1. يا دُرة حَفَها النُيـ

    ـل وَاِحتَواها البر

    O pearl, encircled by the Nile

    and embraced by the land;

  2. صَحى الدُجى وَتَغشا

    ك في الأُسرة فَجر

    The darkness awoke, and you were enfolded

    within the household by dawn.

  3. وَصاحَ بَين الرُبى الغـ

    ـر عَبقري أَغَر

    And among the gleaming hills there cried

    a radiant marvel.

  4. وَطافَ حَولَك رَكب

    مَن الكَراكي أَغَر

    And around you circled a procession

    of gleaming cranes.

  5. وَراحَ يَنفض عَينيه

    مِن بَني الأَيك حُر

    And there went, shaking out its eyes,

    a noble son of the woodland.

  6. فَماج بِالأَيك عِش

    وَقامَ في العش دير

    So a nest stirred in the woodland,

    and a monastery rose within the nest.

  7. كَم ذا تَمازج فَن

    عَلى يَديك وَسحر

    How much art has mingled

    at your hands with magic!

  8. يَخور ثور وَتَثغو

    شاة وَتَنهق حمر

    A bull bellows, and there bleats

    a ewe, while donkeys bray.

  9. وَالبهم تَمرح وَالزَر

    ع مونق مخضر

    And the young livestock frolic, and the crops

    are lovely and green.

  10. تَجاوب اللَحن وَالطَح

    ن وَالثغاء المسر

    The melody and the grinding answered

    one another, with the gladdening bleats.

  11. وَهب صَوت النَواع

    ير وَهُوَ في الشَجو مر

    And the sound of the waterwheels rose,

    bitter in its lament.

  12. إِن الجِوار وَقَد ضا

    ق بِالقَليب المَمر

    Indeed, the vessels, when the passage narrowed

    at the well,

  13. تَكسرت وَهِي تَهوي

    فَما تَلاءم كَسر

    broke apart as they fell,

    and no fracture mended.

  14. فَتِلك مَعصوبة الرا

    س كَم تَني وَتخر

    So that one has her head bandaged;

    how often she falters and falls!

  15. وَتِلكَ مَرضى وَهاتيـ

    ـك لِلخَواطر قَبر

    And that one is sick, and that other

    is a grave for thoughts.

  16. وَظَلَ قرنك يا شَمـ

    ـس آنذاك يَذر

    And your horn, O sun,

    kept rising then.

  17. فَكُل غُصن مَصابيح

    مِن نَدى يَستدر

    So every branch draws forth lamps

    from dew.

  18. وَنور الطل وَاحَمَر

    في الثَرى المخضر

    And the dew blossomed and reddened

    upon the verdant soil.

  19. وَذابَ في الرَمُل أَو ما

    جَ في التَرائب تَبر

    And in the sand there melted, or surged

    along the breastbones, raw gold.

  20. تَرجل الريح ما إِنها

    ل مِن نَقا أَن تَذر

    The wind combs what tumbled down

    from a dune, to scatter it.

  21. رَملاء يَبرق در

    مِنها وُيبهر ذر

    A sandy land: pearls gleam

    from it, and fine dust dazzles.

  22. وَالفلك في جانبيها

    كَالدَهر ما تَستَقر

    And the boats on either side of it

    are like time: they never rest.

  23. هَذا شِراع مُكسر

    وَذا شِراع مفر

    This is a broken sail,

    and that a sail in flight,

  24. يَطوي وَيَنشر وَالريـ

    ـح مِن هُناك تَمُر

    folding and spreading, while the wind

    passes from over there.

  25. وَزَورق يَتَهادى

    وَزَورَق يَستَحر

    And a skiff glides gently,

    and another strains onward,

  26. يُرسي وَيُقلع وَالشَط

    هادئ مُستَقر

    anchoring and setting sail, while the bank

    is calm and settled.

  27. وَفي الضِفاف أَوزّ

    دكن الجَوانح كَثر

    And on the banks are geese,

    dark-winged and numerous.

  28. وَرَب قَنواء لِلعَصـ

    ـم وَالأَنوق مَقَر

    And many a bent tree is a home

    for white-marked crows and the vulture.

  29. أَوفى عَلى النيل فرع

    مِنها وَأَشرَف جَذر

    A branch rose over the Nile

    from it, and a root jutted out.

  30. يَقلها الدَهر عرقا

    ن مُستَطيل وَشَبر

    Two roots support it through the ages:

    one long, one a handspan.

  31. يَكادُ يَلفظها الشَط

    وَهِيَ شَمطاء بكر

    The bank almost spits it out,

    though it is a gray-haired virgin.

  32. وَالنيل يقدم مد

    مِنهُ وَيَجفل جزر

    And the Nile advances in flood;

    from it, the ebb recoils.

  33. وَكَم تَقادم عَهد

    وَكَم تَصرم دهر

    And how many eras have grown old,

    and how many ages have passed away!

  34. وَتِلكَ يَأوي إِلَيها

    في الوَقدة المُستَحر

    And to that one comes for shelter,

    in the blaze, whoever swelters.

  35. يا أُخت مصر وَتَفد

    يك في المَكاره مَصر

    O sister of Egypt, you are ransomed

    in adversity by Egypt.

  36. حَيا شَبابك فَيض

    مِن الرَخاء وَيسر

    Your youth was greeted by a flood

    of prosperity and ease.

  37. كَم في المَزارع قَوم

    شَم العَرانين صعر

    How many folk are in the fields,

    high-nosed, with necks turned haughtily!

  38. هِبوا سِراعاً إِليها

    وَلَيسَ مِنها مَفَر

    They sprang up swiftly toward them,

    and from them there is no escape.

  39. ذياك يَعزق في

    العُشب جاهِداً ما يَقر

    That one hoes among

    the grass, laboring without rest;

  40. وَذاكَ يَعنيهَ حَرث

    وَذاكَ يَعنيهِ بِذر

    and that one is occupied with plowing,

    and that one is occupied with sowing.

  41. وَماجَ في الغَيط نشأ

    ملء النَواظر خزر

    And young folk surged in the field,

    filling the gaze, narrow-eyed.

  42. هَناك فول وَهَذا

    ك في السَنابل بَر

    There are beans, and yonder,

    in the ears, is wheat.

  43. وَما تَعذر شَيء

    وَلا تَعسر أَمر

    And nothing proved impossible,

    nor did any matter grow difficult.

  44. مَشى الضُحى وَلَهُ

    بَعد في رُباك مَجَر

    The forenoon walked on, and it still had

    a course across your hills.