Dreams That Do Not Sleep With Us

مِنَ الأَحْلَامِ مَا يَهْمِسُ بِالمَعْنَى،
وَمِنْهَا مَا يَعْكِسُ جُوعَ الرُّوحِ.

min al-aḥlām mā yahmisu bi-l-maʿnā,
wa-minhā mā yaʿkisu jūʿ al-rūḥ.

Some dreams whisper meaning;
others echo hunger.

فَالرُّؤْيَا العَادِيَّةُ
صَدًى لِمَا يَهْتَزُّ فِي الدَّاخِلِ.

fa-l-ruʾyā al-ʿādiyyah
ṣadan li-mā yahtazzu fī al-dākhil.

The ordinary dream is the body digesting its noise.

وَلٰكِنَّ الرُّؤْيَا الصَّادِقَةَ
تَقِفُ مُسْتَيْقِظَةً عِنْدَ سَرِيرِكَ.

wa-lākinna al-ruʾyā al-ṣādiqah
taqifu mustayqiẓatan ʿinda sarīrik.

But the true dream stands awake beside you.

وَتُعْرَفُ بِثِقْلِهَا فِي الصَّدْرِ
بَعْدَ أَوَّلِ نَفَسٍ مِنَ الصَّبَاحِ.

wa-tuʿrafu bi-thiqlihā fī al-ṣadr
baʿda awwal nafas min al-ṣabāḥ.

You will know it by its weight in the chest after dawn.

هِيَ لَا تَرْوِي قِصَّةً،
بَلْ تَمِيلُ كَمَا يَمِيلُ الغَدُ نَحْوَكَ.

hiya lā tarwī qiṣṣah,
bal tamīlu ka-mā yamīlu al-ghad naḥwak.

It brings not images, but inclination.

وَتَنْضُجُ مَعَ الأَيَّامِ
كَجَنِينٍ يَتَخَلَّقُ فِي الخَفَاءِ.

wa-tanḍuju maʿa al-ayyām
ka-janīn yatakhallaq fī al-khafāʾ.

Its meaning grows inside you.

فَدَعِ الرُّؤْيَا العَادِيَّةَ تُبْدِي حُدُودَكَ،
وَدَعِ الرُّؤْيَا المُقَدَّسَةَ تَدُلُّكَ عَلَى طَرِيقِكَ.

fa-daʿi al-ruʾyā al-ʿādiyyah tubdī ḥudūdak,
wa-daʿi al-ruʾyā al-muqaddasah tadulluka ʿalā ṭarīqik.

Let the ordinary dream show your edges;
let the holy dream show your path.

وَالرُّؤْيَا الَّتِي لَا تَنَامُ مَعَكَ
رِسَالَةٌ مِنْ نَفْسِكَ فِي الغَدِ.

wa-l-ruʾyā allatī lā tanāmu maʿak
risālah min nafsik fī al-ghad.

The dream that does not sleep with you
is a message from your future self.

فَإِنْ أَغْلَقَ القَلْبُ أُذُنَيْهِ،
تَكَلَّمَتِ الرُّؤْيَا بِالجَسَدِ.

fa-in aghlaqa al-qalb udhunayhi,
takallama al-ruʾyā bi-l-jasad.

If the heart cannot hear, the dream will speak through the body.

وَهٰذِهِ الأَحْلَامُ حُرَّاسٌ لِلمَعَابِرِ،
لِلْأَبْوَابِ الَّتِي تَخْشَاهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَتَخَيَّلْهَا.

wa-hādhihi al-aḥlām ḥurrās li-l-maʿābir,
li-l-abwāb allatī takhshāhā wa-llatī lam tatakhayyalhā.

These dreams guard your thresholds.

فَأَكْرِمْ كِلْتَا الرُّؤْيَتَيْنِ:
مِرْآةَ اللَّيْلِ وَسَهْمَ القَدَرِ.

fa-akrim kiltā al-ruʾyatayn:
mirʾāt al-layl wa-sahm al-qadar.

Honor both dreams: the mirror and the arrow.

وَلْيَكُنْ نَوْمُكَ بَابًا،
وَلْتَمْشِ مَعَكَ الرُّؤْيَا اليَقِظَةُ
حَتَّى يَتَأَخَّرَ الفَجْرُ.

wa-l-yakun nawmuka bāban,
wa-l-tamshi maʿaka al-ruʾyā al-yaqiẓah
ḥattā yataʾakhkhara al-fajr.

May your sleep be a door,
and may the waking dream walk beside you until dawn.