هَذِي المَسَافَاتُ تَحْوِي سِرَّ مَأْسَاتِي lyrics

هَذِي المَسَافَاتُ تَحْوِي سِرَّ مَأْسَاتِي

Hādhihi al-masāfātu taḥwī sirra ma'sātī

These distances hold the secret of my tragedy,

وَطُولَ حُزْنِي فَسُحْقاً لِلمَسَافَاتِ

Wa ṭūla ḥuznī fa-suḥqan lil-masāfāti

And the length of my sorrow, so damn these distances!

لَوْ أَنَّ لِي قُوَّةً بِهَا لَمَا قَطَعَتْ

Law anna lī quwwatan bihā lamā qaṭa'at

If only I had the strength, by which it would not cut

مَا بَيْنَ رُوحِي وَإِشْرَاقِ ابْتِسَامَاتِي

Mā bayna rūḥī wa ishrāqi ibtisāmātī

What is between my soul and the radiance of my smiles.

أَضْحَتْ فُصُولِي خَرِيفاً سَرْمَداً وَمَحَتْ

Aḍḥat fuṣūlī kharīfan sarmadan wa maḥat

My seasons have become an eternal autumn, and they have erased

جَحَافِلُ اللَّيْلِ أَنْوَارَ الصَّبَاحَاتِ

Jaḥāfilu al-layli anwāra al-ṣabāḥāti

The hordes of night, the lights of mornings.

لَيْلٌ مِنَ الهَجْرِ سَاقَتْ لِي رَكَائِبُه

Laylun mina al-hajri sāqat lī rakā'ibuh

A night of abandonment, its mounts brought me

حُمَّى الهُيَامِ، وَعُقْمَ الاِخْتِيَارَاتِ

Ḥummā al-huyāmi, wa 'uqma al-ikhtiyārāti

The fever of infatuation, and the barrenness of choices.

أَحْتَاجُ كَيْمَا أَرَاهُمْ أَلْفَ مُعْجِزَةٍ

Aḥtāju kaymā arāhum alfa mu'jizatin

I need a thousand miracles to see them,

وَيْلِي مِنَ الشَّوْقِ يَا عِشْقَ المُحَالَاتِ

Waylī mina al-shawqi yā 'ishqa al-muḥālāti

Woe is me from longing, oh love of impossibilities!

أَسْكَنْتُ قَلْبِي بِوَادٍ غَيْرِ ذِي كَرَمٍ

Askantu qalbī bi-wādin ghayri dhī karamin

I settled my heart in a valley without generosity,

يُسْتَقْبَلُ الحُبُّ فِيهِ بِالعَدَاوَاتِ

Yustaqbalu al-ḥubbu fīhi bi-al-'adāwāti

Where love is met with hostilities.

وَعُدْتُ مِنْهُ وَحِيداً لَا مَتَاعَ مَعِي

Wa 'udtu minhu waḥīdan lā matā'a ma'ī

And I returned from it alone, with no belongings,

غَيْرَّ التَّنَاهِيدِ أَوْ رَعْيَ الخَيَالَاتِ

Ghayra al-tanāhīdi aw ra'ya al-khayālāti

Other than sighs or tending to fantasies.

تِلْكَ الخَيَالَاتُ أَرْعَاهَا وَلَيْسَ بِهَا

Tilka al-khayālātu ar'āhā wa laysa bihā

I tend to those fantasies, but there is nothing in them

مَا يَثْلُجُ الصَّدْرَ أَوْ يَشْفِي الْتِهَابَاتِي

Mā yathluju al-ṣadra aw yashfī al-iltihābātī

That cools the chest or heals my inflammations.

أَرْعَى وَفَاءً لِخِلٍّ لَا وَفَاءَ لَهُ

Ar'ā wafā'an li-khillin lā wafā'a lahu

I tend to loyalty for a friend who has no loyalty,

وَلَيْسَ تَعْنِي لَهُ شَيْئاً مُعَانَاتِي

Wa laysa ta'nī lahu shay'an mu'ānātī

And my suffering means nothing to him.

هَلْ مِنْ مُرِيدٍ وَمَجْذُوبٍ يَقُصُّ لَنَا

Hal min murīdin wa majdhūbin yaquṣṣu lanā

Is there any seeker or captivated one who can tell us

بَعْضَ الأَسَاطِيرِ عَنْ أَهْلِ الكَرَامَاتِ

Ba'ḍa al-asāṭīri 'an ahli al-karāmāti

Some legends about people of miracles?

مَنْ يَزْعُمُونَ وِصَالاً غَيْرَ مُنْقَطِعٍ

Man yaz'umūna wiṣālan ghayra munqaṭi'in

Those who claim an unbroken connection

بِالهَالِكِينَ وَيَرْوُونَ الخُرَافَاتِ

Bi-al-hālikīna wa yarwūna al-khurāfāti

With the perished and narrate fables.

أَسْلُو قَلِيلاً؛ وَلَا سَلْوَى لِذِي شَجَنٍ

Aslū qalīlan; wa lā salwā li-dhī shajanin

I try to find solace a little; but there is no solace for one with sorrow

لَا يُحْسِنُ الآهَ مِنْ عُمْقِ الجِرَاحَاتِ

Lā yuḥsinu al-āha min 'umqi al-jirāḥāti

Who cannot sigh from the depth of wounds.

هَلْ مِنْ سَبِيلٍ إِلَى اللُّقْيَا وَقَدْ وَقَفَتْ

Hal min sabīlin ilā al-luqyā wa qad waqafat

Is there any way to meet, when they have stood

هَذِي المَسَافَاتُ فِي وَجْهِ المَسَرَّاتِ

Hādhihi al-masāfātu fī wajhi al-masarrāti

These distances in the face of joys?

وَأَقْعَدَتْنِي قُيُودُ الوَقْتِ عَنْ هَدَفٍ

Wa aq'adatnī quyūdu al-waqti 'an hadafin

And the shackles of time have kept me from a goal

أَشْهَى إِلَى النَّفْسِ مِنْ كُلِّ المَلَذَّاتِ

Ashhā ilā al-nafsi min kulli al-maladhdhāti

More desirable to the soul than all pleasures.

تَبَّتْ يَدَا الحَظِّ .. كُلٌّ نَالَ بُغْيَتَهُ

Tabbat yadā al-ḥaẓẓi.. kullun nāla bughyatahu

Damn the hands of luck.. everyone attained their desire,

وَمَا جَمَعْتُ سِوَى حُزْنِي وَآهَاتِي

Wa mā jama'tu siwā ḥuznī wa āhātī

And I gathered nothing but my sorrow and my sighs.