Sol 6.1

  1. السِحرُ مِن سودِ العُيونِ لَقيتُهُ

    وَالبابِلِيُّ بِلَحظِهِنَّ سُقيتُهُ

    I encountered magic in black eyes,

    And through their glances was given Babylonian sorcery to drink.

  2. الفاتِراتِ وَما فَتَرنَ رِمايَةً

    بِمُسَدَّدٍ بَينَ الضُلوعِ مَبيتُهُ

    The languid eyes that never slackened in shooting

    With a well-aimed shaft whose lodging is between the ribs;

  3. الناعِساتِ الموقِظاتِ لِلهَوى

    المُغرِياتِ بِهِ وَكُنتُ سَليتُهُ

    The drowsy eyes that awaken love,

    Luring me to it, though I had put it behind me;

  4. القاتِلاتِ بِعابِثٍ في جَفنِهِ

    ثَمِلُ الغِرارِ مُعَربَدٌ إِصليتُهُ

    The killers, with a playful blade inside its sheath,

    Drunken-edged, its keen blade riotous;

  5. الشارِعاتِ الهُدبَ أَمثالَ القَنا

    يُحيِ الطَعينَ بِنَظرَةٍ وَيُميتُهُ

    Those that level their lashes like lances,

    Reviving the wounded with a glance, and killing him;

  6. الناسِجاتِ عَلى سَواءِ سُطورِهِ

    سَقَماً عَلى مُنوالِهِنَّ كُسيتُهُ

    Those that weave along its even rows

    A sickness from their loom, in which I was clothed.

  7. وَأَغَنَّ أَكحَلَ مِن مَها بِكَفَّيهِ

    عَلِقَت مَحاجِرُهُ دَمي وَعَلِقتُهُ

    And a sweet-voiced, kohl-eyed one of Bikfayeh's oryx—

    His eyes fastened on my blood, and I fell in love with him.

  8. لُبنانُ دارَتُهُ وَفيهِ كِناسُهُ

    بَينَ القَنا الخَطّارِ خُطَّ نَحَيتُهُ

    Lebanon is his home, and in it lies his covert;

    His sculpted figure was traced among the swaying lances.

  9. السَلسَبيلُ مِنَ الجَداوِلِ وَردُهُ

    وَالآسُ مِن خُضرِ الخَمائِلِ قوتُهُ

    The brooks' sweet-flowing water is his drink,

    And myrtle from the green thickets is his food.

  10. إِن قُلتُ تِمثالَ الجَمالِ مُنَصَّباً

    قالَ الجَمالُ بِراحَتَيَّ مَثَلتُهُ

    If I call him a statue of beauty standing upright,

    Beauty says, 'With my two palms I fashioned him.'

  11. دَخَلَ الكَنيسَةَ فَاِرتَقَبتُ فَلَم يُطِل

    فَأَتَيتُ دونَ طَريقِهِ فَزَحَمتُهُ

    He entered the church; I waited, and he did not linger;

    Then I stepped into his path and jostled him.

  12. فَاِزوَرَّ غَضباناً وَأَعرَضَ نافِراً

    حالٌ مِنَ الغيدِ المِلاحِ عَرَفتُهُ

    He turned aside in anger, and recoiled, turning away—

    A manner I knew from graceful, lovely beauties.

  13. فَصَرَفتُ تِلعابي إِلى أَترابِهِ

    وَزَعَمتُهُنَّ لُبانَتي فَأَغَرتُهُ

    So I turned my flirtation toward his companions,

    And claimed they were my heart's desire, making him jealous.

  14. فَمَشى إِلَيَّ وَلَيسَ جُؤذَرٍ

    وَقَعَت عَلَيهِ حَبائِلي فَقَنَصتُهُ

    Then he walked toward me; he was no gazelle fawn.

    My snares fell upon him, and I captured him.

  15. قَد جاءَ مِن سِحرِ الجُفونِ فَصادَني

    وَأَتَيتُ مِن سِحرِ البَيانِ فَسُدتُهُ

    He came with the magic of eyelids and caught me,

    And I came with the magic of eloquence and mastered him.

  16. لَمّا ظَفَرتُ بِهِ عَلى حَرَمِ الهُدى

    لِاِبنِ البَتولِ وَلِلصَلاةِ وَهبتُهُ

    When I won him at the sanctuary of guidance,

    I offered him to the Virgin's Son and to prayer.

  17. قالَت تَرى نَجمَ البَيانِ فَقُلتُ بَل

    أُفقُ البَيانِ بِأَرضِكُم يَمَّمتُهُ

    She said, 'You see eloquence's star.' I said, 'Rather,

    I have sought eloquence's horizon in your land.'

  18. بَلِّغِ السُها بِشُموسِهِ وَبُدورِهِ

    لُبنانُ وَاِنتَظَمَ المَشارِقَ صيتُهُ

    Raise to Suha, with its suns and full moons,

    Lebanon; its fame has encompassed the lands of sunrise.

  19. مِن كُلِّ عالي القَدرِ مِن أَعلامِهِ

    تَتَهَلَّلُ الفُصحى إِذا سُمّيتُهُ

    Each man of lofty rank among its eminent figures—

    Classical Arabic beams whenever I name him.

  20. حامي الحَقيقَةِ لا القَديمَ يَؤودُهُ

    حِفظاً وَلا طَلَبُ الجَديدِ يَفوتُهُ

    A guardian of truth: the old does not burden him

    In its preservation, nor does pursuit of the new elude him.

  21. وَعَلى المَشيدِ الفَخمِ مِن آثارِهِ

    خُلقٌ يُبينُ جَلالُهُ وَثُبوتُهُ

    And above the lofty, magnificent edifice of his works

    Is a character whose grandeur and steadfastness are manifest.

  22. في كُلِّ رابِيَةٍ وَكُلِّ قَرارَةٍ

    تِبرُ القَرائِحِ في التُرابِ لَمَحتُهُ

    On every hill and in every hollow,

    I glimpsed the raw gold of genius in the earth.

  23. أَقبَلتُ أَبكي العِلمَ حَولَ رُسومِهِم

    ثُمَّ اِنثَنَيتُ إِلى البَيانِ بَكَيتُهُ

    I came weeping for learning around their vestiges,

    Then turned to eloquence and wept for it.

  24. لُبنانُ وَالخُلدُ اِختِراعُ اللَهِ لَم

    يوسَمَ بِأَزيَنَ مِنهُما مَلَكوتُهُ

    Lebanon and Paradise are God's creations; never

    Was His kingdom adorned with anything fairer than those two.

  25. هُوَ ذِروَةٌ في الحُسنِ غَيرُ مَرومَةٍ

    وَذَرا البَراعَةِ وَالحِجى بَيروتُهُ

    It is an unattainable summit of beauty,

    And the heights of artistry and intellect are its Beirut.

  26. مَلِكُ الهِضابِ الشُمِّ سُلطانُ الرُبى

    هامُ السَحابِ عُروشُهُ وَتُخوتُهُ

    King of towering plateaus, sultan of the hills,

    The clouds' crowns are its thrones and royal couches.

  27. سيناءُ شاطَرَهُ الجَلالَ فَلا يُرى

    إِلّا لَهُ سُبُحاتُهُ وَسُموتُهُ

    Sinai shared its majesty with it; one sees

    Its sacred splendors and lofty bearing in it alone.

  28. وَالأَبلَقُ الفَردُ اِنتَهَت أَوصافُهُ

    في السُؤدُدِ العالي لَهُ وَنُعوتُهُ

    And peerless al-Ablaq's qualities find their culmination

    In its lofty nobility, as do its epithets.

  29. جَبَلٌ عَن آذارَ يُزرى صَيفُهُ

    وَشِتائُهُ يَئِدِ القُرى جَبَروتُهُ

    A mountain whose summer pales beside March,

    And whose winter's might buries villages alive.

  30. أَبهى مِنَ الوَشِيِ الكَريمِ مِروجُهُ

    وَأَلَذُّ مِن عَطَلِ النُحورِ مُروتُهُ

    Its meadows are more splendid than sumptuous brocade,

    And its bare expanses more delightful than unadorned throats.

  31. يَغشى رَوابيهِ عَلى كافورِها

    مِسكُ الوِهادِ فَتيقُهُ وَفَتيتُهُ

    Over its hills and their camphor there spreads

    The valleys' musk, unsealed and powdered.

  32. وَكَأَنَّ أَيّامَ الشَبابِ رُبوعُهُ

    وَكَأَنَّ أَحلامَ الكِعابِ بُيوتُهُ

    And its haunts are like the days of youth,

    And its houses like the dreams of budding maidens.

  33. وَكَأَنَّ رَيعانَ الصِبا رَيحانُهُ

    سِرَّ السُرورِ يَجودُهُ وَيَقوتُهُ

    And its basil is like the first bloom of youth,

    Watering and nourishing the secret of joy.

  34. وَكَأَنَّ أَثداءَ النَواهِدِ تينُهُ

    وَكَأَنَّ أَقراطَ الوَلائِدِ توتُهُ

    And its figs are like the breasts of budding maidens,

    And its mulberries like the earrings of young girls.

  35. وَكَأَنَّ هَمسَ القاعِ في أُذُنِ الصَفا

    صَوتُ العِتابِ ظُهورُهُ وَخُفوتُهُ

    And the plain's whisper in the ear of the rock

    Is like the sound of reproach, rising and fading.

  36. وَكَأَنَّ ماءَهُما وَجَرسَ لُجَينِهِ

    وَضحُ العَروسِ تَبينُهُ وَتُصيتُهُ

    And their water, and the chiming of its silver,

    Are like a bride's silver ornaments, which she displays and sets ringing.

  37. زُعَماءُ لُبنانَ وَأَهلَ نَدِيِّهِ

    لُبنانُ في ناديكُمو عَظَمتُهُ

    Leaders of Lebanon, and members of its assembly,

    In your gathering lies Lebanon's greatness.

  38. قَد زادَني إِقبالُكُم وَقُبولُكُم

    شَرَفاً عَلى الشَرَفِ الَّذي أَولَيتُهُ

    Your welcome and acceptance have added to me

    Honor beyond the honor I bestowed.

  39. تاجُ النِيابَةِ في رَفيعِ رُؤوسِكُم

    لَم يُشرَ لُؤلُؤُهُ وَلا ياقوتُهُ

    The crown of representation upon your lofty heads—

    Neither its pearls nor its rubies were bought.

  40. موسى عَدُوُّ الرِقِّ حَولَ لِوائِكُم

    لا الظُلمُ يُرهِبُهُ وَلا طاغوتُهُ

    Musa, the foe of slavery, stands by your banner;

    Neither oppression nor its tyrant frightens him.

  41. أَنتُم وَصاحِبُكُم إِذا أَصبَحتُموا

    كَالشَهرِ أَكمَلَ عُدَّةً مَوقوتُهُ

    You and your companion, when morning comes,

    Are like a month whose allotted span completes its count.

  42. هُوَ غُرَّةُ الأَيّامِ فيهِ وَكُلُّكُم

    آحادُهُ في فَضلِها وَسُبوتُهُ

    He is the bright beginning of its days, and all of you

    Are its Sundays in their excellence, and its Sabbaths.