نظمت هذه الفكر — Khalil Gibran

نَظَمْتُ هَذه الفِكَرْ

ذاتَ شُؤُونٍ وَعِبَرْ

I cast these thoughts into verse,

full of matters and lessons.

وَلا أَقُولُ إِنَّني

قَدْ صُغْتُهَا صَوغَ الدُّرَرْ

And I do not claim that I

have fashioned them like pearls.

أَرْسَلْتُهَا كَمَا أَتتْ

بَيْنَ غُيَابٍ وَحَضَرْ

I sent them forth just as they came,

between absence and presence,

أَوَابِداً لَمْ يكُ لِي

مِنْهَا بِتَأْبِيدٍ وَطرْ

untamed things; I had

no wish to make them everlasting.

وَلَمْ أَخَلْنِي إِنْ أَمُتْ

يَسْتَحْيِنِي هَذَا الأَثَرْ

Nor did I imagine that, if I die,

this work would keep me alive,

كَظَنِّ كلِّ مَنْ بَدَا

لَهُ خَيَالٌ فَشَعَرْ

as everyone supposes to whom

a vision appears, and who makes verse,

وَظنِّ كلِّ مَنْ رَأَى

مَوْضِعَ نَثْرٍ فَنَثَرْ

and everyone who sees

an occasion for prose, and writes it.

يَحْسَبُ تِيهاً أَنَّهُ

غَزَا الخُلُودَ فَانْتَصَرْ

He thinks, in his vanity, that he

has assailed immortality and triumphed.

وَهْمٌ قَديمٌ سِيرَتِي

فِيه عَلى غَيْرِ السِّيرْ

An ancient delusion; my way

regarding it differs from other ways.

مَا أَكْلَفَ الإِنْسَانَ

بِالبَقَاءِ حَتَّى فِي خَبَرْ

How enamored the human being is

of enduring, even in a tale!

وَمَا أَشَدَّ وُدَّهُ

لَوُ يُسْتَدَامُ فِي حَجَرْ

And how intense his longing

to be perpetuated in stone!

كمْ خاطِرٍ دَوَّنَهُ

كَاتِبُهُ حِينَ خَطَرْ

How many a thought was recorded

by its writer when it came to mind,

وَقالَ هَذَا مُكْسِبِي

لا شكَّ إِعْجَابَ البَشَرْ

who said, “This will earn me

without doubt, the admiration of humankind,

إِذْ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّني

صَاحِبُ هَذَا المُبْتَكَرْ

when they know that I

am the author of this new creation.”

حَتَّى البُكَاءُ وَالسُّرُو

رُ حِينَ يَبْكِي أَوْ يُسُرْ

Even weeping and joy—

when he weeps or rejoices—

يَخُطُّه كَأَنَّهُ

جَوْعَانُ يَسْتَجْدِي النَّظَرْ

he writes down, as though he were

a hungry man begging for attention.

لَكِنَّني وَأَنْتَ تَدْ

رِي أَيُّها الأَخُ الأَبَرّ

But I—and you know it,

O most devoted brother—

لَمْ أَتَمَنَّ مَرَّةً

هَذِي الأَمَانِيَّ الكُبَرْ

have never once wished

for these grand desires.

وَلَمْ أُبالِ مُصْحَفاً

لِيَ انْطَوَى أَوِ انْتشَرْ

Nor have I cared whether a volume

of mine stayed closed or spread abroad;

وَلمْ أُبَالِ اسْمِيَ إِنْ

لَمْ يُشْتَهَرْ أَوِ اشْتُهِرْ

nor have I cared about my name, whether

it remained obscure or grew famous.

أَلاَ وَقدْ عَلَّمْتَنِي

بِمَشْهَدٍ وَمُخْتَبَرْ

Indeed, you have taught me,

through witnessing and experience,

كَيْفَ يَكُونُ أَحْكَمَ

السفَّارِ وَالعُمْرُ سَفَرْ

how one can be the wisest

of travelers—and life is a journey:

يَأْخُذُ فِي مَسِيرِهِ

مَا يُجْتَنَى مِنَ الثمَرْ

He takes along his way

whatever fruit can be gathered,

وَيَجْتَلِي حُسْنَ السُّهى

إِنْ فَاتَهُ حُسْنُ القَمَرْ

and beholds the beauty of Suha

if the beauty of the moon eludes him;

وَيَصْطَفِي رِفَاقَهُ

لِلاِئْتِنَاسِ وَالسَّمرْ

and chooses his companions

for fellowship and evening conversation,

مُجَامِلاً أَمْثَالَهُ

عَلَى الرَّخَاءِ وَالغِيَرْ

courteous to his fellows

through prosperity and reversals,

مُجْتَنِباً زَلاَّتِهِمْ

مُغْتَفِراً مَا يُغْتَفَرْ

avoiding their missteps,

forgiving what can be forgiven;

مُنْتَبِذَ السُّبلِ الَّتِي

تُعْلِقُ بِالثَّوْبِ الوَضَرْ

shunning the paths that

make grime cling to his clothes;

مُسْتَنْصِفاً وَمُنْصِفاً

فِي الوُدِّ أَوْ فِي المُتَّجَرْ

seeking fairness and granting it

in friendship or in trade;

مُسْتَمْسِكاً بِالحَقِّ لاَ

يَغُرُّهُ وَهْمٌ أَغَرّ

holding fast to truth, not

beguiled by a dazzling illusion;

يَجْرِي عَلَى حُكْمِ النهَى

وَلاَ يُغَالِبُ القَدَرْ

following reason's judgment,

and not contending against fate.

فِي الدِّينِ وَالدنْيَا لَهُ

حِكْمَةُ وِرْدٍ وَصَدَرْ

In religion and worldly life he has

wisdom in going to water and returning;

إِنْ يُؤْتَ فَضْلاً بَثَّهُ

فِي النَّاسِ فِعْلَ مَنْ شَكَرْ

if granted a bounty, he spreads it

among people, as a grateful person would;

يَشْرَكهُمْ فِيهِ وَلَوْ

إِشْرَاكَ سَمْعٍ وَبَصَرْ

he lets them share in it, even

if only through hearing and sight.

وَلمْ يَصُنْهُ عَنْهُمُ

صَوْنَ بَخِيلٍ مَا ادَّخَرْ

Nor does he withhold it from them

as a miser guards what he has hoarded;

وَلمْ يُبَددْهُ سُدىً

بِمَا تَباهَى وَافْتَخَرْ

nor does he squander it in vain

through ostentation and boasting.

ذلِكَ مَا أَفَدْتَنِي

وَهْوَ عُيُونٌ وَغُرَرْ

That is what you have taught me,

and it is all that is choice and splendid:

فَلْسَفةٌ خِلْقِيَّةٌ

أَلِفْتَهَا مِنَ الصِّغرْ

an innate philosophy

you have known since childhood,

عَنْ فِطْرَةٍ سَامَى بِهَا

نقَاؤُهَا أَسْمَى الفِطرْ

born of a nature that rivals, through

its purity, the loftiest natures.

أَخذْتُ عَنْكَ آيَهَا

وَلمْ تُفَصَّل فِي سُوَرْ

I learned its verses from you,

though they were not laid out in chapters.

حَضَرتُها كقَارِيءٍ

مَغْزَى النُّهَى فِي مُخْتَصَرْ

I witnessed it like a reader

of reason's meaning in a brief compendium.

أَرَتْنِيَ الدنْيَا وَبِي

عَنْهَا جَلاَلٌ وَكِبَرْ

It showed me the world, while within me

were dignity and pride, aloof from it;

وَأَزْهدَتْنِي فِي المَدِيحِ

وَالأَبَاطِيلِ الأُخَرْ

and it made me renounce praise

and the other falsehoods

يَوْمَ أَبِيتُ هَامِداً

مَثْوَايَ فِي إِحْدَى الحُفَرْ

on the day I lie lifeless,

my abode in one of the pits.

لَكِنَّ مِنْهَا دَاعِياً

أَجَبْتهُ وَقَدْ أَمَرْ

Yet a caller from it

I answered when he commanded:

قَالَ دَعِ الآتِيَ لِلغَيْبِ

وَخُذْ بِمَا حَضَرْ

He said: “Leave the future to the unseen,

and take hold of what is present.

صِفْ لِلرِّفَاقِ مَا تَرَى

مِنْ زُهُرٍ وَمِنْ زَهَرْ

Describe to companions what you see

of bright stars and flowers.

أَنْشِدْهُمُ مَا يَجْلِبُ

الصَّفاءَ أَوْ يَنْفِي الكَدَرْ

Sing to them what brings

serenity, or dispels gloom.

حَذِّرْهُمُ مَا فِي الطَّرِيقِ

مِنْ بَلاَءٍ وَخَطَرْ

Warn them of what lies on the road

of affliction and danger.

سَكِّن حَشَى مَرُوعِهِمْ

وَلاَ تُؤَازِرْ مَنْ وَزرْ

Soothe the heart of their frightened one,

and do not support one who does wrong.

أَرْشِدْ بِرِفْقٍ تَارَة

وَتَارَةً بِمُزْدَجَرْ

Guide gently at times,

and at times with a rebuke.”

يَا مَنْ دَعَانِي أَنَا مَنْ

إِنْ يُدْعَ لِلخَيْرِ ابْتَدَرْ

O you who called me, I am one

who hastens when called to do good.

أَلنَّاسُ بِالنَّاس وَكُلٌّ

وَاهِبٌ عَلَى قَدَرْ

People depend on people, and each

gives according to his ability.

وَشَرُّهُمْ مَنِ اسْتَطَا

عَ أَنْ يُفِيدَ فَاعْتَذَرْ

And the worst of them is one who could

bring benefit, but offers an excuse.

لَوْ لمْ تَكُنْ مُجَرِّئِي

هَذَا الكِتَابُ مَا ظَهَرْ

Had you not emboldened me,

this book would not have appeared.

وَليْسَ إِلاَّ قِصَصاً

إِلى شُُونٍ وَذِكَرْ

It is nothing but stories,

alongside matters and recollections,

وَنفحَاتٍ بَاقِيَا

تٍ مِنْ شبَابٍ قَدْ عَبَرْ

and lingering breaths

from a youth that has passed,

وسَانِحَاتٍ سَنَحَتْ

بَيْنَ غُرُوبٍ وَسَحَرْ

and passing thoughts that came

between sunset and the hours before dawn,

فِي مُسْتَضَاءِ الخَمْرِ أَوْ

فِي مُتَفَيَّإ الخمَرْ

in the illumination of wine, or

in the shade of thickets,

تَحْتَ مَرَائِي الشُّهبِ أَوْ

بَيْنَ مَلاَحِظِ الشَّجرْ

beneath the spectacle of shooting stars, or

among the glances of trees:

خَوَاطِرٌ وَضَّاءَةٌ

بِهَا مَلاَمِحُ السَّهرْ

radiant thoughts,

bearing the traces of sleepless nights.

أَلْبَسْتها مِنْ أَدْمُعِي

وَمِنْ دَمِي هَذِي الحِبَرْ

I clothed them, from my tears

and from my blood, in these ornamented robes,

قَشِيبَةً غَرِيبَةً

عَصْرِيةً نَسْجَ مُضَرْ

fresh and strange,

modern, in the weave of Mudar.

ذلِكَ دِيوَانِي وَمَا

أُزْجِيهِ إِزْجَاءَ الغَرَرْ

That is my collection, and I do not

put it forth to deceive.

فَإِنْ أَفَادَ رَاحَةً

أَوْ سَلوَةً مِنَ الضَّجرْ

So if it brings comfort,

or consolation against weariness,

أَوْ حِكْمَةً تُؤْخَذُ عَنْ

مُتَّعظٍ وَمُعْتَبِرْ

or wisdom learned from

one who heeds admonition and draws lessons,

فَهْوَ الذِي نَشَرْتُهُ

لأَجْلِهِ بِلاَ حَذَرْ

that is what I published it

for, without apprehension.

وَبَعْدَ ذَاكَ لاَ يَكُنْ

لِيَ افْتِخَارٌ أَوْ خَطَرْ

And after that, let there be

no pride or prestige for me.