Two Arabic Poems on Friendship, Betrayal, and Emotional Loss
poem’s name: the death of friendship
(موت الصداقة)
Poet’s name: Fakhry Abu Al-Saud
(فخري أبو السعود)
→ listen to the poem
هجرت من الإخوان من خلت... عهده مقيما على الأيام لا يتحول
I abandoned my friends, those whose time I thought would last forever
وهذا صديقي يضيق بفضلي ذرعا..
And this is my friend who resents my favor
ولعله مفيد بذاك الفضل لو يعلم
And maybe he benefits from my kindness if he knows
ويغار من ضوئي وهو من يهتدي به
And he is jealous of my light. And he is the one who is guided by it
ويحسد بحري وهو من منه ينهل
He envies my sea. And he is the one who scoops from it!
ويرتد إحساني إليه إساءة
He answers my kindness with abuse
ويشقيه إكرامي له والتطول
And my goodness makes him miserable
*****
poem’s name: my friend turns thirty five
(صديقي يعبر عامه الخامس والثلاثين)
Poet’s name: Al-Munji Sarhan
(المنجي سرحان)
→ listen to the poem
ما تزال الشوارع تحضنه
The streets are still hugging him
كنا صديقين
We were friends
يودعني سره
He is telling me his secret
حين حدثني مرة عن أحلام بلاده قلت دون ترو: أفق!
One time, when he talked to me about his dreams for his country, I said to him directly: wake up!
فالوجوه ضباب يزاحم خطواته
because the faces there are like fog that crowd his steps.
نكس أحلامه
So he puts down his dreams
وتلاشى الصدى
And the echo disappeared
واختنق
And suffocated
كان يتعبني
He was tiring me
كنا صديقين
We were friends
أورثني حزنه
He made me sad
كنت أتبعه
I was following him
بين أحلامه وجراحي
Between my dreams and my wounds
يضحك ويضحك
He was laughing and laughing
ثم يتركني للقلق
Then he leaves me worried
*****
كان ممتلئا بالأماني
He was full of wishes
وحين تهامسنا مرة وسألت: لأي البنات الجميلات يرتاح قلبك
One time, when we whispered, I asked him: which kind of beautiful girls do you like?
قال: بلادي
He said: my country
خمس وثلاثون عاما مضت
Thirty five years have passed
الشوارع تشكله
The streets create him
والدموع
And the tears
تشيخ الأغاني والمواويل
The songs and mawwals (traditional, slow songs) get older
إن عشرين عاما تباعد بيننا
Twenty years separate me and him
وألاقيه ينكرني
And then I find him denying me.
أتساءل: كنا صديقين
I ask: we were friends
يجمعنا الحلم والشاي
The dream and the tea bring us together
نحن عشقنا معا نفس الأحلام
We loved the same dreams together
اقتسمنا النزيف
We shared the bleeding.
فلماذا تتركني؟
So, why are you leaving me?
*****
In this post, we discuss the theme of friendship through two Arabic poems that were written .by Al-Munji Sarhan And Fakhry Abu Al-Saud
The two poets discovered the disloyalty of their friends. They experienced this painful feeling of being alone. In the first one we find expressions like: “And this is my friend who resents my favor” In the second one we have the question: “So, why are you leaving me?”
There are some creative poetic words like: “We shared the bleeding.” And: ” He envies my sea. And he is the one who scoops from it!”
The way they expressed their disappointment is elegant and creative. But Al-Munji Sarhan wrote his poem in a traditional Arabic way, while Fakhry Abu Al-Saud used a modern way. Both succeeded perfectly in expressing their feelings.
0 Comments