Sol 6.1

  1. أَراكَ عَلى المَغيبِ فَهَل تَراني

    وَهَل يَخفى عَلى أَحَدٍ مَكاني

    I see you though out of sight—do you see me?

    And can my whereabouts be hidden from anyone?

  2. دَعا الداعي فَأَسمَعَ حينَ نادى

    بَني الأَقطارِ مِن قاصٍ وَدانِ

    The herald called, and when he called, he was heard

    by the sons of the lands, both far and near.

  3. مَضوا زُمَراً إِلى واديكَ شَتّى

    فَهَل وَجَدوا بِهِ ريحَ الجِنانِ

    They went in varied bands to your valley;

    so did they find there the scent of Paradise's gardens?

  4. وَظَلّوا عاكِفينَ عَلَيكَ حَتّى

    كَأَنَّكَ كُنتَ مِن خَيرِ الأَماني

    And they lingered, intent upon you, so much so

    that you seemed among the finest things one could wish for.

  5. فَمِن مَلِكٍ أَغَرَّ وَمِن أَميرٍ

    أَعَزَّ وَكاتِبٍ ذَرِبِ البَيانِ

    Among them an illustrious king, and a prince

    most exalted, and a writer of fluent speech.

  6. أَتَوكَ وَعاقَني حِدثانُ دَهرٍ

    يُصَرِّفُ لا كَما أَرضى عِناني

    They came to you, but the vicissitudes of time held me back,

    turning my reins, not as I wish.

  7. يَعَزُّ عَلَيكَ أَنّي عَنكَ ناءٍ

    تَرى تِلكَ الوُفودَ وَلا تَراني

    It pains you that I am far from you:

    you see those delegations, but you do not see me.

  8. رُوَيدَكَ إنَّ شَخصَكَ مِلءُ عَيني

    وَذِكرَكَ ما يزالُ عَلى لِساني

    Be patient: your form fills my sight,

    and mention of you remains upon my tongue.

  9. أَيَشغَلُ شاعِرَ الوَطَنِ المُفَدّى

    سِواكَ وَأَنتَ شُغلُ بَني الزَمانِ

    Can the poet of the cherished homeland be preoccupied

    with anything but you, when you preoccupy the sons of this age?

  10. حَدا أَسرابَهُم بَرحُ اِشتِياقٍ

    إِلَيكَ وَقادَهُم فَرطُ اِفتِتانِ

    The anguish of longing drove their flocks

    toward you, and overpowering fascination led them.

  11. سَيَكفيكَ الَّذي تَخشى وَتَرجو

    مِنَ الأدَبِ المُهَذَّبِ ما كَفاني

    For what you fear and hope, you will find enough

    in the refined literature that has sufficed me.

  12. فَهَل لَكَ أَيُّها الخَزّانُ عَهدٌ

    بِحِفظٍ لِلصَنيعَةِ أَو صِيانِ

    So have you, O reservoir, any assurance

    that a benefaction will be cherished or preserved?

  13. وَقَبلَكَ ضاعَ شِعري في دِيارٍ

    شَجاني مِن بَنيها ما شَجاني

    And before you, my verse went to waste in lands

    whose sons caused me the sorrow they caused.

  14. تعامى مَعشَرٌ عَنّي وَعَنهُ

    فَيا عَجَبي أَيَخفى النَيِّرانِ

    Some people feigned blindness to me and to it;

    so, how I marvel! Can the two luminaries be hidden?

  15. بِرَبِّكَ هَل يَريدُ ذَووكَ خَيراً

    بِشَعبٍ عاثِرِ الآمالِ عانِ

    By your Lord, do your people wish good

    for a captive people whose hopes stumble?

  16. وَهَل تُروى الكنانَةُ وَهيَ ظَمأى

    فَتَروي عَن صَنائِعِكَ الحِسانِ

    And will Kinanah, thirsty as she is, be quenched,

    and so recount your beautiful benefactions?

  17. أَحَقّاً أَنتَ داهِيَةٌ جَناها

    عَلَينا مِن بَني التاميزِ جانِ

    Are you truly a calamity wrought

    upon us by a wrongdoer among the sons of the Thames?

  18. أَحَقّاً أَنَّهُم صَدَقوا فَجاءوا

    بِأَحسَنِ ما بَنى لِلخيرِ بانِ

    Is it true that they were truthful, and brought

    the finest thing a builder ever built to do good?

  19. سَتُخبِرُنا اليَقينَ صَروفُ دَهرٍ

    يَكُرُّ بِها قَضاءٌ غَيرُ وانِ

    The turns of time will tell us the certain truth,

    as tireless fate brings them round again and again.

  20. لَنا إِن رُمتَ شُكراً لا عَلَينا

    كَفانا مِن بُناتِكَ ما نُعاني

    Be for us, if you seek thanks, not against us;

    what we suffer from your builders is enough for us.

  21. فَيا صُنعَ الجَبابِرَةِ اِستَعانوا

    عَلَيكَ بِخَيرِ رِدءٍ مُستَعانِ

    So, O work of giants! They sought aid

    in making you, from the finest support one could call upon:

  22. قُوى أَيديهُمُ وَقُوى نُهاهُم

    كِلا الأَمرَينِ عُدَّةُ كُلِّ شانِ

    the strength of their hands and the strength of their minds—

    both are the resources for every undertaking.

  23. سَتَبقى يا عَروسَ النيلِ تُبدي

    جَمالَ الفَنِّ آناً بَعدَ آنِ

    You will endure, O bride of the Nile, displaying

    the beauty of art, time after time.

  24. تَمُرُّ الحادِثاتُ عَلَيكَ سِلماً

    تُقَلِّبُ عَينَ ذي الفَزَعِ الجَبانِ

    Misfortunes pass over you in peace,

    with a frightened coward's shifting gaze.

  25. وَلَيسَ لَها وَإِن جَهِلَت عَلَينا

    بِما لا تَبتَغي مِنها يدانِ

    And even if they rage against us, they have no

    hands to bring what you do not want from them.

  26. أَعِر مِصراً كِيانَكَ إِنَّ مِصراً

    وَقاها اللَهُ واهِيَةُ الكِيانِ

    Lend Egypt your solidity, for Egypt—

    may God protect her—is frail in constitution.

  27. أَرى الهَرَمَينِ قَد هَرِما وَشاخا

    وَأَنتَ مِنَ الصِبى في عُنفُوانِ

    I see the two pyramids have aged and grown old,

    while you are in the full vigor of youth.

  28. فَناجِهِما وَلَو قَدِرا لَخَفّا

    إِلَيكَ فَأَقبَلا يَتَبارَيانِ

    So whisper to them, and if they could, they would hasten

    to you, coming forward to vie with one another.

  29. عَلَيَّ الجِدُّ يُعجِبُ سامِعيهِ

    وَلَيسَ عَلَيَّ وَصفُ المِهرَجانِ

    My duty is earnest verse that delights its hearers,

    not to describe the festival.