በፈገግታ አልቻልኩም በማሳሳቅ
No smile of mine, no laughter can prevail,
ደስ የሚለኝ ይሄን ልጅ ሃሳቡን መስረቅ
To steal the thought of one my heart does hold;
ብጠጋዉ አልሆንም ከጎኑም ብቆም
Though I stand close, or by his side, I fail,
ሃሳቡ ሌላ ጋር ዞሮ ሰዉ አያይም
His mind is turned, a presence left untold.
ልቤ አንተ ጋር ነዉ ብታቅ ብያለዉ
My heart is yours, I hope that you believe,
ላፍታ እንድታወራኝ እፈልጋለዉ
A single word I long now to receive.
መጀመሪያዬ ነዉ ሳይህ ዛሬ
For this first sight began my fate today,
ሁሉን ነገር ረሳዉ ባይህ ዙሬ
I looked upon you and forgot the way.
ያደኩበትን እጅ የእናቴን የአባቴን ክብር ሳልተዉ
The honor of my parents, by whose hand I grew,
የሰጠኝን እሳት ደፍሬ እንዴት ላዉራዉ
How dare I speak aloud the flame he lit anew?
በንፃአነቴ ቢሆንም ያደኩት ባአባቴ ቤት
Though I was nurtured pure beneath my father’s careful walls,
ይሄ አይመስለኝም ሰራዓቱ የሰትነት
This does not seem like womanly virtue’s calls.
ልሂድ አልሂድ መጠባበቁ ሲያስጨንቀኝ
This waiting plagues my spirit, should I stay or go?
ለምን አያየኝ አምሮብኝ የለ ግራ አጋባኝ
I am arrayed for him, yet why escapes his show?
በጊዜ ቤቴ ለመሄድ ወስኜ
I made the choice to leave the place apace,
የነበርኩት ልጅ ቀረሁኝ ፈዝዤ
But stayed behind, just staring into space.
ልቤ አንተ ጋር ነዉ ብታቅ ብያለዉ
My heart is yours, I hope that you believe,
ላፍታ እንድታወራኝ እፈልጋለዉ
A single word I long now to receive
መጀመሪያዬ ነዉ ሳይህ ዛሬ
For this first sight began my fate today,
ሁሉን ነገር ረሳዉ ባይህ ዙሬ
I looked upon you and forgot the way
ምሽቱ ዉብ ሆኖ
The lovely night did brightly gleam,
በጨረቃ ድምቀት ብማረክም
Captivated by the moon’s soft beam;
ማጣጣም አቃተኝ መረጋጋት አልቻልኩም
Yet savoring its peace was but a dream
ዉበት ይሁን ሳቁ
Was it his beauty, or his laugh’s soft call?
ቁመናዉ ወይ መልኩ መልሱ ጠፋኝ
His figure, or his face—I cannot know it all;
ሃያል ነዉ ሞገሱ በርቀት ልቤን ቀማኝ
His mighty presence stole my heart in thrall
ልሂድ አልሂድ መጠባበቁ ሲይስጨንቀኝ
This waiting plagues my spirit, should I stay or go?
ለምን አያየኝ አምሮብኝ ያለ ግራ አጋባኝ
I am arrayed for him, yet why escapes his show?
በጊዜ ቤቴ ለመሄድ ወስኜ
I made the choice to leave the place apace,
የነበርኩት ልጅ ቀረሁኝ ፈዝዤ
But stayed behind, just staring into space.
