1. كيف أنسى زمناً كنت به

    من أخ أغلى وأسمى من أبِ

    How can I forget a time when you were

    dearer than a brother and nobler than a father?

  2. ضقت ذرعاً بزماني وكذا

    ضاقت الأيام والآلام بي

    I could no longer bear my times, and likewise

    the days and pains closed in on me.

  3. رائحاً في لجة طاغية

    غادياً في عاصف مضطربِ

    Going in the evening through a raging deep,

    going in the morning through a turbulent storm.

  4. قد تغشاني ظلام لا أرى

    فيه مغداي ولا منقلبي

    Darkness had enveloped me; I could not see

    within it my outward path or my way back.

  5. صامداً للظلم والظلم له

    معول يهدمني عن كثب

    Standing firm against injustice, while injustice had

    a pickaxe demolishing me at close quarters,

  6. وأنا أدفعه عن منكبي

    بيدي حتى تهاوى منكبي

    and I pushed it away from my shoulder

    with my hand, until my shoulder gave way.

  7. وتماسكت فلم يبق سوى

    كبرياء هي درع للأبي

    And I held myself together; nothing remained but

    pride, which is armor for the unbowed.

  8. هتفت بي النفس فلنمض إلى

    ذلك الورد الكريم الطيب

    My soul cried to me: let us go, then, to

    that noble, sweet watering place.

  9. إن أنطون وما أعظمه

    طاهر القلب نبيل المشرب

    Indeed, Antoun—how great he is!—

    is pure of heart, noble in disposition:

  10. كأس ود لم ترنق أبداً

    وصفت كالذهب المنسكب

    a cup of affection that never grew clouded,

    and grew clear as gold poured out.

  11. ونداماه على طول المدى

    رفقة حفّوا به كالحبب

    And his boon companions, throughout the years,

    are a fellowship clustered around him like bubbles.

  12. مكتب لا بل بساط عامر

    بالمعالي يا له من مكتب

    An office—no, rather a carpet teeming

    with noble pursuits! What an office!

  13. مكتب قد صيغ من عالي ال

    مساعي ونبيل الدأبِ

    An office fashioned from lofty

    endeavors and noble diligence.

  14. مكتب يُزهي بحُر ماجد

    ثابت الرأي سني المأرب

    An office graced by a free, noble man,

    steadfast in judgment, lofty in purpose.

  15. صائد الدر تراه غارقاً في

    صحف أو غائصاً في كتب

    A pearl-hunter, you see him immersed in

    papers, or diving into books,

  16. مصغياً في حكمة أو مطرقاً

    في وقار سامعاً في أدب

    listening with wisdom, or with head bowed

    in dignity, listening with courtesy.

  17. فإذا أدلى برأي تلقه

    راح يدلي بالعجيب المطرب

    Then, when he offers an opinion, you find him

    going on to offer wondrous, delightful things,

  18. مستفيضاً ببيان جامع

    سحر هوجو وجلال العرب

    overflowing with eloquence that unites

    Hugo's magic and the majesty of the Arabs.

  19. ذاك أنطون وما أروعه

    صفحة لا تنتهي من عجبِ

    That is Antoun—how splendid he is!—

    a page whose wonders never end.

  20. قطرات حسبت من عرق

    وهي لو حققتها من ذهب

    Drops taken for sweat,

    yet, if you examined them, they would prove to be gold.

  21. أسعد الأيام يوم ضمني

    بك في دار كأفق الشهب

    The happiest of days was the day that united me

    with you, in a house like a sky of shooting stars,

  22. كُرّمت من شرف وارتفعت

    بالعلا وازَّينت بالحسب

    honored by nobility and lifted high

    by eminence, and adorned with noble lineage,

  23. لدسوقي وما أنسى له

    إنه مثلك في الفضل أبي

    Desouqi's—and I do not forget his kindness:

    for he, like you, is a father to me in kindness.

  24. كيف أنسى فضله وهو الذي

    ذاد عني عاديات الحقب

    How can I forget his kindness, when he is the one

    who warded off time's onslaughts from me?

  25. أنتما للمجد ذخر فابقيا

    للمعالي واسلما للأدب

    You two are glory's treasure; may you live on

    for noble pursuits, and stay safe for literature.