يا أَيُّها الشَرقُ التَعيسُ اِنظُر إِلى
القَومِ الَّذينَ شَدَدتَ أَزرَكَ فيهِمُ
O wretched East, look upon
The people upon whom you braced your strength;
ما زِلتَ تَكلَءُهُم بِطَرفٍ ساهِرٍ
يُحيِ الظَلامَ وَهُم هُجودٌ نُوَّمُ
You have long guarded them with a sleepless eye
That enlivens the darkness while they lie in slumber.
وَالغَربُ يَرنو خائِفاً أَن يَخلُفو
أَجدادُهُم وَيَوَدُّ لَو لَم يَنعَموا
The West watches fearfully, lest they succeed
Their ancestors, though it wishes they would never prosper.
حَتّى إِذا طَرَّت شَوارِبُهُم وَباتَ
مِنَ الشَبابِ لَهُم طِرازٌ مُعلَمُ
Yet when their mustaches first sprouted, and they acquired
The distinct badge and bearing of young manhood,
خَرَجوا عَلَيكَ وَأَنتَ لا تَدري وَهُم
لا يَشعُرونَ وَلَو دَروا لَتَنَدَّموا
They turned against you while you were unaware, and they
Remain unfeeling; yet had they known, they would surely regret.
يا طالَما مَثَلوا لَدَيكَ كَأَنَّهُم
ىُسدُ الشَرى فَنَسيتُ أَنَّكَ تَحلُمُ
How often they appeared before you as though they were
Lions of the thicket, making me forget that you were dreaming.
وَرَجَوتَ ما يَرجوهُ كُلُّ أَبٍ لَدى
أَبنائِهِ إِنَّ العَقوقَ مُذَمَّمُ
You hoped for them what every father hopes
For his sons—indeed, filial ingratitude is vile.
وَلَطالَما شِدتَ القُصورَ مِنَ المُنى
خابَ الرَجاءُ وَساءَ ما تَتَوَهَّمُ
How often you built palaces out of mere hopes;
But hope has failed, and your illusions have turned wretched.
أَلهَتهُمُ الدُنيا فَهَذا بِالطِلى
صَبٌّ وَهَذا بِالحِسانِ مُتَيَّمُ
The world distracted them: this one is obsessed with wine,
Lovesick, while that one is enslaved by beauties.
وَالخَمرُ فاتِكَةٌ فَكَيفَ بِناعِمٍ
تَرَِفٍ يَكادُ مِنَ النَسائِمِ يُسقَمُ
Wine is a deadly slayer; what then of a delicate soul,
Soft and pampered, who nearly falls ill from a breeze?
قَد أَصبَحوا وَقفاً عَلى شَهَواتِهِم
يستَسلِمونَ لَها وَلا تَستَسلِمُ
They have become entirely dedicated to their own lusts,
Surrendering to them, though desires never surrender.
لَم يَفهَموا مَعنى الحَياةِ وَكَنهَها
إِنَّ البَلِيَّةَ أَنَّهُم لَم يَفهَمو
They have grasped neither the meaning of life nor its essence;
The true calamity is simply that they do not understand.
فَليَعقِلوا عَن غِيِّهِم إِنّي أَرى
خَوَرَ الشُيوخِ بِهِم وَلَمّا يَهرَموا
Let them return to reason from their folly, for I perceive
The feebleness of old age in them, though they are not yet old.
قَد قَلَّدوا الغَربِيَّ في آفاقِهِ
تَقليدُهُ الشَرقِيُّ فيما يُعصِمُ
They have imitated the Westerner in his expansive ways,
An Eastern mimicry in matters that should remain inviolate.
فَتَنَتهُمُ لُغَةُ الأَعاجِمِ إِنَّما
لُغَةُ الأَعاجِمِ مِنهُمُ تَتَبَرَّمُ
The language of foreigners has seduced them, yet in truth,
The language of foreigners looks upon them with disdain.
أَمسى الَّذي تُهدى إِلَيهِ لَآلِئٌ
وَكَأَنَّما هُوَ بِالحِجارَةِ يُرجَمُ
He to whom pearls are offered has become
Like one who reacts as though he were being stoned with rocks.
لا تَعذِلُ الشُعَراءَ إِن بَخِلوا بِهِ
إِنَّ القَريضَ عَلى الغَبِيِّ مُحَرَّمُ
Do not blame the poets if they are stingy with their verse,
For high poetry is forbidden fruit to the witless fool.
بِتنا وَباتَ الشَرقُ يَمشي القَهقَرى
مَعَ ذاكَ نَحسَبُ أَنَّنا نَتَقَدَّمُ
We have ended up with the East walking backward,
Even as we delude ourselves that we are moving forward.
