Maṫar - Rain

Maṫar

Hajamit li ġyum wi rriiḣ leeḣi`a la wayn
Li xyun bitreefi`a, faw` mruj bayna bayn
Nafḣeet l ġuzeet w na`zeet ssukun xam bitsud
Ma xeed fi arḋ w la sama, l maṫar miḣe li ḣdud

Ḱaṫar la xinna ḋḋayf bi xyunu ssud acraar
Tiḋrob ahil l bayt bi ġayż ḣbeel l amtaar
Yilbod, yinfoḱ, yitmor w yimṫor bi ġazaara
La talim w la jall xinna bi`e, la ġoṡn w la zyaara

Baddu ykun Aylul ḣall xa Niseen, aw Aḋaar
Ximil la Ayyaar ci micwaar, w xanil ḱaraab
Cu fiina niḣke, masaḣ cuxurna wi ttraab

Żulmo ḋabaab, xilimna, buxdna ablo saraab
Ariḋna balla, jabalna ḣalla, ṡaar lli ṡaar
Faar nnabix w Ḣabiibna la ssama ġaar ṫaar


Copyright July 12, 2009 Hicham Khalil Bourjaili
Our Lady of Lebanon, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA


English Version

Rain

The clouds are rushing and the wind is following where
The eyes are traveling, above uncertain prairies
The waves of the conquerors and the stroke of the silence are spreading
Land and sky are not recognizable anymore, the rain abolished the borders

Our visitor came with fire in his black eyes
Striking the hosts with angry ropes of rain
Beating, blowing, burying and raining abundantly
Neither ploughs nor terraces were left for us, neither branch nor visit

September could have paid a visit (1) to April, or March
Might have walked to May, about destruction
What could we say, he touched (2) our feeling (3) and the land (4)

Fog is his tyranny (5), our knowledge, aspirations of before became outdated (6)
Our land he quenched, our mountain he embellished, what happened did happen
The spring is gushing and our Beloved to heaven aimed and flied


Notes:

1) The verb ḣall has here two metaphoric meanings: first to come and dwell, implying September came and dwelt in April so instead of spring time the weather is like fall time; second to dye, implying that September dyed April in such a way one could confuse the two months and corresponding seasons.

2) The verb masaḣ has here four meanings: first to crush and smash pointing to the violence of the storm; second to sweep and clean; third to define the portions of land; fourth, it is the root of Masiiḣ, the Christ, that is to say the anointed, and the verb is used commonly for the anointing of the sick so they be healed with the consecrated oil unction, the prayers of the faithful and the grace of God.

3) The noun cuxur means feeling, yet not just emotional feelings it refers also to the depth of the being; we feel from the heart that is the center of our being and conscience not a mere reference to our emotions.

4) The noun traab refers to the dirt of the land, one of the four basic constituent elements of Nature as described by the Greeks of Antiquity. It refers to the materiality of Earth and the land of the ancestors. Remember the Lent statement on Ash Monday (Eastern Rites) or Ash Wednesday (Latin Rite): “Inta mni ttraab w la ttraab btirjax.” You are dirt and to dirt you shall return.

5) The noun żulm refers to tyranny and darkness. Therefore, “Fog is his tyranny” and also “Fog is his darkness”.

6) The noun saraab means literally mirage.


Copyright July 23, 2009 Hicham Khalil Bourjaili
Our Lady of Lebanon, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA