لي فيكَ حينَ بَدا سَناكَ وَأَشرَقا

أَمَلٌ سَأَلتُ اللَهَ أَن يَتَحَقَّقا

For me, when your youth dawned and shone bright

I had a hope I asked God to make right

أَشرِق عَلَينا بِالسُعودِ وَلا تَكُن

كَأَخيكَ مَشئومَ المَنازِلِ أَخرَقا

Dawn on us with good fortune, do not be

Like your ill-starred brother, bleak of plight

قَد كانَ جَرّاحَ النُفوسِ فِداوِها

مِمّا بِها وَكُنِ الطَبيبَ مُوَفَّقا

He who healed souls became their plague

Free them of their ills, be fortunate

هَلَّلتُ حينَ لَمَحتُ نورَ جَبينِهِ

وَرَجَوتُ فيهِ الخَيرَ حينَ تَأَلَّقا

I rejoiced when I glimpsed the light of his brow

And hoped for good when it shone bright

وَهَزَزتُهُ بِقَصيدَةٍ لَو أَنَّها

تُلِيَت عَلى الصَخرِ الأَصَمِّ لَأَغدَقا

I stirred him with a poem, had it been

Recited to deaf rock, it would weep right

فَنَأى بِجانِبِهِ وَخَصَّ بِنَحسِهِ

مِصراً وَأَسرَفَ في النُحوسِ وَأَغرَقا

But he turned away, intent on his ill-luck

And persisted in misfortune and sunk tight

لَو كُنتُ أَعلَمُ ما يُخَبِّئُهُ لَنا

لَسَأَلتُ رَبّي ضارِعاً أَن يُمحَقا

Had I known what he hid for us

I'd have prayed fervently for him wiped outright

أَولى الأَعاجِمَ مِنَّةً مَذكورَةً

وَأَعادَ لِلأَتراكِ ذاكَ الرَونَقا

He did the non-Arabs a noted favor

And restored the Turks their former might

وَتَغَيَّرَت فيهِ الخُطوبُ بِفارِسٍ

حَتّى رَأَيتُ الشاهَ يَخشى البَيدَقا

Affairs changed for him because of Persia

Till I saw the Shah fear his troops in flight

وَأَدالَ مِن عَبدِ الحَميدِ لِشَعبِهِ

فَهَوى وَحاوَلَ أَن يَعودَ فَأَخفَقا

And he handed over from Abdul Hamid to his people

So desires returned and he failed outright

أَمسى يُبالي حارِساً مِن جُندِهِ

وَلَقَد يَكونُ وَما يُبالي الفَيلَقا

He cares not, keeping watch o'er his troops

As elephants care not for ants in sight

وَرَمى عَلى أَرضِ الكِنانَةِ جِرمَهُ

بِالنازِلاتِ السودِ حَتّى أَرهَقا

And he cast his crime upon Kinana's land

With calamities till it was weighted tight

حَصَدَت مَناجِلُهُ غِراسَ رَجائِنا

وَلَو أَنَّها أَبقَت عَلَيهِ لَأَورَقا

His sickles reaped our hopes' harvest

If spared, it would have flourished upright

فَتَقَيَّدَت فيهِ الصِحافَةُ عَنوَةً

وَمَشى الهَوى بَينَ الرَعِيَّةِ مُطلَقا

The press was bound forcibly by him

And desire roamed freely unleashed outright

وَأَتى يُساوِمُ في القَناةِ خَديعَةً

وَلَوَ اِنَّها تَمَّت لَتَمَّ بِها الشَقا

And he came to bargain the Canal, deceitful

If done, it would have split us outright

إِنَّ البَلِيَّةَ أَن تُباعَ وَتُشتَرى

مِصرٌ وَما فيها وَأَلّا تَنطِقا

The calamity - that Egypt be sold and bought

And all in it, yet cannot speak upright

كانَت تُواسينا عَلى آلامِنا

صُحُفٌ إِذا نَزَلَ البَلاءُ وَأَطبَقا

The papers once consoled us for our pains

When adversities came heavily outright

فَإِذا دَعَوتُ الدَمعَ فَاِستَعصى بَكَت

عَنّا أَسىً حَتّى تَغَصَّ وَتَشرَقا

If I called and the tears refused to flow

They wept for us, sad till they burst outright

كانَت لَنا يَومَ الشَدائِدِ أَسهُماً

نَرمي بِها وَسَوابِقاً يَومَ اللِقا

In days of woes, they were arrows for us

To shoot, and racers on day of fight

كانَت صِماماً لِلنُفوسِ إِذا غَلَت

فيها الهُمومُ وَأَوشَكَت أَن تَزهَقا

They were a valve for souls when laden

With cares, and nearly choked outright

كَم نَفَّسَت عَن صَدرِ حُرٍّ واجِدٍ

لَولا الصِمامُ مِنَ الأَسى لَتَمَزَّقا

How they eased many a freeman's breast

If not for the valve, they would tear outright

ما لي أَنوحُ عَلى الصِحافَةِ جازِعاً

ماذا أَلَمَّ بِها وَماذا أَحدَقا

Why do I mourn the press, despairing so

What has befallen it, besieging outright?

قَصّوا حَواشِيَها وَظَنّوا أَنَّهُم

أَمِنوا صَواعِقَها فَكانَت أَصعَقا

They cut its margins, thinking they

Escaped its thunderbolts, but were struck outright

وَأَتَوا بِحاذِقِهِم يَكيدُ لَها بِما

يَثني عَزائِمَها فَكانَت أَحذَقا

And they brought their cunning one to plot against it

To weaken its resolve, but it was too bright

أَهلاً بِنابِتَةِ البِلادِ وَمَرحَباً

جَدَّدتُمُ العَهدَ الَّذي قَد أَخلَقا

Hello country's growth, welcome - you

Renewed the pact which had come undone outright

لا تَيأَسوا أَن تَستَرِدّوا مَجدَكُم

فَلَرُبَّ مَغلوبٍ هَوى ثُمَّ اِرتَقى

Despair not to regain your glory

For many a fallen soul rose in flight

مَدَّت لَهُ الآمالُ مِن أَفلاكِها

خَيطَ الرَجاءِ إِلى العُلا فَتَسَلَّقا

Hopes from their heavens cast for him

The thread of hope to heights he climbed outright

فَتَجَشَّموا لِلمَجدِ كُلَّ عَظيمَةٍ

إِنّي رَأَيتُ المَجدَ صَعبَ المُرتَقى

So take on every mighty hardship for glory

I've seen glory is hard to gain upright

مَن رامَ وَصلَ الشَمسِ حاكَ خُيوطَها

سَبَباً إِلى آمالِهِ وَتَعَلَّقا

Who wished to reach the sun, wove its threads

A cause to his hopes, and climbed outright

عارٌ عَلى اِبنِ النيلِ سَبّاقِ الوَرى

مَهما تَقَلَّبَ دَهرُهُ أَن يُسبَقا

Shame on Nile's son, the world's pace-maker

However much his fate revolved outright

أَوَ كُلَّما قالوا تَجَمَّعَ شَملُهُم

لَعِبَ الشِقاقُ بِجَمعِنا فَتَفَرَّقا

Or whenever they said, their unity fell apart

Discord played with our unity, so they split outright

فَتَدَفَّقوا حُجَجاً وَحوطوا نيلَكُم

فَلَكَم أَفاضَ عَلَيكُمُ وَتَدَفَّقا

So flow copiously, and contain your Nile

For how often did it overflow and burst outright?

حَمَلوا عَلَينا بِالزَمانِ وَصَرفِهِ

فَتَأَنَّقوا في سَلبِنا وَتَأَنَّقا

They blamed the times and its turns against us

Primping as they robbed us outright

هَزّوا مَغارِبَها فَهابَت بَأسَهُم

يا وَيلَكُم إِن لَم تَهُزّوا المَشرِقا

They shook its West, so their might shook

Woe to you if you don't shake the East outright

فَتَعَلَّموا فَالعِلمُ مِفتاحُ العُلا

لَم يُبقِ باباً لِلسَعادَةِ مُغلَقا

So learn, for knowledge is key to sublime

Leaving no gate to fortune shut outright

ثُمَّ اِستَمَدّوا مِنهُ كُلَّ قِواكُمُ

إِنَّ القَوِيَّ بِكُلِّ أَرضٍ يُتَّقى

Then derive from it your every power

For the strong are feared in every land outright

وَاِبنوا حَوالَي حَوضِكُم مِن يَقظَةٍ

سوراً وَخُطّوا مِن حِذارٍ خَندَقا

And build a wall of vigil 'round your basin

And mark with caution a trench outright

وَزِنوا الكَلامَ وَسَدِّدوهُ فَإِنَّهُم

خَبَؤوا لَكُم في كُلِّ حَرفٍ مَزلَقا

Weigh words and make them straight, for they

Hid in every letter for you a slippery slide outright

وَاِمشوا عَلى حَذَرٍ فَإِنَّ طَريقَكُم

وَعرٌ أَطافَ بِهِ الهَلاكُ وَحَلَّقا

And walk cautiously, for your path

Is rugged, rimmed by death hovering outright

نَصَبوا لَكُم فيهِ الفِخاخَ وَأَرصَدوا

لِلسالِكينَ بِكُلِّ فَجٍّ مَوبِقا

They set traps for you in it and lay in wait

In every steep place an ambush outright

المَوتُ في غِشيانِهِ وَطُروقِهِ

وَالمَوتُ كُلُّ المَوتِ أَلّا يُطرَقا

Death in its swooping and talons

And death - all death - if you do not take flight

فَتَحَيَّنوا فُرَصَ الحَياةِ كَثيرَةً

وَتَعَجَّلوها بِالعَزائِمِ وَالرُقى

So seize life's opportunities, many

And hasten them with resolves and ascents outright

أَو فَاِخلُقوها قادِرينَ فَإِنَّما

فُرَصُ الحَياةِ خَليقَةٌ أَن تُخلَقا

Or create them, able, for life's chances

Are a creation, meant to be created outright

وَتَفَيَّئوا ظِلَّ الأَريكَةِ وَاِقصِدوا

مَلِكاً بِأُمَّتِهِ أَبَرَّ وَأَرفَقا

And take the shade of the throne, and aim

For a king of his nation, so kind and gentle outright

لا زالَ تاجُ المُلكِ فَوقَ جَبينِهِ

تَحتَ الهِلالِ يَزينُ ذاكَ المَفرِقا

The crown of kingship still sits on his brow

Under the crescent, adorning that head outright