1. I remember it, how could I not
Lebanon, where musk and ambergris lie

2. Its good scent is the spirit of youth
And its water, even when muddy, is as generous as Kauthar

3. Its trees soar into the sky
A sight that amazes the onlooker

4. As if they were houris standing guard
Awake through the night watching over

5. The spring of Saffa drips from its rocks
And the meadow is drunk, unaware

6. As if its waters were a wine
That intoxicates the meadow when it drinks

7. And Zahle, my longing for Zahle
In its beauty like a chrysolite gem

8. A houri, with lovers always roaming
And all who love it become enchanted

9. How poetry has tried to describe it
Yet all our descriptions fall short

10. Its sky is revelation, its flowers are poetry
And its slopes are unrolled scriptures

11. How many talented poets it has raised
Who when inspired can enchant

12. It's as if Harut were revealing himself
Through their poetry though trying to hide

13. The cedars have toughened to face the days
So every hill around them seems small

14. The titans of eras are hostage to its glory
Subdued by its dazzling order

15. O cedar, the majesty that
Solomon had unrolled shall not fade

16. So be patient facing the days
For no glory is lost to those who endure

17. I profess my longing for Lebanon
Nor do I renounce loving Lebanon or withdraw

18. It holds a part of my life and self
I have verses etched into its chest

19. I have in it a bright full moon
With bright beautiful light

20. It sheds light in the gardens of love
So I gather all that it sheds

21. How many nights were spent in its nearness
Love gives without losing any

22. As if it were the wealthy Rothschild
Or the affluent Rockefeller

23. The night in it has a perfect moon
Like a one-eyed servant assigned just for us

24. O Auliga the untroubled brook passes
Troubling all still waters as it flows by

25. And my heart holds tears that flow
Each time its sighs stumble

26. O Juldur what rhymes have I composed
Except about you, O Juldur

27. You inspired my poetry so I shall not
Deny what you inspired or reject it

28. In your bright eyes lies the secret of passion
And in your sweet red lips what intoxicates

29. And in your arms lies innocent love
And between your sides lies purer love

30. I will recall Marj in the dawn
When you rise early like the birds

31. Since your feet graced its grass
It has respectfully bowed its green

32. You left with me a passion that my heart
Stayed up late honoring

33. You dripped affection, so is there in the sky
A purity like what you drip?

34. All this is in my country, and I have
A sister with blonde hair

35. A giggling one, like flowers in a meadow
A singing nightingale flitting about

36. Young, with blue
Eyes and rosy red cheeks

37. Eyebrows like swords, if she frowns angrily
Even Antar would fear her

38. The black stallion walking ahead of her
Struts proudly in its color

39. It has in her eyes an alluring ego
And in its mane another charm

40. If luck provides it a mare
It hurries in that moment overjoyed

41. As if while over her shoulder
It were Alexander the Great or Caesar

42. Or Khalid the Second on his throne
God is greater than his tyranny!

43. O sister! By God what injustice from her
Everyone obeys when she commands

44. She imposes on the household that
All stay up ensuring her contentment

45. If she asks for something and is not given it
Everything she happens upon gets smashed

46. Woe to the cups from her torment!
Woe to chairs when she is provoked!

47. And the home, by God, what memories
Its green garden surrounds

48. She looks at the trees dissatisfied
Unless they bear fruit

49. She loves me intensely without
Limits, and a sister's love is unlimited

50. A love rivaling the ground in expanse and all
The oceans have carried in their depths

51. Of fish swimming in its waters
And whale carcasses it draws

52. And the sands that have increased around it
So my sister's love to me is far more

53. How often have I set aside my time
Just to hear her recite what comes to memory

54. So sorrows get drunk in my soul
And my sister's voice is wine that intoxicates

55. She looks into my eyes a bit
And I can't guess what jewels and gems lie

56. And sometimes she reveals a smile
In which pearls and gems shine

57. How often has she come into my study
While I compose poetry or prose

58. And scattered its papers while passion
In my soul gratefully flutters

59. I will abandon the homelands not unwilling
But for reasons that call me to depart

60. Its men have all sold themselves
Like machines for hire

61. Tomorrow I will arrive in the land of Zaghloul
Perhaps, I wonder, society will be kind to me

62. I am a captive in my country so will
A young man's ideas be captured in Egypt?

63. Egypt is but a flower in the firmament
And the Nile drips from its bud

64. The free man in it is a lurking lion
That if called to pounce does not betray

65. Its Pharaoh guards it even in his grave
A living Pharaoh within that can't be denied

66. Fragrant amber diffusing through its soil
And musk wafting through its terrain

67. Like a lion relaxing on its throne
Its den known to even the farthest lands

68. Lebanon, I sigh for it yet
The memory of musk and amber in my heart remain

69. Maybe I will return to see its glory anew
Lebanon, where musk and amber lie