كَم خَفَضنا الجَناحَ لِلجاهِلينا

وَعَذَرناهُمُ فَما عَذَرونا

How we have lowered our wings for the ignorant

How often we lowered the wing of humility for the ignorant,

And excused them, yet they did not excuse us

And we excused them, yet they excused us not.

خَبِّروهُم يا أَيُّها العاقِلونا

إِنَّما نَحنُ مَعشَرُ الشُعَراءِ

Tell them, O wise ones

Tell them, O you of wisdom and mind,

We are the community of poets

That we are the fellowship of poets,

يَتَجَلّى سِرُّ النُبُوَّةِ فينا

ذَكِروهُم فَرُبَّ خَيرٍ كَبيرِ

The secret of prophecy manifests within us

In whom the secret of prophecy is revealed.

Remind them, for great goodness

Remind them, for often great good

فَعَلتهُ الهُداةُ بِالتَذكيرِ

إِنَما الناسُ مِن تُرابٍ وَنورِ

Was done by the guides through reminding

Is wrought by guides through reminding:

Humans are but of dust and light

That mankind is fashioned of dust and light,

فَبَنو النورِ يَعبَدونَ النورا

وَبَنو الطينِ يَعبُدونَ الطينا

Thus the people of light worship the light

So the sons of light worship the light,

And the people of clay worship the clay

And the sons of clay worship the clay.

قيلَ عَنّا قُصورُنا مِن هَباءِ

تَتَلاشى في ضَحوَةٍ وَمَساءِ

It was said our mansions are of illusion

It was said of us that our palaces are mere vanity,

Vanishing in the morning and evening glow

Vanishing in the morning light or at eventide,

أَو سُطورٌ بِالماءِ فَوقَ الماءِ

لَو سَكَنتُم قُصورَنا بَعضَ ساعَه

Or lines in water upon the water

Or lines written with water upon water.

Had you resided in our mansions but an hour

Yet if you dwelt in our palaces for but a brief hour,

لَنَسَيتُم شُهورَكُم وَالسِنينا

لَو دَخَلتُم هَياكِلَ الإِلهامِ

You'd forget your months and years

You would have forgotten your months and your years.

Had you entered the sanctuaries of inspiration

If you entered the temples of inspiration,

وَسَرَحتُم في عالَِ الأَحلامِ

وَاِجتَلَيتُم سِرَّ الخَيالِ السامي

And roamed the world of dreams

And roamed freely in the world of dreams,

And grasped the noble secret of imagination

And beheld the secret of sublime imagination,

وَعَرَفتُم كَما عَرَفنا اللَهَ

لَخَرَرتُم أَمامَنا ساجِدينا

And known God as we have known God

And knew God just as we have known Him,

You would have fallen before us, prostrate

You would have fallen before us in prostration.

قَد سَقَتنا الحَياةُ كاساً دُهاقاً

حَسُنَت نَكهَةً وَطابَت مَذاقا

Life has given us a bitter cup to drink

Life has given us a brimming cup to drink,

Of pleasant taste and flavor

Fine in aroma and pleasant to the taste,

وَسَقَينا مِمّا شَرِبنا الرِفاقا

فَتَرَناهُمُ حَيارى سُكارى

And we have given our companions to drink

And we gave our companions to drink from what we drank,

We have found them confused and drunk

So you see them bewildered and intoxicated,

يَتَمَنّونَ أَنَّهُم لا يَعونا

هَمُّكُم في الكُؤوسِ وَالأَكوابِ

Wishing they did not comprehend us

Wishing they were bereft of consciousness.

Your concern is with cups and goblets

Your concern lies only in the cups and the goblets;

آهِ لَو كانَ هَمُّكُم في الشَرابِ

لَطَرَحتُم عَنكُمُ قُيودَ التُرابِ

Oh, if only your concern were with the drink

Ah, if only your concern were for the wine itself!

You'd shed the shackles of dust from yourselves

You would have cast off the chains of clay,

وَشَعَرتُم بِلَذَّةٍ أَو عَذابِ

هَذِهِ الخَمرُ لَيتَكُم تَشرَبونا

And feel the pleasure or torment

And truly felt the pleasure or the torment—

This wine, if only you would drink it

This is the wine—would that you might drink it!

أَتَقولونَ إِنَّهُ مَجنونُ

أَتَقولونَ إِنَّهُ مَفتونُ

You say he is mad

Do you say that he is mad?

You say he is possessed

Do you say that he is bewitched?

أَتَقولونَ شاعِرٌ مِسكينُ

كَم مَليكٍ كَم قائِدٍ كَم وَزيرِ

You say he is a wretched poet

Do you say, "He is but a wretched poet"?

How many kings, leaders and ministers

How many a king, a commander, a minister,

وَدَّلو كانَ شاعِراً مِسكينا

عاشَ مِلتِن فَلَ يَكُن مَذكورا

Would have wished to be that wretched poet

Has wished he were that wretched poet!

Who lived forgotten so let him not be mentioned

Milton lived, yet he was scarcely known,

وَهوميروسُ كَالشَيخِ كانَ ضَريرا

وَلَقَد ماتَ اِبنُ بُردٍ فَقيرا

And Homer like an old blind man

And Homer was blind, like the aged sheikh;

And ibn Burd indeed died poor

And Ibn Burd died in poverty.

أَرَأَيتُم كَما رَأى العُميانُ

أَفَلَستُم بِنورِهِم تَهتَدونا

Have you seen what the blind have seen

Yet have you seen as those blind men saw?

Are you not by their light guided

Are you not guided by their light?