هَل كُنتَ بين الموتِ والميلادِ
إلَّا حياةَ مآثرٍ وأيادِي؟
Were you between death and birth
Except a life of great deeds and hands?
وهل استطبتَ على الرَّفَاهَةِ والصِّبا
إلَّا نهارَ ضنًى، وليل سُهادِ؟
And have you gotten used to comfort and youth
Except a day of misery, and a night of sleep?
وكفاح أيامٍ، وعَركَ شَدَائِدٍ،
بجميل صبرٍ، أو طَويلِ جِهَادِ؟
And the struggle of days, and the ordeal of calamities,
With the beauty of patience, or the long jihad?
مُتَواضعًا، مترفِّعًا، تَرقَى الذُّرَا
في مِثلِ صَمْتِ الكَوْكَبِ الوَقَّادِ
Humble, dignified, you rise to the heights
Like the silence of the guiding planet
يُلقي أشِعَّتَهُ هُنَاكَ وهَا هُنَا
ويُضيء في الأغوارِ والأنجادِ
It casts its rays here and there
And illuminates the depths and plains
أهْرَامكَ المُثْلَى نتاجُ قَرَائِحٍ
خَلَّاقةٍ مَوصُولةِ الإِمدادِ
Your ideal pyramids are the product of
Creative talents with continuous supplies
دُنْيَا من الفِكْرِ الطليقِ، وعالمٌ
رَحْبُ الجَوَانِبِ، شاسعُ الآمادِ
A world of free thought, and a vast world
Of vast expanses, spacious settlements
تَهْدِي الحَيَارَى المُدلجينَ كأنَّها
في شاطِئِ الوادِي مَنَارَةُ هَادِي
It guides the lost blind as if it were
A lighthouse of guidance on the shore of the valley
قُمْ، يا فتى الأهرامِ، وانظرْ رِفْقَةً
يتنظَّرُونَ خُطاكَ في الميعادِ
Rise, O pyramid youth, and watch closely
They are looking forward to your steps at the appointed time
ويُسَائِلُونَ بِكَ العَشيَّ كَدَأْبِهِمْ
هذا النَدِيُّ! فأينَ صَدْرُ النَّادِي؟
And they ask you in the evening as is their habit
This Nadi! So where is the breast of the caller?
يا لَهْفَ، ما عَلِمُوا بأنكَ مُزمِعٌ
سَفَرَ الحياةِ ورحلَةَ الآبَادِ
O agony, they did not know that you were about
To travel the journey of life and the trip of dwellings
يا لَهفَ، ما ظَفِرُوا كما عَوَّدتهم
عِندَ الوَّدَاعِ بنظرَةٍ وتَنَادِي
O agony, they did not win as you used to bid them farewell
With a look and a call
دَخَلُوا عليكَ البيتَ جسمًا ضَارِعًا
مُتَفَرِّدًا، والموتُ بالمرصَادِ
They entered your house an interceding body
Alone, and death lying in wait
والفكرُ صَحْوٌ والجبينُ شُعَاعَة
ألَّاقَةٌ، والروحُ في إيقادِ
Thought is sober and the forehead is shining
Quick witted, and the soul is blazing
والشمسُ بين سَحَابَتَيْنِ تَدَجَّتَا
رَمَقٌ يصارعُ حَينَهُ ويُرادِي
And the sun between two clouds has set
A glance struggling with its time and resisting
في شَاطِئِ قاني المياهِ كأنَّها
مَصْبُوغَةٌ بِدَمِ النهارِ الفَادِي
On the shore of the water canal as if
Dyed with the blood of the redeeming daylight
هيَ صورةٌ لَكَ، والمساءُ مقارب،
والرُّوحُ رَكْبٌ، والمنيَّةُ حادِي
It is an image of you, and evening is approaching,
The caravan is a soul, and death is the guide
والقلبُ في كفِّ القَضَاءِ فَرَاشَةٌ
رفَّافةٌ، والعُمرُ وشْكَ نَفَادِ
And the heart is in the palm of fate a
Fluttering butterfly, and life is about to run out
عجبًا أيشكو قَلبَهُ مَن قَلبُهُ
كنزُ الرضَا، والخيرِ، والإِسعادِ!
Strange that I complain of his heart when his heart
Is the treasure of contentment, goodness and happiness!
وتخونُهُ الأنفاسُ وهوَ رَحابَةٌ
كم نَفَّسَتْ عن أمَّةٍ وبلادِ؟
And the breaths betray him while he is vast
How many breaths has it relieved for a nation and country?
وإِذَا أتى الأجَلُ النفوسَ فلا تَسَلْ
عَنْ صِحَّةِ الأروَاحِ والأجسادِ
And when death comes to souls, do not ask
About the health of spirits and bodies
أأبا بشارةَ لا يَرُعْكَ بعادُهُ
مصرُ اجتَبَتْهُ فلا تَرُعْ ببعادِ
Does the absence of Abou Bishara not alarm you
Egypt chose him so do not grieve over absence
آثرتَهَا بهوَاكَ، يا لغرَامِهَا!
هِيَ مِصْرُ مَهْدُ الموتِ والميلادِ
You preferred it for its love, O its passion!
It is Egypt, the cradle of death and birth
حَفِظَتْ لِوَالِدِكَ الصَّنِيعَ المجتبى
ورَعَتْ فتاهُ البرَّ في الأولادِ
It preserved for your father the chosen deed
And cared for its noble youth among the sons
ورأت نجيبَكَ فاستفاضَ حنَانُها
لِسَمِيِّهِ المرجوِّ في الأحفَادِ
And it saw your offspring so its affection overflowed
For its hoped-for namesake in the grandchildren
ذَكرت بِيُتمِكَ يُتْمَهُ فتفجَّرَتْ
حُبًّا، وقَبَّلَتِ الرجاءَ البادي
It remembered your orphanhood that would orphan it
So it overflowed with love, and kissed the emerging hope
لُبنانُ نازعها هواكَ وما أَرَى
لبنانَ إلَّا من ضِفَافِ «الوادِي»
Lebanon competed with it for your love but I do not see
Lebanon except from the banks of "the valley"
الأرز فيهِ والنخيلُ كلاهُمَا
أعشاشُ حُبٍّ أو خَمَائِلَ شادي
The cedars in it and the palm trees both
Nests of love or thickets of a chanter
أرضُ العروبَةِ لا تُخومَ ولا صوًى
ما مصرُ غير الشَّامِ أو بغدادِ
The land of Arabism has no borders or lodging
Unless Egypt is Damascus or Baghdad
وَأخُوَّةٍ بالمَسجِدَيْنِ وجيرةٍ
من آلِ «طارقَ» أو «بني عَبَّادِ»
And kinship in the two mosques and neighborhood
From the family of "Tareq" or "Bani Abbad"
قَسَمًا بأمساءِ النديِّ، ومجلسٍ
متألِّقٍ بالرفقةِ الأمجادِ
I swear by the names of Nadi, and a council
Shining with the company of glories
وجَمَالِ أسحَارٍ، وطيبِ أصائلٍ
بالذِّكرَيَاتِ رَوَائِحٍ وَغَوَادِي
And the beauty of conversations, and good companions
With memories, fragrances and valleys
ومحبَّةٍ للخيرِ صَفوُ مِزاجِهَا
مرضاةُ نفس أو عَزاءُ فؤادِ
And love for good is the essence of its mood
Pleasing the self or consoling the heart
ألَّا استمعتَ إلى رفاقكَ ليلةً
والنارُ في مُهَجٍ وفي أكبادِ
If only you had listened to your friends one night
While the fire raged in passion and livers
جَمَدَ المدادُ على شَبا أقلامهم
فصريرها نَوحٌ ولحْنُ حدادِ
The ink froze on the tips of their pens
Its screeching a wailing and a tune of mourning
وا حسرتا! أيَّ الرثاءِ أصوغُهُ
لوفاءِ حقِّ محبتي وودَادِي؟
Oh what a regret! Which elegy shall I compose
For the loyalty of my love and affection?
أرثيكَ للأمَمِ التي شَاطَرتَهَا
كُرَبَ الخطوبِ وَفَرْحَةَ الأعيادِ
Shall I eulogize you for the nations you shared
The hardships of calamities and the joy of holidays?
وأذعتَ دَعوتَهَا وجُزتَ بِصَوْتِهَا
في المَغْرِبَيْنِ شَوامِخَ الأطوادِ
And you spread its call and were rewarded with its voice
In the two Maghrebs the heights of glory?
وَوَصَلْتَ بينَ قَريبِهَا وبعيدِهَا
رَحِمَ العروبَةِ أو عُهُودَ الضَّادِ
And you connected its near and far
The womb of Arabism or the covenants of Daad
قم حَدِّثِ القرَّاءَ عما شِعْتَهُ
في العَالَمِ المُتَنَافِرِ المتَعَادِي
Rise, tell the readers what you have experienced
In the warring and hostile world
وصفِ الممالِكَ والشعوبَ كما تَرى
بِبَرَاعَةِ الوَصَّافَةِ النَّقَّادِ
Describe the kingdoms and peoples as you see
With the skill of the meticulous critic
تَطْوِي الغَمَائِمَ والخَضَارِمَ والثَّرَى
وتَجُولُ بين حَوَاضِرٍ وبَوَادِي
You fold the clouds and monsters and the land
And wander between cities and valleys
بِفَطَانَةِ الصحفِيِّ وهي بَصيرَةٌ
تَغْزُو وتفتَحُ مُغْلَقَ الأسدَادِ
With the intelligence of a journalist, and insight
That invades and opens closed barriers
يا رُبَّمَا نَبَأٌ أثارَ بوقعِهِ
ما لا تُثيرُ مَلَاحِمُ الأجنادِ
Often a news would stir with its impact
What battles of armies do not arouse
وهَدَى قبيلًا أو أضلَّ جماعةً
لسبيلِ غِيٍّ أو سبيلِ رَشَادِ
And it guided a tribe or misled a group
To the path of evil or the path of guidance
وَا لَهْفَ نفسي كم تَمَنَّيْتَ المُنَى
يومَ السيوفِ تَقَرُّ في الأغمادِ
Alas my soul, how much I wished for death
The day the swords settle in the sheaths
هل كنتَ تُبصِرُ من حَضارَةِ عصرِهَا
إِلَّا نَثِيرَ حِجَارَةٍ ورَمَادِ؟
Could you see in its civilization
Except scattered stones and ashes?
إنَّ السَّلامَ الحقَّ ما آثرتَهُ
والأرضُ غرقى في دَمٍ وسَوَادِ
Indeed, peace you have chosen
While the land drowned in blood and darkness
والناسُ ما زالوا كما خَلَّفْتَهُم
صَرْعَى الهوى وفرائِسَ الأحقَادِ
And the people are still as you left them
The victims of passion and the prey of hatred
