على اسم الجنيهات والأسلحة

على اسم الجنيهات والأسلحة

يتاجر بالموت كي يربحه

يتاجر بالموت كي يربحه

In the name of pounds and weapons,

In the name of guineas and weapons

He trades in death to profit from it.

He trades in death to profit from it

ويشتم كفي مرابي الحروب

ويشتم كفي مرابي الحروب

فيزرع في رمله مطمحه

فيزرع في رمله مطمحه

And curses the two palms of the usurer of wars,

And curses my watering palms of war

So he plants his ambition in his sand.

Where he sows his ambition in the sand

ذوائبه الحاضنات النجوم

ذوائبه الحاضنات النجوم

بأيدي المرابين كالممسحه

بأيدي المرابين كالممسحه

His locks, cradling the stars,

Whose dunes cradle the stars

Are like a wiping rag in the usurers' hands.

With the palms of profiteers like a rag

يمنيه طاغ حساه الفجور

يمنيه طاغ حساه الفجور

وجلمد في حلقه النحنحه

وجلمد في حلقه النحنحه

A tyrant swallowed by depravity tempts him with hopes,

His right overwhelmed by the immorality of his senses

And his throat-clearing is a boulder in his throat.

And frozen in his throat a fit of coughing

فيدمي وتغدو جراحاته

فيدمي وتغدو جراحاته

مناديل.. في كف من جرحه

مناديل.. في كف من جرحه

So he sheds blood, and his wounds become

So he bleeds and his wounds become

Handkerchiefs in the hand of whoever wounded him.

Handkerchiefs, in the hand of one he has wounded

وتومي له حربة،(الهرمزان)

وتومي له حربة،(الهرمزان)

بقرآن (عثمان) والمسبحه

بقرآن (عثمان) والمسبحه

And al-Hurmuzan's spear beckons to him

And a lance is appointed for him, Al-Hormuzan

With Uthman's Qur'an and the prayer beads.

With an Uthman Quran and prayer beads

فيهوي له جبة من رماد

فيهوي له جبة من رماد

ومن داميات الحصى أوشحه

ومن داميات الحصى أوشحه

So he plunges, with a robe of ash,

So a shirt of ashes descends upon him

And sashes of bleeding pebbles.

And a cloak of bloody pebbles

على وجهه ترسب الحشرجات

على وجهه ترسب الحشرجات

وتطفو قبور بلا أضرحه

وتطفو قبور بلا أضرحه

On his face, death rattles settle,

On his face sediments of sorrows accumulate

And graves float up without mausoleums.

And graves with no tombstones float

ويجتره من وراء السراب

ويجتره من وراء السراب

أسى يرتدي صبغة مفرحه

أسى يرتدي صبغة مفرحه

And, from beyond the mirage, he is chewed over

And from behind the mirage grief pursues him

By sorrow wearing a cheerful hue.

Wearing the guise of joy

فيجتاح تلاً شواه الحريق

فيجتاح تلاً شواه الحريق

وتلآ دخان اللظى لوحه

وتلآ دخان اللظى لوحه

So he overruns a hill roasted by fire,

So he raids a hill charred by fire

And a hill scorched by the blaze's smoke.

And a hill with rising smoke a banner

ويغتال رابية ممسياً

ويغتال رابية ممسياً

وتأكله ربوة مضبحه

وتأكله ربوة مضبحه

And assassinates a hillock at dusk,

And he assassinates a young girl at dusk

And a singed hill devours him.

And a hilltop devours him with its blaze

وكالسل يمتص زيت(الرياض)

وكالسل يمتص زيت(الرياض)

ويرضع من دمه المذبحه

ويرضع من دمه المذبحه

And like tuberculosis, he sucks Riyadh's oil,

And like a chain he sucks the oil of Riyadh

And suckles the massacre with his blood.

And from its blood he suckles slaughter

ويسقط حيث تلوح النقود

ويسقط حيث تلوح النقود

هنا أوهنا لا يعي مطرحه

هنا أوهنا لا يعي مطرحه

And falls wherever money glints,

And he falls wherever money beckons

Here or here—unaware of where he lands.

The ghosts of life weighing on his eyelids

طيوف الحياة على مقلتيه

طيوف الحياة على مقلتيه

عصافير دامية الأجنحه

عصافير دامية الأجنحه

Phantoms of life upon his eyes:

Birds with bloody wings

Sparrows with bleeding wings.

His evenings tire of his captives

تعب أساريره الأمسيات

تعب أساريره الأمسيات

وتنسى الصبيحات أن تلمحه

وتنسى الصبيحات أن تلمحه

The evenings gulp down his features,

And his mornings forget to notice him

And mornings forget to catch sight of him.

His only goal is to perpetuate wars

وغاياته أن يدير الحروب

وغاياته أن يدير الحروب

ويبتز أسواقها المربحه

ويبتز أسواقها المربحه

And his aims are to direct the wars,

And profit from their lucrative markets

And fleece their profitable markets.

As long as blood remains in him

ومادام فيه بقايا دم

ومادام فيه بقايا دم

فمن صالح الجيب أن يسفحه

فمن صالح الجيب أن يسفحه

And as long as traces of blood remain in him,

It is worth bleeding his pockets

Then it is in the pocket's interest to spill it.

He is generous with his body parts so let them be

يجود بأشلائه ولتكن

يجود بأشلائه ولتكن

(لإبليس) أو(آدم) المصلحه

(لإبليس) أو(آدم) المصلحه

He gives his dismembered remains freely—let

For Satan or Adam the repairer

The gain be Iblis's or Adam's.

And these are his immortal habits

وتلك عوائده الخالدات

وتلك عوائده الخالدات

يجوع ومن لحمه يأكل

يجوع ومن لحمه يأكل

And those are his everlasting habits:

He starves and from his flesh he eats

He hungers, and eats of his own flesh.

With no money he would bleed so how can it be?

بلا درهم كان يدمي فكيف؟

بلا درهم كان يدمي فكيف؟

وكنز (المعز) له يبذل

وكنز (المعز) له يبذل

Without a dirham he shed blood—how, then,

When Al-Muizz's treasure is at his disposal

With al-Mu'izz's treasure lavished on him?

Does he forget his ancient ways as

أينسى عراقته أنه:

أينسى عراقته أنه:

أبو الحرب أو طفلها الأول

أبو الحرب أو طفلها الأول

Does he forget his ancient lineage—that he is

The father of war or its first child

The father of war, or its firstborn child?

And still each day it gives birth to him

ومازال تنجبه كل يوم

ومازال تنجبه كل يوم

(بسوس) وأخرى به تحبل

(بسوس) وأخرى به تحبل

And still, every day he is born to

Bisous and another it impregnates with him

Basus, while another grows pregnant with him.

Where does he go? And the echo replied:

إلى أين يسري؟ وردّ الصدى:

إلى أين يسري؟ وردّ الصدى:

إلى حيث لا يثنى الرحل

إلى حيث لا يثنى الرحل

Where does he journey by night? The echo replied:

To where the journey never ends

To where the saddle is never folded away.

And there was a sad lamp there

وكان هناك سراج حزين

وكان هناك سراج حزين

يئن ونافذة تسعل

يئن ونافذة تسعل

And there was a sorrowful lamp,

Moaning and a window coughing

It moaned, and a window coughed.

So the road listened to a bier

فأصغى الطريق إلى مسمر

فأصغى الطريق إلى مسمر

كنعش ينوء بما يحمل

كنعش ينوء بما يحمل

So the road listened to a night-time gathering,

Buckling under its burden

Like a bier sagging beneath what it carries.

And an old woman whose death forgot her said

وقال عجوز سها الموت عنه

وقال عجوز سها الموت عنه

على من ننوح ومن نشكل؟

على من ننوح ومن نشكل؟

And an old man whom death had overlooked said:

For whom do we mourn and eulogize?

For whom shall we wail, and whom shall we mourn?

Yesterday Yahya threw his brother Sa'id

رمى أمس (يحيى) أخاه(سعيداً)

رمى أمس (يحيى) أخاه(سعيداً)

وأردى أبن أختي أخي (مقبل)

وأردى أبن أختي أخي (مقبل)

Yesterday Yahya shot his brother Sa'id,

And felled my nephew, my brother Muqbil

And my sister's son killed my brother Muqbil.

His neighbor replied: If you could see

فرد له جاره: لو رأيت

فرد له جاره: لو رأيت

متاريسنا كيف تستقيل

متاريسنا كيف تستقيل

His neighbor replied to him: If only you saw

Our barricades capitulating

Our barricades—how they resign!

Dates swarming the mountains, mountains

تمور فتغشى الجبال الجبال

تمور فتغشى الجبال الجبال

ويبتلع الجندل الجندل

ويبتلع الجندل الجندل

They churn, and mountains engulf mountains,

And trenches swallowing trenches

And boulders swallow boulders,

And walls crumbling on their shadows

ويهوي الجدار على ظله

ويهوي الجدار على ظله

ويجتر أسواره المعقل

ويجتر أسواره المعقل

And the wall falls upon its shadow,

And battlements shaking the stronghold

And the stronghold chews its walls as cud.

And a bride on her wedding morning said

وقالت عروس صباح الزفاف

وقالت عروس صباح الزفاف

سعى قبل أن يبرد ( المحمل)

سعى قبل أن يبرد ( المحمل)

And a bride said on the wedding morning:

He left before the litter cooled

He set out before the bridal litter cooled.

One day they said he was in Hurayb

ويوماً حكوا أنه في (حريب)

ويوماً حكوا أنه في (حريب)

ويوماً أتى الخبر المذهل

ويوماً أتى الخبر المذهل

And one day they said he was in Harib,

Another the shocking news arrived

And one day the staggering news came.

And a boy cried: Tell me of my father!

وصاح فتى: أخبروا عن أبي

وصاح فتى: أخبروا عن أبي

وأجهش حتى بكى المنزل

وأجهش حتى بكى المنزل

And a youth cried: Tell me about my father!

And wept until the household sobbed

And he sobbed until the house wept.

And bitter spring came and went

وولى ربيع مرير وعاد

وولى ربيع مرير وعاد

ربيع بمأساته مثقل

ربيع بمأساته مثقل

And a bitter spring departed, and back came

A spring burdened with tragedies returned

A spring weighed down by its tragedy.

The horizon was lost and the friend of winds

وضاع المدى وصديق الرياح

وضاع المدى وصديق الرياح

يحوم..وعن وجهه يسأل

يحوم..وعن وجهه يسأل

And the expanse was lost, and the winds' friend

Circles... and from his face asks

Circles, and asks about his face.

A gale takes him and brings him around

ويمضي به عاصف قلّب

ويمضي به عاصف قلّب

ويأتي به عاصف حول

ويأتي به عاصف حول

And a fickle gale bears him away,

Another gale turns him

And a shifting gale brings him back.

Is it not time, O wind, for you to calm

أما آن يا ريح أن تهدئي

أما آن يا ريح أن تهدئي

ويا راكب الريح أن تتعبا

ويا راكب الريح أن تتعبا

Is it not time, O wind, for you to grow still,

And you, rider of the wind, to tire

And, O rider of the wind, for you to tire?

And where do you see the shore, O Barash,

و أين ترى شاطئ الموج يا

و أين ترى شاطئ الموج يا

(براش) ويا نسمات الصبا

(براش) ويا نسمات الصبا

And where do you see the waves' shore, O

And breezes of morning?

Barash, and O breezes of the east wind?

O end of the road: where is our meeting?

ويا آخر الشوط: أين اللقاء؟

ويا آخر الشوط: أين اللقاء؟

ويا جدب أرجوك أن تخصبا

ويا جدب أرجوك أن تخصبا

And O end of the course, where is the meeting?

And drought, I beg you to be fertile

And O barrenness, I beg you to grow fertile.

And dream, will you miraculously appear

ويا حلم،هل تجتلي معجزاً

ويا حلم،هل تجتلي معجزاً

تحيل خطاه الحصى كهربا

تحيل خطاه الحصى كهربا

And O dream, do you behold a miracle-worker

Turning pebbles to amber in your steps?

Whose footsteps turn pebbles into electricity?

With a palm defeating the fangs of gales

يبيد بكف، نيوب الرياح

يبيد بكف، نيوب الرياح

ويمحو بكف، حلوق الربى

ويمحو بكف، حلوق الربى

He destroys the winds' fangs with a palm,

And with a palm erasing the gullets of calamity

And erases the hills' throats with a palm,

Planting in the wolf the gentleness of sheep

ويغرس في الذئب رفق النعاج

ويغرس في الذئب رفق النعاج

ويمنح بعض القوى الأرنبا

ويمنح بعض القوى الأرنبا

And plants the ewes' gentleness in the wolf,

And bestowing the rabbit some power

And gives the rabbit some strength.

Will he come? And waiting masses

أيأتي؟ ويحتشد الانتظار

أيأتي؟ ويحتشد الانتظار

يمدُ له المهد والملعبا

يمدُ له المهد والملعبا

Will he come? And expectation gathers,

Prepare a cradle and playground for him

Laying out for him the cradle and playground.

And sunrises search for his footsteps

ويبحث عن قدميه الشروق

ويبحث عن قدميه الشروق

ويحفر عن ثغرة المغربا

ويحفر عن ثغرة المغربا

And sunrise searches for his feet,

And sunsets dig for a glimpse of him

And sunset digs for an opening.

And like it began, a cloud

وعادت كما بدأت غيمة

وعادت كما بدأت غيمة

توشي بوارقها الخلبا

توشي بوارقها الخلبا

And a cloud returned as it had begun,

Bedecks its pages with fine robes

Embroidering its deceptive flashes of lightning,

And empties its udders in the sands

وتفرغ أثداءها في الرمال

وتفرغ أثداءها في الرمال

وتهوي تحاول أن تشرباً

وتهوي تحاول أن تشرباً

And emptying its breasts into the sands,

Plummeting trying to drink

And plunging down, trying to drink.

And Sana'a awaits miracles

و(صنعاء) ترتقب المعجزات

و(صنعاء) ترتقب المعجزات

وتحلم بالمعجزات المُجتبى

وتحلم بالمعجزات المُجتبى

And Sana'a awaits miracles,

And dreams of the chosen miracles

And dreams, through miracles, of the Chosen One.

And like summer a new waiting expands

وكالصيف شع انتظار جديد

وكالصيف شع انتظار جديد

على الأفق وامتد واعشوشبا

على الأفق وامتد واعشوشبا

And like summer, a new expectation shone

On the horizon, stretching and wide

On the horizon, spread, and grew lush with grass.

And from each house a longing peered

وحدق من كل بيتٍ هوى

وحدق من كل بيتٍ هوى

يراقب عملاقه الأغلبا

يراقب عملاقه الأغلبا

And from every house, longing gazed,

Observing its mighty one, the conqueror

Watching its all-conquering giant,

And choosing the sweetest names for him

ويختار أحلى الأسامي له

ويختار أحلى الأسامي له

ويتنخب اللقب الأعجبا

ويتنخب اللقب الأعجبا

And choosing the sweetest names for him,

And selecting the most wondrous title

And selecting the most wondrous title.

And creates him a knight mounted

ويخلقه فارساً يمتطي

ويخلقه فارساً يمتطي

هلالاً ويتشح الكوكبا

هلالاً ويتشح الكوكبا

And creating him as a knight who rides

On a crescent moon and clad in a planet

A crescent moon and wears the star as his mantle.

He will shine for the Pleiades must sleep

سيدنو فقد آن للسهد أن

سيدنو فقد آن للسهد أن

ينام وللنوح أن يطربا

ينام وللنوح أن يطربا

He will draw near; it is time for sleeplessness to

And the weeping must rejoice

Sleep, and for lamentation to rejoice.

For bullets live as long as all else

فعمر الرصاص كعمر سواه

فعمر الرصاص كعمر سواه

وإن طال جاء لكي يذهبا

وإن طال جاء لكي يذهبا

For the life of bullets is like any other life,

And if prolonged, still come to leave

And though it lasts long, it came to depart.

And the sky may moon after darkening

وقد يقمر الجو بعد اعتكار

وقد يقمر الجو بعد اعتكار

وقد ينجل الأحمق الأنجبا

وقد ينجل الأحمق الأنجبا

And the sky may grow moonlit after gloom,

And the fool shine brighter than the brilliant

And a fool may beget the most gifted child.