وَقَفْتُ وَقَدْ مَدَّ السُّكُونُ رِوَاقَهُ
عَلَيْهَا وَغَطَّاهَا أَصِيلٌ مِنَ التِّبْرِ
I stood, and silence had spread its expanse,
Covering it, a night of early darkness.
خَشُوعًا كَأَنِّي سَاجِدٌ ضِمْنَ هَيْكَلٍ
صَمُوتًا كَأَنِّي مُسْتَقِلٌّ عَلَى قَبْرِ
Humbly, as if prostrating in a temple,
Silently, as if alone by a grave.
وَكُلِّي عُيونٌ معْجَباتٌ شواخصٌ
مَنَعْنَ على قلبي التَّنَفُّسَ فِي صَدْرِي
My eyes were all wondrous, gazing,
Forbidding my heart its breath in my chest.
تَنَقَّلْنَ فِيهَا وَهْيَ للمجدِ صفحةٌ
ذَوَاهِبَ مِنْ سطرٍ مجيدٍ إِلَى سَطْرِ
They wandered upon it, and it was a page of glory,
Passing from one splendid line to another.
فَيَا لَطُلولٍ لَا الزلازلُ زَعْزَعَتْ
بُنَاهَا وَلَا الإِنْسَانُ أَوْ غِيَرُ الدَّهْرِ
Oh how lofty, unaffected by tremors,
Unshaken by man nor the passing of time.
فَأَبْقَتْ عَلَيْهَا مِنْ قُصُورٍ وَرَهْبَةٍ
وَلَيْسَ لِتَخْلِيدِ الصِّنَاعَةِ وَالذِّكْرِ
It retained its palaces and awesomeness,
With no means for immortalizing artistry and fame.
وَأَعْمِدَةٍ مِلْءِ الفَضَاءِ كَأَنَّهَا
بِأَعْنَاقِهَا تَبْغِي مُعَانَقَةَ الزُّهْرِ
Pillars filling the sky, as if
With their necks they sought to embrace the blossoms.
جَبَابِرَةٍ تَرْنُو بِكِبْرٍ إِلَى الثَّرَى
وَتَرْمُقُ وَجْهَ الأُفقِ بِالنَّظَرِ الشَّزْرِ
Colossi aspiring haughtily to the ground,
Glancing at the horizon with a teasing gaze.
وَضَخمِ حجارٍ كالجِبَالِ إِذَا هَوَتْ
عَلَى جَبَلٍ شَقَّتْ رَوَابِيهِ بِالوَقرِ
Massive stones like mountains, when tumbling
Onto a mountain, splitting its cliffs with heaviness.
عَلَى خَالِقٍ مَنْصُوبةٍ عزَّ خَفْضُهَا
تُحَيِّرُ فِي كَيْفِيَّةِ الرفعِ والجرِّ
Erected to a Creator, lowering them perplexes
How they were raised and moved.
وَمُتْقَنِ أَصْنَامٍ عَفَا الفَنُّ قَبْلَمَا
عَفَا مَا بِهَا مِنْ دِقَّةِ النَّقْشِ وَالحَفْرِ
And skilled idols whose artistry expired before
The precision of their carving and engraving faded.
خَلَتْ أَعْصُرٌ كُثْرٌ عَلَيْهَا وَمَا خَلَتْ
مِنَ المَنْظَرِ الخَلَّابِ وَالرَّوْنَقِ النَّضْرِ
Eras passed, many, and it did not fade
Of beautiful sights and verdant grace.
وَزَاهِي نُقُوشٍ لَوْ تَفَحَّصْتَ صُنْعَهَا
لَأَكْبَرْتَ مَا فِيهَا مِنَ النَّظْمِ وَالنَّثْرِ
Brilliant motifs, if you observed their making
You would admire the order and prose within.
ذَوَى الرَّوْضُ مَرَّاتٍ وَأَزْهَرَ بَعْدَهَا
وَمَا زَالَ غَضًّا مَا تَضُمُّ مِنَ الزَّهْرِ
The garden bloomed times over and blossomed after,
Yet remains lush with what it holds of flowers.
وَأُسْدٍ مِنَ الصَّخْرِ الأَصَمِّ تَخَالُهَا
تَهِمُّ بِوَثْبٍ ثُمَّ تَرْبِضُ عَنْ كِبْرِ
Lions of deaf rock, their forms posing
To pounce then settle with pride.
إِذَا فَاتَهَا مِنْ لَيْثِ غَابٍ زَئِيرُهُ
فَمَا فَاتَهَا أَنْ تَمْلَأَ القَلْبَ بِالذُّعْرِ
If the roar of a prowling lion eludes them,
They never fail to fill the heart with dread.
وَمَا رَاعَنِي فِيهَا سِوَى صَوْتِ بُومَةٍ
نَعُوبٍ عَلَى الأَطْلَالِ تَفْحَصُ بِالظِّفْرِ
And nothing startled me but the hoot of an owl
Crying over ruins, searching with claws.
وَكَانَ سُكُوتٌ ثُمَّ أَلْقَى جَنَاحَهُ
فَأَلْقَى عَلَى رُوحِي جَنَاحًا مِنَ السِّحْرِ
There was silence, then it spread its wing
Casting a wing of sorcery over my soul.
وَطَارَ بِهَا فِي عَالَمٍ غَيْرِ عَالَمِي
يُطِلُّ عَلَى المَاضِي المُمَنْطَقِ بِالسِّرِّ
It flew with it to a world not my own
Overlooking the past, clad in mystery.
فَهَامَتْ بِهِ تطوِي العُصُورَ بِلَحْظَةٍ
وَتَنْشُرُهَا بَيْنَ النَّوَاظِرِ وَالفِكْرِ
With it I spanned eras in an instant,
Spreading and folding them between insights and thoughts.
وَخُيِّلَ لِي أَنِّي مِنَ الحُلْمِ فِي دُجًى
أَوَ انِّي غَرِيقٌ فِي عُبَابٍ مِنَ السُّكْرِ
I fancied I was in a dream’s haze,
Or drowning in intoxicating bewilderment.
فَأَبْصَرْتُ مَا حَوْلِي اسْتَعَادَ رُوَاءَهُ
وَعَادَ إِلَيْهِ زَهْوُ أَيَّامِهِ الخُضْرِ
Then I saw, regaining consciousness around me,
The vigor of its verdant days returned to it.
وَعَادَتْ مِحَجًّا بَعْلَبَكُّ يَؤُمُّهَا
بَنُو الأَرْضِ طُرًّا لِلعِبَادَةِ وَالنَّذْرِ
And Baalbek again thronged with pilgrims,
Earth’s children flocking with vows and offerings.
يَرُوحُ وَيَغْدُو العَابِدُونَ بِسَاحِهَا
يَمُوجُونَ مَوْجَ البَحْرِ بِالمَدِّ وَالجَزْرِ
Worshippers coming and going in its precincts,
Surging like the sea with rises and falls.
فَكِدْتُ لِإِعْجَابِي وَشِدَّةِ حَيْرَتِي
أَخِرُّ عَلَى وَجْهِي وَأَجْهَرُ بِالكُفْرِ
I nearly in my fascination and utter confusion
Fell upon my face and professed disbelief.
وَأَنْسَى إِلَهِي وَهْوَ فِي الغَيْبِ مُضْمَرٌ
وَأَعْبُدُ أَصْنَامًا هُنَاكَ مِنَ الصَّخْرِ
And forgot my God, while He in hiddenness
And worshipped idols of rock instead.
وَلَمْ يَمْضِ حِينٌ فَاسْتَفَقْتُ بِغُصَّةٍ
أَرَى مَا رَأَيْتُ الآنَ أَوْهَامَ مُغْتَرِّ
Moments passed and I awoke with a gasp
To see what I now saw were deluded dreams.
فَيَا لَكِ وَكْرًا صَارَ لِليَوْمِ مَسْرَحًا
وَقَدْ كَانَ حِصْنًا لِلهَزَارِ وَللنسْرِ!
Oh what a den it's become, when once
A fortress against plunder and eagles!
وَيَا لَكِ قَصْرًا كَانَ لِلفَنِّ وَالتُّقَى
فَأَصْبَحَ قَبْرًا لِلمَنَاحَةِ وَالذِّكْرِ!
Oh what a palace it was, for arts and devotion,
Now a tomb for indulgence and remembrance!
