Sol 6.1

  1. أَلْقَتْ مراسِيَها الخُطوبُ

    وتَبَسَّمَ الزمنُ القَطوبُ

    Calamities have cast their anchors,

    and scowling time has smiled.

  2. وانجاب عن صُبحٍ رضىٍّ

    ذلك اللّيلُ الغَضوب

    And from a contented dawn receded

    that wrathful night.

  3. وادّال مِنْ صَدَأِ الحديد

    على الثرّى أرَجٌ وطِيب

    And in place of iron's rust prevailed,

    upon the earth, sweet scent and fragrance.

  4. ومشى ربيعٌ للسَّلام

    بِه تفتّحتِ القلوب

    And a springtime of peace came walking,

    in which hearts opened.

  5. وتطامن الألمُ الحبيسُ

    وأفرخَ الأملُ الرحيب

    And imprisoned pain subsided,

    and boundless hope hatched.

  6. فجرٌ صدوق ربَّ حربٍ

    رِبْحُها فجرٌ كذوب

    A truthful dawn! Many a war

    has a lying dawn for its reward.

  7. الآنَ يَقْبَعُ في مهانَتِهِ

    لتنتفضَ الشّعوب

    Now, in its humiliation, cowers,

    so that the peoples may rise,

  8. وَحْشٌ تقلمتِ المخالبُ

    منه واختفتِ النُّيُوب

    a beast whose claws are clipped

    and whose fangs have vanished.

  9. مشتِ القصيدة للقصيدَةِ

    يصرعُ الكَسِلَ الدؤوب

    Poem walked toward poem;

    the tireless worker fells the idle.

  10. وتلّمس الدّرنَ الحكيمُ

    وشخَّصَ الداءَ الطبيب

    And the sage felt out the taint,

    and the physician diagnosed the disease.

  11. وتلاقتِ الأجيالُ في

    جيلٍ هو النَّغَمُ الرتيب

    And the generations converged in

    one generation, the steady melody:

  12. جيلٌ توضحت المعالمُ

    مِنْهُ وانجلتِ الغُيوب

    a generation whose contours grew clear,

    and whose hidden things were unveiled.

  13. وجرتْ على خير المقاييس

    المحاسنُ والعيوب

    And by the finest standards were judged

    virtues and flaws.

  14. فالمستظامُ " المستغَلُّ هو

    الحسيب ، هو النسيب

    Thus the oppressed, the exploited, is

    the honorable, the wellborn.

  15. والمستقيمُ هو المحكَّمُ

    والصريحُ هو اللبيب

    And the upright is the arbiter,

    and the forthright is the wise.

  16. والمنطوي كبتاً يشد على

    الضميرِ هو المريب

    And he who withdraws in repression, clamping down on

    his conscience, is the suspect.

  17. ومنزّهُ الآراءِ عن

    تأويلِهِنّ هو الصليب

    And he who shields his opinions from

    reinterpretation is the steadfast.

  18. والمكتوي بلواذع الألم

    العميقِ هو الأديب

    And he scorched by the searing pangs of pain,

    deep pain, is the man of letters.

  19. ربّىَ القرونَ بكلّ حْجرٍ

    طّيبٍ نِعمَ الربيب

    He was reared through the centuries in every

    kindly lap—a fine foster-child!

  20. شابتْ مفارقُهمُّ وأزمَنَ

    لا يهِمُّ ولا يَشيب

    Their crowns turned gray; he grew ancient,

    yet neither grows decrepit nor turns gray.

  21. ايام " رسطاليس " كانَ

    بُعَيْدَ مولدِهِ يهيب

    In Aristotle's days he was

    calling out, soon after his birth;

  22. والسمُّ إذ " سقراطُ " يَجْرَعُهُ

    ويحلِفُ لا يتوب

    and the poison, as Socrates drank it,

    swearing he would not recant,

  23. إذ قال للملأ العظيمِ

    وكأسُهُ فيها شبوب:

    when he told the great assembly,

    with fire blazing in his cup:

  24. " إني أكولٌ للحِمام

    على مرارتِهِ شَروب"

    “I am a hearty eater of death,

    and, bitter though it is, a hearty drinker.”

  25. أهلاً ، فانّكِ لا تُخيفين

    العقيدةَ ، يا شَعُوب

    Welcome! For you cannot frighten

    conviction, O Death!

  26. وخيال " أفلاطون " والجُمْهور ،

    والحكمُ الأريب

    And Plato's vision, and the commonwealth,

    and sagacious rule—

  27. ما عابه أن ضيم فيه

    " الرقُ " وامتُهِنَ " الجليب "

    it did not discredit him that, within it, was wronged

    the slave, and the imported captive was demeaned.

  28. إن العقولَ تكاملٌ

    من يُخطِ ينفعْ من يُصيِب

    Minds complete one another:

    whoever errs helps whoever is right.

  29. وتبارت الأجيال تنجح

    بالرسالة ، أو تخيب

    And generations competed, succeeding

    in their mission, or failing.

  30. عصرٌ خصيبٌ بالكفاحِ

    وآخرٌ منهُ جديب

    An age fertile with struggle,

    and another barren of it;

  31. شرِقٌ بأعوادِ المشانِقِ

    أو بمذبحةٍ خصيب

    one choked with gallows' timber,

    or fertile with a massacre.

  32. يجري النعيمُ به وتَزْدحِمُ

    العظائِمُ والكُروب

    Luxury flows through it, while crowd together

    calamities and sorrows.

  33. بازاء وَجْهٍ ناضرٍ

    ألفٌ تلوحُّه السُّهوب

    For every flourishing face,

    a thousand are scorched by the steppes.

  34. ومواكبُ الأحرار في

    صَخَبِ الطُّغاةِ لها دبيب

    And the processions of the free, amid

    the tyrants' clamor, creep onward.

  35. وعواصفُ الظلم الفطيع

    لها رُكودٌ أو هبوب

    And the storms of atrocious injustice

    have their lulls and their gusts.

  36. ومَعينُ فكرٍ في مَعينِ

    دمٍ يَصُبّ ، ولأنضوب

    And a wellspring of thought into a wellspring

    of blood pours, without running dry.

  37. ومشرّدون على المبادئ

    حُقِّروا فيها وعِيبوا

    And exiles, for their principles,

    were despised and reviled.

  38. سُدَّتْ مسالِكُهُمْ فما

    ضاقتْ بمذهبِهمْ ثقوب

    Their pathways were blocked, yet no

    crevice was too narrow for their creed.

  39. ضمنَ النعيمَ إنابةٌ

    وأبى التحّررُ أن يُنيبوا

    Recantation guaranteed comfort,

    but freedom would not let them recant.

  40. يتلقّفُ الأضواء نَجْمٌ

    شعَّ من نجمٍ يَغيب

    A star catches the light,

    shining from a star that sets.

  41. " فأبو العلاء " على نواميسٍ

    مهرّأةٍ كئيب

    So Abu al-Ala, over laws

    worn to tatters, grieves.

  42. ويهين " فولتير " النظام

    وبالمشرع يستريب

    And Voltaire scorns the system

    and distrusts the lawgiver.

  43. وتعهد " الاوباشَ " – زولا

    فانجلى " الوحشُ " النجيب

    And Zola tended the 'rabble,'

    and the noble 'beast' emerged.

  44. فإذا به غير المواربِ

    حين يَكُثُرُ من يروب

    And there he is, no dissembler,

    when deceivers abound.

  45. وإذا به وهو الكريب

    يُثيرُ نَخْوَتَهُ الكريب

    And there he is, though sorrow-stricken,

    another sufferer rouses his chivalry.

  46. وإذا بأشتاتِ الطُيوبِ

    يَلُمُّها هذا الجنيب

    And lo, the scattered fragrances—

    this led beast gathers them up.

  47. هذا المُهان لأنّهُ

    من نِعمةٍ خاوٍ سليب

    This man despised because he is

    devoid of comfort, stripped bare;

  48. ولأنَّ مشربَه حثالاتٌ

    ومطعَمَهُ جشيب

    and because his drink is dregs

    and his food is coarse;

  49. ولأنّه ذو مِعصم

    لم يُزْهِهِ الحلقُ الذهيب

    and because he has a wrist

    unadorned by golden circlets;

  50. ولأنه في الأكثرينَ

    الجائعينَ له ضروب

    and because among the majority,

    the hungry, his like abound;

  51. ولأنه بين " الصدورِ "

    المجرمينَ هو الكُعوب!!

    and because among the 'breasts'—the chiefs—

    those criminals, he is the 'ankles'!

  52. جيل تعاوَره الطلوعُ

    بما يُبشِّرُ – والغروب

    A generation alternately visited by sunrise,

    with what it heralds—and sunset.

  53. يطفو ويحُجُبهُ – إلى

    أمدٍ – من البغي الرسوب

    It floats, yet is hidden—for

    a time—by the sinking wrought by tyranny,

  54. حتى تلقَّفَهُ " لنينُ "

    وصنْوُهُ البطلُ المَهيب

    until Lenin caught it up,

    and his peer, the awe-inspiring hero,

  55. والعاكفون عليه أمّاتٌ،

    وشبانٌ ، وشيب

    and those devoted to it: mothers,

    young men, and the gray-haired.

  56. فإذا به عبلُ السواعدِ

    لا يزاحِمُهُ ضريب

    And there it stands, stout of forearm,

    with no equal to rival it.

  57. تعنوا له الجّلى ويقصُر

    عنده اليومُ العصيب

    Great ordeals bow before it, and shorter grows

    the grueling day in its presence.

  58. بالشعب تدعَمُهُ الجيوشُ

    وتدعمُ الجيُشَ الشُّعوب

    Through the people, armies uphold it,

    and the peoples uphold the army.

  59. والرايةُ " الحمراءُ " تحتَ

    ظلالِها تمشى القلوب

    And the red banner—beneath

    its shade the hearts walk.

  60. قالوا " السلام " فراح يستبقُ

    البعيدَ به القريب

    They said, 'Peace!' and, striving to outstrip

    the far, the near raced toward it.

  61. ودَعْوا ، فخف مجاوبٌ

    وثوى صريعٌ لا يجيب

    They called; an answerer hastened forward,

    while one slain lay still, unanswering.

  62. وتوثب العاني وأعوزَ

    مُثخناً فيه الوثوب

    The captive leapt, but leaping failed

    one grievously wounded there.

  63. طرح الأسيرُ قيودَهُ

    وهفا لموطنِه الغريب

    The prisoner cast off his chains,

    and the exile yearned for his homeland.

  64. وتعطّرتْ بشذا اللقاءِ

    ونفحةِ اللُّقيْا دُروب

    And perfumed by reunion's fragrance

    and the breath of meeting were the roads.

  65. في كلِّ بيتٍ بسمةٌ

    كدراءُ أو دَمعٌ مشوب

    In every house, a smile

    clouded, or mingled tears.

  66. غلب ابتسامَ الآيبين

    بكاؤهم من لا يؤوب

    The returnees' smiles were overcome

    by their weeping for those who do not return.

  67. رفَّت على أعشاشها

    أرواحُ هائمةٍ تلوب

    Above their nests fluttered

    wandering souls, circling,

  68. ذُعرٌ تخطفها الفراق

    ومسَّهاً منه لغوب

    terrified—parting had snatched them away,

    and touched them with its weariness.

  69. ومشى . من " القبر " الرهيب

    خيالُ مُحَترِبٍ يجوب

    And out of the dreadful 'grave' walked

    the wandering phantom of a warrior.

  70. غطّى معالَمهُ شجاً

    وتوحّشٌ ، ودمٌ صبيب

    His features were covered by sorrow,

    desolation, and streaming blood.

  71. أصغى فَألْهَبَ سمعَه

    من " هامة " الجدَثِ النعيب

    He listened, and his hearing was seared

    by the screech of the grave's owl.

  72. وتمطتِ الأنقْاضُ عن

    وجهٍ يؤمِّلُهُ حبيب

    And the ruins stretched apart to reveal

    a face awaited by a lover;

  73. عن ساعدٍ ألوى على

    جيدٍ كما اختلف الصّليب

    an arm curled around

    a neck, like the intersecting arms of a cross;

  74. وفمٍ مَراشِفُه ، للثم

    أليفِها شوقا تذوب

    and a mouth whose lips, to kiss

    their beloved, melt with longing.

  75. وضمائرُ " الأجداث ِ" تشكو

    ما جنى البشَرُ العجيب

    And the consciences within the graves lament

    what strange humankind has wrought.

  76. ورمائمُ الأنقاضِ ، مما

    استوعبت ، فيها شحوب

    And the ruins' decaying remains, from all

    they have contained, show pallor.

  77. والنار تحلف .. من حصيد

    لهيبها ذُعِرَ اللهيب

    And fire swears: at the harvest

    of its flames, flame itself was terrified.

  78. والحوتُ يَضْمَنُ رزقَه

    بحرٌ بها فيه خصيب

    And the whale is assured its sustenance

    by a sea made fertile with them.

  79. للوحشِ مأدبةٌ عليها

    ما يَلَذُّ وما يَطيب

    For the beasts, a banquet, upon which is

    all that is delicious and pleasing.

  80. وكواسر العِقبانِ يزهيها

    من الجثث النصيب

    And the predatory eagles are delighted

    by their share of the corpses.

  81. ماذا تريد : حواصل

    ملأى ومنقارٌ خضيب

    What do they want? Craws

    brimming, and a bloodstained beak.

  82. والدود يسأل مقلةً

    تدمى وجمجمة تخوب

    And worms ask an eye

    that bleeds, and a skull growing hollow:

  83. هذي المطاعم : أيُّ طاهٍ

    شاءها ؟ أهي الحروب؟

    “These dishes—what cook

    devised them? Was it war?”

  84. من مُبْلِغُ الثّاوينَ تُعوِلُ

    عندهم ريحٌ جَنوب

    Who will tell those lying still, where wails

    near them a southern wind,

  85. والمفردَين عليهم

    من كلِّ والفةٍ رقيب

    and those left solitary, over whom

    each loving woman keeps watch—

  86. والطفلُ يسأل من أبيه

    أهكذا يَلِجُ المشيب؟

    while the child asks his father,

    “Is this how gray hair enters?”

  87. والكاعبُ الحسناءُ جفَّ

    بنحرِها نَفَسٌ رطيب

    and the lovely budding maiden—dried up

    at her throat is her moist breath,

  88. واستنزَفَ الحِلْمَ الرغيبَ

    بصدرها جُرحٌ رغيب

    and drained the cherished dream

    within her breast, a gaping wound—

  89. إنَّ الرياشَ المستجدّ

    لكُمْ تَنُمُّ به الطيوب

    that the new finery

    for you is proclaimed by its perfumes,

  90. والبيتَ يُنعشه رنينُ العودِ ،

    والطفلُ اللَعوب

    and the house is enlivened by the lute's ringing,

    and the playful child;

  91. والدهرُ لم يبرح عليه من

    الّصبا ثوبٌ قشيب

    and time still wears, from

    youth, a fresh-woven robe;

  92. والأرض يُرقصها الشروقُ ،

    كما عهدتم ، والغروب

    and the earth is set dancing by sunrise,

    as you knew it, and by sunset;

  93. وعلى الربيعِ غضارة

    وعلى الأراكَةِ عندليب

    and spring wears lushness,

    and on the arak tree sits a nightingale;

  94. والشمس يستُرُ وجهَها

    بالغيم يُمْسِكُ أوْ يصوب

    and the sun's face is veiled

    by clouds that withhold rain or pour;

  95. والخافقاتُ العاطفاتُ

    بكم يُعِذَبُها الوجيب

    and the beating, loving hearts

    are tormented by their pounding for you?

  96. ألقتْ مراسِيها الخطوب

    وتبسمَّ الزمن القَطوب

    Calamities have cast their anchors,

    and scowling time has smiled.