ليت شعري ماذا أرى ليت شعري

من جديد الأمور في أرض مصرِ

Would that I knew what I shall see—would that I knew—

of new affairs in the land of Egypt.

كاد ما في الغيوب ينكشف اليو

مَ ولم يبق دونه أي ستر

What lies unseen has almost been revealed today,

and no veil remains before it.

وأتى الوعد والوعيد مع القا

دم من قومه بعرف ونكر

Promise and threat have arrived with the newcomer,

from his people, bearing kindness and cruelty.

واستعد الرجال ينتظرون ال

فصل من مقلق الرجال المقرِّ

The men have made ready, awaiting judgment

from him who unsettles men and grants them rest.

والتقى عنده مقرِّبُ زلفىً

ومجاري هوىً وموفٍ بنذر

Before him gathered one offering gifts to gain favor,

one indulging his whims, and one fulfilling a vow.

وهمُ بين سخطه ورضاه

في مريب من الظنون ومغري

Between his wrath and his approval, they are

amid unsettling and enticing conjectures.

وهو في كل موضع تاجر السو

ق يبيع النفوس فيها ويشري

Everywhere he is a merchant in the market,

selling souls there and buying them.

شغل القوم بالكراسيِّ يلقي

ها لمكرٍ بهم عليها وغدر

He occupied the people with seats of power, casting

them down to ensnare and betray the men upon them.

وهي في يوم لينه فوق موج

وهي في يوم بأسه فوق جمر

In his days of gentleness, they rest upon waves;

in his days of severity, they rest upon embers.

وعجيب أن يطلبوها سؤالاً

وهي معروضة بأبخس سعر

Strange that they should beg for them,

when they are offered at the lowest price.

ورضا الحاكمين في حوزة الخص

م رضىً منهمُ بذل وقهر

The rulers' acquiescence in the adversary's grasp

is their acceptance of humiliation and subjugation.

وجزاء المسخرين لأعدا

ئهمُ المنع بعد حمد وجر

The reward of those pressed into service for their enemies

is deprivation, after praise and enticement.

شهوات تداولوها فكانت

نوب الداء أو خيالات سكر

Desires they passed around, which became

bouts of illness or drunken visions.

وملاهٍ عن المقادير طالت

والمقادير بالمكاره تجري

And diversions from fate have gone on too long,

while fate runs its course with calamities.

ملأ الناس من حديد ونار

كل جو وكل بر وبحر

With iron and fire, people have filled

every sky, every land, and sea.

وتلاقى الملوك يلتمسون ال

سلم بالكتب بين قصر وقصر

Kings have met, seeking peace

through letters passing from palace to palace.

ونذير الحرب الجديدة في الأف

ق ومن بالعواقب السود يدري

The warning of a new war is on the horizon;

who knows its dark consequences?

وإلى من تسير مصر بخير

وإلى من تسير مصر بشر

And to whom does Egypt carry good,

and to whom does Egypt carry harm?

ويريح الغريم قوميَ أم ير

مي بقومي عداه في كل قطر

Will the adversary give my people rest, or hurl

my people against his enemies in every land?

ويخوضونها عواناً إلى غي

رِ عدوٍّ وغير فتح ونصر

And will they plunge into renewed war against

those who are no enemies, for neither conquest nor victory?

ولقد يقذفون بالنار جيرا

ناً وأهلاً وما لهم من مفر

And they may indeed bombard neighbors with fire,

and kin, with no escape for them.

ويودون بالقيود جزاء

بعد قتل تجشموه وأسر

And they perish in chains as their reward,

after enduring slaughter and captivity.

أيها الناعمون في رغد العي

شة والغافلون عن كل ذكر

O you luxuriating in the ease of living,

and heedless of every reminder:

لست أدري دعوت منكم رجالاً

لا يجيبون أم جلاميد صخر

I do not know: have I called upon men among you

who will not answer, or solid blocks of rock?

وعلى الرأي أنتمُ أم على الجا

ه شقيُّون بالخصام المضرِّ

Is it over opinions, or over rank,

that you make yourselves miserable with harmful quarrels?

فأخ مشتفٍ برزء أخيه

وأب من بنيه طالب ثأر

A brother gloats over his brother's misfortune;

a father seeks vengeance against his sons.

ومغير بعسكريه على اللا

ئذ منه بمسجد أو بقبر

another raids with his troops the man seeking

refuge from him in a mosque or at a tomb.

وأرى الصحْفَ بينكم فأرى الحي

ية تسعى إليَّ في كل سطر

I see the newspapers among you, and see a serpent

crawling toward me in every line.

ودعاة الحمى بقذف وعسف

كنعاة الحمى بطبل وزمر

Those championing the homeland with slander and oppression

are like those announcing its death with drums and pipes.

والذي ينقل المثالب للعي

ش كمن يضرب الرقاب بأجر

He who spreads faults to earn a living

is like one who strikes off heads for pay.

كلكم يطلب الزعامة في مص

ر ولو كان في الحياة ابنَ عشر

Every one of you seeks leadership in Egypt,

even if he is only ten years old.

لم يخلَّد لواحد ما تنازع

تم ولكنه ولاية شهر

What you contend for has never lasted forever for anyone;

it is merely a month's tenure.

وقديماً نصحتكم فأبيتم

فخذوا اليوم بعد حلويَ مري

Long ago I advised you, but you refused;

so take my bitterness today, after my sweetness.

وخليق بمن رآني بشيراً

عنده أمس أن يصدق نذري

It is fitting that whoever saw me as a bearer of glad tidings

yesterday should believe my warnings.

ضاق بالمحرجات صدري فجاهر

ت بسري ولم يرحنيَ جهري

My breast grew tight with troubles, so I proclaimed

my secret aloud, but speaking out brought me no relief.

وأطال القضاء عمري ولو كا

ن كما أشتهى لما طال عمري

Fate has prolonged my life; but had it been

as I wished, my life would not have lasted so long.

أزمات الأخلاق لا أزمة الأر

زاق همي الذي أعاني وعسري

Crises of morals—not a crisis of livelihoods—

are the concern I endure and my hardship.

والذي جاد بالحياة حناناً

لا يبالي ذهاب ملك ووفر

One who gives his life out of tenderness

cares nothing for losing possessions and abundance.

مرت الحادثات عجلى وأنتم

كالتماثيل في زوايا الممر

Events have rushed past, while you remain

like statues in the corners of a passageway.

وأتى ثامن الدهاة حسيباً

يحمل السم في شراب وزهر

And the eighth of the cunning men has arrived, a man of standing,

carrying poison in drink and flowers.

يتلقاكمُ وقد كتم الني

يَةَ نكراء بابتسام وبشر

He receives you, having concealed his intention—

a monstrous one—with smiles and cheer.

لو عقلتم لكان خيراً لكم أن

يتلقاكمُ بناب وظفر

Had you understood, it would be better for you

if he greeted you with fang and claw.

خلت الصين منه أمس وهذا

يومكم وهو يوم بعث وحشر

China was rid of him yesterday; this

is your day, a day of resurrection and gathering.

لم يدع ما ألفتموه من الحم

رِ ولو جاء في غلائلَ خضر

He has not abandoned the red garments you knew,

even if he comes in green tunics.

شغلتني هواجسٌ من نواحي

ه فلم أنتفع بصوم وفطر

Misgivings from his direction have preoccupied me,

so neither fasting nor breaking my fast has helped me.

وشجاني اطلاعه لكم قب

ل ملاقاتكم على كل أمر

It grieves me that he is informed about you before

meeting you—about your every affair.

كيف كيف النجاة من مستعد

بالسلاحين من مراس وخير

How, how can we escape one prepared

with the two weapons of experience and benevolence?

نبئوني ماذا ملكتم من العز

م لهذا المسلط المستمر

Tell me, what resolve have you mustered

against this persistent overlord?

هل لكم إن رأيتمُ منه كبراً

أن تجازوه مرة بعض كبر

If you see arrogance in him, can you

repay him once with a little arrogance?

اجمعوا الشمل قبل أن تصلوا من

ه إلى الجانب العنيد المصرِّ

Unite your ranks before you encounter

his obstinate, unyielding side.

واحرسوا النيل في منابعه واب

نوا على النيل ألف سد وجسر

Guard the Nile at its sources, and build

a thousand dams and bridges on the Nile.

وخذوا ما يضيعه البحر منه

لخصيب به أحق وقفر

Take what the sea wastes of its waters

for fertile land more entitled to it, and barren land.

إن خزّانة السماء لكم لا

ما رفعتم من شامخ مشمخر

Indeed, heaven's storehouse is yours, not

the lofty, towering structures you have raised.

واستغلوا بما ملكتم وإن قل

لَ عتاداً لكلِّ جيلٍ وعصر

Use what you possess, however little,

to provide equipment for every generation and age.

ومن الممكنات ما هو أولى

بأناةٍ إلى الأوان وصبر

Among the possibilities, some are better served

by deliberation until the right time, and patience.

نال كلٌّ من حكم مصر ومن لي

بنصيب من حكم مصر وقدر

All have had a share of Egypt's rule; who will give me

a share in Egypt's rule and some standing?

فلعلي أرى البلاد لعلي

وزمام البلاد في يد حر

Perhaps then I shall see the country—perhaps—

with the country's reins in a free man's hand,

يتولى سبيلها وهو حق

وسلام إلى المصير الأغر

guiding its path—a path of justice

and peace—toward a radiant destiny.