#2. You Are Not Alone
Alternate title: (café, and you with the newspaper) by Mahmoud Darwish, analyzed and translated by The Scholar
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Café, and you, with a newspaper, are seating1
مقهىً’ وأَنتَ مع الجريدة جالسٌ
No, you are not alone; half your glass is empty2
لا, لَسْتَ وحدَك. نِصْفُ كأسك فارغٌ
and the sun completes the other half…3
والشمسُ تملأ نصفها الثاني...
and behind the glass you see the hurried pedestrians4
ومن خلف الزجاج ترى المشاة المسرعين
and you are not seen [one of the characteristics of the unseen: you see but remain unseen]5
ولا تُرَى [إحدى صفات الغيب تلك:ترى ولكن لا تُرَى]
How free you are, oh forgotten of the café!6
كم أَنت حُرُّ أَيها المنسيُّ في المقهى!
For no one sees the butterfly effect in you7
فلا أَحدٌ يرى أَثَرَ الفراشة فيك,
No one gawks at your presence or absence8
لا أَحَدٌ يحملقُ في حضوركَ أو غيابكَ,
or scrutinizes your fog if you look at a girl, whom you collapse before9
أَو يدقِّقُ في ضبابك إن نظرتَ إلى فتاةٍ وانكسرت أَمامها....
How free you are to handle personal affairs
كم أنت حُرُّ في إدارة شأنك الشخصيِّ
In this crowd without an observer from you or a reader10
في هذا الزحام بلا رقيب منك أَو من قارئ!
So do for yourself what you please11
فاصنع بنفسك ما تشاء،
Remove your shirt or shoe if you wish12
إخلعْ قميصك أو حذاءك إن أَردتَ،
For you are forgotten and free in your imagination
فأنت منسيُّ وحُرٌّ في خيالك،
Not your name nor your face yield necessary work here13
ليس لاسمكَ أَو لوجهكَ ههنا عَمَلٌ ضروريٌّ
Be as you are14
تكون كما تكون
no friend nor enemy here watches your memories15
فلا صديقَ ولا عَدُوَّ
So seek forgiveness for the one who left you in the café16
فالتمسْ عُذْراً لمن تركتك في المقهى
because you did not notice the new haircut
لأنك لم تلاحظ قَصَّةَ الشَّعْرِ الجديدةَ
And the butterflies that danced in her dimples17
والفراشاتِ التي رقصتْ على غمَّازَتَيْها /
and seek forgiveness for who requested your assassination
والتمسْ عذراً لمن طلب اُغتيالكَ,
that day, for nothing…
ذات يومٍ ’ لا لشيءٍ
but because you did not die the day you bumped into a star
بل لأنك لم تَمُتْ يوم ارتَطمْتَ بنجمة
and you wrote the first songs with her ink18
. وكَتَبْتَ أولى الأغنيات بحبرها....
Café, and you, with a newspaper, are seating19
مقهىً، وأَنت مع الجريدة جالسٌ
in the corner forgotten, for no one insults you20
قي الركن منسيّاً، فلا أَحد يُهين
your clear mood21
مزاجَكَ الصافي،
and nobody thinks of assassinating you22
ولا أَحَدٌ يُفكرُ باغتيالكْ
how free and forgotten you are in your imagination!23
كم أنت منسيٌّ وحُرٌّ في خيالك!
مقهىً وأَنتَ مع الجريدة جالسٌ
لا, لَسْتَ وحدَك. نِصْفُ كأسك فارغٌ
والشمسُ تملأ نصفها الثاني...
ومن خلف الزجاج ترى المشاة المسرعين
ولا تُرَى [إحدى صفات الغيب تلك:
ترى ولكن لا تُرَى]
كم أَنت حُرُّ أَيها المنسيُّ في المقهى!
فلا أَحدٌ يرى أَثَرَ الفراشة فيك,
لا أَحَدٌ يحملقُ في حضوركَ أو غيابكَ,
أَو يدقِّقُ في ضبابك إن نظرتَ
إلى فتاةٍ وانكسرت أَمامها....
كم أنت حُرُّ في إدارة شأنك الشخصيِّ
في هذا الزحام بلا رقيب منك أَو
من قارئ!
فاصنع بنفسك ما تشاء، إخلعْ
قميصك أو حذاءك إن أَردتَ، فأنت
منسيُّ وحُرٌّ في خيالك، ليس لاسمكَ
أَو لوجهكَ ههنا عَمَلٌ ضروريٌّ. تكون
كما تكون.... فلا صديقَ ولا عَدُوَّ
هنا يراقب ذكرياتِكَ
فالتمسْ عُذْراً لمن تركتك في المقهى
لأنك لم تلاحظ قَصَّةَ الشَّعْرِ الجديدةَ
والفراشاتِ التي رقصتْ على غمَّازَتَيْها /
والتمسْ عذراً لمن طلب اُغتيالكَ,
ذات يومٍ ’ لا لشيءٍ ... بل لأنك لم
تَمُتْ يوم ارتَطمْتَ بنجمة ... وكَتَبْتَ
أولى الأغنيات بحبرها....
مقهىً، وأَنت مع الجريدة جالسٌ
قي الركن منسيّاً، فلا أَحد يُهين
مزاجَكَ الصافي،
ولا أَحَدٌ يُفكرُ باغتيالكْ
كم أنت منسيٌّ وحُرٌّ في خيالك
Café, and you, with a newspaper, are seating
No, you are not alone; half your glass is empty
and the sun completes the other half…
and behind the glass you see the hurried pedestrians
and you are not seen [one of the characteristics of the unseen: you see but remain unseen]
How free you are, oh forgotten of the café!
For no one sees the butterfly effect in you
No one gawks at your presence or absence
or scrutinizes your fog if you look at a girl, whom you collapse before
How free you are to handle personal affairs
In this crowd without an observer from you or a reader
So do for yourself what you please
Remove your shirt or shoe if you wish
For you are forgotten and free in your imagination
Not your name nor your face yield necessary work here
Be as you are
no friend nor enemy here watches your memories
So seek forgiveness for the one who left you in the café
because you did not notice the new haircut
And the butterflies that danced in her dimples
and seek forgiveness for who requested your assassination
that day, for nothing…
but because you did not die the day you bumped into a star
and you wrote the first songs with her ink
Café, and you, with a newspaper, are seating
in the corner forgotten, for no one insults you
your clear mood
and nobody thinks of assassinating you
how free and forgotten you are in your imagination!
[Scholars Comment]
I am still experimenting with the layout of this series. Based on the kind comments and feedback from the last poem, I have added a new feature: an overlapping Arabic and English translation, for those language enthusiasts who prefer a visible account of the lines as they are read. I have also included a video read by the author himself! I will try to do this whenever possible, as I firmly believe that alongside understanding, Arabic poetry is meant to be heard as well.
The discussion on this poem takes place through the footnotes, but I encourage any interpretations or further analysis in the comments below. With Valentine's Day around the corner, I wanted to create a special piece dedicated to the most famous love stories in Arabic poetic history. For this, I need your help in choosing from the options above. Once you've made your choice, vote below!
Antarah and Ablah – The forbidden love between a former slave and his sweetheart.
Nizar Qabbani and Balqees – The heartbreaking loss of his wife in a terrorist attack.
Mahmoud and Rita – Another forbidden romance, between the Palestinian poet and his Israeli lover, Rita.
Majnun and Layla – The Romeo and Juliet of the Arab world.
While the difference between the standard café in Arabic countries (which stems from مقهىً) may seem subtle to readers, the word café suggests a typical Starbucks, what one envisions a café to be, but مقهىً denotes a coffee shop where you can play dice, smoke shisha (hookah), drink coffee, and of course read the news; as is common in Arab countries
Has little to do with an actual glass and used in a metaphorical sense to suggest a pessimistic view on life. When Darwish says, you are not alone, it indicates that negative thoughts never truly leave you; to be alone, is to be at peace
This, in stark contrast to the previous verse, suggests hope, unattainable in the form of light, yet present if pursued
The hurried pedestrians seen through the glass just on the other end signify a life passing by too fast; a life slipping through ones eyes. The coffee shop dweller has not lived through life but merely observed it from a distance.
Though ترى translates to “ I/you see”, in theme with the poem it could also mean to be understood or to be present and have a sense of belonging in the environment. To see and not be seen is to understand, and be there, but not be felt nor understood; merely invisible.
Liberation comes at the expense of belonging, to be tied to nothing means to owe to nothing, which begs the question, is the freedom worth it?
The butterfly effect (also the name of his poetry collection), is a requiring theme in Darwish’s work. The concept of a butterfly effect is that the smallest of actions can lead to the greatest of changes; such as a butterfly flapping its wings in one city leading to a tornado in another.
Just as the coffee dweller is indifferent to his environment, the world is indifferent to him. This line emphasis the freedom that comes from detachment, but again, at what cost?
The word وانكسرت is unique in its offering of two perspectives in the same line. The literal meaning is to break down, or collapse, emotionally implying a deep passion before a woman, but it could also mean to simply falter from a gaze
Highlights the comical paradox of the situation; though the dweller feels alone, he is in fact surrounded by people yet remains invisible.
Rather than the hopeful impression the verse implies, the dweller has turned to a nihilistic viewpoint on life. Nihilism in simple terms is the belief that life is ultimately meaningless, that the earth is just a rock in space, and nothing we do matter so we should do as we please.
The detachment to materialistic objects reinforces the cynical approach the café dweller is drawing on
The irrelevancy of the dweller both taunts him and grants him liberty
literal translation: Be as you be
The removal of “friend and enemy” in the context implies that not only do they not watch the memories, but they never existed to begin with. The coffee dweller was preoccupied with remaining hidden, unnoticed, that both the good and bad moments passed by in life.
The phrase فالتمسْ عُذْراً could also mean to excuse or to understand, rather than to verbally forgive someone of a past fault done on ones own account
Detachment has effects on those around an individual just as they do to the individual themselves.
Notably the four lines with the most differentiating interpretations in the poem. Though this could suggest a physical foe, in theme with the rest of the verses, I believe this to be societies attempt at “assassinating” the dweller whom survived through hardships and used it as artistic are poetic inspiration. Rather than rooting for the dweller, society prayed for his downfall.
We come full circle, envisioning the opening scene that began it all
My favourite line in the whole poem; I interpret this to mean that great achievements attract spitefulness from observers. To make a difference, one must first know how to handle public malice.
Here the dweller has made peace with the isolation
For no one to think of “assassinating” anymore means that the public scrutiny has been lifted. This comes from being “unseen” or “invisible”, benefits that come from observing life rather than participating, but at the expense of marking your name in the textbooks
The closing lines bridging the paradox discussed in the poem, to be forgotten is to be liberated, but to be forgotten one has to accept the complete removal or action one plays in life.
Any day that starts with poetry is a perfect day in my book. Glad you enjoyed :)
Really appreciate your dual format offerings - helps rub the rust off my oxidized Arabic! A bold translation. Marvellous notes illuminating such an evocative poem of intimacy and alienation. I wonder how the "assassination" was requested - a spiteful 'yakhrib baytak' tossed at the cafe dweller as she left, perhaps? My grasp of the vernacular is weakened by distance in time. Looking forward to more splendid treatments.