عهد عليه من الضحايا رونق

ألحق من لبناته و المنطق

An era bearing a luster from sacrifices,

Where truth and logic are among its very bricks.

بنت الدموع به فمكّن صرحه

جرح ينزّ و عبرة تترقرق

Tears built within it, strengthening its citadel,

A bleeding wound and a shimmering tear.

و دم سقى ظمأ الصباح ففجره

ثمل و مشرقه نديّ مشرق

And blood that quenched the morning's thirst, so its dawn

Is intoxicated, and its east is dewy and radiant.

و زكا فعند الغوطتين تحيّة

منه تمرّ على الصخور فتورق

It thrived, so at the two Ghoutas there is a greeting

From it that passes over rocks, causing them to leaf.

من خالد أو من عهود أميّة

ما انفكّ يزكو بالشام و يعبق

From Khalid or from the eras of the Umayyads,

It has not ceased to grow in Sham and spread fragrance.

و حلفت قد كتب البقاء لها دم

قان و عهد للحليف و موثق

And I swore that survival was written for it by crimson blood,

And a covenant to the ally and a bond.

رافقتها من أربعين تصونها

و تردّ عنها النازلات و تشفق

You accompanied her for forty years, guarding her,

Repelling calamities from her, and showing compassion.

تفني شبابك في الشام و حبّها

و شبابها في جدّة لا تخلق

You consume your youth for Sham and her love,

While her youth remains in unfading novelty.

غسّان جنّ بها و هام أميّة

و هفا إليها الهاشميّ المعرق

Ghassan went mad for her, and Umayya wandered in love,

And the noble-rooted Hashimite yearned for her.

لم ينصفوا لمّا شكوا نزواتها

هي جمرة الدنيا تضيء ة تحرق

They were not fair when they complained of her caprice,

She is the world's ember that illuminates and burns.

تبغي المزيد من الصبّابة و الهوى

و تلحّ لا تحنو و لا تترفّق

She desires more of ardent love and passion,

She persists, showing neither mercy nor gentleness.

فاعذر إذا ملكت هواك فإنّها

و أبيك أملح من يحبّ و يعشق

So excuse if she possessed your love, for she,

By your father, is the most beautiful object of love and adoration.

من مبلغ عنّي الرئيس قصيدة

تحمي الثغور فكلّ بيت فيلق

Who will convey from me to the President a poem,

That defends the frontiers, for every verse is a legion.

و أنا الذي غنّى الشام فهزّها

منه البيان العبقريّ المونق

And I am the one who sang to Sham, stirring her,

With brilliant, pleasing eloquence.

دلّلت محنتها بسحر قصائدي

أيّام يستحذي الكميّ فيطرق

I soothed her ordeal with the magic of my poems,

In days when the brave warrior sought shelter and bowed.

و جبهت بالحقّ العنيف عدوّها

و عدوّها ثمل الضغائن أخرق

And I confronted her enemy with violent truth,

While her enemy was drunk on malice, clumsy and foolish.

ألقى الأذى فيها و أطرب للأذى

فمشرّد حينا و حينا موثق

I met harm for her sake and delighted in the pain,

Displaced at times, and at times bound in chains.

رنت العيون إلى جلالك خشّعا

و البدر يلثم في العيون و يرمق

Eyes gazed upon your majesty in humble awe,

As the full moon is kissed by eyes and admired.

حوّطته باسم النبيّ و آله

ممّن يفيء إلى الظلام و يرشق

I guarded him with the name of the Prophet and his kin,

From those who retreat to darkness and cast stones.

في موكب تتدفّق الذكرى به

و الخيل في جنباته تتدفّق

In a procession where memory flows freely,

And horses surge along its flanks.

مروان آب إلى الحمى فتزيّنت

للقائه بعد القطيعة جلّق

Marwan returned to the sanctuary, and Jillaq adorned herself,

To meet him after the estrangement.

و كأنّ فتحا من فتوح أميّة

حملت بشائره الجياد السبّق

As if a conquest from the Umayyad victories,

Whose good tidings were borne by racing steeds.

ذاك البناء تكاملت أجزاؤه

إلاّ طرائف في يديك تنسّق

That edifice has its parts completed,

Save for curious touches being arranged by your hands.

و يزيد في حسن القصور و سحرها

فنّ يرفّ إطارها و يزوّق

And adding to the beauty of palaces and their magic,

Is an art that adorns and decorates their frames.

إن تعي بالزمن الطويل فربّما

صحب الأناة الصّانع المتأنّق

If the long span of time wearies you, recall that perhaps,

Patience has ever accompanied the meticulous craftsman.

إنّ الأولى محضوك صفو و لائهم

غير الألى محضوه و هو مرنّق

Those who offered you the purity of their loyalty,

Are unlike those who offered it while turbid.

من عرفت بلاءه و وفاءه

أهوى فأسرفت في هواي و أصدق

I am one whose trial and loyalty you have known,

I loved, exceeded in my passion, and was most true.