the Exile and silent crying

 Poem’s name : the Exile and silent crying

(المنفى والبكاء من الداخل)

Poet’s name: Mohamed Ahmed Al-Azab

(محمد أحمد العزب) 

 → listen to the poem

سلبوني نعمة الوطن 

They steal the blessing of the homeland from me

قالوا لي : أذهب هناك 

They say to me: 

Go there”"

 وذهبت.. ولم أعد

I go there... I'm never the same

غادرت الدفء والمرفأ والمسرح وضحكة أبناء بلادي

I leave the warmth, the port, the theatre and the laugh of my people

حتى من المنفى أحبك

Even from the exile.. I love you

أعطيت التوهج في القصائد سمتك الملكي! 

I give the shine of the poems your royal theme

واجتزت المدى نحو بحر المنفى

And I cross the horizon to the sea of exile 

*****

وفي المنفى آلالامي تصارع أشواقي 

And in exile.. My pains struggle with my longings

وكل عذب باهت 

And every dulcet is pale

وكل شعاع خافت 

And every beam is faint

أنت مشكاتي.. 

You are my lamp

أحلام وطني الضائع تطاردني 

The dreams of my lost homeland are chasing me

كخيال صامت أو كابوس 

Like a silent shadow or a nightmare

هزني كي أصحو

Shake me to wake up!

*****

وعلى جبينك الخلاب رأيت وطني

And on your beautiful forehead I see my homeland

يجتاحني شوق إليك هنا 

A longing for you is pervading me

فأكتب للفصول الأربعة قصيدة

So I ‘m writing a poet for the four seasons

وأرسل النهر الذي ظمئت إليه مواسمي

And send my writing to the river my seasons thirst for 

فيرد أشعاري إليَّ

So the river returns my poetry back to me

كمدى من الدمع اليابس 

Like a horizon of dry tears

يجتاحني شوق خرافي

Incredible longing is prevading me

فأطرق فوق حد السيف 

So I stay silent above the sword’s edge

مختبئا وراء حوائط الشعر الذي يبكي ويبكيني معه 

While I am hiding behind the walls of poetry that cry and make me cry

أواه حين يكون ورد الجرح قاموسا

Oh! When the flowers of the wound become like a dictionary.

وحين تصير جروح الورد فاكهة 

Oh! When the wounds of the flowers becomes like a fruit

وحين نقول للأحبة:

And when we say to the lovers:

هذ الحب.. من فينا ترى.. قد ضيعه؟

This love inside us.. who loses it?

An explanation of this piece from the arabic poems :

Everyone has a special relationship with his homeland. Being forced to leave your country creates a lot of emotions inside you. So exile is the place where the poet can’t handle his longing for his homeland. Mr. Mohamed Ahmed Al-Azab skillfully uses poetic imagery to express his feelings. He has a complicated relationship with his country between love and hate.

There are a lot of creative expressions like: "a horizon of dry tears" or "the flowers of the wound become like a dictionary". But the most important thing is that the verses flow smoothly with nice rhythm. We can say that this poem is a cry for shelter and love in general. 

 The poem ends with a question: "This love inside us... Who loses it?". This open end has good effect on the mind.

the poet never offers an answer but it 's part of the art!