I opened my window

Facebook reminded me I memorized these verses from Salah Jaheen’s Ruba’iyyat for a course in Egyptian dialect more than ten years ago:

فتحت شباكي لشمس الصبـــــــــــــــــاح

ما دخلش منه غيــــــــــر عويل الريـــاح

و فتحت قلبي عشان ابوح بالألـــــــــــــم

ما خرجش منه غير محبه و سمــــــــاح

!عجبي

Here’s my translation:

I opened my window for the morning sun
Nothing entered but the wind’s complaints
Then I opened my heart to confess my pain
Nothing exited but love and grace.

Agabi!

-Salah Jaheen, Ruba’iyyat, 1963

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