1. Abandon the spears and swords of ignorance,
And the camels and tents of the pre-Islamic era.

2. Empty ages have passed, so why should we
Live in their darkness, groping blindly?

3. Will the enlightened age bend to our will
As we gather up relics from those times?

4. Of what use is a poet's elegy
That weeps for the ruins of a dead past?

5. He eulogizes though no ruins remain,
Merely following the habit of languor.

6. With his elegies "Stop and weep" he begins,
And in mourning he determines their end.

7. Proper speech is to fit every word
In its context, restraining as you lead.

8. Would you seek in Paradise, amidst flowers
Where brooks murmur through meadows,

9. A desert rose, when the wind
Has scattered the sands that concealed it?

10. Leave behind the old, destroy its sanctums,
Smash its idols and end its dominion.

11. Gone are the bones of its bonehead ways,
So why disinter its fossilized remains?

12. Abandon politics, its war and peace,
And preserve your own peace of mind.

13. The tide has turned, so your cries are in vain,
For your country has lost its glory.

14. Can you be its knight, while you cower
From defending Hauran and Damascus?

15. With the sea between you and the battle,
Its waves and arrows have blocked your way.

16. Of what use is a war that incites conflict
Just to view your foes bound and gagged?

17. The enlightened have taken up the pen here,
The valiant have seized the sword over there.

18. Bearing in their breasts the nation's words
Unlike those who mouth the people's sayings.

19. This is your country--your writings and dreams
Have not awakened it from its slumber.

20. Despite all doubts, nothing has changed:
Wolves still prey upon its lambs.

21. When you see rulers as you now see them,
With chaos spreading through the land,

22. Leave politics to political servants,
For they are the ones who chose them to serve.

23. Those who wield swords watch over affairs there,
While you watch over your own affairs here.

24. You live in a land rich in wonders--marvels
Beyond the reach of grasping hands.

25. The angels of creativity set up camp.
Take from Mount Sinai an ode of beauty

26. That conveys to Beauty greetings and peace.
Dictated by the eyes, you record its rhythm--

27. Poetry of vision whose harmony you echo.
Our souls have dreamed of paradise,

28. Till we saw it and realized the dream.
The seasons circle with their own gait,

29. And springtime never ceases to attend them.
The murmuring sea tempts you,

30. Its waves swelling till you fear their crush.
You see it withdrawing and wonder,

31. Then advancing, behold its onrush.
The lofty mountain, embracing

32. The sky, overawes celestial spheres.
Eternity has robed it in its raiment,

33. And time bows down before it, drawing near.

34. As for its shores, how often I've stood
In its expanse, inspired by its vistas.

35. As it slept in the ocean's embrace, it awoke
The ocean's eye, never again to know sleep.

36. And the ocean sings softly at its feet,
Composing forever melodies for its steps.

37. On its coast, passion kindles and burns
In the sun's affections as it sinks from sight.

38. You feel its tears in the ether's chill
And its sickness in the breeze's cool.

39. When darkness descends and its shadows
Spread over the sands and their murmurs,

40. You witness the most beautiful scene, beyond
The power of words to attain or redeem.

41. A horizon of lights spangled across the land,
As if your sky donned its moods like a cloak,

42. You fancy yourself in a pearl necklace,
While stars hide their lamps before its approach.

43. Above the sea, you see spirits floating--
Their bodies caressed by lapping waters.

44. You wonder: has the sea made them its mirror?
Or are they sea nymphs bathing in its waters?

45. Those shores--may you never lose their charm,
Or the charm of maidens who frequent them,

46. Strolling in the fig-leaves' drapery.
Have you seen them saunter through moonlight,

47. Swaying with the grace of the sandhill crane?
Each traveller who passed shot into my heart

48. Arrows of love that stirred my passion,
The breeze kissed their cheeks, and they blushed

49. Behind veils of rosy modesty.
So delicate of spirit, gliding over flowers,

50. They scarcely seemed to touch their hems.
Walking amidst eyes, they drew all gazes,

51. While your lids could scarcely track their steps.
The sea was smitten, just as I was, by their beauty,

52. Its waves kissing the imprints of their feet.
My soul is the ransom of their bending shapes--

53. Would that they had turned as the guide beckoned!
O joyous gardens, stirring memories

54. Of sorrow and grief from my innermost depths--
Memories of an exile, far from his people and home,