الليلة المضطربة | A Troubled Night

Language: Modern Standard Arabic (MSA)

.انْزَلََقَ رِياحٌ ضِعافٌ وباردٌ تحْتَ قميصي وخَدَرَ لهمي ببطء. كنتُ جالس على سقْف شقتي وشْاهدتُ حركة العلم فوْقَ بُرْج ساعةٍ بجانب بنايت

Cold, weak winds slid beneath my shirt and slowly numbed my skin. I was sitting on the roof of my apartment and watching the movement of a flag atop a clocktower beside my building.

 

.منْ هَذَا الارْتفَاعْ شاهدتُ عَدَدْ منْ مدْخنة البيت ايضاً ولكنْ كان سيكارتي الوحيدة التي نفَثَتْ دَخَّانْ

From this vantage, a number of house chimneys could also be seen, but my cigarette alone was the emitter of smoke.

 

.انْتَقَلُ عيني الى غُروب الشمس المشْهدي الذي شعلت المدينة في الأفُق وخَلَقََ وَهُم مدينة محٍْترقة

My eyes moved to the scenic sunset, which inflamed the city in the horizon and created an illusory image of a burning burgh.

.يأتي طائرة في رؤيتي وتزْعَجُ محرّكتها سلام المساء. طرت الطائرة الى غُروب الشمس في الأفُق كأنها كان وعدت لركابها الضوء الأزلي

Forthcame an aeroplane into this scope of vision, with its engines irritating the peace of the night. It flew towards the sun in the horizon as if promising its passengers the eternal light.

 

.في هذه الحظة اشعرت بالدموع على وجهي لكن ما عرفْتُ إذا كنتُ بكيت او إذا دمّعتُ من دّخاني او حتى من اشعة الشمس الأخير

In this moment, a tear formed upon my face, but I knew not if it was because I was crying or whether they were stinged tears from my cigarette smoke, or perhaps even from the intensity of the burning sunset.

 

.كما يخْتَفي الشمس رويدا رويدا يضيء بنايات المدينة بدرجة أكثر حتى الشمس يختفي كلياًِ وأخذ القمرة مركز السماء أخراً

Slowly the sun dimmed and slowly the building lights illuminated, until finally the sun disappeared completely and the moon took centre stage of the night sky.

 

.وصل رائحة الذات المقلية لأنفي من مطبخ غير معروفة. كان وقت للعشاء ولكن لنْ اتعشّى هذه الليلة

A scent of burning oil reached my nose from an unknown kitchen. It was dinner time, but I would not eat tonight.

We acknowledge the Ngunnawal and Ngambri people, who are the Traditional Custodians of the land on which Woroni, Woroni Radio and Woroni TV are created, edited, published, printed and distributed. We pay our respects to Elders past and present. We acknowledge that the name Woroni was taken from the Wadi Wadi Nation without permission, and we are striving to do better for future reconciliation.