
***********

And I licked your wound my motherland

Words with asterisks * refer to names or prominent parts of songs by the great singer

Abdel-Rahman Ibrahim Mohamed
Boston, February 21, 2012