تحيَّةً طيَّبةً
إِلى النُّبوغِ العربي
A warm greeting
To the Arabic genius
وَنظرةً خاشعةً
إِلى بهاءِ الأَدبِ
And a humble glance
At the splendor of literature
قد جمعتْ بينهما
(ميٌّ) بأُمي وَأَبي
She has united both
Miy with my mother and father
كان النبوغُ قَبْلَها
حملاً ببطنِ الكتب
Genius was before her
A burden in the belly of books
يا طالما عاملنا
بالصدِّ والتجنب
For long we have dealt
With aloofness and avoidance
قد زُرعتْ من قبلها ال
منى بوادٍ مجدب
Barren desires were planted
In the land before her
مضتْ عَلَى أُمِّ اللُّغا
تِ أَعصرٌ لَمْ تنجب
Ages passed in the mother
Of languages without bearing
حتى إِذا ما جهدتْ
في يومِها العصبصب
Until when she grew weary
In her day of boiling
تفضلَّ اللهُ بمنْ
ترونها عن كثب
Allah bestowed the one
You see closely
فبشَّرتْ وَأنذرتْ
بنثرِها والخطب
She brought good news and warned
In her prose and poetry
يا آيةً ساطعةً
طَوَتْ ظلالَ الغَيْهَبِ
O a shining sign
That crossed the shadows of obscurity
وَدرةً مصونةً
وَإِنْ تكنْ لم تحجب
And a protected pearl
Though she was not veiled
وَنجمةً لامعةً
في شرقها والمغرب
And a shining star
In its east and west
تنازلتْ لكِ الرجا
لُ عَنْ رفيعِ المنصب
The men conceded to you
From the highest positions
قد أَخفقوا في سعيهم
عساكِ لن تخيَّبي
They failed in their quest
I hope you will not disappoint
وُلاةُ أَمرِ الأَدبِ
وَلّوكِ مُلكَ الأَدب
The governors of literature
Gave you reign over literature
وَقلَّدوكِ أَمرَهمْ
وَذاك أَعلى الرتب
And conferred its affairs upon you
Which is the highest rank
وبايعوكِ بالتي
عزَّتْ عَلَى المطلِّب
And pledged allegiance to you with that
Which was hard on the seeker
فانتفتِ الفوضى وقرَّ
الأمرُ بعد الشغب
So chaos vanished and the matter
Settled after the turmoil
وَباتَ ملكُ العلمِ مش
دودَ العرى والطُنُب
And the kingdom of knowledge became
United in ties and robes
أَعظمْ بها مليكةً
أَعدلْ بها وَأَحبب
Make it greater with her, more just and loving
Since her allegiance was not
إِذْ لم تكنْ بيعتُها
بالغَصْبِ والتغلب
By force or conquest
O Miy, I have not seen in
يا (ميُّ) ما رأَيتِ في
ديارِنا من معجب
Our lands anything so wondrous
You crossed the sea breadth when
قطعتِ عرضَ البحرِ إِذْ
ذرعتِ طولَ السبسب
You spanned the horizon’s length
May you find comfort
عسى ترين راحةً
من بعدِ طولِ التعب
After prolonged fatigue
Rather, what comfort could you recall
بل ما عساك تذكري
نَ مِنْ أُمورٍ عجب
From strange affairs
I do not lie to Allah, there is no
لا أَكذب اللهَ فما
في عيشِنا من أَرب
Comfort in our living
Worries keep coming and wishes keep
إنَّ الرزايا مقبلا
تٌ والمنى في هرب
Fleeing
An ill-omened owl
ضمامةٌ خبيثةٌ
أَعيتْ عَلَى المطبب
Exhausted on the dunes
Oh what a loss
يا حسرةً عَلَى الأَدي
بِ والفتى المهذب
Of etiquette and well-mannered youth
Ruined like a mus’haf
مضيعاً كمصحفٍ
أَمسى ببيت النصب
That ended up in a junk shop
So its good fortunes are in ascents
فنَحْسُهُ في صعدٍ
وَسعدُه في صبب
And its joys in descents
His time turned to him
رنا إليه دهرُه
بوجهِه المقطَّب
With its chopped up face
The vastness of space narrowed
ضاق عليه وَحْدَه
صدرُ الفضاءِ الأرحب
On him in his solitude
His day and his night
نهارُه وَليلُه
في سهرٍ وَنصب
In wakefulness and toil
So dry, O Miy
فكفكفي يا ميُّ من
مدمعهِ المنسكب
His pouring tears
