لَمْ يَكْفِهِ مَا كَانَ حَتَّى جَاءَهُ
مَا فَوْقَ غَلِّ الْجِيدِ وَالإِحْصَارِ
What had already befallen him was not enough, until there came to him
something beyond the fetter's shackle and confinement.
أَلنَّفيُ بَعْدَ السَّجنِ تِلْكَ عُقُوبَةٌ
أَعْلَى وَأَغْلَى صَفْقَةً للشَّارِي
Is exile after prison—that punishment—
a higher, dearer bargain for its buyer?
يَسْمُوا بِهَا السَّجْنُ الْقَرِيبُ جِدَارُه
شَرَفاً إِلى سِجْنٍ بِغَيْرِ جِدَارِ
By it, the prison whose wall stands close rises
in honor above a prison without walls.
لاَ يَتْرُكُ الْجَارِي عَلَيْهِ حُكْمَهُ
إِلاَّ لِيُدْرِكَهُ الْقَضَاءُ الْجَارِي
The condemned man cannot linger or turn back—
pursuing doom will only overtake him.
أَيَّ السَّفائِنِ يَسْتقِلُّ كَأَنَّها
إِحْدَى الْمَدَائِنِ سُيِّرَتْ بِبُخارِ
What ship carries him, as though it were
one of the cities, set in motion by steam?
يَنأَى بِهَا عنْ أَهْلِهِ وَرِفَاقِهِ
دَامِي الْفُؤادِ وَشِيكُ الاسْتِعْبَارِ
On it he is borne far from family and companions,
his heart bleeding, on the verge of tears.
يَنْبُو ذَرَا الْبَلَدِ الأَمِيْنِ بِمِثْلِهِ
وَالزَّاحِفَاتُ أَمِيْنَةُ الأَجْحَارِ
The heights of the safe homeland recoil from one like him,
while barefoot creatures are secure in their burrows.
مُتَلَفِّتاً حِيْنَ الْوَدَاعِ وَفِي الْحَشَى
مَا فِيهِ مِنْ غُصَصٍ وَمِنْ أَكْدَارِ
Turning back at the hour of farewell, while in his breast
are choking griefs and dark troubles.
تَتَغَيَّب الأَوْطَانُ عَنْ جُثْمَانِهِ
وَالْقَلْبُ يَشْهَدُهَا بِالاسْتِحْضَارِ
The homelands disappear from before his body,
while his heart beholds them by summoning them present.
مُتَشَبِّعاً مُترَوِّيَاً مِمَّا يَرَى
لِشِفاءِ مَسْغَبَةٍ بِهِ وَأُوَارِ
Taking his fill, drinking deep of all he sees,
to cure the hunger in him and his burning longing.
يَرْنُو إِلى صُفْرِ الشَّوَاطِيءِ نُطِقَتْ
أَعْطَافُهَا بِالأَزْرَقِ الزَّخَّارِ
He gazes toward the shoreline hollows, girdled
around their flanks by the surging blue.
وَيَذُوبُ قَبْلَ الْبَيْنِ مِنْ شَوْقٍ إِلى
وَجْهِ الْحِمَى وَجَمَالهِ السَّحارِ
Before parting, he melts with longing for
the homeland's face and its bewitching beauty.
يَسْتَافُ مَا تَأْتِي الصَّبا بِفُضُوله
مِنْ طِيبِ تِلْكَ الْجَنَّة الْمِعْطَارِ
He breathes in what the east wind brings in its bounty
of the perfume of that fragrant garden.
وَبِسَمْعِه لَحْنُ الْعَشيرَةِ جَامِعَاً
لُغَةَ الأَنِيسِ إِلى لُغَى الأَطْيَارِ
And in his hearing, the clan's melody gathers
the speech of intimates with the babble of birds.
لَهْفِي عَلَيْهِ مُشَرَّداً قَبْلَ الرَّدَى
سَيَهِيمُ فِي الدُّنْيَا بِغَيْرِ قَرَارِ
Alas for him, made homeless before death;
he will roam the world without repose.
مِنْ أَجْلِ مِصْرَ يَؤُمُّ كُلَّ مُيَمَّمٍ
فِي قَوْمِه وَيَزُورُ كُلَّ مَزَارِ
For Egypt's sake, he makes for every destination
among his people, and visits every place of visitation.
لاَ يَوْمَ يَسْكُنُ فِيهِ مِنْ وََْثبٍ وَمَنْ
بِسَكِينَةٍ لِلْكَوْكبِ السَّيارِ
Not for a day does he cease from bounding onward—and who
can grant stillness to a wandering star?
فِي غُرْبَةٍ مَوْصُولَةٍ آلامُهَا
أَنْضَتْهُ فِي الرَّحَلاَتِ وَالأَسْفَارِ
In exile, linked unbroken to its pains,
journeys and travels have worn him gaunt.
تَنْتَابُهُ الصَّدَمَاتُ لاَ يَشْكو لَهَا
إِلاَّ شَكَاةَ المِحْرَبِ الْكَرَّارِ
Shocks assail him; he complains of them only
as a battle-seasoned, ever-charging warrior complains.
ثِقَةً بَأَنَّ الْفَوْزَ لَيْسَ لِجَازِعٍ
فِي الْعَالَمِينَ الْفَوْزُ لِلصَّبارِ
Certain that victory is not for one who loses heart:
among all mankind, victory belongs to the steadfast.
وَتَعَضُّه الفَاقَاتُ لاَ يَلْوِي بِهَا
عِزَّاً وَيَسْتُرُهَا بِسِتْرِ وَقَارِ
Privations bite him, yet they do not bend his pride;
he hides them beneath a veil of dignity.
حِرْصاً عَلَى المُتَطَوِّلِينَ بِفَضْلِهِمْ
أَنْ يَجْنَحُوا وَجَلاً إِلى الإِقْصَارِ
Concerned that those who lavish their favor
might, in alarm, incline to hold back.
مَا كَانَ أَظْفَرَهُ بِأَلْيَنِ جَانِبٍ
لِلْعَيْشِ لَوْلاَ شِدَّةُ الإِصْرَارِ
How surely he might have won life's gentler side,
had his resolve not been so fierce.
