بِأَبي خَيالٌ لاحَ لي مُتَلَفِّفاً
بِعَباءَةٍ مِن عَهدِ فَخرَ الدينِ
I would give my father as ransom for a phantom that appeared to me, wrapped
In a cloak from the era of Fakhr al-Din.
يَمشي عَلى مَهَلٍ وَيُرسِلُ طَرفَهُ
في حيرَةِ المُستَوحِشِ المَحزونِ
Walking slowly and casting his gaze about
With the bewilderment of one lonely and sorrowful.
مَن أَنتَ يا شَبَحاً كَئيباً صامِتاً
قُل لي فَإِنَّكَ قَد أَثَرتَ شُجوني
Who are you, O silent, gloomy specter?
Tell me, for you have stirred my deep grief.
أَخَيالُ خَصمٍ أَتَّقي نَزَواتِهِ
أَم أَنتَ يا هَذا خَيالُ خَدينِ
Are you the ghost of a foe whose caprices I fear,
Or are you, O stranger, the ghost of a close friend?
فَأَجابَني مُتَرَفِّقاً مُتَحَبِّباً
فَسَمِعتُ صَوتَ أَبٍ أَبَرَّ حَنونِ
He answered me gently and affectionately,
And I heard the voice of a most righteous, tender father:
يا شاعِري قُل لِلأُلى هَجَروني
أَنا ما نَسيتَكُم فَلا تَنسوني
"O my poet, tell those who have abandoned me:
I have not forgotten you, so do not forget me.
ما بالِكُم طَوَّلتُمُ حَبلَ النَوى
يا لَيتَ هَذا الحَبلَ غَيرُ مَتينِ
Why have you lengthened the rope of separation?
Would that this rope were not so strong.
قَد طُفتُمُ الدُنيا فَهَل شاهَدتُمُ
جَبَلاً عَلَيهِ مَهابَتي وَسُكوني
You have roamed the world; have you ever beheld
A mountain that bears my majesty and serenity?
أَوَرَدتُمُ كَمَناهِلي أَنَشَقتُمُ كَأَزا
هيري في الحُسنِ وَالتَلوينِ
Have you drunk from springs like mine? Have you inhaled scents
Like my blossoms in their beauty and hues?
وَلَقَد تَظَلَّلتُم بِأَشجارٍ فَهَل
رَفَّت غُصونٌ فَوقَكُم كَغُصوني
You have sought shade beneath trees, but did
Branches ever flutter above you like my branches?
وَسَمِعتُمُ شَتّى الطُيورِ صَوادِحاً
أَسَمِعتُمُ أَشجى مِنَ الحَسّونِ
You have heard all manner of birds singing;
Did you hear any more moving than the goldfinch?
هَل أَنبَتَت كَالأَرزِ غَيري بُقعَةٌ
في مَجدِهِ وَجَلالِهِ المَيمونِ
Has any other land grown trees like the Cedar
In its glory and its auspicious majesty?
أَرَأَيتُمُ في ما رَأَيتُم فِتنَةً
كَالبَدرِ حينَ يُطِلُّ مِن صِنّينِ
Have you seen, in all you have viewed, a charm
Like the full moon when it looks down from Sannine?
أَو كَالغَزالَةِ وَهيَ تَنقَضُّ تِبرَجا
عِندَ المَغيبِ عَلى ذُرى حَرَمونِ
Or like the sun descending in radiant display
At twilight upon the peaks of Mount Hermon?
مَرَّت قُرونٌ وَاِنطَوَت وَكَأَنَّني
لِمَحاسِني كُوِّنتُ مُنذُ سِنينِ
Centuries have passed and folded away, yet it seems
As if I were created for my beauty but a few years ago.
أَبلَيتُها وَبَقَيتُ إِلّا أَنَّني
لِلشَوقِ كادَ غِيابُكُم يَبليني
I wore out the ages while I remained, yet truly
From longing, your absence has nearly worn me away."
لُبنانُ لا تَعذِل بَنيكَ إِذا هُمُ
رَكِبوا إِلى العَلياءِ كُلَّ سَفينِ
Lebanon, do not chide your sons if they
Have boarded every ship in pursuit of glory.
لَم يَهجُروكَ مَلالَةً لَكِنَّهُم
خُلِقوا لِصَيدِ اللُؤلُؤِ المَكنونِ
They did not leave you out of weariness, but rather
They were created to hunt the hidden pearl.
وَرَثوا اِقتِحامَ البَحرِ عَن فينيقيا
أُمِّ الثَقافَةِ مَصدَرِ التَمدينِ
They inherited the conquest of the sea from Phoenicia,
The mother of culture, the source of civilization.
لَمّا وَلَدَتهُمُ نُسوراً حَلَّقوا
لا يَقنَعونَ مِنَ العُلى بِالدونِ
Since she bore them as eagles, they have soared,
Content with nothing less than the highest peaks.
وَالنَسرُ لا يَرضى السُجونَ وَإِن تَكُن
ذَهَباً فَكَيفَ مَحابِسٌ مِن طينِ
The eagle accepts no prison, even if made
Of gold—so how then, a prison made of clay?
الأَرضُ لِلحَشَراتِ تَزحَفُ فَوقَها
وَالجَوُّ لِلبازي وَلِلشاهينِ
The earth is for the insects that crawl upon it,
But the sky belongs to the falcon and the hawk.
فَأَجابَني وَالدَمعُ مِلءُ جُفونِهِ
كَم ذا تُسَلّيني وَلا تُسليني
He answered me, tears brimming in his eyes:
"How much you try to console me, yet I am not consoled.
ئنا كَالعَرينِ اليَومَ غابَ أُسودُهُ
وَتَفَرَّقوا عَنهُ لِكُلِّ عَرينِ
I am like a den today whose lions have vanished,
Scattering from it to every other lair.
الأَرمَنِيُّ عَلى سُفوحي وَالرُبى
يَبني الحُصونَ لِنَفسِهِ بِحُصوني
The Armenian upon my slopes and hills
Builds fortresses for himself from my own stones.
وَبَنو يَهوذا يَنصِبونَ خِيامَهُم
في ظِلِّ أَودِيَتي وَفَوقَ حُزوني
And the sons of Judah pitch their tents
In the shadow of my valleys and upon my rugged terrain.
وَبَنِيَّ عَنّي غافِلونَ كَأَنَّني
قَد صِرتُ في الأَشياءِ غَيرَ ثَمينِ
While my own sons are heedless of me, as if
I have become a thing of little worth.
أَنتُم دُيونٌ لي عَلى آميركا
وَمِنَ المُروأَةِ أَن تُرَدَّ دُيوني
You are debts owed to me by America,
And honor demands that my debts be repaid.
أَوَ لَيسَ مِن سُخرِ القَضاءِ وَهُزإِهِ
أَن يَأخُذَ المَثري مِنَ المِسكينِ
Is it not a mockery and jest of fate
That the wealthy should take from the destitute?
عودوا فَإِنَّ المالَ لا يُغنيكُمُ
عَنّي وَلا هُوَ عَنكُمُ يُغنيني
Return, for wealth cannot replace me for you,
Nor can it ever replace you for me."
فَشَجيتُ مِمّا قالَهُ لَكِنَّني
لَمّا رَأَيتُكُمُ نَسيتُ شُجوني
I was deeply grieved by what he said, yet
When I saw you all, I forgot my sorrows.
لُبنانُ فيكُم مائِلٌ إِن كُنتُمُ
في مِصرَ أَو في الهِندِ أَو في الصينِ
Lebanon lives within you, whether you be
In Egypt, in India, or in China.
إِن بُنتُمُ عَنهُ فَما زالَ الهَوى
يُدنيكُمُ مِنهُ كَما يُدنيني
Even if you are far from him, love still
Draws you near to him, just as it draws me.
وَحَراكُكُم لِعَلائِهِ وَسُكونِكُم
وَإِلى ثَراهُ حَنينُكُم وَحَنيني
Your toil and your rest are for his glory,
And for his soil is your longing and mine.
لَو أَمسَتِ الدُنيا لِغَيري كُلُّها
وَرُبّاهُ لي ما كُنتُ بِالمَغبونِ
If the whole world belonged to another,
Yet his hills were mine, I would not be shortchanged.
أَنا في حِماكُم طائِرٌ مُتَرَنِّمٌ
بَينَ الأَقاحِ الغَضِّ وَالنِسرينِ
In your sanctuary, I am a bird singing
Between the fresh chamomile and the wild rose.
أَنتُم بَنو وَطَني وَأَنتُم إِخوَتي
وَأَنا اِمرُؤٌ دينُ المَحَبَّةِ ديني
You are the sons of my homeland, and you are my brothers,
And I am a man whose faith is the religion of love.
