قفي يا أخت يوشع خبرينا — Ahmed Shawqi

قِفي يا أُختَ يوشَعَ خَبِّرينا

أَحاديثَ القُرونِ العابِرينا

Stop, O sister of Joshua, tell us

the tales of the centuries gone by.

وَقُصّي مِن مَصارِعِهِم عَلَينا

وَمِن دولاتِهِم ما تَعلَمينا

Recount to us something of their downfalls,

and what you know of their turns of fortune.

فَمِثلُكِ مَن رَوى الأَخبارَ طُرّاً

وَمَن نَسَبَ القَبائِلَ أَجمَعينا

For one like you has told all the chronicles,

and traced the lineage of every tribe.

نَرى لَكِ في السَماءِ خَضيبَ قَرنٍ

وَلا نُحصي عَلى الأَرضِ الطَعينا

We see your stained horn in the sky,

yet cannot count the pierced upon the earth.

مَشَيتِ عَلى الشَبابِ شَواظَ نارٍ

وَدُرتِ عَلى المَشيبِ رَحىً طَحونا

You walked over youth as a flame of fire,

and turned upon grey hair as a grinding mill.

تُعينينَ المَوالِدَ وَالمَنايا

وَتَبنينَ الحَياةَ وَتَهدُمينا

You assist births and deaths,

and build up life and tear it down.

فَيا لَكِ هِرَّةً أَكَلَت بَنيها

وَما وَلَدوا وَتَنتَظِرُ الجَنينا

What a cat you are, devouring her children,

and their offspring, and awaiting the unborn!

أَأُمَّ المالِكينَ بَني أَمونٍ

لِيَهنِكِ أَنَّهُم نَزَعوا أَمونا

O mother of the sovereigns, the sons of Amun,

may you rejoice that they took after Amun.

وَلِدتِ لَهُ المَآمينَ الدَواهي

وَلَم تَلِدي لَهُ قَطُّ الأَمينا

You bore him the trusted, crafty ones,

but never once bore him a faithful one.

فَكانوا الشُهبَ حينَ الأَرضُ لَيلٌ

وَحينَ الناسُ جَدُّ مُضَلَّلينا

They were shooting stars when the earth was night,

and when people were utterly misled.

مَشَت بِمَنارِهِم في الأَرضِ روما

وَمِن أَنوارِهِم قَبَسَت أَثينا

Rome walked the earth by their beacons,

and Athens kindled light from theirs.

مُلوكُ الدَهرِ بِالوادي أَقاموا

عَلى وادي المُلوكِ مُحَجَّبينا

The kings of the ages dwelt in the valley,

veiled within the Valley of the Kings.

فَرُبَّ مُصَفِّدٍ مِنهُم وَكانَت

تُساقُ لَهُ المُلوكُ مُصَفَّدينا

Many a fetterer among them—once

kings were driven to him in fetters—

تَقَيَّدَ في التُرابِ بِغَيرِ قَيدٍ

وَحَلَّ عَلى جَوانِبِهِ رَهينا

became bound in the dust without a chain,

and lay captive upon his sides.

تَعالى اللهُ كانَ السِحرُ فيهِم

أَلَيسوا لِلحِجارَةِ مُنطِقينا

Exalted be God! Magic dwelt in them:

did they not make the stones speak?

غَدَوا يَبنونَ ما يَبقى وَراحوا

وَراءَ الآبِداتِ مُخَلَّدينا

They set out to build what endures, and departed,

immortalized behind their imperishable monuments.

إِذا عَمِدوا لِمَأثُرَةٍ أَعَدّوا

لَها الإِتقانَ وَالخُلقَ المَتينا

Whenever they undertook a great achievement, they brought

to it mastery and steadfast character.

وَلَيسَ الخُلدُ مَرتَبَةً تَلَقّى

وَتُؤخَذُ مِن شِفاهِ الجاهِلينا

Immortality is not a rank bestowed

and received from ignorant lips;

وَلَكِن مُنتَهى هِمَمٍ كِبارٍ

إِذا ذَهَبَت مَصادِرُها بَقينا

rather, it is the utmost reach of lofty aspirations,

which survive when their sources have departed;

وَسِرُّ العَبقَرِيَّةِ حينَ يَسري

فَيَنتَظِمُ الصَنائِعَ وَالفُنونا

and the secret of genius, when it flows,

binding crafts and arts together;

وَآثارُ الرِجالِ إِذا تَناهَت

إِلى التاريخِ خَيرُ الحاكِمينا

and the works of men, when they reach

history, the finest of judges;

وَأَخذُكَ مِن فَمِ الدُنيا ثَناءً

وَتَركُكَ في مَسامِعِها طَنينا

and your gaining praise from the world's mouth,

and leaving a resonance in its ears.

فَغالي في بَنيكَ الصيدِ غالي

فَقَد حُبَّ الغُلُوُّ إِلى بَنينا

So extol your proud sons—extol them!

For excess has been made dear to our sons.

شَبابٌ قُنَّعٌ لا خَيرَ فيهِم

وَبورِكَ في الشَبابِ الطامِحينا

Contented young men have no good in them;

blessed are the young who aspire.

فَناجيهِم بِعَرشٍ كانَ صِنواً

لِعَرشِكَ في شَبيبَتِهِ سَنينا

Speak privately to them of a throne that was a peer

of your throne, for years in its youth.

وَكانَ العِزُّ حُليَتَهُ وَكانَت

قَوائِمُهُ الكَتائِبَ وَالسَفينا

Glory was its ornament, and

its legs were battalions and ships.

وَتاجٍ مِن فَرائِدِهِ اِبنُ سيتى

وَمِن خَرَزاتِهِ خوفو وَمينا

And of a crown whose peerless jewels included Seti's son,

and whose beads included Khufu and Menes.

عَلا خَدّاً بِهِ صَعَرٌ وَأَنفاً

تَرَفَّعَ في الحَوادِثِ أَن يَدينا

It rose above a haughtily tilted cheek and a nose

that disdained, amid adversities, to submit.

وَلَستُ بِقائِلٍ ظَلَموا وَجاروا

عَلى الأُجَراءِ أَو جَلَدوا القَطينا

I am not one to say they wronged and tyrannized

over hired laborers, or flogged their retainers;

فَإِنّا لَم نُوَقَّ النَقصَ حَتّى

نُطالِبَ بِالكَمالِ الأَوَّلينا

for we have not been spared imperfection, so as

to demand perfection of the ancients.

وَما البَستيلُ إِلّا بِنتُ أَمسٍ

وَكَم أَكَلَ الحَديدُ بِها صَحينا

The Bastille is only yesterday's daughter,

and how many healthy men did iron devour within it!

وَرُبَّةَ بَيعَةٍ عَزَّت وَطالَت

بَناها الناسُ أَمسُ مُسخِرينا

And many a mighty, towering church

was built yesterday by men employing forced labor,

مُشَيَّدَةٍ لِشافي العُميِ عيسى

وَكَم سَمَلَ القَسوسُ بِها عُيونا

raised for Jesus, healer of the blind;

yet how many eyes did priests gouge out there!

أَخا اللورداتِ مِثلُكَ مَن تَحَلّى

بِحِليَةِ آلِهِ المُتَطَوِّلينا

O brother of lords, one like you should adorn himself

with the ornament of his munificent house.

لَكَ الأَصلُ الَّذي نَبَتَت عَلَيهِ

فُروعُ المَجدِ مِن كِرنارَفونا

Yours is the stock upon which grew

the branches of glory of Carnarvon.

وَمالُكَ لا يُعَدُّ وَكُلُّ مالٍ

سَيَفنى أَو سَيُفني المالِكينا

Your wealth cannot be counted, yet all wealth

will perish, or destroy its possessors.

وَجَدتَ مَذاقَ كُلِّ تَليدِ مَجدٍ

فَكَيفَ وَجَدتَ مَجدَ الكاسِبينا

You have tasted every inherited glory;

how, then, did you find the glory of those who earn it?

نَشَرتَ صَفائِحاً فَجَزَتكَ مِصرٌ

صَحائِفَ سُؤدُدٍ لا يَنطَوينا

You uncovered plates, and Egypt rewarded you

with pages of glory that will never be folded away.

فَإِن تَكُ قَد فَتَحتَ لَها كُنوزاً

فَقَد فَتَحَت لَكَ الفَتحَ المُبينا

If you have opened treasures for her,

she has opened for you a manifest triumph.

فَلَو قارونُ فَوقَ الأَرضِ إِلّا

تَمَنّى لَو رَضيتَ بِهِ قَرينا

Had Qarun been above ground, he could only

wish you would accept him as a companion.

سَبيلُ الخُلدِ كانَ عَلَيكَ سَهلاً

وَعادَتُهُ يَكُدُّ السالِكينا

The road to immortality was easy for you,

though it usually wearies those who travel it.

رَأَيتَ تَنَكُّراً وَسَمِعتَ عَتباً

فَعُذراً لِلغِضابِ المُحنِقينا

You met estrangement and heard reproach;

so pardon those enraged and embittered.

أُبُوَّتُنا وَأَعظَمُهُم تُراثٌ

نُحاذِرُ أَن يَؤولَ لِآخَرينا

Our forefathers, and the greatest among them, are an inheritance

we fear may pass to others.

وَنَأبى أَن يَحُلَّ عَلَيهِ ضَيمٌ

وَيَذهَبَ نَهبَةً لِلناهِبينا

We refuse to let it suffer injustice

or go as plunder to the plunderers.

سَكَتَّ فَحامَ حَولَكَ كُلُّ ظَنٍّ

وَلَو صَرَّحَت لَم تُثِرِ الظُنونا

You kept silent, and every suspicion circled you;

had you spoken plainly, you would not have stirred suspicions.

يَقولُ الناسُ في سِرٍّ وَجَهرٍ

وَمالَكَ حيلَةٌ في المُرجِفينا

People say, in secret and aloud—

and you have no recourse against rumor-mongers—

أَمَن سَرَقَ الخَليفَةَ وَهوَ حَيٌّ

يَعِفُّ عَنِ المُلوكِ مُكَفَّنينا

'Would one who robbed the caliph while he was alive

refrain from kings wrapped in shrouds?'

خَليلَيَّ اِهبِطا الوادي وَميلا

إِلى غُرَفِ الشُموسِ الغارِبينا

My two friends, descend into the valley and turn

toward the chambers of the setting suns.

وَسيرا في مَحاجِرِهِم رُوَيداً

وَطوفا بِالمَضاجِعِ خاشِعينا

Walk gently through their rock chambers,

and circle their resting places in reverence.

وَخُصّا بِالعَمارِ وَبِالتَحايا

رُفاتَ المَجدِ مِن توتَنخَمينا

And single out for blessings and salutations

the dust of glory that is Tutankhamun;

وَقَبراً كادَ مِن حُسنٍ وَطيبٍ

يُضيءُ حِجارَةً وَيَضوعُ طينا

and a tomb which, for beauty and fragrance, almost

shines through its stones and breathes perfume through its clay.

يُخالُ لِرَوعَةِ التاريخِ قُدَّت

جَنادِلُهُ العُلا مِن طورِ سينا

History's grandeur makes one imagine them hewn—

its lofty boulders—from Mount Sinai.

وَكانَ نَزيلُهُ بِالمَلكِ يُدعى

فَصارَ يُلَقَّبُ الكَنزَ الثَمينا

Its occupant once was called the king;

now he is called the precious treasure.

وَقوما هاتِفَينِ بِهِ وَلَكِن

كَما كانَ الأَوائِلُ يَهتِفونا

Rise, both of you, and hail him, but

as the ancients used to hail him.

فَثَمَّ جَلالَةٌ قَرَّت وَرامَت

عَلى مَرِّ القُرونِ الأَربَعينا

For there is a majesty that has rested and stirred

through the passing of forty centuries.

جَلالُ المُلكِ أَيّامٌ وَتَمضي

وَلا يَمضي جَلالُ الخالِدينا

Royal majesty lasts days, then passes,

but the majesty of the immortal never passes.

وَقولا لِلنَزيلِ قُدومَ سَعدٍ

وَحَيّا اللَهُ مَقدَمَكَ اليَمينا

Say to the occupant: 'An arrival of good fortune!'

May God bless your auspicious coming.

سَلامٌ يَومَ وارَتكَ المَنايا

بِواديها وَيَومَ ظَهَرتَ فينا

Peace on the day death hid you

in its valley, and the day you appeared among us.

خَرَجتَ مِنَ القُبورِ خُروجَ عيسى

عَلَيكَ جَلالَةٌ في العالَمينا

You came forth from the graves as Jesus came forth,

bearing majesty among all the worlds.

يَجوبُ البَرقُ بِاِسمِكَ كُلَّ سَهلٍ

وَيَختَرِقُ البُخارُ بِهِ الحُزونا

Lightning ranges with your name across every plain,

and steam bears it through the rugged heights.

وَأُقسِمُ كُنتَ في لَوزانَ شُغلاً

وَكُنتَ عَجيبَةَ المُتَفاوِضينا

I swear, you were a preoccupation at Lausanne,

and the marvel of the negotiators.

أَتَعلَمُ أَنَّهُم صَلِفوا وَتاهوا

وَصَدّوا البابَ عَنّا موصِدينا

Do you know how they grew arrogant and haughty,

and shut the door against us, bolting it?

وَلَو كُنّا نَجُرُّ هُناكَ سَيفاً

وَجَدنا عِندَهُم عَطفاً وَلينا

Had we dragged a sword there,

we would have found sympathy and gentleness among them.

سَيَقضي كِرزُنٌ بِالأَمرِ عَنّا

وَحاجاتُ الكِنانَةِ ما قُضينا

Curzon will decide the matter on our behalf,

while the needs of Egypt, the Quiver, remain unmet.

تَعالَ اليَومَ خَبِّرنا أَكانَت

نَواكَ سِناتِ نَومٍ أَم سِنينا

Come today and tell us: was

your absence mere dozes of sleep, or years?

وَماذا جُبتَ مِن ظُلُماتِ لَيلٍ

بَعيدِ الصُبحِ يُنضي المُدلِجينا

And what depths of night did you traverse,

far from dawn, exhausting those who travel by night?

وَهَل تَبقى النُفوسُ إِذا أَقامَت

هَياكِلُها وَتَبلى إِن بَلينا

Do souls endure when

their bodies endure, and decay if we decay?

وَما تِلكَ القِبابُ وَأَينَ كانَت

وَكَيفَ أَضَلَّ حافِرُها القُرونا

What are those domes, and where were they?

And how did their digger lead the centuries astray?

مُمَرَّدَةَ البِناءِ تُخالُ بُرجاً

بِبَطنِ الأَرضِ مَحظوظاً دَفينا

Smoothly built, seeming a tower,

fortunate, buried in the earth's belly.

تَغَطّى بِالأَثاثِ فَكانَ قَصراً

وَبِالصُوَرِ العِتاقِ فَكانَ زونا

Clothed in furnishings, it became a palace,

and in ancient images, it became an idol shrine.

حَمَلتَ العَرشَ فيهِ فَهَل تُرَجّي

وَتَأمَلُ دَولَةً في الغابِرينا

You bore the throne within it; do you hope

and long for a kingdom among the departed?

وَهَل تَلقى المُهَيمِنَ فَوقَ عَرشٍ

وَيَلقاهُ المَلا مُتَرَجِّلينا

Do you meet the Guardian seated on a throne,

while the assembly meets Him on foot?

وَما بالُ الطَعامِ يَكادُ يَقدى

كَما تَرَكَتهُ أَيدي الصانِعينا

What of the food, almost sweet-smelling,

just as the cooks' hands left it?

وَلَم تَكُ أَمسُ تَصبُرُ عَنهُ يَوماً

فَكَيفَ صَبِرتَ أَحقاباً مَئينا

Yesterday you could not endure a day without it;

how did you endure hundreds of ages?

لَقَد كانَ الَّذي حَذِرَ الأَوالي

وَخافَ بَنو زَمانِكَ أَن يَكونا

Indeed, what the ancients dreaded has happened,

and what the men of your time feared would come to be:

يُحِبُّ المَرءُ نَبشَ أَخيهِ حَيّاً

وَيَنبُشُهُ وَلَو في الهالِكينا

a man loves to dig up his brother while alive,

and digs him up even among the dead.

سُلِلتَ مِنَ الحَفائِرِ قَبلَ يَومٍ

يَسُلُّ مِنَ التُرابِ الهامِدينا

You were drawn from the excavations before a day

that will draw the lifeless from the dust.

فَإِن تَكُ عِندَ بَعثٍ فيهِ شَكٌّ

فَإِنَّ وَراءَهُ البَعثَ اليَقينا

If you are at a resurrection about which there is doubt,

a certain resurrection lies beyond it.

وَلَو لَم يَعصِموكَ لَكانَ خَيراً

كَفى بِالمَوتِ مُعتَصِماً حَصينا

Had they not protected you, it would have been better;

death is enough as a well-fortified refuge.

يُضَرُّ أَخو الحَياةِ وَلَيسَ شَيءٌ

بِضائِرِهِ إِذا صَحِبَ المَنونا

The living man can suffer harm, but nothing

can harm him when he has joined death.

زَمانُ الفَردِ يا فِرعَونُ وَلّى

وَدالَت دَولَةُ المُتَجَبِّرينا

The age of the sole ruler, O Pharaoh, has passed,

and the rule of the tyrants has fallen.

وَأَصبَحَتِ الرُعاةُ بِكُلِّ أَرضٍ

عَلى حُكمِ الرَعِيَّةِ نازِلينا

And the shepherds in every land have come

to submit to the judgment of their flocks.