أَسؤالُ هذا الدّهرِ ما أنا قانِعُ

سألتكمُ باللهِ كيفَ المَطامِعُ

The question of this age, what am I satisfied with

I asked you for God's sake, how are the ambitions

فعندي فُؤادٌ لا يرى الأخذَ مغنَماً

ويجبُنُ أنْ تُسْدى إليهِ الصّنائِعُ

For I have a heart that does not see taking as spoils

And it must be given favors

على أنّهُ يَفْري الحسامَ بقلبِهِ

وطَيْعَنُ صدرَ الرّمحِ والرُّمحُ شارِعُ

Yet it lets swords pass through with its heart

And it pierces the chests of spears and the spears are bare

بوُدِّ اللّيالي لا بودّيَ أنّني

أهِشُّ إلى معروفِها وأُسارِعُ

With the love of nights, not with my love that

I ardently go to do it favors and I hasten

فإنْ ألْقَ ميّافارقينَ وربُّها

يطاعنُ منّي حاسِراً وهو دارِعُ

So if it meets separation and its Lord

Stabs me while exposed and defending

تنوبُ له خيْلٌ ولا أدّعي لها

وتغزُو ولا أغْزو إلَيْها الفَجائِعُ

Horses act in its place and I do not claim for it

And they raid while I do not raid calamities to it

فخُطّةَ ضيمٍ أبَيْتُ وليلَةً

سريتُ فكانَ المجدُ ما أنا صانِعُ

The stratagem of oppression I refused and a night

I walked so glory is what I am making

هتكتُ دُجاها والنّجومُ كأنّها

عيونُ لها ثوبُ السّماءِ بَراقِعُ

I unveiled its lights and the stars are as if

They are eyes for it, the sky's dress veils

ضَعي عنكِ أثْوابَ الحياءِ فإنّنا

كِرامُ الهوى أسْرارُنا والمضاجِعُ

Take off from yourself the clothes of modesty, for we

Are the honorable of love, our secrets and beds

فإنّ خسارَ الجهلِ والعَقْلُ رابِحٌ

يحققُ عندي أنّكنّ صَوانِعُ

For the loss of ignorance and reason is winning

It is definite to me you are makers

ألا فاخْشَ ما يُرْجى وجدُّكَ هابِطٌ

ولا تخْشَ ما يُخشى وجدُّك رافِعُ

Lo, so fear what is hoped for, your passion descends

And do not fear what is feared, your passion ascends

فلا نافعٌ إلاّ مع النّحسِ ضائِرٌ

ولا ضائِرٌ إلاّ معَ السّعدِ نافعُ

For neither benefits but with misfortune harmful

Nor harmful but with fortune beneficial

تَطاوَلَ لَيْلي بالجبال تَزورُني

جِبال هُمومٍ تَرتَمي وتُماصِعُ

My night has lingered with the mountains, visiting me

Mountains of worries heap up and intertwine

أضُمُّ على قلبي يديَّ مخافةً

إذا لاحَ لي بَرقٌ من الشّرقِ لامِعُ

I gather my hands over my heart fearing

When a flash from the east shines for me

وما ينْفَعُ القلبَ الذي بانَ إلفُهُ

إذا طارَ شَوْقاً أنْ تُضَمَّ الأضالِعُ

And it does not benefit the heart which its intimacy appeared

If passions fly to gather the ribs

لرأس زماني مُنْصُلي وليَ الصّدى

وللناسِ منهُ ريُّهُ والمَشارِعُ

The time leans its head to me and only I have the echo

And the people have from it winds and streets

ولو كنتُ ممنْ يزحَمُ الجمعَ ورده

تضلعتُ والمتبوعُ لا شكّ تابِعُ

And if I were one who barges into the crowd and its roses

I would intertwine and the followed is no doubt a follower

وكيفَ بنفسي أنْ على الوِردِ أُكرِهَتْ

أطاعت وإلاّ خليتْ وهي ناقِعُ

And how can my soul when it was coerced over roses

Obeyed, and if not, it left while falling

ولو لم يكن في النّاسِ من يَعْشَقُ النّدى

بغيرِ سُؤالٍ نازَعَتْها النّوازِعُ

And if there were no people who love dew

Without asking, the motives would have disputed it

فعاشَ لها ابْنُ المغربيِّ فإنّهُ

نَداهُ إلى حَمْدِ الرجالِ ذرائِعُ

So the son of the Maghribi lived for it, for he

His voice called him to the praise of men, means

أخي وخليلي والحبيبُ وجُنّتي

وسيفي ورمحي والفؤادُ المشايِعُ

My brother, friend, beloved, my paradise

And my sword, my spear, and the heart which escorts

أكلُّ ظُباهُ للمنونِ مناصبٌ

وأدْنى نَداهُ للسَّحابِ طبائِعُ

Every part of him is a position for death

And his lowest voice for the clouds, natures

فتى تأنس الدنيا بهِ وهو موحشٌ

وتدنو إلى أهْوائِهِ وهو شاسِعُ

A youth the world feels at ease with him and he is lonesome

And it comes closer to his passions and he is vast

يجرِّبُ تجريبَ الغَبيِّ وعنده

ظُنونٌ على جيشِ الغُيوبِ طَلائِعُ

He experiments the experimentation of the stupid one, and with him

Suspicions about the army of the absent, scouts

كَذا من يَحوطُ الحزمَ من جَنَباتِهِ

ويصرعُ من أفْكارِهِ ما يُصارِعُ

As so one who surrounds wisdom from its sides

And defeats what rivals him from his thoughts

تُحدِّثُهُ الأبْصارُ عن خطَراتِها

فإنْ قالَ قوْلاً حدّثَتْهُ المَسامِعُ

The sights tell him about their notions

So if he says a saying, the hearings told him

من القومِ جَرّاحُ اللّسانَ إذا التَقَتْ

عُرى القولِ والتفتْ عليْهِ المَجامِعُ

From the people, the slanderer of the tongue, when

The strings of words meet and the assemblies turn to him

يناضلُهُم عن دينِهِ وهو جاهِدٌ

ويَسبقُهُمْ في عِلمِهِ وهو وادِعُ

He competes with them for his religion and he is a fighter

And he precedes them in his knowledge and he is calm

ويطعَنُهمْ من لفْظِهِ بأسنّةٍ

حداد النّواحي أرْهَفَتْها الوَقائِعُ

And he stabs them from his words with Indian swords

Smiths of the horizons whose edges are sharpened by events

فلوْ لمْ يكُنْ شَرْعُ الشّرائِعِ قبلَهُ

إذاً أُخِذَتْ ممّا يقولُ الشّرائِعُ

So if the constitution of constitutions were not before him

Then they would be taken from what he says, constitutions

كَذا أنتَ إلاّ أنْ يُقصِّر قولُنا

ولا شكّ في تقصيرِهِ وهو بارِعُ

As so you are unless our words falls short

And there is no doubt that it falls short and it is eloquent

ويومَ تسمّى الثّغرُ باسمكَ أصْبَحَتْ

رَكايا بلادُ الرّومِ وهيَ صَوامِعُ

And the day the lips were named by your name, they became in the morning

Corners of the Roman country and they are monasteries

قد انقلبتْ تبْغي النَّجاءَ بأهلِها

وما القلبُ لو حاولتَها لكَ مانِعُ

It has turned to seek safety with its people

And not the heart if you tried it would prevent you

عشيةَ حباتُ القلوبِ مَلاقِطٌ

وطيرُ العَوالي فوقَهنّ أواقِعُ

An evening the hearts are scattered

And the birds of heights above them fallers

وكلُّ كَميٍّ للطِّعانِ بصدرهِ

طريقٌ تخطّاهُ الأسنة واسِعُ

And every body of a critic with his chest

A path the tongues tread spacious

أعذني بسيفِ الدولةِ اليومَ أن أُرى

أُخادعُ أعدائي بهِ وأُصانِعُ

Aid me today with Sword of the State sword that I see

I deceive my enemies with it and I make

أقولُ لهُمْ إنّ السحابَ مطبِّقٌ

غَداةَ بِلادي والسَّحابُ صَواقِعُ

I say to them that the clouds are gathering

Tomorrow over my country and the clouds are fallers

وإنّ يدي مبسوطةٌ من نَوالِهِ

تَجُرُّ العَطايا والعَطايا جَوامِعُ

And that my hand is outstretched from his support

It pulls favors and the favors pull together

فإنْ قلتُ لا أسطيعُ رجعَ جوابِهِ

فمثلي لا يُقْصى ومثلكَ شافِعُ

So if I said I cannot deflect his answer

Then the like of me cannot be depleted and the like of you interceding

وعندكَ إنْ أبْدى الخِصامُ شَواتَهُ

أوِ ادّرَعَتْ بالدارِعينَ الرَّضائِعُ

And with you if disputes show their flames

Or the torn by spears hug the infants

لسانٌ لهُ حدُّ السيوفِ مقاطِعُ

وكفٌ لها صُمُّ الرماحِ أصابِعُ

A tongue that has the edge of swords, cutting

And a palm that has the deafness of spears, fingers

ألَيْسَتْ من الأيْدي إذا هتفَ القَنا

بآياتِهِ لبَّته منكَ الأشاجِعُ

Are they not from hands? When the votive cries

With its signs, aren't its weeping pulled from you?

تكِلُّ الظُّبا عنهنّ وهيَ حَدائِدٌ

وتَمضي بهِنّ المُرهَفاتُ القَواطِعُ

The wild beasts refrain from them and they are bits of iron

And the sharp swords pass by them, cutting

تَؤمُّ مصاليتَ السّيوفِ كأنّما

لهُنّ مصاليتُ السّيوفِ قَبائِعُ

Your sword scabbards, as if

Their sword scabbards for them are burqas

فإنْ أبَتِ الأقْدارُ إلاّ عِيادَتي

بعادَتِها فاصْدَعْ بما أنْتَ صادِعُ

So if destiny insisted on visiting me

With its old ways, unleash what you unleash

فإنّا نحُلُّ الأرضَ وهي مَرابِعٌ

ونَرحلُ عنها والبِلادُ مطالِعُ

For we evacuate the land and it has square tents

And we travel from it and the countries are rising

إذا طاوعَتْنا لم نُعاص وإنْ عصَتْ

فلا طاوعَتْنا والمَطايا طوائِعُ

If it obeyed us we do not disobey and if it disobeyed

Then it did not obey us and the ridden are obedient

وكيفَ وليسَ الأرضُ إلاّ ثنيّةً

تقولُ لها الأطْماعُ ها هوَ طالِعُ

And how when the land is nothing but a slope

Which the ambitions say "Here he is, rising!"

فقد رفَعَتْ أبْصارَها كل بلدةٍ

من الشوقِ حتّى أوْجَعَتْها الأخادِعُ

For every land has raised its sights, each

From fervor until it hurt its enclosures

وما هُنّ كالأحشاءِ شوقاً فما لها

تحنّ إلى أشخاصِنا وتُنازِعُ

And they are not like intestines in fervor so why

Do they yearn for our figures and dispute?

ولو صافَحتْنا ما رأتْنا لكلّةٍ

من اللّحظِ أو مما تَجولُ المدامِعُ

And if we greeted them they did not see us blamed

For a glance or what wanders the tears

إذا ما ضربْنا بالمَناسم حَسَّها

فقلْ للمَعالي أيُّ سيفيكَ قاطِعُ

If we hit the milestones of its limits

So say to the heights which of your swords cuts?

من البيضِ ما لا ينفعُ المرءُ حملهُ

وإنْ باعَهُ يوماً ففيهِ منافِعُ

Of eggs what does not benefit the man to carry

And if he sold it one day so in it benefits

وما أسَفي إلاّ عليْكَ فخصَّني

بكتبكَ إنّي بالقَراطيسِ قانِعُ

And I do not regret but you so endow me

With your books, I am satisfied with paper

ولا تُعْطِ مداحاً على الشّعْرِ طائِلاً

ولو نُظِمَتْ فيه النّجومُ الطّوالِعُ

And do not give a praiser over poetry earnings

Even if the rising stars were composed in it

فأسبَغُ ما تَكْسوهُ أنّك ناظِرٌ

وأجزلُ ما تُعطيهِ أنّك سامِعُ

So I clothe what you dress, you are a watcher abundantly

And I give abundantly what you give, you are a listener