Risala min Dijla — Letter from the Tigris

Ya leil… ya ‘ein…
→ O night… O eyes…

Soot el moya yinadini…
→ The sound of the water calls me…

Kunt amshi ‘ala shoṭ el dijla wahdi
→ I used to walk alone along the shore of the Tigris

aḥmil esm-ak bein edayya
→ Carrying your name between my hands

kull ma el moya tamshi shwaya shwaya
→ As the water flows, little by little

ashofak marsoom bil maya
→ I see you reflected in the water

giltel leil yakhod salami
→ I asked the night to carry my greetings

ywaselha ‘abr el hawa
→ To deliver them through the air

bas el leil saket ḥilwa
→ But the night stayed quietly silent

wala jaweb wala sada
→ No answer, not even an echo

Kunna hina… taḥt el shams
→ We were here… under the sun

neḥlam bi yom ma yighib
→ Dreaming of a day that would never fade

kunt tgool qalbi ma yinsa
→ You used to say my heart would never forget

law ghabet ‘an ‘ain el ḥabib
→ Even if the beloved disappeared from sight

bas el ayam saret nar
→ But the days turned into fire

w ana baynha ihtaraqt
→ And I burned within them

dallait astanna sowtak
→ I kept waiting for your voice

w b sukt qalbi inkasart
→ And in silence, my heart broke

la ts’al ‘anni wein asir
→ Don’t ask me where I’ve gone

ana bayn el ḥarf w el kitaab
→ I am between letters and books

aktob lak… w ma towsal
→ I write to you… but it never reaches you

w adri el derb misdaab
→ And I know the path is blocked

ya qalbi la tibki ‘alayya
→ Oh my heart, don’t cry for me

ana daye‘a bein el youm
→ I am lost between the days

law yom tirja‘ t’golli ta‘al
→ If one day you return and call me

talqani ẓill w ḥilom
→ You will find me a shadow and a dream

kunt abgha a‘ish ma‘ak
→ I wanted to live with you

bas el zaman kan a‘nad
→ But time was more stubborn

ḥubbak baqi bi dakhli
→ Your love still remains inside me

ḥatta w ana atbad
→ Even as I drift away

marra ashoofak bil manam
→ Sometimes I see you in my dreams

tidhak… w tgooli ta‘al
→ You smile… and tell me to come

amshi wa ashoofak qareeb
→ I walk and see you close

w yirja‘ el qalb yertal
→ And my heart begins to sing again

bas el bard yirja‘ yakhodni
→ But the cold returns and takes me

w el soora trooḥ ba‘eed
→ And the image fades away

w abqa wahdi b leili
→ And I remain alone in my night

la sout… wala eid
→ No voice… no celebration

mo el ḥubb kan ghalat
→ It wasn’t love that was wrong

ana elli baqait
→ It was me who stayed

mo enta elli khant
→ It wasn’t you who betrayed

ana elli intaẓart
→ It was me who waited

ya qalbi khalli el ḥilm
→ Oh my heart, let the dream go

yirja‘ ma‘ el moya w yrooh
→ Let it return with the water and drift away

ana katabt akher risala
→ I wrote the last letter

w khabeetha bein el sutoor
→ And hid it between the lines

itha yom tiftahha
→ If one day you open it

w t‘arif eni hena
→ And realize that I’m here

t‘arif eni kunt a‘ish
→ You’ll know that I was alive

bas b esm-ak… mo ana
→ But only in your name… not as myself

risala… bila ‘unwan…
→ A letter… without an address…

tintather… ma tinqari…
→ Waiting… never to be read…

w ana… abqa hena…
→ And I… remain here…

bein el kalam… w el dhikra…
→ Between words… and memory…