لا تَسَل أَينَ الهَوى وَالكَوثَرُ

سَكَتَ الشادي وَبُحَّ الوَتَرُ

Do not ask where the passion and the sweet abundance are,

The singer has fallen silent, and the lute string is rasping.

فَجأَة وَاِنقَلَبَ العُرسُ إِلى

مَأتَمٍ ماذا جَرى ما الخَبَرُ

Suddenly, the wedding feast transformed into

A funeral; what has happened? What is the news?

ماجَتِ الدارُ بِمَن فيها كَما

ماجَ نَهرٌ ثائِرٌ مُنكَدِرُ

The house surged with its occupants, just as

A turbulent, muddy river surges.

كُلُّهُم نُستَفسِرٌ صاحِبَهُ

كُلُّهُم يُؤذيهِ مَن يَستَفسِرُ

Everyone is questioning their companion;

Everyone is pained by the one who asks.

هَمَسَ المَوتُ بِهِم هَمسَتَهُ

إِنَّ هَمسَ المَوتِ ريحٌ صَرصَرُ

Death whispered its whisper amongst them;

Truly, the whisper of death is a howling, freezing gale.

فَإِذا الحَيرَةُ في أَحداقِهِم

كَيفَما مالوا وَأَنّى نَظَروا

And behold, bewilderment fills their eyes,

Whichever way they turn, wherever they gaze.

عَلِموا يا لَيتَهُم ما عَلِموا

أَنَّ دُنيا مِن رُأىً تُحتَضَرُ

They learned—oh, would that they had never learned—

That a world of visions is in its death throes.

وَالَّذي أَطرَبَهُم عَن قُدرَةٍ

باتَ لا يَقوى وَلا يَقتَدِرُ

And he who once enchanted them with such command

Has become weak, stripped of all power.

يَبِسَ الضِحكُ عَلى أَفواهِهِم

فَهوَ كَالسُخر وَإِن لَم يَسخَروا

Laughter has withered upon their lips;

It looks like mockery, though they did not mean to mock.

وَإِذا الآسي يَدٌ مَذولَةٌ

وَمُحَيّا اليَأسُ فيهِ أَصفَرُ

And see, the healer stands with a helpless hand,

While the face of despair within him is pale.

شاعَ في الدارِ الأَسى حَتّى شَكَت

أَرضَها وَطَأَته وَالجَدرُ

Grief spread through the house until the very floor

Complained of its tread, as did the walls.

فَعَلى الأَضواءِ مِنهُ فَترَةٌ

وَعَلى الأَلوانِ مِنهُ أَثَرُ

Upon the lights, it casts a dim lethargy,

And upon the colors, it leaves a stain.

وَالقَناني صُوَرٌ باهِتَةٌ

وَالأَغاني عالَمٌ مُندَثِرُ

The wine vessels are merely faded images,

And the songs are a world obliterated.

الهَنا أُفلِتَ مِن أَيديهِم

وَالأَماني إِنَّها تَنتَحِرُ

Bliss has slipped from their grasp,

And hopes—truly, they are committing suicide.

ذَبَحَت أَفراحَهُم في لَمحَةٍ

قُوَّةٌ تَجني وَلا تَعتَذِرُ

A force slaughtered their joys in an instant,

A power that reaps and offers no apology.

تَقلَعُ النَبتَ الَّذي تَغرُسُهُ

وَالشَذا فيه وَفيهِ الثَمَرُ

It uproots the very seedling it planted,

While fragrance and fruit still linger within it.

إِعبَثِ ما شِئتِ يا دُنيا بِنا

وَتَحَكَّم ما تَشاءُ يا قَدَرُ

Toy with us as you wish, O World,

And decree whatever you desire, O Fate.

إِن تَكُن زَهراً فَما أَمجَدَنا

أَو نَكُن شَوكاً فَهَذا الخَطَرُ

If we are flowers, how glorious is our state;

Or if we are thorns, that is the peril.

فَلنَعِش في الأَرضِ زَهراً وَليَطُل

أَجَلُ الشَوكِ الَّذي لا يُزهِرُ

So let us live on earth as flowers, and let

The lifespan of the bloomless thorn drag on.

رَحَلَ الشاعِرُ عَن دارِ الأَذى

وَاِنقَضَت مَعَهُ اللَيالي الغُرَرُ

The poet has departed from the abode of suffering,

And with him, the radiant nights have ended.

كَم حَوَته وَحَواها مَلِكاً

دَولَةُ الروحِ الَّتي لا تُقهَرُ

How often he held it, and it held him as a king—

The kingdom of the spirit that can never be vanquished.

عاشَ لا يُنكِرُ إِلّا ذاتَهُ

إِنَّ حُبَّ الذاتِ شَيءٌ مُنكَرُ

He lived denying nothing but his own self;

Truly, self-love is a thing to be renounced.

شاعِرٌ أَعجَبُ مَعنىً صاغَهُ

لِلبَرايا مَوتُهُ المُبتَكَرُ

A poet, whose most wondrous crafted meaning

For all creation was his own inventive death.

الجَمالُ الحَقُّ ما يَعبُدُهُ

وَالجَمالُ الزورُ ما لا يُبصِرُ

True beauty is what he worships,

And false beauty is what he does not see.

وَالحَديثُ الصَفوُ ما يَنشُرُهُ

وَالحَديثُ السوءُ ما يَختَصِرُ

Pure conversation is what he disseminates,

And evil speech is what he cuts short.

إِنَّهُ كانَ مَلاكاً بَشَراً

فَمَضى عَنّا المَلاكُ البَشَرُ

He was an angel in human form;

And now the human angel has gone from us.

وَنُفوسُ الخَلقِ إِمّا طينَةٌ

لا سَنا فيها وَإِمّا جَوهَرُ

The souls of people are either made of clay

With no radiance within, or they are pure gems.

يا رَفيقي ما بَلَغتَ المُنتَهى

لَيسَتِ الحَدَّ الأَخيرَ الحُفَرُ

O my comrade, you have not reached the end;

The grave pits are not the final boundary.

فَاِعبُرِ النَهرَ إِلى ذاكَ الحِمى

حَيثُ جُبرانُ العَميدُ الأَكبَرُ

Cross the river to that sanctuary,

Where Gibran is the supreme master,

وَرَشيدٌ نَغمَةٌ شادِيَةٌ

وَنَسيبٌ نَغَمٌ مُستَبشِرُ

And Rashid is a chanting melody,

And Nasib is a joyous tune,

وَجَميلٌ فِكرَةٌ هائِمَةٌ

وَأَمينٌ أَمَلٌ مُخضَوضِرُ

And Jamil is a wandering thought,

And Amin is a verdant hope.

قُل لَهُم إِنّا غَدَونا بَعدَهُم

لا حَديثٌ طَيِّبٌ لا سَمَرُ

Tell them that, in their absence, we have become

Bereft of good conversation and evening tales;

كَسَماءٍ لَيسَ فيها أَنجُمٌ

أَو كَرَوضٍ لَيسَ فيهِ زَهرُ

Like a sky that holds no stars,

Or a garden that holds no flowers.

كُلُّنا مُنتَظِرٌ ساعَتَهُ

وَالمَصيرُ الحَقُّ ما نَنتَظِرُ

Each of us is awaiting his hour,

And the true destiny is what we await.