نما على أرضها الشجر

وقد جرى تحتها النهر

Trees grew upon its soil,

and the river flowed beneath it.

وشيدت حولها بيوت

بها إله الورى ذكر

And houses were built around it,

where the God of all creation was remembered.

وللتواريخ ذكريات

تحف من حولها غرر

And history has its memories,

bright glories clustering all around it.

فأنت مستعرض صفوفا

تمر أطيافها زمر

So you survey their ranks,

their phantoms passing in throngs.

ترى بها التين وهو غض

وفوقه حية ذكر

There you see the fig tree, still tender,

and above it a male serpent.

جنينة حدها البصر

كجنة الخلد في الكبر

A garden bounded by the reach of sight,

like the Garden of Eternity in its vastness.

وقارها يخلب الحجى

وحسنها يخلب النظر

Its dignity captivates the mind,

and its beauty captivates the gaze.

يسحرك الصبح إن سفر

والليل فيها اذا اعتكر

Morning enchants you when it unveils itself,

and night within it when it grows dark,

والماء والزهر والشجر

والنجم والشمس والقمر

and water, flowers, and trees,

and stars, sun, and moon.

والنيل مسترسل شحيح

كأنه الكوثر الخصر

And the Nile flows on, its waters scant,

as though it were cool al-Kawthar.

تراه ينساب كالأفاعي

بين الملفات والجزر

You see it gliding like serpents

among the bends and islands.

والطير في الأيك صادحات

تجيد لحنا بلا وتر

And the birds sing in the groves,

skillfully rendering a melody without a string.

والورد في رقة يحيى

أهلا وسهلا بمن حضر

And the roses tenderly greet:

"Welcome to whoever has come!"

كأنما كل وردة

عصارة الناس لا الشجر

As though every rose

were the essence of humankind, not of trees.

كأنما شمسها عروس

ترفل في النور للسرر

As though its sun were a bride,

trailing her robes through light toward the couches.

صفت وكادت بصفوها

تهتك في الغيب ما استتر

She grew clear and, in her clarity, almost

laid bare what lay hidden in the unseen.

وكم لها من مآثر

في النفس محمودة الأثر

And how many glories it possesses,

leaving a cherished impression upon the soul!

ترى على القرب فندقا

يمثل الأرض والبشر

Nearby you see a hotel

representing the earth and humankind.

كذلك الأرض فندق

الناس فيه على سفر

Likewise, the earth is a hotel;

its people are on a journey.

حدث لمستعبر نظر

عن غابر الملك والأسر

Tell the tearful onlooker

of bygone sovereignty and dynasties,

وعن ملوك هناك كانوا

على الزرابي والسرر

and of kings who once were there,

upon carpets and couches.

جزيرة الفيل ثم تبدو

كاليخت في النيل قد مخر

Then Elephantine Island appears,

like a yacht that has cleaved the Nile.

تحمل فيها لمن غبر

عشرين من أشهر العصر

It carries within it, for those long gone,

twenty of the age's most renowned.

فتلك موفي وذي كروفي

وتلك بئر لها خطر

There, then, is Mophi, and here is Krophi,

and there a well of great importance.

كان هنا بينهم إله

يفجر النيل للبشر

Here among them there was a god

who made the Nile gush forth for humankind.

وكان خينومها إله

بكل أبنائه أبر

And its Khnum was a god

most loving toward all his children.

يأمر شلاله فيزكي

الزرع والضرع والثمر

He commands his cataract, and it enriches

the crops, the udders, and the fruit.

يا واحة من حياة جيل

بين صحارى من العصر

O oasis of a generation's life

amid the deserts of time,

تحف من حولها الجبال

كأنها الطوق من حجر

the mountains ring it round,

like a collar of stone.

لورد حصن ردى لردت

عن ملك أربابها الخطر

Had a fortress kept death at bay, they would have kept

danger from their lords' dominion.

فيك رجاء وفيك يأس

يلمحه الفكر لا النظر

In you is hope, and in you despair,

which thought glimpses, not sight.

وفيك ذكر لمن ذكر

وفيك شعر لمن شعر

And in you is remembrance for whoever remembers,

and in you poetry for whoever feels.

فيك حياة وفيك موت

يرمقنا خلسة شذر

In you is life, and in you death,

which eyes us furtively, askance.

فالزهر والطير فيك حي

والله والناس والشجر

For flowers and birds are alive in you,

and God, and people, and trees.

والموت بين الطلول يبدو

والمجد تحت الثرى اندثر

And death appears among the ruins,

and glory has vanished beneath the soil.

سلمت لو تسلم الجبال

من عصفة الدهر والقدر

May you be safe—if mountains can be safe

from the blast of time and fate.

جنينة حسنها بهر

ومثلها في الدنى ندر

A garden whose beauty dazzles,

and whose like is rare in the world.

لا تبلغ العين من مداها

ما تبلغ النفس والفكر

The eye cannot reach across its expanse

as far as the soul and thought can reach.

سئمت مكثي بها فهل

أسلم في الخلد من ضجر

I have tired of staying here; shall I

be spared boredom in eternity?