Tea With Milk
This poem receives close syntactic and thematic analysis in Liebhaber, 2011a: 18-24.
| Poem | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1) šēhī ḥlīb // šēhī ḥlīb | Tea with milk, // tea with milk |
| 2) men heyd ḏe-rḥōm // w-mōṭī lbīb | From the hand of the beauty // whose build is slender |
| 3) ān neśfek tēh // eḫeyr men eṭbīb | If you sipped it, // it’s better than the doctor |
| 4) ywūkeb ǧsēd // we-yṭeyf lhīb | It enters the body // and extinguishes the burning. |
| 5) kleṯk eṣidḳ // ṭawb men l-yekḏīb | I spoke the truth, // my nature is not that of one who lies |
| 6) ḥōm ledfa beh // eġōlī nsīb | I want to pay out her price, // [she of] precious pedigree. |
| 7) w-felġem med // ʾatē teġyīb | And Wādī Falġam // that stretches up to where it disappears |
| 8) meźmers b-ǧeśf // meǧrē ḏe-ḏhīb | The riverbed in its breadth // is the channel for the flood |
| 9) hel ǧīd yeḥlūl // leḥrēṯ zbīb | Where beauty lives, // I might cultivate grapes |
| 10) w-lebnē kūt // bēl bēnī zhīb | And build up a tower // with many storeys all furnished for her |
| 11) meḳbōl ḏe-mdīt // w-heh mehdərīb | That faces the sea breeze // and has a wall around it |
| 12) teḫdemmes kell // w-seh teṣyīb | With servants to serve her // so she might rest at ease. |
| 13) ḫīh ḳalbī ḫīh // ḳtīleb ʾādīb | Give up, my heart, let it go! // Be more reasonable |
| 14) śī bebtek lā // wel šūk yeṭrīb | It’s not appropriate for your age // and they don’t desire you |
| 15) b-ṭeyṭ het śōḫ // we-mġōren ġrīb | For one, you’re old // and further, you are not from around here. |
| 16) ḏ–ar hoh mhanṭeyb // yḫā messəbīb | I’m just talking nonsense // like a bona fide prattler |
| 17) ber bī śewġāb // w-heh mekkəlīb | There’s still passion in me // and it is deeply woven |
| 18) āǧōb be-rḥōm // ʾatē tśīb | I love the beauties // even though I’m grey. |