Sol 6.1

  1. شَيَّعتُ أَحلامي بِقَلبٍ باكِ

    وَلَمَحتُ مِن طُرُقِ المِلاحِ شِباكي

    I bade farewell to my dreams with a weeping heart.

    And glimpsed my nets along the paths of beauties.

  2. وَرَجَعتُ أَدراجَ الشَبابِ وَوَردِهِ

    أَمشي مَكانَهُما عَلى الأَشواكِ

    And retraced the paths of youth and its roses,

    walking now on thorns in place of both.

  3. وَبِجانِبي واهٍ كَأنَّ خُفوقَهُ

    لَمّا تَلَفَّتَ جَهشَةُ المُتَباكي

    And at my side was a frail heart, whose beating seemed,

    when it looked back, the sob of one forcing tears.

  4. شاكي السِلاحِ إِذا خَلا بِضُلوعِهِ

    فَإِذا أُهيبَ بِهِ فَلَيسَ بِشاكِ

    Fully armed when alone within its ribs,

    but when summoned, it is unarmed.

  5. قَد راعَهُ أَنّي طَوَيتُ حَبائِلي

    مِن بَعدِ طولِ تَناوُلٍ وَفِكاكِ

    It was alarmed that I had folded up my snares

    after so much capture and release.

  6. وَيحَ اِبنِ جَنبي كُلُّ غايَةِ لَذَّةٍ

    بَعدَ الشَبابِ عَزيزَةُ الإِدراكِ

    Alas, son of my side! Every summit of pleasure

    after youth is hard to reach.

  7. لَم تُبقِ مِنّا يا فُؤادُ بَقِيَّةً

    لِفُتُوَّةٍ أَو فَضلَةٌ لِعِراكِ

    You have left us, O heart, no remnant

    for youthful vigor, nor any reserve for combat.

  8. كُنّا إِذا صَفَّقتَ نَستَبِقُ الهَوى

    وَنَشُدُّ شَدَّ العُصبَةِ الفُتّاكِ

    We would race toward love whenever you clapped,

    and charge like a band of ruthless fighters.

  9. وَاليَومَ تَبعَثُ فِيَّ حينَ تَهَزُّني

    ما يَبعَثُ الناقوسُ في النُسّاكِ

    And today, when you stir me, you awaken in me

    what the church bell awakens in monks.

  10. يا جارَةَ الوادي طَرِبتُ وَعاوَدَني

    ما يُشبِهُ الأَحلامَ مِن ذِكراكِ

    O neighbor of the valley, I was enraptured, and there returned to me

    something dreamlike from the memory of you.

  11. مَثَّلتُ في الذِكرى هَواكِ وَفي الكَرى

    وَالذِكرَياتُ صَدى السِنينِ الحاكي

    I pictured my love for you in memory and in sleep;

    and memories are the echo that retells the years.

  12. وَلَقَد مَرَرتُ عَلى الرِياضِ بِرَبوَةٍ

    غَنّاءَ كُنتُ حِيالَها أَلقاكِ

    And I passed the gardens on a hill,

    lush with trees, before which I used to meet you.

  13. ضَحِكَت إِلَيَّ وُجوهُها وَعُيونُها

    وَوَجَدتُ في أَنفاسِها رَيّاكِ

    Their faces and their eyes smiled at me,

    and in their breaths I found your fragrance.

  14. فَذَهبتُ في الأَيّامِ أَذكُرُ رَفرَفاً

    بَينَ الجَداوِلِ وَالعُيونِ حَواكِ

    So I journeyed back through the days, recalling a bower

    that sheltered you between the streams and springs.

  15. أَذَكَرتِ هَروَلَةَ الصَبابَةِ وَالهَوى

    لَمّا خَطَرتِ يُقَبِّلانِ خُطاكِ

    Do you remember how yearning and love came running,

    as you swayed past, both kissing your footsteps?

  16. لَم أَدرِ ماطيبُ العِناقِ عَلى الهَوى

    حَتّى تَرَفَّقَ ساعِدي فَطواكِ

    I did not know the sweetness of an embrace in love

    until my arm grew gentle and enfolded you.

  17. وَتَأَوَّدَت أَعطافُ بانِكِ في يَدي

    وَاِحمَرَّ مِن خَفرَيهِما خَدّاكِ

    And the boughs of your bān-tree form bent in my hand,

    and your cheeks reddened with their bashfulness.

  18. وَدَخَلتُ في لَيلَينِ فَرعِكِ وَالدُجى

    وَلَثَمتُ كَالصُبحِ المُنَوِّرِ فاكِ

    And I entered two nights—your tresses and the darkness—

    and, like the radiant dawn, I kissed your mouth.

  19. وَوَجدتُ في كُنهِ الجَوانِحِ نَشوَةً

    مِن طيبِ فيكِ وَمِن سُلافِ لَماكِ

    And in the depths of my breast I found a rapture

    from your mouth's sweetness and the pure wine of your dusky lips.

  20. وَتَعَطَّلَت لُغَةُ الكَلامِ وَخاطَبَت

    عَينَيَّ في لُغَةِ الهَوى عَيناكِ

    And the language of speech fell silent, and there spoke

    your eyes to mine in the language of love.

  21. وَمَحَوتُ كُلَّ لُبانَةٍ مِن خاطِري

    وَنَسيتُ كُلَّ تَعاتُبٍ وَتَشاكي

    And I erased every desire from my mind,

    and forgot all mutual reproach and complaint.

  22. لا أَمسَ مِن عُمرِ الزَمانِ وَلا غَدٌ

    جُمِعَ الزَمانُ فَكانَ يَومَ رِضاكِ

    There was no yesterday in time's span, nor any tomorrow;

    time was gathered together and became the day of your favor.

  23. لُبنانُ رَدَّتني إِلَيكَ مِنَ النَوى

    أَقدارُ سَيرٍ لِلحَياةِ دَراكِ

    Lebanon, I was brought back to you from separation

    by the decrees of life's unceasing course.

  24. جَمَعَت نَزيلَي ظَهرِها مِن فُرقَةٍ

    كُرَةٌ وَراءَ صَوالِجِ الأَفلاكِ

    It reunited two dwellers on its surface after separation—

    a sphere driven by the polo mallets of the heavens.

  25. نَمشي عَلَيها فَوقَ كُلِّ فُجاءَةٍ

    كَالطَيرِ فَوقَ مَكامِنِ الأَشراكِ

    We walk upon it above every sudden peril,

    like birds above the places where snares lie hidden.

  26. وَلَو أَنَّ بِالشَوقُ المَزارُ وَجَدتَني

    مُلقى الرِحالِ عَلى ثَراكِ الذاكي

    And if visiting depended on longing, you would find me

    with my baggage laid down upon your fragrant soil.

  27. بِنتَ البِقاعِ وَأُمَّ بَردونِيَّها

    طيبي كَجِلَّقَ وَاِسكُبي بَرداكِ

    Daughter of the Beqaa and mother of its Berdawni,

    be fragrant as Jilliq, and pour forth your Barada.

  28. وَدِمَشقُ جَنّاتُ النَعيمِ وَإِنَّما

    أَلفَيتُ سُدَّةَ عَدنِهِنَّ رُباكِ

    And Damascus is gardens of bliss, yet

    I found your hills the threshold of their Eden.

  29. قَسَماً لَوِ اِنتَمَتِ الجَداوِلُ وَالرُبا

    لَتَهَلَّلَ الفِردَوسُ ثُمَّ نَماكِ

    I swear, if streams and hills declared their lineage,

    Paradise would beam, then claim you as his child.

  30. مَرآكِ مَرآهُ وَعَينُكِ عَينُهُ

    لِم يا زُحَيلَةُ لا يَكونُ أَباكِ

    Your appearance is his, and your eye is his;

    why, O Zuhayla, should he not be your father?

  31. تِلكَ الكُرومُ بَقِيَّةٌ مِن بابِلٍ

    هَيهاتَ نَسيَ البابِلِيِّ جَناكِ

    Those vineyards are a remnant of Babylon;

    never could the Babylonian forget your fruit.

  32. تُبدي كَوَشيِ الفُرسِ أَفتَنَ صِبغَةٍ

    لِلناظِرينَ إِلى أَلَذِّ حِياكِ

    They display, like Persian embroidery, the most enchanting hue

    to those who gaze upon your most luscious weave:

  33. خَرَزاتِ مِسكٍ أَو عُقودَ الكَهرَبا

    أودِعنَ كافوراً مِنَ الأَسلاكِ

    beads of musk, or necklaces of amber,

    set in camphor-white threads.

  34. فَكَّرتُ في لَبَنِ الجِنانِ وَخَمرِها

    لَمّا رَأَيتُ الماءَ مَسَّ طِلاكِ

    I thought of the milk and wine of Paradise

    when I saw the water touch your wine.

  35. لَم أَنسَ مِن هِبَةِ الزَمانِ عَشِيَّةً

    سَلَفَت بِظِلِّكِ وَاِنقَضَت بِذَراكِ

    I have not forgotten, among time's gifts, an evening

    that passed in your shade and ended in your shelter.

  36. كُنتِ العَروسَ عَلى مَنَصَّةِ جِنحِها

    لُبنانُ في الوَشيِ الكَريمِ جَلاكِ

    You were the bride upon its twilight dais;

    Lebanon unveiled you in splendid brocade.

  37. يَمشي إِلَيكِ اللَحظُ في الديباجِ أَو

    في العاجِ مِن أَيِّ الشِعابِ أَتاكِ

    The gaze walks toward you through silken brocade, or

    through ivory, from whichever ravine it comes to you.

  38. ضَمَّت ذِراعَيها الطَبيعَةُ رِقَّةً

    صِنّينَ وَالحَرَمونَ فَاِحتَضَناكِ

    Nature tenderly drew her two arms together—

    Sannine and Hermon—and they both embraced you.

  39. وَالبَدرُ في ثَبَجِ السَماءِ مُنَوِّرٌ

    سالَت حُلاهُ عَلى الثَرى وَحُلاكِ

    And the full moon shone in the heart of the sky;

    its jewels streamed over the earth and your adornments.

  40. وَالنَيِّراتُ مِنَ السَحابِ مُطِلَّةٌ

    كَالغيدِ مِن سِترٍ وَمِن شُبّاكِ

    And the bright stars peered out from the clouds,

    like graceful maidens peeping from curtains and windows.

  41. وَكَأَنَّ كُلَّ ذُؤابَةٍ مِن شاهِقٍ

    رُكنُ المَجرَّةِ أَو جِدارُ سِماكِ

    And each crest of a towering mountain seemed

    a pillar of the Milky Way, or a wall of Simak.

  42. سَكَنَت نَواحي اللَيلِ إِلّا أَنَّةً

    في الأَيكِ أَو وَتَراً شَجِيَ حِراكِ

    The reaches of the night fell still, save for a moan

    in the grove, or a string with a plaintive tremor.

  43. شَرَفاً عَروسَ الأَرزِ كُلُّ خَريدَةٍ

    تَحتَ السَماءِ مِنَ البِلادِ فِداكِ

    All honor, bride of the cedars! Every maiden

    among the lands beneath the sky would be your ransom.

  44. رَكَزَ البَيانُ عَلى ذَراكِ لِوائَهُ

    وَمَشى مُلوكُ الشِعرِ في مَغناكِ

    Eloquence planted its banner upon your heights,

    and the kings of poetry walked within your abode.

  45. أُدَباؤُكِ الزُهرُ الشُموسُ وَلا أَرى

    أَرضاً تَمَخَّضُ بِالشُموسِ سِواكِ

    Your radiant writers are suns, and I do not see

    a land in labor with suns other than you.

  46. مِن كُلِّ أَروَعَ عِلمُهُ في شِعرِهِ

    وَيَراعُهُ مِن خُلقِهِ بِمَلاكِ

    Each a splendid man, his learning in his poetry,

    and his reed pen held in check by his character.

  47. جَمعَ القَصائِدَ مِن رُباكِ وَرُبَّما

    سَرَقَ الشَمائِلَ مِن نَسيمِ صَباكِ

    He gathered poems from your hills, and perhaps

    stole his graces from the breeze of your east wind.

  48. موسى بِبابِكِ في المَكارِمِ وَالعُلا

    وَعَصاهُ في سِحرِ البَيانِ عَصاكِ

    Musa is at your gate in noble deeds and glory,

    and his staff, in the magic of eloquence, is your staff.

  49. أَحلَلتِ شِعري مِنكِ في عُليا الذُرا

    وَجَمَعتِهِ بِرِوايَةِ الأَملاكِ

    You placed my poetry on your loftiest summits,

    and joined it with the recitation of angels.

  50. إِن تُكرِمي يا زَحلُ شِعري إِنَّني

    أَنكَرتُ كُلَّ قَصيدَةٍ إِلّاكِ

    If you honor my poetry, O Zahle, indeed I

    have disowned every poem except you.

  51. أَنتِ الخَيالُ بَديعُهُ وَغَريبُهُ

    اللَهُ صاغَكِ وَالزَمانُ رَواكِ

    You are imagination—its splendor and its strangeness;

    God fashioned you, and time recited you.