لِمَنِ الدِيارُ تَنوحُ فيها الشَمأَلُ
ما ماتَ أَهلوها وَلَم يَتَرَحَّلوا
Whose are these dwellings where the north wind wails?
Their people have neither died nor simply moved away.
ماذا عَراها ما دَها سُكّانَها
يا لَيتَ شِعري كُبِّلوا أَم قُتِّلوا
What has befallen them? What disaster struck their dwellers?
Oh, how I wish to know: were they shackled or were they slain?
مَثَّلتُها فَتَمَثَّلَت في خاطِري
دِمَناً لِغَيرِ الفِكرِ لا تَتَمَثَّلُ
I pictured them, and they took shape within my mind,
As ruins that manifest to nothing but one's thought.
تَمشي الصَبا مِنها بِرَسمٍ دارِسٍ
لا رِكزَ فيهِ كَأَنَّما هِيَ هَوجَلُ
The east wind walks among them, through traces effaced,
Devoid of sound, as if they were a barren waste.
وَإِذا تَأَمَّلَ زائِرٌ آثارَها
شَخَصَت إِلَيهِ كَأَنَّها تَتَأَمَّلُ
And if a visitor were to contemplate their remains,
They would stare back at him, as if deep in thought.
أَصبَحتُ أَندُبُ أُسدَها وَظِبائَها
وَلَطالَما أَبصَرتَني أَتَغَزَّلُ
I have come to mourn its lions and its gazelles,
Though long you have known me to sing songs of love.
أَيّامَ أَنظُرُ في الحِمى مُتَهَلِّلاً
وَأَرى الدِيارَ كَأَنَّها تَتَهَلَّلُ
In days when I gazed upon the homeland with delight,
And saw the dwellings beaming as if in joy,
وَأَروحُ في ظِلِّ الشَبابِ وَأَغتَدي
جَذلانَ لا أَشكو وَلا أَتَعَلَّلُ
When I would come and go in the shadow of my youth,
Joyful, with no complaint and no need for excuse,
إِذ كُلُّ طَيرٍ صادِحٌ مُتَرَنِّمٌ
إِذ كُلُّ غُصنٍ يانِعٌ مُتَهَدِّلُ
When every bird was warbling its melodious tune,
And every branch was lush and hanging low with fruit,
وَالأَرضُ كاسِيَةٌ رِداءً أَخضَراً
فَكَأَنَّها ديباجَةٌ أَو مَخمَلُ
The earth was clad in a robe of verdant green,
As if it were woven of brocade or finest velvet,
يَجري بِها فَوقَ الجُمانِ مِنَ الحَصى
بَينَ الزَبَرجَدِ وَالعَقيقِ الجَدوَلُ
Where the stream flows over pebbles like pearls,
Running between banks of emerald and agate.
وَالزَهرُ في الجَنّاتِ فَيّاحُ الشَذا
بِنَدَى الصَباحِ مُتَوَّجٌ وَمُكَلَّلُ
And flowers in the gardens wafted their scent,
Crowned and garlanded by the morning dew.
وَالشَمسُ مُشرِقَةٌ يَلوحُ شُعاعُها
خَلَلَ الغُضونِ كَما تَلوحُ الأَنصُلُ
The sun shone bright, its rays gleaming through,
Between the branches like the glint of sword blades,
وَالظِلُّ مَمدودٌ عَلى جَنَباتِها
وَالماءُ مَغمورٌ بِهِ المُخضَوضِلُ
With shadows stretched long across its expanses,
And the lush earth submerged in abundant water.
لِلَّهِ كَيفَ تَبَذَّلَت آياتُها
مَن كانَ يَحسَبُ أَنَّها تَتَبَذَّلُ
By God, how its beauties have been desecrated!
Who could have imagined they would ever be laid waste?
زَحَفَ الجَرادُ بِقَضِّهِ وَقَضيضِهِ
سَيرَ الغَمامِ إِذا زَفَتهُ الشَمأَلُ
The locusts advanced in their overwhelming swarms,
Like the march of clouds driven by the north wind,
حَجَبَ السَماءَ عَنِ النَواظِرِ وَالثَرى
فَكَأَنَّهُ اللَيلُ البَهيمُ الأَليَلُ
Veiling the sky and the soil from all sight,
As if it were a pitch-black, endless night.
مِن كُلِّ طَيّارٍ أَرَقَّ جَناحَهُ
لَفحُ الحَرورِ وَطولُ ما يَتَنَقَّلُ
Every flying creature whose wings were worn thin
By the scorching heat and ceaseless migration,
عَجِلٍ إِلى غاياتِهِ مُستَوفِزٌ
أَبَداً يَشُدّدُ العَجزَ مِنهُ الكَلكَلُ
Rushing toward its goals, poised to strike,
Its chest forever pulling forward its rear.
خَشِنِ الإِهابِ كَأَنَّهُ في جَوشَنٍ
وَكَأَنَّما في كُلِّ عُضوٍ مِنجَلُ
Rough-skinned, as if clad in battle armor,
And as if every limb possessed a sickle.
وَكَأَنَّما حَلَقُ الدُروعِ عُيونُهُ
وَكَأَنَّهُنَّ شَواخِصاً تَتَخَيَّلُ
As if the very rings of its mail were its eyes,
Staring fixedly, seeing phantoms.
مَصقولَةٌ صَقلَ الزُجاجِ يَخالُها
في مَعزِلٍ عَن جِسمِهِ المُستَقبِلُ
Polished smooth as glass, so one might think
It stands apart from the body that bears it.
وَمِنَ العَجائِبِ مَع صَفاءِ أَديمِها
ما إِن تَرِفُّ كَأَنَّما هِيَ جَندَلُ
And among the wonders, despite its clear skin,
It never blinks, as if carved from stone.
ضَيفٌ أَخَفَّ عَلى الهَواءِ مِنَ الهَوا
لَكِنَّهُ في الأَرضِ مِنها أَثقَلُ
A guest lighter upon the air than air itself,
Yet upon the land, it sits heavier than lead.
مَلَأَ المَسارِحَ وَالمَطارِحَ وَالرُبى
فَإِذا خَطَت فَعَلَيهِ تَخطو الأَرجُلُ
It filled the pastures, the plains, and the hills,
So that wherever feet stepped, they trod upon it.
حَصَدَ الَّذي زَرَعَ الشُيوخَ لِنَسلِهِم
وَقَضى عَلى القُطّانِ أَن يَتَحَوَّلوا
It harvested what the elders had sown for their kin,
And doomed the inhabitants to flee their homes.
ما ثَمَّ مِن فَنَنٍ إِلى أَوراقِهِ
يَأوي إِذا اِشتَدَّ الهَجيرُ البُلبُلُ
Not a single branch remains where, amongst its leaves,
The nightingale might shelter when the heat grows fierce.
وَإِذا القَضاءُ رَمى البِلادَ بِبُؤسِهِ
جَفَّ السَحابُ بِها وَجَفَّ المَهَلُ
When Fate casts its misery upon the land,
The clouds run dry, and all respite withers away.
وَقَعَ الَّذي كُنّا نَخافُ وُقوعَهُ
فَعَلى المَنازِلِ وَحشَةٌ لا تَرحَلُ
That which we feared has come to pass,
And upon the houses settles a gloom that will not depart.
أَشتاقُ لَو أَدري بِحالَةِ أَهلِها
فَإِذا عَرَفتُ وَدِدتُ أَنّي أَجهَلُ
I yearn to know the fate of those who dwelt there,
Yet were I to know, I would wish for ignorance.
لَم تُبقِ أَرجالُ الدَبى في أَرضِهِم
ما يُستَظَلُّ بِهِ وَلا ما يُؤكَلُ
The locust swarms left nothing in their land,
Neither shade to rest under, nor food to eat.
أَمسَت سَمائُهُمُ بِغَيرِ كَواكِبٍ
وَلَقَد تَكونُ كَأَنَّها لا تَأفَلُ
Their sky has become devoid of stars,
Though once they shone as if they would never set.
يَمشونَ في نورِ الضُحى وَكَأَنَّهُم
في جُنحِ لَيلٍ حالِكٍ لا يَنصُلُ
They walk in the morning light, yet it seems
As if they wander a pitch-black, unending night.
فَإِذا اِضمَحَلَّ النورُ وَاِعتَكَرَ الدُجى
فَالخَوفُ يَعلو بِالصُدورِ وَيَسفَلُ
And when the light fades and darkness thickens,
Fear rises and falls within their chests.
يَتَوَسَّلونَ إِلى الظَلومِ وَطالَما
كانَ الظَلومُ إِلَيهِم يَتَوَسَّلُ
They plead to the oppressor, though long it was
That the oppressor used to plead to them.
أَمسى الدَخيلُ كَأَنَّهُ رَبُّ الحِمى
وَاِبنُ البِلادِ كَأَنَّهُ مُتَطَفِّلُ
The intruder has become the lord of the sanctuary,
While the son of the land is treated like a parasite.
يَقضي فَهَذا في السُجونِ مُغَيَّبٌ
رَهنٌ وَهَذا بِالحَديدِ مُكَبَّلُ
He decrees: so one is cast away in prison,
Held hostage, and another is bound in chains.
وَيَرى الجَمالَ كَأَنَّما هُوَ لا يُرى
وَيَرى العُيوبَ كَأَنَّما هُوَ أَحوَلُ
He looks upon beauty as if it were invisible,
And hunts for faults with a distorted gaze.
حالٌ أَشَدُّ عَلى النُفوسِ مِنَ الرَدى
الصابُ شَهدٌ عِندَها وَالحَنظَلُ
A state more grievous to the soul than death itself;
Next to it, bitter cactus and colocynth taste like honey.
مالي أَنوحو عَلى البِلادِ كَأَنَّما
في كُلِّ أَرضٍ لي أَخٌ أَو مَنزِلُ
Why do I wail for the country as if
I had a brother or a home in every land?
يا لَيتَ كَفّاً أَضرَمَت هَذي الوَغى
يَبِسَت أَنامِلُها وَشُلَّ المِفصَلُ
I wish that the hand which ignited this war
Had withered fingers and paralyzed joints.
تَتَحَوَّلُ الأَفلاكُ عَن دَوَرانِها
وَالشَرُّ في الإِنسانِ لا يَتَحَوَّلُ
The celestial spheres may shift from their course,
Yet the evil within man never changes.
ما زالَ حَتّى هاجَها مَن هاجَها
حَرباً يَشيبُ لَها الرَضيعُ المُحوِلُ
Whoever stirred it up persisted until he unleashed
A war that turns the nursing infant's hair gray.
فَالشَرقُ مُرتَعِدُ الفَرائِصِ جازِعٌ
وَالغَربُ مِن وَقَعاتِها مُتَزَلزِلُ
The East trembles with terror and anxiety,
And the West is shaken by its shocks.
وَالأَرضُ بِالجُردِ الصَواهِلِ وَالقَنا
مَلأى تَجيشُ كَما تَجيشُ المِرجَلُ
The earth, filled with neighing steeds and spears,
Seethes as a cauldron boils over fire.
وَالطَودُ آفاتٌ تَلوحُ وَتَختَفي
وَالسَهلُ أَرصادٌ تَجيءُ وَتَقفُلُ
The mountain is a scene of calamities appearing and vanishing,
And the plain is full of armies advancing and retreating.
وَالجَوُّ بِالنَقعِ المُثارِ مُلَثَّمٌ
وَالبَحرُ بِالسُفُنِ الدَوارِعِ مُثقَلُ
The air is veiled in raised dust,
And the sea is burdened with armored ships.
في كُلِّ مُنفَرِجِ الجَوانِبِ جَحفَلٌ
لَجِبٌ يُنازِعُهُ عَلَيهِ جَحفَلُ
In every open expanse, an army stands,
Clashing violently with another army.
ماتَ الحَنانُ فَكُلُّ شَيءٍ قاتِلٌ
وَقَسا القَضاءُ فَكُلُّ عُضوٍ مَقتَلُ
Compassion has died, so all things kill;
Fate has turned cruel, making every limb a mortal wound.
فَمُعَقَّرٌ بِثِيابِهِ مُتَكَفِّنٌ
وَمُجَرَّحٌ بِدِمائِهِ مُتَسَربِلُ
One lies wounded, shrouded in his own clothes,
Another, lacerated, clothed in his own blood.
كَم ناكِصٍ عَن مَأزَقٍ خَوفَ الرَدى
طَلَعَ الرَدى مِنَ خَلفِهِ يَتَصَلصَلُ
How many fled the battle fearing death,
Only for death to rise clattering behind them.
شَقِيَ الجَميعُ بِها وَعَزَّ ثَلاثَةٌ
ذِئبُ الفَلاةِ وَنَسرُها وَالأَجدَلُ
All suffered in it, save for three who thrived:
The desert wolf, the vulture, and the hawk.
حامَت عَلى الأَشلاءِ في ساحاتِها
فَرَقاً تَعِلُّ مِنَ الدِماءِ وَتَنهَلُ
They hovered over the corpses in the fields,
Gorging themselves, drinking their fill of blood.
لَهَفي عَلى الآباءِ كَيفَ تَطَوَّحوا
لَهَفي عَلى الشُبّانِ كَيفَ تَجَندَلوا
My grief for the fathers, how they were cast astray!
My grief for the youths, how they were struck down!
حَربٌ جَناها كُلُّ عاتٍ غاشِمٍ
وَجَنى مَرارَتَها الضَعيفُ الأَعزَلُ
A war waged by every brutal tyrant,
While the weak and unarmed reaped its bitterness.
ما لّضَعيفِ مَعَ القَوِيِّ مَكانَةٌ
إِنَّ القَوِيَّ هُوَ الأَحَبُّ الأَفضَلُ
The weak have no standing beside the strong;
The strong is deemed the most beloved, the best.
تَتَنَصَّلُ السُوّاسُ مِن تَبِعاتِها
إِنَّ البَريءَ الذَيلِ لا يَتَنَصَّلُ
The leaders wash their hands of the consequences,
Though the truly innocent have no need to hide.
قَد كانَ قَتلُ النَفسِ شَرَّ جَريمَةٍ
وَاليَومَ يُقتَلُ كُلُّ مَن لا يُقتَلُ
Taking a life was once the foulest crime,
But today, he who does not kill is killed.
وَالمالِكونَ عَلى الخَلائِقِ عَدلُهُم
جَورٌ فَكَيفَ إِذا هُم لَم يَعدِلوا
The rulers of men—their very justice
Is oppression; what then when they abandon justice?
كَتَبوا بِمَسفوكِ النَجيعِ نُعوتَهُم
وَبَنوا عَلى الجُثَثِ العُروشَ وَأَثَّلوا
They wrote their titles in spilled blood,
And built their thrones and glory upon corpses.
صَرَفَ الجُنودَ عَنِ المُلوكِ وَظُلمِهِم
قَولُ المُلوكِ لَهُم جُنودٌ بُسَّلُ
Soldiers are distracted from the kings' tyranny
By kings calling them 'brave warriors.'
يا شَرَّ آفاتِ الزَمانِ المُنقَضي
لا جاءَنا فيكِ الزَمانُ المُقبِلُ
O worst plague of the times gone by,
May the future never bring you to us again.
إِن أَبكِ سورِيّا فَقَبلِيَ كَم بَكى
أَعشى مَنازِلَ قَومِهِ وَالأَخطَلُ
If I weep for Syria, how many wept before me—
Like al-Asha and al-Akhtal weeping for their people's homes.
ما بي الدِيارُ وَإِنَّما قُطّانُها
إِنَّ النُفوسَ لَها المَقامُ الأَوَّلُ
It is not the dwellings that move me, but their dwellers;
For human souls hold the highest rank.
يا قَومُ إِن تَنسو فَلا تَنسوهُمُ
أَو تَبخَلوا فَعَلَيهِمُ لا تَبخَلوا
O people, if you forget all else, do not forget them,
And if you hoard your wealth, do not withhold it from them.
لَبّوا نِداءَ ذَوي المُروأَةِ وَالنَدى
لِيُقالَ أُمُّ الشَأمِ أُمٌّ مُشبِلُ
Answer the call of chivalry and generosity,
So it may be said: Syria is the mother of lions.
لا تَبتَغوا شُكرَ الأَنامِ وَأَجرَهُم
عَفوُ الإِلَهِ هُوَ الثَناءُ الأَجزَلُ
Seek neither the thanks nor the reward of men;
God's pardon is the most bountiful praise.
في كُلِّ يَومٍ بَينَكُم مُستَرفِدٌ
أَو طالِبٌ أَو راهِبٌ مُتَجَوِّلُ
Every day among you stands a supplicant,
A student, or a wandering ascetic.
يائتيكُمُ بادي الوِفاضِ فَيَنثَني
وَكَأَنَّما في بُردِهِ المُتَوَكِّلُ
He comes to you empty-handed, and departs
As if he carried a king's ransom in his cloak.
يَبني بِمالِكُمُ القُصورَ لِأَهلِهِ
وَقُصورُكُم أَثوابُكُم وَالمَعمَلُ
He builds palaces for his kin with your gold,
While your palaces are but your clothes and your toil.
قَد حانَ أَن تَستَيقِظوا فَاِستَيقِظوا
كَم تَخجَلونَ وَكُلُّهُم لا يَخجَلُ
The time has come to awake, so awaken!
How long will you feel shame while they feel none?
يا لَيتَ مَن بَذَلوا نُضارَهُم لِمَن
خَبَأوهُ في أَكياسِهِم لَم يَبذُلوا
Would that those who lavished their gold on those
Who hid it in their pockets, had never given a coin!
بَل لَيتَهُم جادوا عَلى ذي فاقَةٍ
فَحَرىً بِعَطفِ المُحسِنينَ المُرمِلُ
Would that they had given to the destitute;
For the poor are most worthy of the benefactor's grace.
يا مَن نُريدُ صَلاحَهُ وَصَلاحَنا
إِنَّ العُدولَ عَنِ الهَوى بِكَ أَجمَلُ
O you whose redemption we seek, alongside our own,
To turn away from caprice becomes you better.
أَيَبيتُ قَومُكَ فَوقَ أَشواكِ الغَضى
وَتَبيتُ تَخطُرُ بِالحَريرِ وَتَرفُلُ
Do your people sleep upon beds of thorns,
While you strut and trail in robes of silk?
أَينَ الهُدى يا مَن يُبَشِّرُ بِالهُدى
أَينَ التُقى يا أَيُّها المُزَّمِّلُ
Where is the guidance, O preacher of the path?
Where is the piety, O wrapped one?
ظَنَّت بِكَ الناسُ الظُنونَ وَإِنَّني
لَأَخافُ بَعدَ الظَنِّ أَن يَتَقَوَّلوا
People have harbored suspicions about you, and I
Fear that after suspicion, they will speak out against you.
لَكَ مُقلَةٌ فَاِنظُر بِها مُتَأَمِّلاً
قَد يَستَفيدُ الناظِرُ المُتَأَمِّلُ
You have eyes, so look with deep reflection;
For the reflective observer may gain wisdom.
لا قَدرَ لِلجُهَلاءِ حَتّى يَعمَلوا
لافَضلَ لِلعُلَماءِ حَتّى يَعمَلوا
The ignorant have no worth until they toil,
And scholars have no merit until they act.
سُكّانَ لُبنانَ العَزيزَ وَجِلَّقٍ
حَيّاكُمُ عَنّا النَسيمُ المُرسَلُ
O dwellers of beloved Lebanon and Damascus,
May the drifting breeze greet you on our behalf.
لا نابَ غَيرَ عَدُوِّكُم ما نابَكُم
وَبَلَغتُمُ ما تَأمَلونَ وَنَأمَلُ
May the tragedy that struck you strike only your foe,
And may you achieve all that you—and we—hope for.
كَم تَتَّقونَ الطارِئاتِ وَنَتَّقي
كَم تَحمِلونَ الكارِثاتِ وَنَحمِلُ
How often you dread coming disasters, as do we;
How often you endure catastrophes, as do we.
لَو يَعقِلُ القَدَرُ الخَأونُ عَزَلتُهُ
وَعَذَلتُهُ لَكِنَّهُ لا يَعقِلُ
If treacherous Fate had reason, I would have dismissed it,
And rebuked it, but it possesses no reason.
أَبكي وَأَستَبكي العُيونَ عَلَيكُمُ
أَيُّ الدُموعِ عَليكُمُ لا تَهطِلُ
I weep, and I beg other eyes to weep for you;
For what tears would not pour down for your sake?
إِن تَغفَلِ الدُنيا وَيَغفَل أَهلُها
عَنكُم فَخالِقُ أَهلِها لا يَغفَلُ
If the world and its people neglect you,
The Creator of its people never neglects.
