Yearning for Baḳlīt
This poem receives close syntactic and thematic analysis in Liebhaber, 2011a: 32-40.
| Poem | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1) hey bīš emdīt // akkaws ḏ-aġrīr | Welcome to you, Sea breeze // the gentle wind that comes from the southwest |
| 2) nekśīt fwōd // w-šīs henśīr | It stirs my heart // and with it, I am glad |
| 3) w-śelṯ eyōm // lī wet fwīr | By the third day // it has begun to seethe in me |
| 4) w-ḳalbəlōb // ymōh šeǧhīr | And today all the sensations in my heart // became even more frantic |
| 5) hes śēnem aġawṭ // wel śī šebrīr | After they saw the distance // and that nothing will come easily. |
| 6) hes rōrem aḫarf // ḥyēs we-mśīr | Like the sea during the monsoon // with big waves and dangerous currents |
| 7) tebhōt rebnē // we-lyēḏ yeśwīr | It conceals its intentions from the ship captains // and those who know it well |
| 8) w-ṣawdeh lawḥ // w-lew mhōśīr | And breaks up the planks // even if the boat is newly built. |
| 9) w-bōlī melk // leǧīd yenhīr | Those who earn their living [from the sea?] // head toward its bounty [themselves] |
| 10) yherdūd bineh // hel heh mhōṯīr | He always returns to work at it // in the very place where he was accustomed to doing so. |
| 11) yhōkī ḥmō // w-tēh yhedwīr | He alters the course of the water channels // and turns it back to fertile soil |
| 12) w-sēr ewlē // kel yeǧterīr | Behind the profit and gain // they are hard at work. |
| 13) we-ḏ-heh menbēr // el šeh meḫyīr | But the one who is outside // he is left without a choice |
| 14) w-lew ḳdōm heh / lyēḏ ḏ-yaġīr | Even if they offered him [help] // those who are envious, |
| 15) ynaḳśem ḫaṭ // w-yeḳtərīr | And wrote a letter [for the poet’s sake] // and settled on it together, |
| 16) yḳōlebh kel // ḥar eźhīr | They would pile everything // atop [the poet’s] back. |
| 17) reytī ehmūm // lesbeḳ eṭyīr | If only I were able // to arrive before the bird! |
| 18) lāḳā ṣawḳer // men wet frīr | Or that I were a falcon // and so whenever it takes off |
| 19) lehenfeḳ aźawt // we-leṭāf kdīr | And goes beyond Wadi Aźawt // and circles the plateau at Kdīr |
| 20) w-źam ḏ-wedḥ // wet heh meṣbīr | To where the wādīs meet at Wadḥ // after descending from the heights |
| 21) hel hēm yeḥlōl // we-yheḏkīr | And the place where her people live // and are well remembered. |
| 22) w-enḳad beḳlīt // hāwēl ḏe-dyīr | I’ll chose that of Baḳlīt // whose settlement was the first [I visited] |
| 23) tezhōd ḏe-šwōb // ḥebbōr taġtīr | Her response is always pleasant // from the very moment she begins to speak |
| 24) w-naṭḳ ykūn // hṯ̣eyr teḳdīr | And her conversation // is always right on the mark. |
| 25) w-zeynes hnīs // erēġeb nwīr | Her beauty goes with her // a bough that gives off light |
| 26) śeǧrēt ḏ-mešmūm // w-ʾūd el-ksīr | A fragrant tree // a branch of the magic ksīr-plant |
| 27) aw ǧīd menśēr // men fenn ḥrīr | Wearing new clothes // of the silky type. |
| 28) awle rwāḳāt // wet āymel ḥǧīr | Or like dark rain clouds // that produce rain without storms |
| 29) yerḥōm arūź // w-lew ḏe-hwīr | And drench the gardens // once stricken by drought. |
| 30) w-ḳā bādeh // yehṣawbeḥ nwīr | The land afterwards // is colored with flowers |
| 31) ḫā hōh mḥārīṯ // wlē mhāfīr | Like irrigated land // or furrowed earth |
| 32) wle men aġeyl // w-ātōm essīr | Or next to a stream // that flows in its channel. |
| 33) hābū swē lā // wet hēm debbīr | People are not always on the same footing // when they deal with each other. |
| 34) bāź men hwē // ber lēd yeḥsīr | Some people who were spoiled // will never hold anything back |
| 35) yeblīġ ādīd // tōlū šǧīr | He’ll pay any price // even if it causes him trouble. |
| 36) w-hēd leǧwōd // tōlū šeḳmīr | Another person raised on virtue // if he can’t compete [with the former], |
| 37) we-ttīn ḏ-ǧawf // w-ber aġyīr | A feeling [hidden] in his chest, // it alters him. |
| 38) wet źeybet ǧsēd // we-ḏ-heh mesrīr | It takes over his body // that which is hidden [inside him] |
| 39) we-lḥāḳ menźōf // w-hel fḏīr | And clings to his organs // and “the heart and the liver.” |
| 40) ār ḳalbī ḫeh // lad šī teġṭīr | But O, my heart, give it up // and stop talking to me, |
| 41) we-kmēt meśkē // brek eṣdīr | Conceal your complaints // inside my chest. |
| 42) hēt ār ḏe-ḥwelk // kel śī mhābīr | You know [the situation] well // since everything is clear: |
| 43) ʾanūf mḳeym // w-ber ḥyīr | The property owner has refused you // and forbids it. |
| 44) ywōzem anšē // ʾār keḏ yeśwīr | Some people can draw out their patience // those who know how, |
| 45) tē bōlī ṣnāt // w-šī leftəkīr | Or perhaps the craftsmen // will deliberate |
| 46) yemdūd hīrōb // w-kel yūśīr | Measuring out the rudder // they will all build a boat atop it. |