أَحنَنتَ لِلأَوطانِ مُنجَذِباً لَنا

أَم أَنتَ لاهٍ حَيثُما تَجد المُنى

Have you yearned for the homelands, drawn toward us,

Or are you heedless wherever wishes may be found?

هَل تَذكُرنَّ الشَرق يا بَدرَ الحِما

أَم أَنتَ راضٍ بِالمَغارِبِ مَوطِنا

Do you still remember the East, O moon of the homeland,

Or are you content to take the West as your home?

اَرغَبتَ أَرض الانكليز لِأَنَّها

أَرض المَلائكِ في مَرابِعِها الهَنا

Have you desired the land of the English because it is

A land of angels, with bliss in its meadows?

أَم أَنتَ بِالآدابِ مُشتَغِلٌ بِها

تَلقى مِن العَصرِ الجَديد الأَحسَنا

Or are you occupied there with letters,

Encountering the finest the modern age can offer?

هَل تَسمَعنَّ صَدىً لبَيرُنَ في رُبى

تِلكَ البِلادِ بَعيد تِلكَ الأَلحنا

Do you hear an echo of Byron among the hills

Of that land—a far-off echo of those melodies?

هَل لَم يَزَل فَوقَ المُحيطِ ضَجيجُهُ

كَالرَعدِ يَدوي في الفَضاء مُطَنطِنا

Does his clamor still rise above the ocean,

Roaring like thunder through the heavens, resounding?

نادى بِأَصواتِ الغَرام وَلَم يَقُل

الحُبّ ما مَنَعَ الكَلامَ الأَلسُنا

He called out in the voices of passion, yet did not say:

Has love kept tongues from speech?

أَم أَنتَ تَبحَث في المرابع كَي تَرى

لِخَيالِ مِلتُنَ في المَعالم مَسكَنا

Or do you search the meadows, hoping to see

A dwelling for Milton's shade among their landmarks?

هَل يَذكُرون عُيونَهُ العَميا الَّتي

قَد طالَما أَهدَت بِلادَهُمُ السَنى

Do they remember his sightless eyes, which

So often bestowed radiance upon their land?

تَرَكوهُ في النِسيانِ يَخبط نادِباً

فَردوسَهُ المَفقودَ مِن بَعدِ الجَنى

They left him in oblivion, groping and lamenting

His Paradise Lost after the fruit was plucked.

لَكنَّ ذا الفَردوسَ خُلِّدَ بَعدَهُ

وَغَدا فَخارُهُم بِهِ مُتَمَكِنا

Yet that Paradise was immortalized after him,

And through it their pride became secure.

أَم تَطلبنَّ عُلومَ نيتُنَ أَنَّهُ

كُشِفَ الغِطاءَ كَما أَنارَ الأَعيُنا

Or do you seek the sciences of Newton, through whom

The veil was lifted and eyes were illuminated?

أَم أَنتَ تَنظُر لِلمَعاصرِ ذي الذَكا

ذاكَ المُهاجر حَيثَما وَجدَ الهَنا

Or do you look for the brilliant man of this age,

That émigré, wherever he found happiness?

أَعني بِهِ ويكتور هيكو أَنَّهُ

في العَصر أَصبَحَ لِلبَلاغَةِ مَعدَنا

I mean Victor Hugo, for he

Has become, in this age, a mine of eloquence.

رامَ التَخَلُص مِن مُزاحَمَةِ المَلا

حُرّاً لِذا اِتَخَذَ الجَزيرَةَ مَأمَنا

He sought escape from the jostling multitudes,

And, free, made the island his refuge.

وَرَأى أَيادي الدَهر لا تَبقى سِوى

فعل الجَميل فَقامَ فيها مُحسِنا

He saw that the hands of time preserve nothing except

A noble deed; so there he arose, doing good.

هَذا الأَديب البارع الفَرد الَّذي

خَضَعتَ لَهُ الشُعَراء تَهديهِ الثَنا

This peerless, gifted man of letters, before whom

The poets bowed, presenting him their praise—

قَد أَشغَلَ الدُنيا لِسانُ يَراعِهِ

يَملي الفُوائِدَ وَالشَواردَ مُتقَنا

The tongue of his pen has kept the world absorbed,

Dictating useful treasures and rare thoughts with mastery.

إِن أَسمهُ الرنان في الدُنيا عَلى

رَغم الحَسود مِن الخُلودِ تَمَكَنا

Indeed, his resonant name has risen in the world

And, despite the envious, secured immortality.

هَل تَسمَعنَّ عَلى الجوارِ بِمقربٍ

مِنهُ أَغانيهِ فَيَطرِبُكَ الغِنا

Do you hear him close by, throughout the neighboring lands,

His songs flowing from him, their music delighting you?

أَم أَنتَ تَسمعَهُ الغداةَ مُناجياً

يَروي الغَرائبَ لِلرَشادِ مُبَينا

Or do you hear him at dawn, speaking intimately,

Recounting wonders and clearly showing the path of right?

أَسلافَةَ اللُطفِ الَّتي قَد طالَما

سكرت بِها الأَلبابُ تَظفرُ بِالمُنى

A vintage of grace which has so often

Made minds drunk, stumbling amid desires.

لَكَ يا سَليم شَمائِلٌ مَحمودَةٌ

يَشفي بِرقَّتِها العَليلُ مِن الضَنى

Ah, Salim! His qualities are worthy of praise;

Their tenderness heals one sick with wasting pain.

قَد لحتَ غُصناً بِالقطانَةِ مُزهِراً

وَطَلعتَ بَدراً بِالكَمال مُزَينا

You appeared at al-Qatana like a flowering bough,

And rose like a full moon adorned with perfection.

هَل أَنتَ أَنتَ عَلى الوِدادِ عَلى الوَفا

بَعدَ البُعاد عَلى الوَلا فَأَنا أَنا

Are you still yourself in affection, still faithful,

Still loyal after long absence? Then I am still myself.

حفظ الزَمان مَحَبَةً بِقُلوبِنا

نَشَأَت وَعَتقها فَزَيَنَها لَنا

Time has preserved a love within our hearts;

It grew, and time aged it, adorning it for us.

كَالراح عتَّقها الزَمان فَأَصبَحَت

شَهباء صافيَةً تَشعشع بِالأَنا

Like wine that time has aged until it became

A limpid pale vintage, shimmering in the cup.

وَبَنى الوَفا حصن المَوَدة في الحَشى

أَتظنّ أَنَّ الدَهرَ يَهدِمُ ما بَنى

Fidelity built love a fortress within the breast;

Do you think that time can demolish what it built?

قُل لِلمُحيط بانَ حَول حَشاشَتي

بَحرٌ مِن الشَوقِ المُحيطِ تَمَكَّنا

Tell the ocean: around my very heart

A sea of all-encompassing longing has taken hold.

وَاحيِ الرِفاقَ بِعودِ لُطفِكَ لِلحِما

إِن الفُراقَ أَذاقَ قَلبَهُمُ العَنا

Revive the companions by graciously returning to the homeland,

For separation has made their hearts taste affliction.