ما له في عظمِ الشأْنِ قريْ

كلُّ جبارٍ يدانيهِ مهينْ

He is mighty in stature, every tyrant who challenges him is abased

An attribute that has no limit, eyes of onlookers have despaired of perceiving it

سمةٌ ليس لها من غايةٍ

حسرتْ عنها عيونُ الناظرينْ

If I sensed any weakness in him, the Commander of the Faithful would have feared him first

He fills the eyes that overflow with tears, and terrifies the soul until it surrenders

أَنا إِنْ أَوجستُ منه خيفةً

خافه قبلي أَميرُ المؤمنين

The earth is not his equal, can left and right ever be the same?

His insides are turbulent with life, while the insides of the earth are a burial ground for all peoples

يملأُ العينَ فتغضي فَرَقاً

ويهولُ النفسَ حتى تستكينْ

In its depths there is nothing but intense heat, yet the sea holds many a precious treasure

The heavens draw their rain from him, so if he boasts of generosity he is veracious

ليستِ الأَرضُ له كفؤاً وهلْ

تستوي يوماً شمالٌ ويمينْ

Each day the sun prostrates to him, as if the sun were indebted to the sea

Blushing like a rose in the embrace of rosy cheeks, it throws itself into his embrace

جوفهُ مضطربُ الأَحياءِ إِذْ

جوفها مقبرةٌ للعالمينْ

Many alluring scenes and meanings beyond count are displayed over him

The playfulness of youth in the prime of life, and the majesty of old age with the certainty of experience

ليس في قيعانِها غيرُ لظى

وبقاعِ البحرِ كم كنزٍ ثمينْ

And the expansive wishes lushly green, firm of resolve and sturdy determination

The sea's foam on its blueness is stars of diverse colors

السما منه استمدتْ غيثَها

فهو إِنْ يفخر بالجودِ قمينْ

Despite the breadth of his chest, he is of fierce temper, kin to demented fools

Was he once clothed by a heavenly being? I wonder, or has he been touched by madness?

كلُّ يومٍ تسجدُ الشمسُ له

فكأَنَّ الشمسَ بالبحرِ تدين

As the current rises above a mountain, with it a valley that awes onlookers

Do you suppose its waves are but his breaths, echoing between sigh and moan?

ترتمي في حضنهِ محمرَّةً

خجلاً كالرودِ في حضنِ خدين

They are nothing but a raging people, who have declared war on the colonizers

Horde after horde mounting them, warring like advancing troops

كم تراءَتْ صورٌ خلاّبةٌ

ومعانٍ فوقه لا ينقضينْ

The morning breeze blew in his face, lifting him like a frown on the brow

And the waves appeared in him as dimples, tickled by the flirts of the playful

مرحُ الشبّانِ في شرخِ الصَبا

وجلالُ الشيبِ مع بردِ اليقينْ

He is gentle, undisfigured by any harshness - many a harsh man would be better than him if gentle

The anxiety in his entrails is like that of a lover when suppressed passion ignites within his bowels

وفسيحاتُ المنى مخضرّةٌ

وشديدُ البأْسِ والعزمِ المتينْ

I stood in his surge while dawn still lurked inside the blackness of night, an embryo yet unborn

And the sea birds in their flocks calling to each other like the sails of ships

زبدُ الموجِ عَلَى زرقتهِ

أَنجمٌ في حالكاتِ اللونِ جون

I said to the flock as it approached from the horizon: my heart is his captive

O you who cut across the sea's expanse, do you have a pact with the tribes of Qais?

مع ما في صدرِهِ من سعةٍ

شرسُ الخلقِ أَخو حمْقٍ حرون

Then the inclination of my heart - the orbits of passion, the home of loved ones, sanctuary of the oppressed

A neighbor whom endless time has wronged, she has no constant supporter against injustice

هل عراه طائفٌ من جنةٍ

ليتَ شعري أَم به مسُّ جنون

Does she know that, because of separation, there is a lad who yearning has nearly wasted away to the spine?

He has wished to fly to Damascus with a cleft spine, or cross the Styx

بينما التيارُ يعلو جبلاً

إِذْ به وادٍ يهولُ المبصرين

Like a fledgling whose wings longed to take flight to the nest, but the time was unripe

The fledgling whose wings survive confinement, still remains imprisoned after the lengthy jail term

أَترى أَمواجَه أَنفاسَهُ

رُدِّدت بين شهيقٍ وأَنين

By my father and mother, it is the sanctuary of hopes and the mighty fortress

God give them strength - they sacrificed their souls for it, with the Trustworthy Spirit

لم تكنْ إِلاّ كشعبٍ ثائرٍ

شنَّها حرباً عَلَى المستعمرين

And they longed, if only they could scent the horizon of Syria, or cut across the Styx

جحفلٌ يركبُ منها جحفلاً

يتعادى كجنودٍ زاحفين

نَفَخَتْ في وجهه ريحُ الصَبا

فعلاه مثل تغضينِ الجبينْ

وتراءَى الموجُ فيه عُكَناً

دغدغتها غمزاتُ العابثين

لَيِّنٌ ما فدحته قسوةٌ

ربَّ قاسٍ كان أَجدى منه لين

قلقُ الأَحشاءِ كالعاشقِ إِنْ

ثار في أَحشائِه وجدٌ دفين

قمتُ في عدوتهِ والفجرُ ما

زالَ في جوفِ الدجى بعد جنين

وطيورُ البحرِ في أَسرابِها

تتهادى كشراعاتِ السفين

قلتُ للسربِ وقدْ أَقبلَ من

أُفقٍ: قلبي به عان رهين

أَيها القاطعُ عرضَ البحرِ هلْ

لكَ عهدٌ بروابي قاسيون

ثمَّ مهوى القلب داراتُ الهوى

منزل الأَهلِ حمى المستضعفين

جيرةٌ جار عليها دهرها

ما عَلَى الجورِ لها قطُّ معين

هلْ درتْ أَن عَلَى النأْيِ فتى

كادَ يرديه إِلى الشام الحنين

فلقدْ ودَّ بجدعِ الأَنفِ لو

شامَ أُفقَ الشامِ أَو قطع الوتين

كمهيضٍ جنحه ودَّ لو أَنْ

طارَ للوكرِ ولكنْ لات حين

والذي ينجو مهيضاً جنحُهُ

بعدَ طولِ السجنِ ما زالَ سجين

بأَبي الشامَ وأُمي إِنها

كعبتُ الآمالِ والحصنُ الحصين

وأَمدَّ اللهُ قواماً بذلوا

دونَها الأَرواحَ بالروحِ الأمين