رأيت قمرية في كف نشوان

يسومها الويل من آن إلى آن

I saw a turtledove in a drunkard's palm.

He subjects her to torment from moment to moment.

تستصرخ الناس من قاص ومن دان

وقل في الناس من يصغي إلى العاني

She cries to people for help, those far away and those near,

Yet few among the people heed the captive.

أبصرتها فأسالت مدمعي جزعا

وهيجت في فؤادي نار أشجان

I saw her, and she made my tears flow in anguish,

And kindled in my heart a fire of sorrows.

يا ويح قلبي عليها وهي مرهقة

تردد النوح من بث وتحنان

Alas for my heart over her, worn down as she is,

She repeats her lament from grief and yearning.

ترنو إلى الطير في عليائه مرحا

يطير من فنن غض لأفنان

She gazes at the birds, merry in their heights,

Flying from a tender bough to other boughs.

ما بين شادية منه وراقصة

وبين موموقة ما بين أخدان

Some of them sing, and others dance,

And others are beloved amid their companions,

وحائمات على الغدران معجبة

كأنها فكر طافت بأذهان

And enchanting birds hover above the pools,

As though they were thoughts wandering through minds.

بالأمس كانت عليها الكل سيدة

مغبوطة بينها بالعز والشان

Yesterday she was mistress over them all,

Envied among them for her honor and standing.

ما بالها اليوم قد حالت محاسنها

وذاقت الويل من ذل وحرمان

What ails her today, that her charms have changed,

And she has tasted torment from humiliation and deprivation?

متى تفك قيود الغاصب الجاني

متى أحرر من ذلي وحرماني

When will the bonds of the criminal usurper be undone?

When shall I be freed from my humiliation and deprivation?

مسكينة أنت يا قمرية البان

فأنت مثلي في وجدي وأشجاني

Poor creature you are, O turtledove of the bān tree!

For you are like me in my anguish and my sorrows.

اللَه يعلم ما عودت من كذب

لكنه مثل أملاه وجداني

God knows I have never been given to lying,

Yet it is a likeness dictated by my feelings.

هو الحقيقه تبدو في مخيلتي

فيخرج الشعر منها شمس تبيان

It is the truth appearing in my imagination,

So poetry emerges from it, a sun of clarity.

مصر التي حير الألباب سالفها

وقلد الدهر منها عقد عرفان

Egypt, whose past bewildered minds,

And adorned Time with a necklace of knowledge drawn from her.

مصر التي حير الألباب سالفها

وأعجز الخلق من أنس ومن جان

Egypt, whose past bewildered minds,

And baffled all creatures, humans and jinn alike.

ما لي أراها وفي أغلالها ثقل

ودونها أسد في زي إنسان

Why do I see her weighed down by her fetters,

And before her a lion in human guise?

يقوقها كلما اهتزت لطيبة

وخلفها أمم طارت لكيوان

He [hinders] her whenever she stirs toward goodness,

And behind her are nations that have flown to Saturn.

حرية الشعب علياه وسودده

لا يرتجي الشعب في ظلم وعدوان

A people's freedom is its eminence and glory.

A people has no hope amid oppression and aggression.

أنجدلترا يا بلاد العلم مرحمة

فأنما العلم والإرهاق ضدان

England, O land of learning, show mercy!

For learning and oppression are opposites.

تلك المواطن لم تخلق لمغتصب

وذلك الشعب لم يبرأ لسجان

Those homelands were not created for a usurper,

Nor was that people fashioned for a jailer.

أعى اللسان وعز الصبر في بلد

حقوقه مضغة في حلق ثعبان

The tongue is weary, and patience scarce, in a land

Whose rights are a morsel in a serpent's throat.