تِلكَ المَازِلُ كَيفَ حالُ مُقيمِها
إِنّا قَنِعنا بَعدَها بِرُسومِها
Those dwellings—how fares he who dwells within them?
In their absence, we have contented ourselves with mere traces.
تَمشي عَلى صُوَرِ الطُيورِ لِحاظُنا
نَشوى كَمَن يُصغي إِلى تَرنيمِها
Our glances wander over the images of birds,
Entranced, like one listening to their melodic song.
وَنَكادُ نَعشَقُ في الأَزاهيرِ الدُمى
ئزهارَها وَنُحِسُّ نَفحَ شَميمِها
We nearly fall in love with the painted blossoms, sensing their very fragrance.
We yearn for that land in our misery and in our bliss,
نَشتاقُها في بُؤسِنا وَنَعيمِنا
وَنُحِبُّها في بُؤسِها وَنَعيمِها
And we love her, alike in her sorrow and her prosperity.
Were it not for imagination aiding our souls,
لَولا الخَيالُ يُعينُ أَنفُسَنا لَما
سَكَنَت وَلَم يَهدَء صُراخُ كُلومِها
They would find no rest, nor would the screaming of their wounds fall silent.
And the honey of the earth, within our mouths,
وَلَكانَ شَهدُ الأَرضِ في أَفواهِنا
وَهوَ الَّذيذُ أَمَرَّ مِن زَقّومِها
Though sweet, would taste more bitter than the fruit of hell.
O you who carry within your soul and speech
يا حامِلاً في نَفسِهِ وَحَديثِهِ
أَحلامَ أَرزَتِها وَلُطفَ نَسيمِها
The dreams of her Cedars and the gentleness of her breeze,
Speak to her sons, the elders and the youth alike,
حَدِّث بَنيها شَيخَهُم وَفَتاهُمو
عَن لَيثِ غابَتِها وَظَبيِ صَريمِها
Of the lion of her forests and the gazelle of her thickets.
Tell them that the stars still yearn,
خَبِّرهُمُ أَنَّ الكَواكِبَ لَم تَزَل
تَحنو عَلى العُشّاقِ بَينَ كُرومِها
Bending compassionately over lovers amidst her vineyards.
Her nightingale still sings to the hills,
ما زالَ بُلبُلَها يُغَنّي لِلرُبى
وَالسِحرُ تَنفُثُهُ لَوحِظُ ريمِها
And magic is cast by the glances of her white deer.
The wind gathers the fragrance and scatters it abroad,
وَالريحُ تَلتَقِطُ الشَذى وَتُذيعُهُ
مِن شيحِها طَوراً وَمِن قَيصومِها
Now from her wormwood, and now from her southernwood.
Her hills adorn themselves in the gold of her sun at times,
وَهِضابِها يَلبَسنَ عَسجَدَ شَمسِها
حيناً وَأَحياناً لُجَينَ نُجومِها
And at others, in the silver of her stars.
Dawn dances across the plains and upon the peaks,
وَالفَجرُ يَرقُصُ في السُهولِ وَفي الذَرى
مُتَمَهِّلاً فَتَهَشُّ بَعدَ وُجومِها
Lingering slowly, until the land smiles after its gloom.
Though her borders may have been altered,
إِن بُدِّلَت مِنها التُخومُ فَإِنَّها
ما بَدَّلَت وَاللَهِ غَيرَ تُخومِها
By God, she has changed nothing but those very borders.
Speak to them of her night and her stars,
حَدضِثهُمُ عَن لَيلِها وَنُجومِها
وَعَنِ الهَوى في لَيلِها وَنُجُمِها
And of the passion found within that night and beneath those stars.
And of the shores that dream of a return
وَعَنِ الشُطوطِ الحالِماتِ بِعَودَةٍ
لِلغائِبينَ وَرَجعَةٍ لِنَعيمِها
For those who are absent, and a restoration of her bliss.
And of the hills gazing upward to the heavens,
وَعَنِ الرَوابي الشاخِصاتِ إِلى السَما
العالِقاتِ رُؤوسُها بِغُيومِها
Their summits entangled within her clouds,
As if they were clouds that tumbled from the heights,
فَكَأَنَّها سُحُبٌ هَوَت مِن حالِقٍ
وَرَسَت عَلى وَجهِ الثَرى بِهُمومِها
And anchored upon the face of the earth, burdened with cares.
Speak of life—its beauty and its ugliness,
وَعَنِ الحَياةِ جَميلَها وَقَبيحَها
وَعَنَِ النُفوسِ صَحيحَها وَسَقيمَها
And of souls—the healthy among them and the sick.
And of those who held power yet felt no pious restraint
وَعَنِ الأُلى مَلَكوا فَلَم يَتَوَرَّعوا
عَن سَلبِ أَعزَلِها وَظُلمِ يَتيمِها
From plundering the defenseless and oppressing the orphan.
And of the serpents that slither in her lands,
وَعَنِ الثَعابينِ الَّتي في أَرضِها
وَعَنِ الذِئابِ العُصلِ خَلفَ تُخومِها
And of the ravenous wolves prowling beyond her borders.
The Age of Ignorance—alas for its idols!
الجاهِلِيَّةُ آهِ مِن أَصنامِها
بورِكتَ يا مَن جَدَّ في تَحطيمِها
Blessed are you who strive earnestly to shatter them.
And Sectarianism—you are the first pickaxe
وَالطائِفِيَّةُ أَنتَ أَوَّلُ مِعوَلٍ
في سورِها ثابِر عَلى تَهضِمِها
Striking its wall; persist in tearing it down,
Until she returns with her essence united,
حَتّى تَعودَ وَواحِدٌ أُقنومُها
وَيَحُلُّ روحُ اللَهِ فو أُقنومِها
And the Spirit of God descends to dwell within her soul.
Tell the youth to manifest their existence,
قُل لِلشَبيبَةِ أَن تَبينَ وُجودَها
وَتُعِزَّ أَنفُسَهَا بِهَونِ جُصومِها
And to dignify their souls by holding their bodies in light regard.
How often does their knowledge radiate yet fail to illuminate?
كَم ذا تَشُعُّ وَلا تُضيءُ عُلومُها
سُرُجُ الظَلامِ إِذَن جَليلُ عُلومِها
If so, their greatest learning is but a lamp of darkness.
O you, one of her own, who burdens his soul
يا واحِداً مِنها يُحَمِّلُ نَفسَهُ
آلامَ عانيها وَلَيلَ سَليمِها
With the pains of her sufferers and the sleepless nights of the stung,
If our souls have honored you for a single night,
إِن أَكرَمَتكَ نُفوسُنا في لَيلَةٍ
فَلَكَم قَضَيتَ العُمرَ في تَكريمِها
It is because you spent a lifetime honoring them.
