يا نَفسُ قَد ذَهَب الرَفيقُ الأَلمَعي
فَتَجَلَّدي لِفُراقِهِ أَو فَاِجزُعي
O soul, the brilliant companion has departed,
So bear his parting with endurance, or else mourn in grief.
هَذي النِهايَةُ لا نِهايَةُ غَيَها
لِلحَيِّ إِن يُسرِع وَإِن لَم يُسرِعِ
This is the ultimate end; there is no other finale but this
For the living, whether they hasten or delay.
لِلمَوتِ مَن مَلَكَ لبَسيطَةَ كُلُّها
أَو هازَ مِن دُنياهُ بِضعَةَ أَذرُعِ
To death belongs he who possessed the entire earth,
Or he who gained from his world but a few cubits.
فَاِزرَع طَريقَكَ بِالورودِ وَبِالسَنا
لا يَحصُدُ الإِنسانُ إِن لَم يَزرُعِ
So plant your path with roses and with light;
One cannot harvest if one does not sow.
وَاِعمَل لِكَي تَمضي وَتَبقى رِقَّةً
في مَبسَمٍ أَو نَغمَةً في مَسمَعِ
Act so that when you pass, a tenderness remains,
Upon a smiling lip, or a melody within the ear,
أَو صورَةً مِثلَ الرَبيعِ جَميلَةً
في خاطِرٍ أَو ناظِرٍ مُستَمتِعِ
Or a memory as beautiful as the spring,
In the mind of a thinker or the eye of a delighted beholder.
يا صَحبَ يَعقوبٍ وَيا عَشرائُهُ
مَن مِنكُمو أَبكي وَلا يَبكِيَ مَعي
O friends of Jacob, O his close companions,
Who among you do I weep for who does not weep with me?
إِنّا تَساوَينا فَبَينَ ضُلوعِكُم
نارٌ وَمِثلُ سَعيرِها في أَضلُعي
We are all alike; for between your ribs,
Is a fire, and the like of its blaze burns within mine.
لُبنانُ هَذا مِن رِياضِكَ زَهرَةٌ
ذَهَبَت كَأَن في الأَرضِ لَم تَتَضَوَّعِ
O Lebanon, this was a flower from your gardens,
Gone, as if it had never wafted fragrance upon the earth.
لُبنانُ هَذا مِن سَمائِكَ كَوكَبٌ
غَرَّبَتهُ حَتّى اِنطَوى في بَلقَعِ
O Lebanon, this was a star from your firmament,
Driven to set until it vanished into the wasteland.
لُبنانُ هَذا مِن مُروجِكَ قِطعَةٌ
فيهِ بَشاشَةُ كُلِّ مَرجٍ مُمرَعِ
O Lebanon, this was a fragment of your meadows,
Carrying the cheer of every fertile pasture.
قُل لِلبَنَفسجِفي سُفوحِكَ وَالرُبى
وَلّى شَبيهُكَ في الوَداعَةِ فَاِخشَعِ
Tell the violets on your slopes and hills,
"Your likeness in gentleness has passed, so bow in reverence."
وَأمُر طُيورَكَ أَن تَنوحَ عَلى فَتى
قَد كانَ يَهواها وَإِن لَم تَسجَعِ
And bid your birds to lament a noble youth,
Who loved them dearly, even when they sang no song.
قَد عاشَ مِثلَكَ لِلمُروأَةِ وَالعُلى
مُتَعَفِّفاً كَالزاهِدِ المُتَوَرِّعِ
He lived, like you, for chivalry and high ideals,
Pure and abstinent, like a pious ascetic.
مُتَرَفِّعاً في قَولِهِ وَفِعالِهِ
عَمَّن غَوى وَهَوى وَلَم يَتَرَفَّعِ
Elevated in his speech and in his deeds,
Above those who strayed, fell low, and could not rise.
كَمحَرَّضَتهُ النَفسُ في نَزَواتِها
لِيَكونَ صاحِبَ حيلَةٍ أَو مَطمَعِ
How often his soul incited him with its caprices,
To become a man of cunning or of greed,
فَأَجابَها يا نَفسُ لا تَتَوَرَّطي
صَدءَ النُفوسِ هِيَ المَطامِعُ فَاِقنُعِ
But he replied: "O soul, do not be ensnared;
Ambition is the rust of souls, so be content."
لَيسَ المُحارِبُ في الوَغى بِأَشَدَّ بَأ
ساً مِن مُحارِبِ نَفسِهِ أَو أَشجَعِ
The warrior in the thick of battle is not fiercer in might,
Nor braver than he who battles against his own self.
يا صاحِبي أَضنَيتَ جِسمَكَ فَاِسَرِح
وَأَطَلتَ يا يَعقوبُ سُهدَكَ فَاِهجَعِ
O my friend, you have worn out your body, so rest now;
You have prolonged your vigil, O Jacob, so slumber.
حَدَّثت قَومَكَ حُقبَةً فَتَسَمَّعوا
وَالآنَ دَورُ حَديثِهِم فَتَسَمَّعِ
You spoke to your people for an age, and they listened;
Now it is their turn to speak, so hear them well.
هَجَروا الكَلامَ إِلى الدُموعِ لِأَنَّهُمُ
وَجَدوا البَلاغَةَ كُلَّها في الأَدمُعِ
They have forsaken words for tears, for they
Have found the entirety of eloquence in weeping.
كَيفَ اِلتَفَتُّ وَسِرتُ لا أَلقى سِوى
مُتَوَجِّعٍ يَشكو إِلى مُتَوَجِّعِ
Wherever I turn or walk, I encounter none but
The grieving complaining to the grieving.
حَتّى الأُلى نَفَثوا عَلَيكَ سُمومَهُم
حَزَّ الأَسى أَكبادَهُم كَالمِبضَعِ
Even those who once spat their poison at you,
Sorrow has sliced their hearts like a scalpel.
عَرَفوا مَكانَكَ بَعدَ ما فارَقتُهُم
يا لَيتَهُم عَرَفوهُ قَبلَ المَصرَعِ
They realized your worth only after you left them;
Would that they had known it before the end.
وَلَكَم تَمَنَّوا لَو تَعودَ إِلَيهُمُ
أَنتَ الشَبابُ إِذا مَضى لَم يَرجِعِ
How often they wished you would return to them—
But you are like youth: once gone, it never returns.
حَنّوا إِلى أَرَجِ الأَزاهِرِ بَعدَما
عَبَثَت بِها أَيدي الرِياحِ الأَربَعِ
They longed for the fragrance of blossoms after
The hands of the four winds had ravaged them.
وَاِستَعذَبوا الماءَ المُسَلسَلَ بَعدَما
نَضَبَ الغَديرُ وَجَفَّ ماءُ المَشرَعِ
They sought the sweetness of the running stream after
The pool ran dry and the watering place was parched.
يا لَوعَةَ الأَحبابِ حينَ تَساءَلوا
عَنهُ وَعادوا بِالجَوابِ الموجِعِ
O the anguish of loved ones when they asked,
About him, and returned with the painful answer:
إِنَّ الَّذي قَد كانَ مَعكُم قَد مَضى
مِن مَوضِعٍ أَدنى لِأَرفَعِ مَوضِعِ
"He who was once among you has departed,
From a lowly abode to the most exalted place;
مِن عالَمٍ مُتَكَلِّفٍ مُتَصَنِعٍ
تَشقى نُفوسٌ فيهِ لَم تَتَصَنَّعِ
From a world of affectation and pretense,
Where artless souls suffer in their honesty,
لِلعالَمِ الأَسمى الطُهورُ وَمِن مُجا
وَرَةِ الأَنامِ إِلى جِوارِ المُبدِعِ
To the supreme, pure realm; and from the company
Of mortals to the presence of the Creator."
