قف بهذا البحر وانظر ما غمر — Ahmed Shawqi

قِف بِهَذا البَحرِ وَاُنظُر ما غَمَر

مَظهَرَ الشَمسِ وَإِقبالَ القَمَر

Stand by this sea and see what it has engulfed,

at the sun's rising and the moon's coming.

وَاَعرِضِ المَوجَ مَلِيّاً هَل تَرى

غَمرَةً أَودَت بِخَوّاصِ الغُمَر

Survey the waves at length—do you see

an engulfing surge that destroyed the seasoned diver of the depths?

أَخَذَت ناحِيَةَ الحَقِّ بِهِ

وَسَبيلَ الناسِ في خالي العُصُر

It carried him toward the truth,

and along humanity's path in ages past.

مَنَعَ اللُبثَ وَإِن طالَ المَدى

فَلَكٌ ما لِعَصاهُ مُستَقَر

An orb forbade lingering, however long the span,

an orb whose staff has no resting place.

دائِرُ الدولابِ بِالناسِ عَلى

جانِبَيهِ المُرتَقى وَالمُنحَدَر

Its wheel turns, bearing people upon

its two sides: the ascent and the descent.

نَقَضَ الإيوانَ مِن آساسِهِ

وَأَتى الأَهرامَ مِن أُمِّ الحُجَر

It tore down the Iwan from its foundations,

and assailed the pyramids at their mother chamber.

وَمَحا الحَمراءَ إِلّا عَمَداً

نَزعُها مِن عَضُدِ الأَرضِ عَسِر

It effaced the Alhambra, save some columns

hard to wrench from the earth's arm.

أَينَ رومِيَّةُ ما قَيصَرُها

ما لَياليها المُرِنّاتُ الوَتَر

Where is Rome? What of her Caesar?

What of her nights that made the strings resound?

أَينَ وادي الطَلحِ وَاللائي بِهِ

مِن دُمىً يَسحَبنَ في المِسكِ الحِبَر

Where is Wadi al-Talh, and the women there,

doll-like beauties trailing striped robes through musk?

أَينَ نابِلِيونُ ما غاراتُهُ

شَنَّها الدَهرُ عَلَيهِ مِن غِيَر

Where is Napoleon? What of his raids?

Time launched its reversals against him.

أَيُّها الساكِنُ في ظِلِّ المُنى

نَم طَويلاً قَد تَوَسَّدتَ الزَهَر

O you who dwell in the shade of hopes,

sleep long: you have pillowed your head on flowers.

شَجَرٌ نامٍ وَظِلٌّ سابِغٌ

بَيدَ أَنَّ الصِلَّ في أَصلِ الشَجَر

Growing trees and ample shade—

but the venomous snake lies at the trees' root.

يَذَرُ المَرءُ وَيَأتي ما اِشتَهى

وَقَضاءُ اللَهِ يَأتي وَيَذَر

Man forgoes and does whatever he desires,

and God's decree does and forgoes.

كُلُّ مَحمولٍ عَلى النَعشِ أَخٌ

لَكَ صافٍ وُدُّهُ بَعدَ الكَدَر

Everyone borne upon a bier is a brother

to you, his affection clear after its muddiness.

إِن تَكُن سِلماً لَهُ لَم يَنتَفِع

أَو تَكُن حَرباً فَقَد فاتَ الضَرَر

If you are at peace with him, he gains nothing;

or if at war, the time for harm has passed.

راكِبَ البَحرِ أَمَوجٌ ما تَرى

أَم كِتابُ الدَهرِ أَم صُحفُ القَدَر

Seafarer, is what you see a wave,

or Time's book, or the pages of fate?

لُجَّةٌ كَاللَوحِ لا يُحصى عَلى

قَلَمِ القُدرَةِ فيها ما سُطِر

A deep like the Tablet: none can number

what the pen of Omnipotence has inscribed therein.

فَتَلَفَّت وَتَنَسَّم حِكمَةً

وَاِلمِس العِبرَةَ مِن بَينِ الفِقَر

Look about you and breathe in wisdom;

feel out the lesson between the passages.

وَتَأَمَّل مَلعَباً أَعجَبُهُ

آيَةً جانِبُهُ المُرخى السُتُر

Contemplate a theater whose greatest

marvel is its side with curtains drawn.

هَهُنا تَمشي الجَواري مَرَحاً

وَجَواري الدَهرِ يَمشينَ الخَمَر

Here the coursing ships move merrily,

while Time's coursers move under cover.

رُبَّ سَيفٍ ضَرَبَ الجَمعُ بِهِ

في كُنوزِ البَحرِ مَطروحَ الكِسَر

Many a sword that a host once wielded

lies in the sea's hoards, its fragments cast aside.

وَنِجادَ لَم يُطاوَل ضَحوَةً

نالَهُ الفَجرُ عِشاءً بِالقِصَر

And a baldric unmatched at forenoon—

dawn overtook it at evening, cut short.

وَسَفينَ آمِرٍ فيها البِلى

طالَما أَوحَت إِلَيهِ فَأتَمَر

And ships where decay now gives commands—

long had they commanded it, and it obeyed.

وَوُجوهٍ ذَهَبَ الماءُ بِها

في نَهارِ الفَرقِ أَو لَيلِ الشَعَر

And faces that the water carried away,

in the daylight of their hair-partings or the night of their hair.

وَعُيونٍ ساجِياتٍ سُجِّيَت

بِرُفاتِ السِحرِ أَو فَلِّ الحَوَر

And languid eyes, now shrouded

in enchantment's crumbled remains, or shards of dark-eyed beauty.

قُل لِلَيثٍ خُسِفَ الغيلُ بِهِ

بَينَ طِمٍّ وَظَلامٍ مُعتَكِر

Tell the lion whose thicket sank with him

amid a deluge and thick, swirling darkness:

اُنظُرِ الفُلكَ أَمِنها أَثَرٌ

هَكَذا الدُنيا إِذا المَوتُ حَضَر

Look at the ships—is any trace of them left?

Such is the world when death arrives.

هَذِهِ مَنزِلَةٌ لَو زِدتَها

ضاقَ عَنكَ السَعدُ أَو ضاقَ العُمُر

This is a station that, were you to surpass it,

fortune would fail you, or your lifetime fall short.

فَاِمضِ شَيخاً في هَوى المَجدِ قَضى

رَحمَةَ المَجدِ وَرِفقاً بِالكِبَر

So depart, an elder who died in love of glory,

through glory's mercy and kindness to old age.

ميتَةٌ لَم تَلقَ مِنها عَلَزاً

مِن وَقارِ اللَيثِ أَن لا يُحتَضَر

A death from which you suffered no agony:

a lion's dignity is not to linger dying.

أَنتُمُ القَومُ حِمى الماءِ لَكُم

يَرجِعُ الوِردُ إِلَيكُم وَالصَدَر

You are the people: the water's preserve is yours;

to you belong the coming to water and the departure.

لُجَجُ الدَأماءِ أَوطانٌ لَكُم

وَمِنَ الأَوطانِ دورٌ وَحُفَر

The ocean's depths are homelands to you,

and homelands include homes and graves.

لَستَ في البَحرِ وَحيداً فَاِستَضِف

فيهِ آباءَكَ تَنزِل بِالدُرَر

You are not alone at sea: seek hospitality

there from your forefathers; you will lodge among pearls.

رَسَبوا فيهِ كِراماً وَطَفا

طائِفُ النَصرِ عَلَيهِم وَالظَفَر

They sank there nobly, while there floated

above them the spirit of victory and triumph.

نَشَأَ النيلُ إِلَيكُم سيرَةً

لَكُمو فيها عِظاتٌ وَعِبَر

The Nile has emerged as a chronicle for you,

in which you have admonitions and lessons.

إِقرَأوها يُكشَفُ العَصرُ لَكُم

كُلُّ عَصرٍ بِرِجالٍ وَسِيَر

Read it: the age will be unveiled to you;

every age has its men and histories.

لا تَقولوا شاعِرُ الوادي غَوى

مَن يُغالِط نَفسَهُ لا يُعتَبَر

Do not say, 'The poet of the valley has gone astray';

whoever deludes himself merits no regard.

مَوقِفُ التاريخِ مِن فَوقِ الهَوى

وَمَقامُ المَوتِ مِن فَوقِ الهَذَر

History's stance is above desire,

and death's station is above idle talk.

لَيسَ مَن ماتَ بِخافٍ عَنكُمو

أَو قَليلِ الفِعلِ فيكُم وَالأَثَر

The man who died is not unknown to you,

nor scant in deeds and influence among you.

شِدتُمو دُنياهُ في أَحسَنِها

غَزوَةَ السودانِ وَالفَتحِ الأَغَر

You built his world in its finest form,

in the Sudan expedition and the resplendent conquest.

وَبَنى مَملَكَةَ النوبِ بِكُم

فَاِذكُروا القَتلى وَلا تَنسوا البِدَر

And he built the Nubians' kingdom with you;

so remember the slain, and do not forget the money-bags.

وَاِحذَروا مِن قِسمَةِ النيلِ فَيا

ضَيعَةَ الوادي إِذا النيلُ شُطِر

Beware of dividing the Nile, for oh,

what ruin for the valley if the Nile is split!

رَجُلٌ لَيسَ اِبنَ قارونَ وَلا

بِاِبنِ عادِيٍّ مِنَ العَظمِ النَخِر

A man, no son of Qarun, nor

an 'Adite's son, sprung from decayed bone.

لَيسَ بِالزاخِرِ في العِلمِ وَلا

هُوَ يَنبوعُ البَيانِ المُنفَجِر

He does not overflow with knowledge, nor

is he eloquence's gushing spring.

رَضَعَ الأَخلاقَ مِن أَلبانِها

إِنَّ لِلأَخلاقِ وَقعاً في الصِغَر

He suckled virtues from their milk;

indeed, virtues leave their mark in childhood.

وَرَآها صورَةً في أُمَّةٍ

وَمِنَ القُدوَةِ ما توحي الصُوَر

And he saw them embodied in a nation;

example includes what images inspire.

ذَلِكَ المَجدُ وَهَذي سُبلُهُ

بَيِّنٌ فيها سُبلُ المُعتَذِر

That is glory, and these are its paths;

the excuse-maker's paths are plain therein.

أَبَعدَ الساعونَ يَبغونَ المَدى

وَالمَدى في المَجدِ دانٍ لِنَفَر

The strivers go far in pursuit of the goal,

yet glory's goal lies near to a few.

كَجيادِ السَبقِ لَن تُغنِيَها

أَدَواتُ السَبقِ ما تُغني الفِطَر

Like racing steeds, they will not be helped by

racing gear as much as by inborn gifts.

وَجَناحُ السِلمِ إِلّا أَنَّها

ساعَةَ الرَوعِ جَناحٌ مِن سَقَر

And she is peace's wing, except that she,

in terror's hour, is a wing from Saqar.

مِن حَديدٍ جانِباها سابِغٍ

رَبَضَ المَوتُ عَلَيهِ وَفَغَر

Her two sides are sheathed in ample iron;

death crouched upon it and gaped.

أَشبَهَت أَفواهُها أَعجازَها

قُنفُذٌ في اليَمِّ مَشروعُ الإِبَر

Her mouths resembled her hindquarters:

a hedgehog at sea, its needles thrust out.

أَرهَفَت سَمعَ العَصا وَاِكتَحَلَت

إِثمِدَ الزَرقاءِ في عَرضِ السَدَر

She sharpened the staff's hearing and kohled her eyes

with al-Zarqa's antimony across the dizzying expanse.

وَتُؤَدّي القَولَ لا يَسبِقُها

رُسُلُ الأَرواحِ في نَقلِ الفِكَر

And she conveys speech; she is not outpaced by

the messengers of spirits in carrying thoughts.

خَطَرَت في مِحجَرَيها وَمَشَت

بِعُيونِ المُلكِ في بَحرٍ وَبَر

She glided within her two eye-sockets, and moved

with sovereignty's eyes, over sea and land.

غابَةٌ تَجري بِسُلطانِ الشَرى

خادِراً مِن أَلفِ نابٍ وَظُفُر

A forest sailing with the lord of al-Shara,

lying in his lair amid a thousand fangs and claws.

وَإِذا المَوتُ إِلى النَفسِ مَشى

وَرَكِبتَ النَجمَ بِالمَوتِ عَثَر

And when death advances toward the soul,

though you ride a star, it stumbles over death.

رُبَّ ثاوٍ في الظُبى مُمتَنِعٍ

سَلَّهُ المِقدارُ مِن جَفنِ الحَذَر

Many a man lies secure among sword-blades;

fate drew him from caution's sheath.

تَسحَبُ الفولاذَ في مُلتَطَمٍ

بِالعَوادي مُتَعالٍ مُعتَكِر

She trails steel through a wave-clashing sea,

surging high with assaults, thick and turbid.

لَو أَشارَت جاءَها ساحِلُه

في حَديدٍ وَعَديدٍ مُنتَصِر

Had she beckoned, its shore would have come to her,

in iron and in numbers, victorious.

أَو فَدى المَيِّتَ حَيٌّ فُدِيَت

بِوَقاحٍ في الجَواري وَخِفَر

Or, if the living could ransom the dead, she would be ransomed

by the bold and bashful among ships.

بَعَثَ البَحرُ بِها كَالمَوجِ مِن

لُجَجِ السِندِ وَخُلجانِ الخَزَر

The sea sent them forth like waves from

the depths of Sindh and the gulfs of the Khazars.

لَمَسَتها لِلمَقاديرِ يَدٌ

تَلمَسُ الماءَ فَيَرمي بِالشَرَر

A hand of the fates touched her,

a hand that touches water, and the water flings sparks.

ضَرَبَتها وَهيَ سِرٌّ في الدُجى

لَيسَ دونَ اللَهِ تَحتَ اللَيلِ سِر

It struck her while she was a secret in the gloom;

beneath the night, no secret is hidden from God.

وَجَفَت قَلباً وَخارَت جُؤجُؤاً

وَنَزَت جَنباً وَناءَت مِن أُخَر

Her heart trembled, and her breast gave way;

she sprang on one side and sagged on others.

طُعِنَت فَاِنبَجَسَت فَاِستَصرَخَت

فَأَتاها حينُها فَهيَ خَبَر

Stabbed, she burst open and cried for help;

then her hour came, and she is a tale.