two short Arabic poems

poem (1)

poem’s name: on the slow train of the east

(في قطار الشرق البطيء)

 Poet’s name: Yousry Khamis

(يسري خميس)

Date of writing the poem:  1 June 1983 

 → listen to the poem

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نافذة القطار

The train’s window

 تكشف لي حدود الوهم والخطأ 

Uncovers the borders of the delusion and the wrong

نافذة القطار 

The train’s window

تفتح لي المراعي الزرق ووجهك الحزين والأمطار

Opens up the blue pastures, your sad face and the rains for me

نافذة القطار

The train’s window

تعكس لي أعمدة البرق كأنها صلبان

Reflects the columns of the lightning like crosses

يا جثث الأحلام فوقها الغربان 

Oh, the corpses of the dreams above the crows!

يا أماني الأمس 

Oh, the wishes of yesterday!

أين الهمس؟

Where is the whisper?

دم على نافذة القطار 

blood on the train’s window

عصفورة مغامرة احترقت على سلوك البرق قالت لي :

An adventurous bird was burned on the cables of the lightening said to me  

أسمع طول الليل والنهار أصوات المؤامرة 

I hear the voices of the conspiracy all day and night

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poem (2)

 poem's name: The eye of the lover 

(عين الحبيب)

Poet’s name: Ahmed Sweid

(أحمد سويد)

Date of writing the poem:  1 February 1953 

 → listen to the poem

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سفحتك همسة كطهر الصلاة 

A whisper like the purity of a prayer hits you

خجلى، تدور على شفتيها 

This whisper is shy on her lips

تدسها في الصمت حيرى

She tucks it in silence uncertainly 

فتطل جذلى من ناظريها

It looks out happily from her eyes

هل جأتها – يا عطر – بالنشوة سكرى

Oh scent ! do you come to her with a drunk joy?

وطيف الحبيب يغفو على جفنيها 

And the shadow of the lover sleeps on her eyelids

جمد الحرف في رسالتها وماتت الكلمة 

The letter in her letter has frozen and the word has died

وبقيت أنت هنا.. يا عطر الرسالة 

And the scent of the letter is still here... 

An explanation of this piece from the arabic poems :

Ahmed Sweid wrote this short poem in an impressive way, he uses really nice expressions such as:” the purity of a prayer”,” This whisper is shy on her lips” and “the scent of the letter”, this poem expresses sensitivity at its best. Sadly, there is little information about the writer of the poem. we still can see his soft soul through the words he wrote. Even his sadness is quite clear in this expression “and the word has died”.