بِأَبِي وَإِنْ عَظُمَ الفِداءُ فَتىً

لِلْهَمّ في جَنْبَيْهِ مُعْتَرَكُ

By my father, though great is the sacrifice, a young man

Whose flanks are gripped by anxiety,

نَبَّهْتُهُ وَاللَّيْلُ مُعْتَكِرٌ

وَنُجومُهُ في الأُفْقِ تَشْتَبِكُ

I awoke him while the night was fraught

And its stars in the horizon intertwined,

وَمَشى على كَسَلٍ فَقُلتُ لَهُ

عَثَرَتْ بِكَ الوَخَّادَةُ الرُّتُكُ

He walked wearily so I said to him

"Your drowsiness has caused you to stumble."

أَرَضِيتَ أَمْراً لا يَزالُّ بِهِ

في الذُّلِ عِرْضُ أَخِيكَ يُنْتَهَكُ

You have settled for a state where

Your brother's honor remains violated.

وَالدَّهْرُ يَرْمُزُ بِالخُطُوبِ وفي

غُلَوائِها الأَيَّامُ تَنْهَمِكُ

Time hints at hardships and in its

Turbulence, days become tangled.

ما نحْنُ مِنْ سُوَقٍ فَنُشْبِهَهُمْ

لَمْ يَنْمِنا إِلّا أَبٌ مَلِكُ

We are not of common stock, only a noble father.

Look to the ancestors, see how they strove

فَانْظُرْ إِلى الأَجْدادِ كَيْفَ سَعَوْا

لِلْمَكرُماتِ وأَيَّةً سَلَكُوا

For glory, and what path did they take.

Why not take their guidance, for they

هَلَّا أَخَذْتَ بِهَدْيِهمْ فَهُمُ

تَرَكُوا العُلا لَكَ فَارْعَ ما تَرَكُوا

Left you their legacy, so tend what they left.

Seek their extent, they were men

وَاطْلُبْ مَداهُمْ إِنَّهُمْ نَفَرٌ

عَاشُوا بِذِكْرِهِمُ وَقَدْ هَلَكُوا

Who lived by their repute and now are gone.

And if you fall short and cannot attain it,

وَإِذا عَجَزْتَ وَلَمْ تُلِمَّ بِهِ

فَالعَجْزُ بَعْدَ طِلابِهِ دَرَكُ

Then frustration comes after seeking.