أَنا لَستُ في دُنيا الخَيال وَلا الكَرى

وَكَأَنَّني فيها لِرَوعَةِ ما أَرى

I am not in a world of fantasy or delusion,

I am not in a world of fantasy nor of sleep, / Yet, for the splendor of what I behold, it seems as if I am.

Yet it is as if I am, due to the horror of what I see,

O people, are these realities or mere visions? / Am I sober, or have I drunk some numbing wine?

يا قَومُ هَل هَذي حَقائِقُ أَم رُأىً

وَأَنا أَصاحٍ أَم شَرِبتُ مُخَدِّرا

O people! Is this reality or just a vision I viewed,

Do not marvel at my astonishment and bewilderment, / But marvel indeed if I were not bewildered.

While fully awake, or have I been drugged with anesthetics?

Wherever I turn, I see the masterpiece of a skillful poet / Who strove for perfection solely to dazzle the eye.

لا تَعجَبوا مِن دَهشَتي وَتَحَيُّري

وَتَعَجَّبوا إِن لَم أَكُن مُتَحَيِّرا

Do not be shocked at my bewilderment and confusion,

Life anointed his eyelids with her finger, / So he saw all beauties, then selected and chose the best.

But be shocked if I were not confused,

Los Angeles is naught but a divine anthem; / God sang it, and the world went mad in rapture.

كَيفَ اِلتَفَتُّ رَأَيتُ آيَةَ شاعِرٍ

لَبِقٍ تَعَمَّدَ أَن يُجيدَ لِيُبهِرا

How could I not turn to see the verse of a skilled poet,

Time has cast off its youth upon this land, / Turning to verdure on the slopes and mountain peaks.

Who deliberately excelled in composing to dazzle others?

It took from capital cities their glory and majesty, / While embracing the sweet charm of the villages.

مَسَحَت بِإِصبَعِها الحَياةُ جُفونَهُ

فَرأى المَحاسِنَ فَاِنتَقى وَتَخَيَّرا

Life gently touched his eyelids,

It is a respite for the weary, a paradise for lovers, / And a playground for those of great wealth.

So he saw the beauties and selectively chose and picked,

In New York, I shrouded the dreams of my youth, / Folding them away, thinking they would never rise again.

ما لوس أَنجِلوس سِوى أُنشودَةٍ

اللَهُ غَنّاها فَجُنَّ لَها الوَرى

Los Angeles is nothing but a hymn,

But when I glimpsed the flowers here, / I saw my dreams peeking out from the earth.

God has made it melodious, so the people became crazy about it,

The hills breathe out gold dust in the bright forenoon, / And fragrant musk in the late afternoon shadows.

خَلَعَ الزَمانُ شَبابَهُ في أَرضِها

فَهوَ اِشضِرارٌ في السُفوح وَفي الذُرى

Time has shed its youth in its land,

There is magic in the laughter of the glistening dew, / Like the magic in the dance of the scented light.

So it is verdant on the slopes and in the groves,

Tell those who described Paradises with such excess: / The Gardens of Eternity offer no more wondrous sight than this.

أَخَذَت مِنَ المُدُنِ العَواصِمِ مَجدَها

وَجَلالَها وَحَوَت حَلاواتِ القُرى

It has taken the glory and majesty of great cities,

Every season here is a laughing spring; / To see a single month is to see them all.

And it contains the sweetness of villages,

If you know not the tales of passion, / Then listen to the whisper of the breeze as it flows.

هِيَ راحَةٌ لِلمُتعَبين وَجَنَّةٌ

لِلعاشِقين وَمَلعَبٌ لِذَوي الثَرا

It is rest for the weary, a paradise for lovers,

Look at the dusty earth sprouting silk brocade, / And contemplate the streams flowing like the Kawthar of Paradise.

And a playground for the wealthy,

Drink in the beauty with your eyes, for it is a wine / That cannot be pressed save by the hand of passion.

كَفَّنتُ في نيويوركَ أَحلامَ الصِبا

وَطَوَيتُها وَحَسَبتُها لَن تُنشَرا

I buried my childhood dreams in New York,

I attempted to describe its beauty, but I felt / Like a child trying to cup the oceans in his fingertips.

Folded them up and thought they would never bloom,

My soul sought aid from imagination, but it betrayed me, / And the steed of my eloquence stumbled and fell.

لَكِنَّني لَمّا لَمَحتُ زُهورَها

شاهَدتُ أَحلامي تَطُلُّ مِنَ الثَرى

But when I caught a glimpse of its flowers,

I realized my failure and my weakness / When I beheld what the Divine had crafted and shaped.

I saw my dreams sprouting from the soil,

I have witnessed beauty that is true and unfeigned— / Wretched is the beauty that is faked and forged.

تَتَنَفَّسُ الهَضَباتُ في رَأدِ الضُحى

تِبرا وَفي الآصالِ مِسكاً أَذفَرا

The slopes breathe myrrh in the radiance of dawn,

I loved even the thorns in its desert, / And I adored even its haughty palm trees,

And ambergris in the thickets,

Clad in dry fronds as if in asceticism, / Yet towering toward the heavens in sheer pride.

فَالسِحرُ في ضَحِكِ النَدى مُتَرَقرِقاً

كَالسِحرِ في رَقصِ الضِياءِ مُعَطَّرا

So magic sparkles in the smile of the dew,

It is the Adam of trees; modesty overtook it / When its nakedness was revealed, so it covered itself.

Like the magic in the dance of perfumed light,

The son of the deserts has become civilized and refined; / Oh, how beautiful he is, both as bedouin and city-dweller.

قُل لِلأُلى وَصَفوا الجِنان وَأَطنَبوا

لَيسَت جِنانُ الخُلدِ أَعجَبَ مَنظَرا

Tell those who described the gardens and exaggerated,

The orange groves appeared, resembling / A maiden's gown buttoned with pure gold.

The gardens of eternity are not more wondrous in appearance,

Above them, the light spread out like a sheet, / Beneath a sky that was clear and crystalline.

كُلُّ الفُصولِ هُنا رَبيعٌ ضاحِكٌ

فَإِذا تَرى شَهراً رَأَيتَ الأَشهُرا

So if you see one month, you have seen all months,

And those palaces upon the hills seemed like / A beauty's necklace that had fallen and scattered.

If you do not know the tales of passion,

When they appeared from afar, I fancied them to be ships, / And I fancied the earth a vast green sea.

إِن كُنتَ تَجهَلُ ما حِكاياتُ الهَوى

فَاِنصُت لِوَشوَشَةَ النَسيمِ إِذا سَرى

Then listen to the murmur of the breeze when it stirs,

Morning shook its radiance upon their walls, / And when darkness came, it saw beacons for the night-traveler,

And watch the dunes sprout lilies,

Glittering like smiles of contentment, / The sight of which makes you forget harsh times.

وَاِنظُر إِلى الغَبراءِ تُنبِتُ سُندُساً

وَتَأَمَّلِ الغُدرانَ تَجري كَوثَرا

And observe the streams flowing copiously,

I am a poet; no phantom of grace appears / But that I cheer for Beauty and glorify its name.

And drink in the beauty with your eyes, for it is

I have distributed my soul among souls as love, / Neither complaining of pain nor showing weariness.

وَاِشرَب بِعَينَيكَ الجَمالَ فَإِنَّهُ

خَمرٌ بِغَيرِ يَدِ الهَوى لَن تُعصَرا

Wine that the hand of passion alone can press,

I walked through the world with a withered heart, / Until I met my loved ones, and it bloomed green again.

I tried to describe its beauty, but it was as if

I used to deem myself a lost entity, / But lo, I am a person living many lives in others.

حاوَلتُ وَصفَ جَمالِها فَكَأَنَّني

وَلَدٌ بِأُنمُلِهِ يَحوشُ الأَبحُرا

A newborn babe with his fingers searches the oceans,

I am like the rain from the clouds: when absorbed / Into the earth, it returns as fruitful boughs.

And my soul sought the aid of imagination, but it failed me,

How generous are the trees in this sanctuary! / Offering cheer and hospitality to all who seek them.

وَاِستَنجَدَت روحي الخَيالَ فَخانَني

وَكَبا جَوادُ فَصاحَتي وَتَعَثَّرا

And the steed of my eloquence collapsed and stumbled,

They generously feast the poor despite his want, / Just as they feast the wealthy and the well-to-do.

I realized my shortcoming and weakness when

Giving is their habit, whether you come to them / First in line or arriving at the end.

أَدرَكتُ تَقصيري وَضَعفِيَ عِندَما

أَبصَرتُ ما صَنَعَ الإِلاه وَصَوَّرا

I saw what God has created and fashioned,

It is as if they learned generosity from you, / To succor the people should calamity befall.

Indeed, I witnessed genuine, unadulterated beauty,

إِنّي شَهِدتُ الحُسنَ غَيرَ مُزَيَّفٍ

بِئسَ الجَمالُ مُزَيَّفا وَمُزَوَّرا

Wretched is the artificial, fabricated beauty,

I loved even the thorns in its desert,

أَحبَبتُ حَتّى الشَوكَ في صَحرائِها

وَعَشِقتُ حَتّى نَخلَها المُتَكَبِّرا

And was enamored even with its arrogant palm trees,

The one wearing dry leaves in piety,

اللابِسَ الوَرَقَ اليَبيسَ تَنَسُّكاً

وَالمُشمَخِرَّ إِلى السَماءِ تَجَبُّرا

And the one reaching to the sky in arrogance,

He is the Adam of the trees, who donned clothes

هُوَ آدَمُ الأَشجارِ أَدرَكَهُ الحَيا

لَمّا تَبدّى عُريُهُ فَتَسَتَّرا

When his nakedness appeared, so he covered himself,

The son of the deserts has become civilized and refined,

إِبنُ الصَحارى قَد تَحَضَّر وَاِرتَقى

يا حُسنَهُ مُبتَدِياً مُتَحَضِّرا

What a beautiful beginning to becoming cultured!

The orange groves appeared, resembling

وَبَدَت غِياضُ البُرتُقالِ فَأَشبَهَت

جِلبابَ خَودٍ بِالنُضارِ مُزَرَّرا

The gown of a rosy cheeked beloved adorned with jewels,

Above it the light has spread illuminating,

مِن فَوقِها اِنتَشَرَ الضِياءُ مَلاءَةً

مِن فَوقِهِ جَوٌّ صَفا وَتَبَلوَرا

With a clear sky above it crystallizing,

As if those villas on the hilltops are

وَكَأَنَّما تِلكَ القُصورِ عَلى الرُبى

عَقدٌ لِغانِيَةٍ هَوى وَتَبَعثَّرا

A necklace for a love-struck singer scattered about,

When viewed from afar, its barrenness

لَمّا تَراءَت مِن بَعيدٍ خِلتُها

سُفُنا وَخِلتُ الأَرضَ بَحراً أَخضَرا

Made the land appear like a green sea,

Dawn shed its radiance on its walls,

نَفَضَ الصَباحُ سَناهُ في جُدرانِها

وَأَتى الدُجى فَرأى مَناثِرَ لِسَرى

And dusk came to see the remnants of my joy,

Glittering like smiles of contentment,

مُتَأَلِّقاتٍ كَاِبتِساماتِ الرِضى

تُنسيكَ رُؤيَتُها الزَمانَ الأَعسَرا

Their vision makes you forget the hard times,

I am a poet who saw no trace of beauty,

أَنا شاعِرٌ ما لاحَ طَيفُ مَلاحَةٍ

إِلّا وَهَلَّلَ لِلجَمال وَكَبَّرا

Without exclaiming praise and declaring God’s greatness,

I have spread love for myself in souls,

وَزَّعتُ نَفسي في النُفوسِ مَحبَّةً

لا شاكِياً أَلَما وَلا مُتَضَجِّرا

Neither complaining of pain, nor disgruntled,

And I walked in this world with a barren heart,

وَمَشَيتُ في الدُنيا بقَلبٍ يابِسٍ

حَتّى لَقيتُ أَحِبَّتي فَاِخضَوضَرا

Until I met my loved ones, so it turned green,

I used to think I was a lost entity,

قَد كُنتُ أَحسَبُني كَياناً ضائِعاً

فَإِذا أَنا شَخصٌ يَعيشُ مُكَرَّرا

But instead I am a person living repeatedly,

So I am like rainwater when it seeps

فَكَأَنَّني ماءُ الغَمامِ إِذا اِنطَوى

في الأَرضِ رَدَّتهُ نَباتاً مُثمِرا

Into the earth, it returns it to fertile produce,

How generous are the trees in this sanctuary!

ما أَكرَمَ الأَشجارِ في هَذا الحِمى

فيها لِقاصِدِها البَشاشَة وَالقِرى

In them are hospitality and shelter for visitors,

They host the poor despite his needy state,

تُقري الفَقيرَ عَلى خَصاصَةِ حالِهِ

كَرَماً كَما تُقري الغَنِيَّ الموسَرا

Generously, just as they host the wealthy affluent,

Charity is their custom, whether you come to them

البَذلُ دَيدَنُها سَواءٌ جِئتَها

مُتَقَدِّماً أَم جِئتَها مُتَأَخِّرا

Early or late,

It is as if they have learned generosity from you

فَكَأَنَّها مِنكُم تَعَلَّمَتِ النَدى

كَيما تُغيثُ الناسَ إِن خَطبٌ عَرا

In order to help people should calamities befall,