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Poetry

My Lot in the Days of the Lord

By Tarek Eltayeb
Translated from Arabic by Kareem James Abu-Zeid

I divide the days of the lord
Into sunlit and sunless
I found joy in the first of these
Delight and peace of mind

Yet the sun has been gone for months
And I have no veil to delude me
No memory of rites to inspire me
Nor even the remnants of a dream
To take my mind off this

My days without a shadow
Persist
And persist
Until I’m worn out by my lot
By my division of the days of the lord

Now I divide the days of the lord
Into ordinary and others that are also ordinary
With time I grow used to being
The same in the one and the other

Translation of “Qismatī fī Ayyām Ar-Rabb.” Copyright Tarek Eltayeb. By arrangement with the author. Translation copyright 2011 by Kareen James Abu-Zeid. All rights reserved.

English Arabic (Original)

I divide the days of the lord
Into sunlit and sunless
I found joy in the first of these
Delight and peace of mind

Yet the sun has been gone for months
And I have no veil to delude me
No memory of rites to inspire me
Nor even the remnants of a dream
To take my mind off this

My days without a shadow
Persist
And persist
Until I’m worn out by my lot
By my division of the days of the lord

Now I divide the days of the lord
Into ordinary and others that are also ordinary
With time I grow used to being
The same in the one and the other

قِسمتي في أيـامِ الربّ

أقسّمُ أيامَ الرَّبِّ إلى
شَمْسِيَّةٍ ولا شَمسية
أكونُ مرحًا
مُنشرحًا مُرْتَـاحًا في الأولى
..  ..  ..
لكنِّي مُنْذُ شُـهُورٍ في الأخرى
ولا قناعَ يُسْعِفُني بوهمٍ
ولا ذاكرةٍ بتقليدٍ تُلهِمُني
أو حتى بالحلم
تـُلهيني

أيامٌ لا ظِلَّ لي فيها
تتكرَّرُ
تتكرَّرُ
حتى أزهقَ من قِسمتي
بين أيام الربّ
..  ..  ..
الآنَ أقسّمُ أيامَ الربِّ
إلى عاديَّةٍ وأخْرَى عادية
أُعَوِّدُ نفسي مع الوقتِ أنْ أكُونَ
في الأخْرَى مِثْلَ الأولى
 
(فايترزفيلد، شمال النمسا، 24. 12. 2000)

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