لَبَّيكُمُ يَا رفْقَةَ النَّادِي

مِنْ سَادَةٍ فِي الْفَضْلِ أَنْدَادِ

I answer your call, O fellow gathering

Of nobles peerless in merit and deed

شَرَّفْتُمُ قَدْرِي بِدَعْوَتِكُمْ

وَحضُورِكُمْ لِسَمَاعِ إِنْشَادِي

You have honored me by your invitation

And blessed presence to hear my recital

وَبِلُطْفِكُمْ فِي سَتْرِ مَعجَزَتِي

أَسْعَدْتُمونِي أَيَّ إِسْعَادِ

And by your grace in concealing my shortcomings

You have gladdened me beyond any gladdening

تِلْكَ الشَّمائِلُ مِنْ مُجَامَلَةٍ

فِيكُمْ وَإِينَاسٍ وَإِرْفَادِ

Such are traits of friendliness from you

Of harmony and support untold

لَمْ يؤْتَها إِلاَّكُمُ أَحَدٌ

مِنْ حَاضِرٍ سَمْحٍ وَمِنْ بَادِ

None but you extends such warmth

Whether present or traveled afar

زَادَتْ هَوىً بِي لَمْ أَخَلْهُ وَقَدْ

بَلَغَ المَدَى الأَقصْى بِمُزْدَادِ

Increasing the passion I already possess

To its utmost bounds in steady ascent

هِي زَحْلَةُ الْبَلَدُ الْحَبِيبُ وَهَلْ

مِنْ نُجْعَةٍ أَشْهَى لِمرْتَادِ

It is the crown jewel of beloved homelands

Is there comfort sweeter for one pulled to roam?

مَنْ يَلْتَمِسْ رَوْحاً وَعَافِيَةً

فَهُنَاكَ تُنْقَعُ غُلَّةُ الصَّادِي

Whoever seeks spirit and wellness

Will find his languor cured in this balm

هلْ في الأَقاليمِ الَّتِي وُصِفَتْ

كَهَوَائِهَا برْءاً لأَجْسَادِ

In all the realms that have been extolled

As curative to body and bold

أَوْ مَائِهَا الْعَذْبِ الْبَرودِ إِذَا

مَا الْقَيْظُ أُوقِدَ شَرَّ إِيقَادِ

Be it the sweet chill of its waters

When summer's blaze burns hot aflame

أَوْ شَمْسِهَا تَجْرِي أَشِعَّتهَا

بِالْبَلْسَمِ الشَّافِي لأَكْبَادِ

Or its sunshine streaming rays

That heal and give livers acclaim

أَوْ سِكْرِهَا وَالأَجْرُ ضَاعَ بِهِ

زُهَّادُ زَحْلَةَ غَيْرُ زهَّادِ

Or its heady drunken splendor that made

Ascetics forget whatever ascetic ways

أَوْ نَهرِهَا وَبِهِ مَوَارِدُ فِي

حِسٍّ وَفِي مَعْنىً لِوُرَّادِ

Or its river whose meanderings run

To rhythms of sense and significance yet unknown

بَيْنَ التَّلوُّنِ فِي مَسَاقِطِهِ

تَبَعاً لاِصَالٍ وَآرَادِ

With colors ever shifting by degrees

As the angles alternate and intercede

وَنَشِيشُهُ فِي الأُذْنِ منْحَدِراً

حَتَّى يَحُطَّ بِصَوْتِ رَعَّادِ

Its rippling thrill in the ear descends

To alight to the sound of tumbling rapids

وَهُيَامُ أَرْوَاحٍ تُحِسُّ بِهِ

مَا لاَ تُحِسُّ جُسُومُ أَشْهَادِ

And the soaring of souls who sense in it

What unfeeling corpses cannot permit

أَيُّ الغِياضِ بِحسْنِ غَيْضَتِهَا

لوْ لَمْ يَنَلْهَا بِالأَذَى عَادِي

What grove rivals such graceful cover

Had it not suffered a transgressor's harm?

أَبْكَي عَلَى الأَدْوَاحِ غَابِرَةً

مِنْ بَاسِقَاتِ الْهَامِ مرَّادِ

I mourn the felled giants that reached

With towering ambition beyond what pickaxes heed

ما الْفَأْس أَلْقَى كُلَّ باذِخَةٍ

مِنْهُنَّ إِلاَّ نَصْلُ جَلاَّدِ

Not one prominent trunk remains intact

Save the sharp relentless bite of blades

تَاللهِ أَفْتَأُ ذاكِراً أَبَداً

وَقفاتِهَا بِنِظامِ أَجْنَادِ

By God, I shall never cease commemorating

How they stood aligned in formations told

وَذَهَابَهَا بِرؤُوسِهَا صُعُداً

مِنْ مَوْضِعِ التَّصْويبِ فِي الوَادِي

And how they were felled to meet their end

Where aim was directed from down the valley's bend

وتَحَوُّلاً فِي حَالِهَا نُظِمَت

فِيهِ المَحَاسِنُ نَظْمَ أَضْدَادِ

And how in their state arrangements were made

Where beauties embraced in contrasts shown

مَا إِنْ تُرَى أَوْراقُهَا أُصُلاً

شجْواً يرَفْرِفُ فَوْقَ أَعْوَادِ

No sooner seen, their leaves in legions spread

To flutter above their posted steads

حَتَّى تَعُودَ إِلَى مَناهِجِهَا

صُبْحاً وَأَظْمَأُ مَا بِهَا نادِي

Only to return by dawn's first rays

As I gulp their last sweetness in desperate thirst

عَبِث الدَّمَارُ بِهَا وَلوْ قَبِلَتْ

أَغْلَى فِدى لَمْ يَعْزِزِ الفادِي

Destruction had its way though they deserved

A costlier ransom no aid could afford

لَكِنْ أَجَدَّتْهَا عَزِيمتُكُمْ

قَبْلَ الفوَاتِ أَبَرَّ إِجْدَادِ

But your resolve came before it was too late

The noblest restoration by ancestors made

فَوَجَدْتُ تَعْزِيَةً وَبَشَّرَنِي

أَمَلٌ بِعَصْرٍ فَجْرُهُ بَادِي

And so I found solace and news to delight

A hope-giving morn after long darkened night

نَعْتَاضُ مِنْ نَزَوَاتِ سَابِقِهِ

بِنَعِيمِ عَهْدٍ رَاشِدٍ هَادِي

We recoil from the sins of those passed

To bliss in an age so nobly cast

فلْتُسْكِتِ الذِّكْرَى منَاحتَهَا

وَلْيَعْلُ صَوْتُ الطَّائِرِ الشَّادِي

Let memories cease their woeful song

And the warbler's lone tune pass along

ولْتَجْهَرِ الأَصْوَارُ مُوقِعَةً

طَرَباً عَلَى رَنَّاتِ أَعْوَادِ

Let the air ring out with rhythms that run

To melodies plucking on towering rods

ولْنَمْضِ فِي أَفْرَاحِ نَهْضَتِنَا

وَلْنَقْضِ أَيَّاماً كَأَعْيَادِ

Let's rejoice in our rising fortunes ahead

And spend days that pass as holy days led

إِنِّي لأَذْكُرُ زَحلة وَأَنَا

وَلَدٌ لعوبُ بَيْنَ أَوْلاَدِ

I recall Zahle once a carefree lad

Playing 'mongst playmates less wise than mad

متَعَلِّمٌ فِيهَا الهِجَاءَ وَبِي

نَزَقٌ فَلاَ أَصْغُو لإِرْشَادِ

A student not apt to be tutored or led

With hunger my crown and no lesson read

كُلُّ يُعِدُّ الدَّرسَ مجْتَهِداً

وَأَنَا بِلاَ دَرْسٍ وَإِعْدادِ

I'd turn in at dusk and wake at dawn

To a master who saw me lost to be shorn

أُمْسِي وَأُصْبِح وَالعَرِيفُ يَرَى

أَنَّ الجَهَالَةَ مِلْءُ أَبْرَادِي

Warnings loomed as dangers stalked ahead

That my ruin inevitably lied

وَيَلُوحُ وَالأَخْطَارُ تُحْدِقُ بِي

أَنَّ الرَّدَى لاَبُدَّ مصْطَادِي

Yet by some miracle I was spared

As the seal gave way to leaks no more flared

لَكِنَّني أَنْجو بِمعْجِزَةٍ

وَالمُهْرُ يُزبِدُ أَيَّ إِزْبَادِ

And relief came to fund my last days

From my Guardian to brim her aid

وَيَجِيئُنِي إِرْهَافُ حَافِظَتِي

فِي منْتَهَى عَامِي بِأَمْدَادِ

My friends from youth, a curious thing

How things turned out from that dawning

يَا رفْقَتِي بَدْءَ الصِّبا عَجَبٌ

هَذَا المَصِيرُ لِذلِكَ البَادِي

Could this mind have been foreseen

From our ignorance back then?

هَلْ كَانَ هَذا العَقْلُ بَعْدَئِذٍ

مِنْ جَهْلِنَا المَاضِي بِميعَادِ

Who'd have thought back in those spaces

Such wit from us babes with babies' faces ?

مَنْ كَانَ يَوْمَئِذٍ يَظُنُّ لَنَا

هَذَا الرَّوَاحَ وَكُلُّنَا غَادِي

The little ones then have now grown tall

With children advanced and fathers withal

أَضْحى صِغَارُ الأَمْسِ قَدْ كَبَروا

وَدُعُوا بِابَاءٍ وَأَجْدَادِ

Their jet black hair has grey strands inset

As they walk sure-stepped without any fret

وَابْيضَّ فَاحِمُ شَعْرِهِمْ وَمَشَوْا

مِيْلاً بِقَامَاتٍ وَأَجْيَادِ

Such is way of life and nothing withstands

Its currents - ask the eras and lands

شَأْنُ الْحَيَاةِ وَلاَ دَوَامَ عَلَى

حَالٍ سَلُوا الآثارَ مِنْ عَادِ

But when it comes time to stand for cause

We give our lives as ransoms without pause

لكِنْ إِذَا بِدنَا فَيَا وَطَناً

نَفْدِيهِ عِشْ وَاسْلَمْ لاِبَادِ

And Zahle's standing shall ever endure

Despite the spite of those emerald with hatred unsure

وَمقَامُ زَحْلَةَ بَالِغٌ أَبَداً

أَوْج الْفَخارِ بِرَغْمِ حسَّادِ

Zahle's leaders brook no equivalent vying

In all the world's domains defying

آسَادُ زحْلَةَ لاَ ينافِرُهمْ

بَلَدٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا بِاسَادِ

Zahle's bested by no regional pair

In every age and era

أَجْوَادُ زَحْلَةَ لاَ يُكاثِرُهمْ

بَلَدٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا بِأَجْوَادِ

Its literati are seated on high

In hearts of all those who speak truth without lie

أُدَباؤُها لَهُمُ مَكَانَتُهُمْ

فِي صَدْرِ أَهْلِ النُّطقِ بِالضَّاد

Its creators supreme though never endowed

With patronage plentiful proud

صُنَّاعها متَفوقُونَ وَإِنْ

لَمْ يَظْفَروا يَوْماً بِإِمْدَادِ

In every knowledge a star lion emerges

And every art has its fount welling surges

فِي كُلِّ عِلْمٍ كل نَابِغَةٍ

وَلِكُلِّ فَنٍ كُلُّ مِجوادِ

The ethic of glory and grit to avail

Not cowering misery and cursing tale

قوْم المروءَةِ وَالإِبَاءِ هُمُ

لاَ قَوْمُ مَسْكَنَةٍ وَإِخْلاَدِ

In each far reach and distant place displayed

Their traces reveal and trails they made

فِي كُلُّ مَرْمَى هِمَّة بَعُدَت

عَزَّ الحِمَى مِنْهمْ بِاحَادِ

Their greatest feat of cooperation swayed

Had they united 'neath one standard raised

فِي آخِرِ المَعْمورِ كَمْ لَهم

آثَارُ إِبْدَاءٍ وَإِيجادِ

Shall I ever see such reform again

Instead of the chaos hatred and envy sustain?

مَا كَانَ أَعْظمَهُمْ لَوِ اتَّحَدوا

وَنبَوْا بِأَضْغَانٍ وَأَحْقَادِ

The hope leaders hold and despots decry

As from their foxholes they question "why?"

هَلْ أَنْظُرُ الإِصْلاَحَ بَيْنَهم

يَوْماً يَحُلُّ مَحَلَّ إِفْسَادِ

Hail to the beautiful lodge that resides

In a manor where each noble soul abides

هَذا الَّذِي يَرْجُو الولاَةُ وَمَا

يَخْشَى العدَاةُ وَهمْ بِمِرْصَادِ

A house made nobler by every gentleman hosted

Of grace and generosity the utmost

حَيِّ المعَلَّقةَ الجَمِيلةَ مِنْ

دَارٍ مرَحِّبةٍ بِوُفَّادِ

In hardship's sweep the sturdiest pillars

For their lands - firm anchors that never waver

دَارٌ تَعِزُّ بِكُلِّ محْتَشِمٍ

عَالِي الجَنَابِ وَكُلِّ جَوَّادِ

They inherit glory built to endure

From actions lit with motivations pure

هُمْ فِي الصُّروفِ أَعَزُّ أَعْمِدَةٍ

لِبِلاَدِهِمْ وَأَشَدُّ أَعْضَادِ

Assembly of both countries' very best displayed

Like a necklace of luminaries inlaid

يتَوَارَثُونَ الْحَمْدَ أَجْدَرَ مَا

كَانتْ مَسَاعِيهِم بِإِحْمادِ

Your gracious gesture has granted me

Great honor by which my name shall never flee

يا مَجْلِسَ البَلَدَيْنِ منْتَظِماً

كَالعِقْدِ مِنْ نُبَلاَءَ أَمْجَادِ

So you have bestowed and earned in kind

Blessings immeasurable of any kind

ذَاكَ التَّفضُّل مِنْكَ خَوَّلَنِي

شَرَفاً بِهِ أَمَّلتُ إِخْلاَدِي

By hearts' signs when together descried

Bonds evidentiary of love tied

فَلَقدْ مَنَنْتَ فَجزْتَ كُلُّ مَدىً

بِجَمِيلِ صنْعٍ ليْسَ بِالعَادِي

O attendees, your brother here imposed

Since early rising such boons to declare

لِلهِ آياتُ القُلُوبِ إِذَا

كَانَتْ مَعاً آيَاتِ إِخلادِ

For this is your custom, people and nation alike

To habitually render favors forthright

يَا محْتَفِينَ تفَضُّلاً بِأَخٍ

يَهْفُو إِلَيْكُمْ منْذُ آمادِ

ما زَال هَذَا الفَضْلُ عَادَتَكُمْ

وَالشَّعب مِثْل الفَرْدِ ذُو عَاد