تَسيرُ بِنا عَلى عَجَلِ

وَإِن شاءَت عَلى مَهلِ

It takes us swiftly,

She carries us along in haste,

Or slowly if it wishes,

And, if she so wills, at a leisurely pace,

وَتَسعى سَعيَ مُشتاقٍ

بِلا قَلبٍ وَلا عَقلِ

And strives with eager striving

She strives forward like one yearning,

Without heart or mind;

Though possessed of neither heart nor mind,

وَتَمشي في عُبابِ الما

ءِ الصَلِّ في الرَملِ

And it walks in the slimy depths

She treads through the swelling billows

Crawling in the sand;

As a viper glides across the sand;

فَما تَعبِسُ لِلحَزنِ

وَلا تَضحَكُ لِلسَهلِ

It frowns not out of grief

She does not frown at the rough terrain,

Nor laughs at the easy path.

Nor does she smile at the smooth plains.

أَبتَ أَن تَعرِفَ الشَكوى

مِنَ التَرحالِ وَالحِلِّ

It has refused to recognize complaint

She refuses to acknowledge any complaint

Of roving or halt;

Whether in journeying or in repose.

فَطَوراً في قَرارِ اليَمِّ

لِلغامِضِ تَستَجلي

Now on the edge of the billows

At times, in the depths of the sea,

To the dimness it makes clear,

She seeks to unveil the obscure;

وَآوِنَةً تُناجيها

دَراري الأُفقِ بِالوَصلِ

And at times whispers to it

And at other times, she holds communion

The hill-ashes in union;

With the shining stars of the horizon about reunion.

وَأَحياناً تَواني سَي

رَها ساكِنَةَ الظِلِّ

And now and then it slackens its pace

And sometimes her pace slackens,

Still in the shade;

As she becomes a motionless shadow,

وَلِلمَوجِ حَوالَيها

زَئيرُ اللَيثِ ذي الشِبلِ

And round about it for the waves

While the waves surrounding her possess

The roar of the lion with cubs.

The roar of a lion guarding its whelp.

رَكِبناها وَنارُ الشَو

قِ في أَحشائِها تَغلي

We rode it while the flame

We boarded her while the fire of longing

Of passion within it burned hot.

Was boiling within her very entrails;

فَيا لِلَّهِ حَتّى السُف

نُ مِثلي ما لَها مُسلِ

By God, that even a ship like me

O God! Even the ships,

Is bewildered by it.

Like me, find no one to console them.

فَلا تَعجَب إِذا أَعجَ

بُ مِن أَطوارِها مِثلي

So wonder not if one like me

So do not wonder if I marvel

Is astonished at its ways,

At her fluctuating states, so like my own,

فَما أَعرِفُ مَركوباً

سِوى الأَفراسِ وَالإِبلِ

For I know no ride

For I have known no mount before

Save horses and camels.

Save for the horses and the camels,

وَما أَعلَمُ قَبلَ الآ

نَ أَنَّ الطَودَ ناقَ لي

And till now I never knew

Nor did I realize, before this moment,

That the hill-ash was made to carry me.

That a towering mountain could be my she-camel.

تَرَكنا غادَةَ الشَرقِ

إِلى لُبنانَ ذي الفَضلِ

We left Ghadah of the East

We have left behind the damsel of the East,

For Lebanon of Distinction.

Heading toward Lebanon, the land of bounty;

فَمِن وَطَنٍ إِلى وَطَنٍ

وَمِن أَهلٍ إِلى أَهلِ

From a home to a home,

Traveling from one homeland to another,

And from family to family.

And moving from kin to kin.