ذَلِكَ الرُّزْءُ فِي الصَّدِيقِ الْكَرِيمِ
كَانَ سَهْماً أَصَابَنِي فِي الصَّمِيمِ
That misfortune in the noble friend
Was an arrow that struck me in the core
كُلَّمَا جَدَّ ذِكْرُهُ بِيَ جَدَّتْ
يَقْظَةٌ فِي الجِرَاحِ مِنْ تَهْوِيمِ
Whenever his mention revived in me
There awoke in my wounds an acute wakefulness
كَانَ يَوْمَ انْتَوَيْتُ فِي مِصْرَ وَالشَّا
مِ لُبْنَانَ يَوْمَ حُزْنٍ عَمِيمِ
It was the day I turned away in Egypt while shame
Engulfed Lebanon, a day of deep sorrow
مَا دَهَى الضَّادَ فِي أَبَرِّ بَنِيهَا
مَا دَهَى الشَّرْقَ فِي فَتَاهُ الْعَظِيمِ
The land where culture thrived did not grieve more
Nor did the East for its magnificent youth
فِي الأَدِيبِ الأَدِيبِ وَالشَّاعِرُ الشَّا
عِرِ وَالمِدْرَهِ الأَرِيبِ الْحَكِيمِ
For the literary man of letters, the poet, the crafty, wise one
For the journalist who was no impostor
فِي الصِّحَافِيِّ لَمْ يَكُنْ بِدَعِيٍّ
وَالرِّوَائِيِّ لَمْ يَكُنْ بِزَنِيمِ
And the novelist who was no debauchee
A flag whose multiplicity did not mar
عَلَمٌ لَمْ يَضِرْ تَعَدُّدُهُ فِي
كُلِّ وَصْفٍ بِوَحْدَةِ الأُقْنُومِ
The oneness of his nature in any description or fair hue
O star of beauty in the sacred art’s sanctum
يَا نَجِيَّ الْجَمَالِ فِي مَقْدِسِ الْفَ
نِّ وَمِحْرَابِهِ كَنَجْوَى الْكَلِيمِ
Like the whispers of the Almighty
Where is the weaver of rhetoric in every
أَيْنَ كَاسِي الْبَيَانِ مِنْ كُلِّ ثَوْبٍ
عَبْقَرِيٍّ وَكُلِّ لَوْنٍ وَسِيمِ
Ingenious garb, in every fine color?
Who can emulate that outpouring torrent in its splendor and beauty?
مَنْ لِذَاكَ النَّثِيرِ فِي وَشْيِهِ الرَّا
ئِعِ حُسْناً وَمَنْ لِذَاكَ النَّظِيمِ
Who can emulate that systematic composition?
Who can emulate the ingenious rhetorical construction
مَنْ لِصَوْغِ المَبْنَى الْبَدِيعِ وَإِخْرَا
جِ المَعَانِي فِي ذَلِكَ التَّقْوِيمِ
And the emergence of meanings in that framework?
Verily, that talent holds a magic
إِنَّ مِنْ ذَلِكَ الْقَرِيضِ لَسِحْراً
لَيْسَ بِالمُفْتَرِي وَلا المَوْهُومِ
That is no pretense or delusion
It is in every Arab territory
هُو فِي كُلِّ مَوْطِنٍ عَرَبِيٍّ
طَوْقُ وَرْقَائِهِ وَقَيْدُ الرِّيمِ
The guarantee of its protection and deterrence of transgressors
It tamed its devil so it did not pelt people with evil
رِيضَ شَيْطَانِهِ فَلَمْ يَرْجُمِ النَّا
سَ بِسُوءٍ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ بِرَجِيمِ
Nor was it banished or made an outcast
Seldom amongst those we knew
قَلَّ شَرْوَاكَ فِي الَّذِينَ عَرَفْنَا
مِنْ رَفِيقٍ بِالنَّاسِ أَوْ مِنْ رَحِيمِ
As congenial or compassionate
His share of the joy of those he brought joy to
حَظُّهُ مِنْ سُرُورِ مَنْ سُرَّ فِيهِمْ
حَظُّهُ مِنْ سَقَامِ كُلِّ سَقِيمِ
Was his share of the pain of every sufferer
إِنْ أَجَفَّتْ مِدَادَهُ حُرْقَةٌ فِي النَّفْ
سِ أَجْرَتْهُ دَمْعَةٌ مِنْ يَتِيمِ
If dryness stanched his ink
His tears would flow from a pitiable orphan
خلقٌ نَفْحُهُ كَمَا نَفَحَ الرَّوْ
ضُ وَلُطْفٌ مُرُورُهُ كَالنَّسِيمِ
A being whose breath is like the blowing of the winds
And whose gentle passage is like a breeze
إِنَّ خَطْباً أَدْمَى أَخَاكَ لَخَطْبٌ
بِتَجَنِّيهِ فَوْقَ حِلْمِ الْحَلِيمِ
If a grave issue aggrieved you, friend
It aggrieved beyond the patience of the patient
فَلْيَقُلْ أَبْلَغَ المَقَالَةِ فِي الدَّهْ
رِ وَفِي صَرْفِهِ الأَلِيمِ الأَلِيمِ
Let the most eloquent tongue declare
In his most painful, most painful adversity
قَامَ عُذْرُ المَوْتُورِ فَانْهَضْ خَطِيبَ الشَّرْ
قِ وَازْأَرْ زَأْرَ الْهَصُورِ الشَّتِيمِ
The excuse of the aggrieved is established, rise, o pulpit orator of the East
And roar with the roar of a furious chider
وَأَثِرْ غَيْهَبَ المِدَادِ وَأَرْسِلْ
صَعَقَاتٍ لَهَا انْقِضَاضُ الرجُومِ
Expend the surplus of your ink, unleash
Bolts that shatter with the force of bombardment
هَاتِ آيَاتِكَ الْكِبَارِ وَفِيهَا
لِلنُّهَى كُلُّ مُقْعِدٍ وَمُقِيمِ
Present your major signs, wherein
Is guidance to desist for every dweller and resident
غَيْرَ أَنِّي أَرَاكَ تَأْبَى عَلَى الشِّدَّ
ةِ بَثّاً لِحُزْنِكَ المَكْتُومِ
Except I see you refuse violence in diffusing
Your concealed sorrow
لا لِعِيٍّ وَإِنَّمَا الْقَوْلُ فِي رُزْ
ءٍ كَهَذَا لِصَاِمتاتِ الْكثلُومِ
No weakness, but silence for those
Who suppress agony suits grave matters
نُوَبُ الدَّهْرِ لا تُرَفَّهُ بِالبَ
ثِّ تَبَارِيحُهَا وَلا بِالْوُجُومِ
The sins of time are not slighted by futile wailing
Nor by sullenness
وَسَوَاءٌ فِي الْعَجْزِ لَوْلا المُدَاجَا
ةُ شَكَاةُ الشَّاكِي وَكَظْمُ الْكَظِيمِ
Incapacity is the same, save for
The complainant's continued pain and the suppressor’s endurance
لَهْفَ نَفْسِي عَلَى الشِّهَابِ الَّذِي غُيِّ
بَ فِي الرَّمْسِ وَالصَّدِيقِ الْحَمِيمِ
My soul yearns for the comet disappeared in the horizon
And the dear, intimate friend
يَا جَلِيسِي وَكُنْتَ أَيَّ جَلِيسٍ
يَا نَدِيمِي وَكُنْتَ أَيَّ نَدِيمِ
O my companion, and what a companion you were
O my boon companion, and what a boon companion
مَنْ يُعَاطِي السُّمَّارِ بَعْدَكَ مَا كُنْ
تَ تُعَاطِي مِنْ سِرِّ بِنْتِ الْكُرُومِ
After you, who will I share the night with
As I shared the secrets of the daughter of the grapevines?
حَرَّكَ الشَّجْوُ فِي فُؤَادِي شَجْواً
لِلأَحِبَّاءِ فِي الزَّمَانِ الْقَدِيمِ
Sorrow stirred in my heart a longing
For loved ones gone in days of old
كَيْفَ كُنَّا وَنَحْنُ فِي رَيِّقِ الْعُمْ
رِ شِدادَ ضِآلَ الْجُسُومِ
How we were in the prime of life
Forceful, robust youths in their prime
عَصْبَةً مِنْ خَلاصَةِ النَّشْءِ لَمْ تَفْ
تَحْ مَكَاناً لِغَادِرٍ أَوْ لَئِيمِ
A band of elite youth that left no room
For the dishonest or the villainous
جَعَلَتْ فِي الْيَسِيرِ مِنَ رِزْقِهَا حَقّ
اً عَلَيْهَا لِلسَّائِلِ المَحْرُومِ
It took the provision of ease upon itself
As a right the destitute petitioner has over it
وَبَلَتْ جَوْرَ دَهْرِهَا فَرَأَتْهُ
سَبَباً فِي انْتِصَافِهَا لِلهَضِيمِ
And it shouldered the injustice of its time
Seeing it as cause for its vindication of the wronged
جَمَعْتَنَا فِي خِدْمَةِ الْحَقِّ مَا اسْتَطَعْ
نَا وَأَجْلِلْ بِالْحَقِّ مِنْ مَخْدُومِ
You united us in the service of truth as best we could
And grace the people of truth from the oppressed
نَمْلأُ الصُّحُفَ بِالثِّمَارِ الدَّوَانِي
مِنْ مَجَانِي قَرَائِحٍ وَعُلُومِ
We fill the pages with mature, ripe fruits
Of talents and knowledge
وَتُسِيلُ الأَنْهَارُ فِيهَا بِعَذْبٍ
مِنْ لِطَافِ النِّطَافِ أَوْ بِحَمِيمِ
And rivers of sweet clear water flow in them
Of gentle syrup or hot springs
بَيْنَ جِدٍّ وَبَيْنَ هَزْلٍ وَفِي الْحَالَيْ
نِ قَصْدُ التَّسْدِيدِ وَالتَّقْوِيمِ
Between earnestness and jest, and in both
Moderation and framework
فِي سَبِيلِ البِلادِ نَنْصُرُ مَنْ نَا
صَرَهَا أَوْ نَرُدُّ كَيْدَ الْخُصُومِ
In defense of the nation we support
Those who supported it or foil the schemes of opponents
شَدَّ مَا سَامَنَا الْهَوَى كُلَّ يَوْمٍ
مِنْ دِفَاعٍ وَسَامَنَا مِنْ هُجُومِ
We suffered the most from zealotry every day
Battling advocates and battling aggressors
نَتَفَانَى وَمَا بِنَا مَا نُعَانِي
مِنْ شَقَاءٍ دُونَ النَّجَاحِ المَرُومِ
We sacrificed without suffering what we suffered
Of woe, without gain we yearned for
وَنَرَى فِي الشَّبَابِ فَضْلاً بِهِ نَمْ
زُجُ بيْنَ التَّحْلِيلِ وَالتَّحْرِيمِ
And we saw in youth a merit with which we melded
Analysis and law
بَارَكَ اللهُ فِي الشَّبَابِ وَمَا فِي
ذَخْرِهِ مِنْ صَلابَةٍ وَعَزِيمِ
Blessings be upon youth and what potential
Of resilience and resolve it holds
إِنْ وَرَدْنَا الحَوْمَاتِ تَشْتَعِلُ الأَفْ
كَارِ فِي نَارِهَا اشْتِعَالَ الْهَشِيمِ
When we encountered disputes blazing
With ideas, we resolved to rise above the fray
وَقَرَرْنَا مِنَ اشتِجَارِ يَرَاعَا
تٍ تَعَالَى صَرِيرُهَا كَالْهَزِيمِ
Dens of frivolity recognized us
From theirwanton mockers given to sin
عَرَفَتْنَا مَعَاهِدُ اللَّهْوِ مِنْ رُوَّا
دِهَا الهَازِئِينَ بِالتَّأْثِيمِ
And today our voice meets its echo from yesterday
Between goodbye and peace
وَالْتَقَى الْيَوْمَ صَوْتُنَا بِصَدَاهُ
أَمْسِ بَيْنَ التَّوْدِيعِ والتَّسْلِيمِ
Excuse the zealous youth if they stray
Off the straight path
إِعْذِرُوا فِتْيَةَ الحِمَى إِنْ يَحِيدُوا
حَيْدَةً عَنْ صِرَاطِهِ المُسْتَقِيمِ
For those who wish to hasten their perfection
An aberrance before the time of maturity
ضِلَّةً لِلَّذِينَ يَبْغُونَ مِنْهُمْ
قَبْلَ مِيعَادِهِ كَمَالَ الحُلُومِ
Chances of life are prey for soldiers
Before an appointed, inevitable day
فُرَصُ الْعَيْشِ لِلْجُنُودِ نِهَابٌ
قَبْلَ يَوْمٍ مُعَجَّلٍ مَحْتُومِ
An era carried us into an era the obverse
Of memories, most woeful traces
عُصُرٌ سَاقَنَا إِلَى عُصُرٍ خَلَّ
فَ لِلذِّكْرَيَاتِ أَشْجَى الرُّسُومِ
Thus we moved between two times like a caravan
Between one region and another
فَانْتَقَلْنَا بَيْنَ الزَّمَانَيْنِ كَالنُّقْ
لَةِ بَيْنَ الإِقْلِيمِ وَالإِقْلِيمِ
After proximity, again the border between them widened
And the distance between the borderlands lengthened
عَادَ قُرْبُ التُّخُومِ بَيْنَهُمَا بُعْ
داً وشَطَّ المَزَارَ بَيْنَ التُّخُومِ
We shed for the abyss of abyss from its cover
To restraint
وَنَزَعْنَا عَنِ الْغَوَايَةِ فِي الْغَا
يَةِ مِنْ ظَرْفِهَا إِلَى التَّحْلِيمِ
And with maturity, we attained a rank
That was neither sensed nor predicted
فَبَلَغْنَا مَعَ الْكُهُولَةِ شَأْناً
لَمْ يَكُنْ فِي حَدْسٍ وَلا تَنْجِيمِ
Elias became a judge whom the nation
Petitioned for ruling and arbitration
صَارَ إِلْيَاسُ قَاضِياً يَرْجِعُ الْقَوْ
مُ إِلَيْهِ فِي الحُكْمِ وَالتَّحْكِيمِ
Ministers by whom ministry is adorned
Custodian of knowledge and education
فَوَازِيراً بِهِ الْوِزَارَةِ تُزْهَى
فَوَلِيّاً لِلعِلْمِ وَالتَّعْلِيمِ
A tongue by which the dew of pulpits flows
Wrathful before each impudent aggressor
فَلِساناً تَنْضُو بِهِ نَدْوَةُ النُّوَّا
بِ عَضْباً فِي وَجْهِ كُلِّ غَشُومِ
Post to post he won by the grace of his livelihood
A full, bountiful share
مَنْصِبٌ بَعْدَ مَنْصِبٍ فَازَ مِنْ طَيِّ
بِ أَرْزَاقِهِ بِدَرٍّ جَمِيمِ
Yet the days remained a war against him
And every generous soul faced war
غَيْرَ أَنَّ الأَيَّامَ ظَلَّتْ لَهُ حَرْ
باً وَكَانَتْ حَرْباً لِكُلِّ كَرِيمِ
How can a natural disposition of munificence and charity
Be for one whose conscience is upright?
كَيْفَ قَصْدُ الْجَوَادِ وَالْجُودُ طَبْعٌ
كَيْفَ إِثْرَاءُ ذِي الضَّمِيرِ الْقَوِيمِ
In my view, no state wearier or heavier
Than a wealthy man made destitute
لَيْسَ أَنْكَى حَالاً وَأَتْعَبَ بَالاً
فِي اعْتِقَادِي مِنَ الْغَنِيِّ الْعَدِيمِ
Penury exhausted his mind and stripped him
Of vestiges of barrenness though he was not barren
أَنْضَبَ الْبُؤْسِ ذِهْنَهُ فَعَرَاهُ
شِبْهُ عُقْمٍ وَلَمْ يَكُنْ بِعَقِيمِ
O you who blame him, longing for his leadership
One other than forbearing may be blamed
أَيُّهَا الْعَاذِلُوهُ شَوْقاً إِلَى إِنْ
شَادِهِ قَدْ يُلامُ غَيْرُ مُلِيمِ
In the souls of the virtuous, great woes
Kill minor woes
لِصِغَارِ الْهُمُومِ تُقْتَلُ فِي أَنْ
فُسِ أَهْلِ النُّهَى كِبَارُ الْهُمُومِ
And if what you seek eludes you in life
Then what of what lies beyond the stars?
وَإِذَا عَزَّ مَا ابْتَغَيْتَ عَلَى الأَرْ
ضِ فَكَيْفَ ابْتِغَاءُ مَا فِي النُّجُومِ
Alas Elias part of your affair was confounding
Even to the knowledge of the All-Knowing
إِيِهِ إِلْيَاسُ بَعْضُ شَأْنِكَ مِمَّا
ضَلَّ فِيهِ السَّبِيلِ عِلْمُ العَلِيمِ
You bear the injustice though you do not doubt
Even if anguish fills your viscera
تَحْمِلُ الضَّيْمَ غَيْرَ شَاكٍ وَإِنْ كَا
نَ الأَسَى مِنْكَ مَالِيءَ الْحَيْزُومِ
Calm and peaceful as if the grave issue when you meet it
Is not grave
هَادِئاً وَادِعاً كَأَنَّ جَسِيمَ الْ
أَمْرِ إِذْ تَلْتَقِيهِ غَيْرُ جَسِيمِ
You are not seen armed for battle
Save in defense of the wronged
لا تُرَى فِي مُلِمَّةٍ بَادِي المَقْ
تَلِ إِلاَّ فِي نُصْرَةِ المَظْلُومِ
And you refused to submit or let the curtain fall
For in this lies your submission
وَأَبَيْتَ التَّسْلِيمِ أَوْ يَقَعَ الْحَتْ
فُ فَذَا مِنْكَ مَوْقِعُ التَّسْلِيمِ
O loyal kinsman who tended the reins of his loved ones
His legacy was no blemish
يَا صَفِيّاً رَعَى ذِمَامَ مُحِبِّيِ
هِ وَمَا كَانَ عَهْدُهُ بِذَمِيمِ
If you depart what hoard remains for a people
Who after life are but remnants?
إِنْ تُفَارِقْ فَأَيُّ ذَخْرٍ لِقَوْمٍ
صَارَ بَعْدَ الْحَيَاةِ بَعْضَ الرَّمِيمِ
Your impending departure did not leave gladness
In the survival of any shining resident
لَمْ يَدَعْ نَأَيُكَ الْوَشِيكُ سُرُوراً
بِبَقَاءٍ لأَلْمَعِيٍّ مُقِيمِ
The world presented you though in other than this feat
You were deserving of presentation
قَدَّمَتْكَ الدُّنْيَا وَفِي غَيْرِ هَذَا الشَّ
وْطِ كُنْتَ الْجَدِيرَ بِالتَّقْدِيمِ
So turn from a misery that has reaped
What joy and bliss remain
فَتَبدُّلْ مِنْ شِقْوَةٍ قَدْ تَقَضَّتْ
مَا سَيَبْقَى مِنْ نَضْرَةٍ وَنَعِيمِ
