لَم أَنسَ حينَ مَشَت إِلَيَّ تَلومَني

لَمّا رَأَتني باسِماً مُتَهَلِّلا

I have not forgotten when she walked toward me, casting blame,

When she saw me smiling, my face beaming with joy.

قالَت أَتَطرَبُ وَالمَنايا حُوَّمٌ

في الأَرضِ كَيفَ رَمَت أَصابَت مَقتَلا

She said: "Do you rejoice while deaths are hovering,

Striking the earth with fatal aim wherever they are cast?"

أُنظُر فَقَد خَلَتِ البُيوتُ مِنَ الشَبابِ

وَلا جَمالٌ لِمَنزِلٍ مِنهُم خَلا

"Look, for the homes have been emptied of their youth,

And there is no beauty in a dwelling left void of them."

فَسَأَلتُها أَوَ لَيسَ مِن أَجلِ العُلى

وَهَنائِنا خاضوا اوَغى قالَت بَلى

So I asked her: "Is it not for the sake of glory,

And for our well-being, that they plunged into the fray?" She said: "Yes."

يا هَذِهِ أَإِذا بَكَيتُ لِبُعدِهِم

يَتَبَسَّمونَ أَجابَتِ الحَسناءُ لا

"O you! If I were to weep for their absence,

Would they then smile?" The fair one answered: "No."

كُفّي المَلامَ إِذَن فَما أَنا جاهِلٌ

ما تَعلَمينَ وَكَيفَ لي أَن أَجهَلا

"Cease your blame, then, for I am not ignorant

Of what you know; indeed, how could I be unaware?"

لَكِن بَعَثتُ الفِكرَ في آثارِهِم

في البَحرِ في الأَجواءِ في عَرضِ الفَلا

"But I have sent my thoughts to follow their trails,

Across the seas, into the skies, and through the vast deserts."

فَرَأَيتُ نورَ المَجدِ فَوقَ بُنودِهِم

وَرَأَيتُهُم يَمشونَ مِن نَصرٍ إِلى

"There I saw the light of glory shining above their banners,

And I saw them marching from one victory to the next."

سَدّوا عَلى الباغي المَسالِكَ كُلَّها

فَالمَوتُ إِن وَلّى وَإِن هُوَ أَقبَلا

"They have blocked every path against the aggressor,

So death awaits him whether he retreats or advances."

فَإِذا شَمَمتِ اليَومَ رائِحَةَ الدِماءِ

وَطالَعَت عَيناكِ آثارَ البِلى

"So if today you smell the scent of blood,

And your eyes behold the traces of ruin and decay,"

فَاِستَبشِري فَغَداً إِذا النَقعُ اِنجَلى

سَتَعودُ دُنيانا أَحَبَّ وَأَجمَلا

"Rejoice! For tomorrow, when the dust of battle clears,

Our world shall return, more beloved and more beautiful."