نزولك في القرى فضل كبير — أحمد الكاشف

نزولك في القرى فضلٌ كبيرُ

وفتح الخط بالعقبى بشيرُ

Your visit to the villages is a great favor,

And opening the railway heralds good to come.

حديد من يديك امتدَّ فيه

ونار للحديد بها يسير

Iron from your hands has stretched along it,

And fire for the iron, by which it runs.

كأن صفيره نغم المغني

لركبك والدخان له عبير

As though its whistle were the singer's melody

For your retinue, and the smoke a perfume for them.

يقل الزائرين إلى مقامٍ

هو اليوم الخورنق والسدير

It carries visitors to a residence

That today is al-Khawarnaq and al-Sadir.

ضيوفاً في حماك غدوا وراحوا

وكلُّهمُ قبيلك والعشير

They came and went as guests within your protection,

And all of them are your tribe and kin.

كأن أديم هذي الأرض لما

مشت فيها مواكبهم حرير

As though the skin of this earth, when

Their processions walked upon it, were silk.

تلاقوا ساعة في رحب دار

هي الدنيا وساعتها الدهور

They met for an hour in a spacious house

That is the world, and its hour is the ages.

وجاءوا مهرجاناً فيه يتلو

ويشرح سورة الفتح الوزير

And they came to a festival where he recites

And expounds the Surah of Victory—the minister.

نقيُّ الجو مصقول الحواشي

تظلله الخوافق والطيور

Its air is pure, its edges polished,

Fluttering banners and birds shade it.

رآه الغائبون بما تلقَّوا

من النجوى كأنهمُ حضور

Those absent saw it through what they received

Of private talk, as though they were present.

مظاهرة لدولتك استحقت

وأنت لكل مصري ظهير

A well-deserved show of support for Your Excellency,

For you are every Egyptian's champion.

تكاد إليك تستبق النواحي

وتنعطف الجداول والجسور

The regions almost race one another toward you,

And the channels and bridges bend toward you.

وتنضج قبل موعدها ثمار

وتبسم قبل موعدها زهور

And fruits ripen before their time,

And flowers smile before their time.

وتصبح هذه الأكواخ مما

أنلت الزارعين هي القصور

And these huts become, through what

You have bestowed on the farmers, palaces.

ولولا الحقل والفلاح فيه

لأقفرت المدائن والثغور

And were it not for the field and the farmer in it,

The cities and ports would be deserted.

تريه حقه وهو الموفَّى

وترفع قدره وهو الأجير

You show him his due, and he receives it in full,

And raise his standing, though he is a hired laborer.

ولو يُجزَى بما صنعت يداه

لأصبح وهو في الوادي أمير

And if he were rewarded for what his two hands have made,

He would become, in the valley, a prince.

أتيت اليوم تكمل ما نواه

وأزمع أمس ندك والنظير

You came today to complete what he intended

And resolved upon yesterday—your equal and peer.

وحولك سبعةٌ وزراء صدقٍ

وإخوانٌ همُ المدد الطهور

And around you are seven ministers of integrity,

And brothers who are an unsullied source of strength.

تسير إلى المدى بهمُ قوياً

ويشرف مثل نيتك المصير

With them you advance, strong, toward the goal,

And the outcome will be noble, like your intention.

هو الحزم الذي لا بد منه

لمصر لتستقيم به الأمور

It is the firmness that is indispensable

To Egypt, that through it affairs may be set right.

وحسبك بعد تجربة وعلم

مراسك والعزيمة والضمير

And after experience and knowledge, enough for you are

Your seasoned skill, determination, and conscience.

فهل للغاضبين عليك عذر

سوى ضغن تضيق به الصدور

Then have those angry with you any excuse

Other than rancor that constricts their breasts?

توالت مرجفاتهمُ وطالت

فأين وعيدهم لك والنذير

Their alarmist rumors came in succession and dragged on;

Where, then, are their threats against you, and the warning?

أخافوا أن تواريهم سجونٌ

فوارتهم من الخجل الخدور

Did they fear that prisons would hide them away?

Then women's chambers hid them out of shame.

فإن هم قاطعوك فليس فيهم

قويٌّ تتقيه ولا خطير

So if they boycott you, there is none among them

Strong enough to fear, nor anyone of consequence.

وكم قوم كثيرهمُ قليلٌ

وكم قوم قليلهم كثير

And many a group is many, yet counts for little;

And many a group is few, yet counts for much.

أصابك ما أصاب سواكَ منهم

وليتك من خصومهمُ الأخير

What befell others at their hands has befallen you,

And would that you were the last of their adversaries.

وأنت بكل جهدهم محيط

وأنت بكل سرهم بصير

And you are fully aware of all their efforts,

And you see into every secret of theirs.

وأصعب ما تعالج من رجال

شعورهم إذا اختل الشعور

And the hardest thing you deal with in men is

Their awareness, when awareness is disturbed.

ولو أمهلت صحفهم امتهاناً

لطار بهذه الصحف الفجور

And had you given their newspapers respite, out of disdain,

Depravity would have taken wing through those newspapers.

وبات رواتها وهمُ ذئاب

وبات الكاتبون وهم نسور

And their reporters would have become wolves,

And the writers would have become vultures.

ظفرت بأكثر الباغين شراً

وأنت على بقيتهم صبور

You have overcome the most wicked of the transgressors,

And you are patient with those of them who remain.

وما اعتبروا بما آلوا إليه

وهل تدري فتعتبر الصخور

And they took no lesson from what they came to;

And can rocks understand, and thus take heed?

وظنوا أنه لا الدهر يجري

بما كرهوا ولا الدنيا تدور

And they thought that time would not run

Against their wishes, nor would the world turn.

مجانينٌ بحب الحكم حتى

تكاد عقولهم منهم تطير

They are mad with love of power, so much so

That their minds almost fly away from them.

يريدون الزعامة وهو أمر

عليهم بعد عثرتهم عسير

They seek leadership, but it is a matter

Difficult for them after their stumble.

وهل بعد الشهور السود منهم

تعود إليهمُ تلك الشهور

And after their black months, will

Those months come back to them?

يعللهم سفيرهمُ بما لا

يصدقه من الأمل السفير

Their envoy soothes them with hopes that

The envoy himself does not believe.

مهازل ليس يرضاها فقير

لعيشته وإن هلك الفقير

Farces no poor man would countenance

For his livelihood, even were the poor man to perish.

ومن جاءت غنائمه جزافاً

تولاه فطاح به الغرور

And whoever gains his spoils by chance,

Is seized by conceit, which casts him down.

هل الدستور للأهواء سوق

ليتَّجر المشاور والمشير

Is the constitution a market for whims,

For the seeker and giver of counsel to trade?

وهل هو بين أيدي الرهط ملهىً

كما يلهو بدميته الصغير

And is it a plaything in that band's hands,

As a child plays with his doll?

فإن ثاروا عليك وأنت سلمٌ

فحجَّتُك القوية أن يثوروا

So if they rebel against you while you are peaceable,

Then their rebellion is your compelling proof.

وإن آبوا فأنت لهم شفيع

وإن تابوا فأنت لهم غفور

And if they return, you are their intercessor;

And if they repent, you are forgiving toward them.

وما يرضيك ما تجني عليهم

نفوسهمُ وليس لهم مجير

Nor do you delight in what is brought upon them

By their own souls, with no one to protect them.

وإن تك أزمة بالناس حلت

فأنت بحل أزمتهم خبير

And if a crisis has befallen the people,

Then you are skilled in resolving their crisis.

نصرتك يا ابن إقليمي وإني

لمثلك في رعايته نصير

I supported you, O son of my province, and I

Am an ally to one like you in caring for it.

فخور أنت بي فيه وإني

على كل العباد بك الفخور

You are proud of me there, and I

Glory in you before all mankind.

أقر صنيعَك الملك المفدى

وأيد رأيك الشعب الغيور

The cherished king has approved your deed,

And the zealous people have supported your judgment.

وأنت بكل إعجاب خليق

وأنت بكل تكريم جدير

And you are worthy of all admiration,

And you are deserving of every honor.