إِنَّ ما بِتَّ تَشتَكي منه داءُ
هيَ أَدرى بِبُرئِه لَو تَشاءُ
What you spent the night lamenting is an illness;
she knows best how to cure it, if she wishes.
غيرَ أَنّي أَراكَ تَكتُمُ عنها
لَوعةً من حقوقِها الإِفشاءُ
Yet I see you conceal from her
a yearning she has the right to hear confessed.
أَحَسِبتَ النَوالَ يَهمى على العا
شِقِ عَفوا وَتَهطِل الآلاءُ
Did you think gifts would rain upon the
lover unasked, and favors pour down?
لَو أُعِدَّت لِلصامِتين العَطايا
أُغرِقَ البُكمُ إِذ يَفيضُ العطاء
If gifts were reserved for the silent,
the mute would drown when generosity overflowed.
نَظَراتٌ في إِثرِها زَفَراتٌ
تَتَّقي حرَّ نارِها الرَمضاء
Glances, followed by sighs,
whose fiery heat even the scorched earth shuns.
إِن تُتَرجَم كانت أَحاديثَ أحلى
ما يُؤَدّي بِمِثلِهِنَّ الرَجاء
If translated, they would become words sweeter
than any in which hope could speak.
أَو صَدىً رَدَّدته أَطلالُ رَبعٍ
جَرَّ أَذيالَهُ عليهِ العَفاء
Or an echo repeated by the ruins of a dwelling
over which desolation has trailed its skirts.
بُثَّ شَكواكَ فَالحَنانُ يُرَجّى
وَالمَواعيدُ إن يكن إِصغاءُ
Tell her your complaint: tenderness may be hoped for,
and promises too, if she listens.
شُغِلَت بِالقَريضِ عَنّا الغَواني
وَأَصاخَت لِرَبِّهِ العَذراءُ
The beauties have been drawn from us by poetry,
and the maiden has listened to its master.
وَرَأَينا ديوانَ أحمدَ لا تُص
رِفُ عنهُ القلوبُ وَالأَهواء
We have seen Ahmad’s collection, from which
hearts and desires will not turn away.
أَيُّها الغَربُ كلُّ علمٍ حَديثٍ
نحن فيهِ الثَرى وَاَنتَ السماء
O West, in every modern science
we are the earth and you the sky.
فَإِذا يُذكَر البَيانُ فَأَذعِن
لا تَقُل نحن في البَيان سَواء
But when eloquence is mentioned, concede;
do not say we are equal in eloquence.
إِن يُعَدَّ الشُيوخُ منكَ وَمِنّا
فَفتى مصرَ لِلجَميع لِواء
If the masters among yours and ours are counted,
Egypt’s young man is a standard for all.
وَإِذا أَنكَرَ الحَقيقَة قَومٌ
لم يَرُقهُم بِاِبنٍ لمصرَ علاء
And if some people deny the truth,
the glory of a son of Egypt has displeased them.
لا تَلُمهُم لَعَلَّهم حاسِدوهُ
أَو عَساهم بِفَضله جُهلاء
Do not blame them; perhaps they envy him,
or perhaps they do not know his merit.
مرحباً بالعَلاء وَفّى القَوافي
حَظُّها منه رِفعةٌ وَسناء
Welcome to glory: he has given rhymes
their full share of elevation and splendor.
مرحباً بالقَريضِ وَفّى المَعالي
قِسطُها منهُ رَونَقٌ وَسَناء
Welcome to verse: he has given lofty ideals
their share of beauty and splendor.
مرحباً بِالمديحِ آياتِ صِدقٍ
لم يُخالِط رُواءَهُنَّ رِياءُ
Welcome to praise, these signs of sincerity:
no hypocrisy has clouded their freshness.
مرحباً بالحَياة في الوَصفِ تَسري
فَيُعاد المَوصوفُ وَالأَشياء
Welcome to the life that flows through description,
bringing the subject and its surroundings to life again.
مرحباً بِالبَيانِ سِحراً وَبِالشِع
رِ تُحلّيهِ حكمةٌ غَرّاء
Welcome to eloquence as enchantment, and to poetry
adorned by radiant wisdom.
مرحباً بِالمَقال سمحاً كريماً
لم يَشُبهُ هجوٌ وَلا إيذاء
Welcome to writing, generous and gracious,
untainted by satire or harm.
مرحباً بِالقَصيد يَتلوه لِلشِّع
رِ أَميرٌ يُصغى لهُ أُمَراء
Welcome to the poem recited by a prince
of poetry, to whom princes listen.
ذا يُلَبّي الكَلامُ إن هو نادا
هُ وَهذا يَعنو لهُ العُظماء
When he calls, words answer him;
before him, the great bow down.
مرحباً بِالشَباب فيه لمصرٍ
أَملٌ لا يَفوتُها وَرجاء
Welcome to the young man in whom Egypt has
hope and expectation that will not fail her.
مرحبا بالكتاب تغبِطهُ الكُت
بُ وَبِالجُزء بَعدهُ أَجزاء
Welcome to the book that other books envy,
and to the volume that further volumes will follow.
Sol 6