Sol 6.1

  1. ذَراني أُقِم لِلشِعرِ في مِصرَ مَأتَما

    إِلى أَن يَفيضَ النيلُ في أَرضِها دَما

    Leave me, you two, to hold a mourning rite for poetry in Egypt,

    until the Nile floods her land with blood.

  2. تَلومانِ أَن أَبدَيتُ ما بي مِنَ الأَسى

    وَأَنَّى لِما بي أَن يُوارى فَيُكتَما

    You two blame me for revealing the sorrow within me;

    but how can what is within me be hidden and concealed?

  3. سَبيلُكُما أَن تُخفِيا لا عِجَ الجَوى

    وَما هَو إِلّا أَن يُذاعَ فَيُعلَما

    Your way is to hide the searing pangs of anguish;

    yet its only course is to be proclaimed and known.

  4. أَحَرُّ الجَوى ما جاوَزَ القَلبَ فَاِرتَقى

    وَأَصفى الهَوى ما ذابَ في العَينِ فَاِنهَمى

    The hottest anguish is that which passes beyond the heart and rises;

    and the purest love is that which melts in the eye and pours forth.

  5. وَأَوهى ضُروبِ الحُبِّ حُبٌّ مُلَثَّمٌ

    يُصانِعُ خافيهِ وُشاةً وَلُوَّما

    And the frailest kind of love is a veiled love,

    whose concealer placates tale-bearers and reproachers.

  6. رُوَيدَكُما يا لائِمَيَّ فَإِنَّ بي

    عَلى مِصرَ وَجداً جَلَّ أَن يَتَلَثَّما

    Gently, you two who blame me, for within me

    is a passion for Egypt too great to veil.

  7. بِلادٌ سَقَتني الحُبَّ عَذباً وَوَكَّلتُ

    بِصافيهِ قَلباً بَينَ جَنبَيَّ أَهيَما

    A land that gave me sweet love to drink; and I entrusted

    its purest draught to a lovesick heart between my ribs.

  8. يَزيدُ هَواها كُلَّما زادَ بُؤسُها

    وَتَنمو تَباريحُ الجَوى كُلَّما نَما

    My love for her grows whenever her misery grows,

    and the torments of longing grow as it grows.

  9. حَفِظتُ لَها عَهدَينِ عَهدَ شَبيبَةٍ

    تَصَرَّمَتِ اللَذّاتُ لَمّا تَصَرَّما

    I have kept two covenants with her: a covenant of youth,

    whose pleasures ended when it ended;

  10. وَآخَرَ يَكسوني المَشيبَ مُفَوَّفاً

    وَيُلبِسُني مِنهُ الرِداءَ المُسَهَّما

    and another that clothes me in white-striped gray hair,

    and dresses me in its arrow-patterned cloak.

  11. وَما المَرءُ إِلّا قَومُهُ وَبِلادُهُ

    فَإِن يَذهَبا يَلقَ الأَذى حَيثُ يَمَّما

    A man is nothing but his people and his homeland;

    if both vanish, he meets harm wherever he heads.

  12. وَيَحيا حَياةَ البائِسينَ وَيَحتَقِب

    مِنَ العارِ ما يَبقى لَهُ الدَهر مَيسِما

    He lives the life of the wretched and bears

    a shame that remains his brand for all time.

  13. وَما مِن فَتىً تَغشى المَهانَةُ قَومَهُ

    فَيَطمَع أَن يُلفي مِنَ الناسِ مُكرِما

    No young man whose people are overtaken by humiliation

    can hope to find anyone who honors him.

  14. بِمَغرِسِهِ يَحيا النَباتُ فَإِن تُرِد

    لَهُ مَغرِساً مِن دونِهِ ماتَ مُؤلما

    A plant lives where it is rooted; if you seek

    another planting-place for it, it dies painfully.

  15. وَلَم أَرَ كَالأَوطانِ أَكبَرَ حُرمَةً

    وَأَكرَمَ ميثاقاً وَأَعظَمَ مَقسِما

    I have seen nothing more sacred than homelands,

    nor nobler in covenant, nor greater to swear by.

  16. حَلَفتُ بِمِصرٍ وَالعَوادي أَواخِذٌ

    بِحَوبائِها يَرمينَها كُلَّ مُرتَمي

    I swore by Egypt, while assailing calamities clutched

    her soul, striking her from every direction:

  17. لَقَد ضاقَ حِلمُ النيلِ عَن جَهلِ فِتيَةٍ

    جَزوهُ مِنَ الحُسنى عُقوقاً وَمَلأَما

    the Nile's forbearance has grown too narrow for the folly of youths

    who repaid his goodness with ingratitude and reproach.

  18. وَما زالَ مَكفورَ الصَنيعِ كَأَنَّما

    يَجودُ بِهِ كَرهاً وَيُسديهِ مُرغَما

    His beneficence has always been met with ingratitude, as though

    he bestowed it unwillingly and granted it under compulsion.

  19. وَلا جرمَ لِلمِصرِيِّ فيما تَأَوَّلوا

    وَلَكِن أَساءَ النيلُ صُنعاً وَأَجرَما

    The Egyptian bears no guilt in their interpretation;

    but the Nile has acted badly and committed a crime.

  20. تَفيضُ خِلالُ السوءُ مِنهُ فَتَرتَوي

    نُفوسُ بَنيهِ لا اِرتَوَينَ مِنَ الظَمى

    Evil traits flow from him, and so drink their fill

    the souls of his sons—may their thirst never be quenched!

  21. أَفي كُلِّ يَومٍ لِلغُواةِ جَريرَةٌ

    تُعيدُ الرَجاءَ الطَلقَ أَربَدَ أَقتَما

    Do the misguided commit a new offense each day,

    turning bright hope dusky and dust-dark?

  22. لَقَد كانَ فيما أَسلَفَ الدَهرُ واعِظٌ

    لَو اَنَّ عِظاتِ الدَهرِ تَهدي أَخا العَمى

    In what time has already brought there was surely a warning,

    if only the lessons of time could guide the blind.

  23. فَيا لَكَ يَوماً كانَ في الشُؤمِ واحِداً

    وَيا لَكَ خَطباً كانَ في الهَولِ تَوأَما

    What a day it was, unequaled in ill omen!

    And what a calamity it was, twin-born in terror!

  24. تَلَقّوهُ بِالتَهليلِ حَتّى كَأَنَّما

    تَلَقّوا بِهِ عيداً لِمِصرَ وَمَوسِما

    They welcomed it with cheers, as though

    they welcomed in it a feast and festival for Egypt.

  25. وَهَمّوا بِأُخرى يَسقُطُ الدَهرُ دونَها

    صَريعاً وَتَهوي عِندَها الشُهبُ رُجَّما

    And they contemplated another, before which time would fall

    stricken, and the meteors would hurtle down as missiles;

  26. بَعيدَةَ مُستَنِّ المَكارِهِ ما لَنا

    إِذا اِنبَعَثَت مِنها معاذٌ وَلا حِمى

    far-reaching in its course of calamities; we have no

    refuge or shelter when they burst forth from it.

  27. إِذا اِهتَزَمَت فيها الرَزايا حَسِبتَها

    تُشَقِّقُ صَخّاباً مِنَ الرَعدِ مُرزِما

    When calamities thunder within it, you would think it

    was splitting a clamorous, booming peal of thunder.

  28. تَسُفُّ فَتُردي الواضِعينَ وَتَرتَقي

    إِلى النَفرِ العالينَ في القَومِ سُلَّما

    It sweeps low, destroying the lowly, and climbs

    a ladder toward the men of highest rank among the people.

  29. وَتَعصِفُ بِالأَهرامِ ثمَّتَ تَنتَحي

    قَوارِعُها العُظمى فَتَذرو المُقَطَّما

    It storms against the pyramids; then take aim

    its mightiest blows, scattering al-Muqattam.

  30. وَتَرمي عُبابَ النيلِ مِنها بِزاخِرٍ

    تَظَلُّ المَنايا فيه غَرقى وَعُوَّما

    It strikes the Nile's swelling waters with its own surging flood,

    in which deaths remain, drowned and swimming.

  31. لَعَمري لَقَد آنَ النُزوعُ عَنِ الهَوى

    وَحُقَّ عَلى ذي الجَهلِ أَن يَتَعَلَّما

    By my life, the time has come to turn away from caprice,

    and the ignorant must learn.

  32. بَني وَطَني من يرتدِ الشرَّ يُلفِهِ

    وإن راقه يوماً رداءً مسمَّما

    Sons of my homeland, whoever wears evil will find it—

    though it please him for a day—a poisoned cloak.

  33. بَني وَطَني إِنَّ الأُمورَ سِماتُها

    تُبينُ وَإِنَّ الرَأيَ أَن نَتَوَسَّما

    Sons of my homeland, the signs of affairs

    make them plain; and sound judgment is to read those signs.

  34. بَني وَطَني مالي أَراكُم كَأَنَّما

    تَرَونَ السَبيلَ الوَعرَ أَهدى وَأَقوَما

    Sons of my homeland, why do I see you as though

    you deemed the rugged road the truer, straighter way?

  35. أَإِن قامَ يَنهاكُم عَنِ الغَيِّ راشِدٌ

    غَضِبتُم وَقُلتُم خائِنٌ رامَ مَغنَما

    Is it that, if a right-minded man rises to forbid you error,

    you grow angry and say, 'A traitor seeking gain'?

  36. وَرُحتُم يَهبُّ الشَرُّ مِن لَهَواتِكُم

    مُدلّينَ أَن أَمسى بِكُم فاغِراً فَما

    And you go on, evil gusting from your throats,

    proud that through you it now gapes wide-mouthed.

  37. تَقودونَ مِن غاوٍ وَمِن ذي عِمايَةٍ

    إِلى المَعشَرِ الهادينَ جَيشاً عَرَمرَما

    You lead, from the misguided and the blind,

    a vast army toward the company of right-guiding men.

  38. تَعالوا إِلَينا إِنَّما نَحنُ أُخوَةٌ

    وَإِنَّ اِنبِتاتَ الحَبلِ أَن يَتَفَصَّما

    Come to us; we are simply brothers,

    and to sever the cord is to break it apart.

  39. تَعالوا إِلَينا إِنَّما نَحنُ أُخوَةٌ

    وَإِنّي رَأَيتُ الأَخذَ بِالرِفقِ أَحزَما

    Come to us; we are simply brothers,

    and I have found a gentle approach more prudent.

  40. وَإنَّ سَبيلَينا سَواءٌ وَكُلُّنا

    بَنو مِصرَ نَأبى أَن تُضامَ وَتُهضَما

    And our two paths are the same, and all of us

    are Egypt's sons, refusing to let her be wronged and oppressed.

  41. وَما العارُ إِلّا أَن تَظَلَّ أَخيذَةً

    وَتَبقى مَدى الأَيّامَ نَهباً مُقَسَّما

    Disgrace is only that she should remain a captive,

    and remain through all the days as plunder divided up.

  42. بَرِئتُ مِنَ الأَوطانِ إِن هالَ حادِثٌ

    فَلَم تُلفِني في غَمرَةِ الهَولِ مُقدِما

    May I be quit of all homelands if a calamity brings terror,

    and they do not find me advancing in the thick of terror.

  43. وَإِنّي لَنَهّاضٌ إِلى السُّورَةِ الَّتي

    تَظَلُّ القُوى عَنها رَوازِحَ جُثَّما

    And I indeed rise boldly to the fierce onslaught

    before which strength remains weighed down and prostrate.

  44. وَما زِلتُ مُذ أُرسِلتُ بِالشِعرِ هادِياً

    أَجيءُ بِهِ وَحياً وَآتيهِ مُلهما

    And ever since I was sent with poetry as a guide,

    I bring it as revelation and approach it inspired.

  45. وَما بِيَدي أُجري يَراعي وَإِنَّما

    يَدُ اللَهِ تُجريهِ فَيَمضي مُقَوَّما

    It is not with my own hand that I set my reed pen running;

    God's hand sets it running, and it moves straight and true.

  46. مِنَ العارِ أَن تَشقى بِلادي وَأَنعَما

    وَكَالمَوتِ أَن يُقضى عَلَيها وَأَسلَما

    It is shameful for my homeland to suffer while I live in comfort,

    and like death for her to be doomed while I remain safe.

  47. أَحِنُّ إِلى اِستِقلالِها وَإِخالُهُ

    إِذا ما رَأَبنا الصَدعَ أَمراً مُحَتَّما

    I yearn for her independence, and believe it,

    if we mend the breach, an inevitable outcome.

  48. أَنَطلُبُهُ فَوضى وَنَسعى جَميعُنا

    إِلى عَرَصاتِ المَوتِ سَعياً مُنَظَّما

    Shall we seek it in chaos, while we all strive

    toward the fields of death in an orderly march?

  49. تَحَكَّمَ فينا الداءُ فَاِنحَلَّتِ القُوى

    وَآيَةُ داءِ الجَهلِ أَن يَتَحَكَّما

    The disease has mastered us, and our strength has unraveled;

    and the sign of ignorance's disease is its tyranny.

  50. تُفَرِّقُنا الأَديانُ وَاللَهُ واحِدٌ

    وُكُلُّ بَني الدُنيا إِلى آدَمَ اِنتَمى

    Religions divide us, though God is one,

    and all the sons of the world trace their descent to Adam.

  51. وَساوِسُ ضَلَّ الشَرقُ فيها مُصَفَّداً

    فَما يَملِكُ الشرقِيُّ أَن يَتَقَدَّما

    Delusions in which the East has strayed in shackles,

    so the Easterner has no power to advance.

  52. هِيَ اِستَوطَنَت مِنّا الرُؤوسَ فَغادَرَت

    مَكانَ النُهى مِنها طُلولاً وَأَرسُما

    They have settled in our heads, leaving

    the seat of reason there as ruins and vestiges.

  53. بَني الشَرقِ لا يَصرَعكُمُ الدينُ إِنَّني

    أَرى الغَربَ لَولا الجِدُّ وَالعِلمُ ماسَما

    Sons of the East, let religion not strike you down; I

    see that the West, but for diligence and knowledge, would not have risen.

  54. سَلُوهُ إِذا رامَ الفَريسَةَ فَاِنتَحى

    أَيَرعى مَسيحِيّاً وَيَرحَمُ مُسلِما

    Ask it, when it seeks its prey and moves to attack:

    does it spare a Christian and show a Muslim mercy?

  55. هُوَ المَوتُ أَو تَستَجفِلُ الشَرقَ رَجفَةٌ

    تُزَلزِلُ صَرعى مِن بَنيهِ وَنُوَّما

    It is death—unless a tremor startles the East,

    shaking the fallen among its sons, and the sleepers.