قالوا حبستَ فقلت ليس بضائري

حبسي وفوق الرأس تاج مفاخر

They said you were imprisoned, so I said my imprisonment does not bother me

My imprisonment, and above my head is a crown of pride

زعموا بأن لدي خطة ضابط

ونسوا بأن لديّ خطة شاعر

They claimed I had the plan of an officer

And forgot that I have the plan of a poet

جعلوا الوظيف وسيلة لعقوبتي

فسجنت ترضية لذاك الخاسر

They made the job a means to punish me

So I was imprisoned to please that loser

حكموا ولم أسأل وقالوا ضابط

فأجبت لست مع الزمان بساخر

They judged without me asking, and said officer

So I answered, I am not mocking the times

لم أدر منعي عن قريضي إنما

أدري بأني في بلاط الناصر

I did not know preventing me from my poetry

Rather I know that I am in the palace of the victorious

ها إنني بالرغم عني قائد

ما بينهم لكن بدون عساكر

Behold, against my will I am a leader

Among them but without soldiers

سبحت جيوشي تحت أعلامي نعم

لكنها في بحر شعري الزاخر

My armies sailed under my flags, yes

But they are in my abundant sea of poetry

ما كنت أجهل مثل غيري منصبي

غلطا وأعرف عاذلي من عاذري

I did not ignore my position like others

Wrongly, and I know who blames and excuses me

ما لي بها إلا الحسام علامة

وتحية جبراً أجل بالخاطر

I have nothing but the sword as a sign

And forced greeting, yes, in my mind

دون المرتب وهو دون وظيفتي

ما لي حقوق ترتجي من آمر

Without the salary which is less than my job

I have no rights expected from a commander

لو بت تسالني على أحوالها

لشفيت قلبك بالجواب الحاضر

If you asked me about her conditions

I would heal your heart with the ready answer

قد كنت أحمل ذلة لا خطة

حتى تراني خاجلا من ناظري

I used to carry humiliation, not a plan

Until you see me downcast from my sight

تلك النجوم حقيقة في نفسها

كبرى وتصغر في عيون الباصر

Those stars are really great in themselves

But seem small in the eyes of the beholder

قد كنت أرضى لا علي بها ولا

لي راضخا فيها رضوخ الصابر

I used to be satisfied, not above it, nor

Submissively submitting like the patient one

فإذا بي الموقوف جنديا على

رغمي وسموها عقوبة ناشر

Then I was suspended as a soldier against

My will and they called it a published punishment

صحف البلاد شهيدة بقصائدي

فيها وكانت أبحراً لبواخري

The newspapers of the country are martyred by my poems

In them, and they were oceans for my ships

ولي المواقف في الجموع شهيدة

أيضا بوقفة شاعر ومسامر

And I have situations witnessing to me in the crowds

Also by the stand of a poet and nailing

مالي وللإشهاد فهي ظلامة

سيضمها التاريخ ضمن دفاتر

I have nothing to do with martyrdom, it is darkness

History will include it among its books

كم من مثيلات لها في قُطرنا

قد جاوزت في الحد عد قناطر

How many examples of it in our country

Have exceeded bridges in number

يجري بها التيار جري سفينة

مشحونة طباقتها بمتاجر

The current flows through it like a ship

Loaded with its bowls of goods

واليمّ طاغ مطلق في نفسه

ما قيّدت يده قيود دساتر

And the vast, absolute evil in itself

No constitutions have bound its hands

كم كان حالي في الوظيف مكدرا

تنشق مما قد أراه مرائري

How turbid was my state in the job

Suffocating from what my sights have shown me

لولا الأمير ولطفه ما كنت في

ذاك البلاط من الظلام بظاهر

Were it not for the prince and his kindness I would not be in

That palace, emerging from the darkness

كالليل فيه البدر بين نجومه

وهم البنون رعيتُهم بمحاجري

Like the night in which the full moon is among its stars

And they are children, I shepherded them with my poems

لولا سناهم ما اهتديت لقصرهم

حاشا أكون لفضلهم بالناكر

Had it not been for their radiance I would not have found their palace

Far from being ungrateful for their favor

لكن خرجت ولي عليهم حرة

إذ لم يفز في القصر غير الغادر

But I went out while I had a grudge against them

For in the palace only the deserter won

وسأكتفي بوظيف شعري عائشا

ما بين أقلامي وبين محابري

And I will be content with my job as a poet living

Between my pens and my inspirations

هذي الحياة شريفة وتلذّلي

ولها خلقت وطار فيها طائري

This life is noble and humbling to me

And I was created for it and my bird flew in it

إن شئت كان الشعر سيفا قاطعا

أو كان إن أحببت كنز جواهر

If you wish, poetry was a cutting sword

Or if you liked, it was a treasure of jewels

أحمي به وطني وأنظر أمتي

قل هكذا والله فخر الظاهر

With it I protect my homeland and watch my nation

Say so, by God, pride of the evident

هذا وسامي والفخار بمثله

إياه ألبسني صفاء سرائري

This is my decoration, and pride in the like of it

I clothe myself with the purity of my secrets

قد اشرق الدين القويم بصيرتي

فغدوت بين الناس نور بصائر

The straight religion enlightened my insight

So I became a light of insight among people

فإذا رفعت عقيرتي ما بينهم

سارت بصحبتها جيوش عقائر

When I raise my principle among them

Its armies march in its company

وإذا سلكت طريقة سلكوا معي

إذ لم أكن لسوى الصلاح بسائر

And if I take a path, they walk with me

Since I am not but good in my conduct

فأنا اللسان وهم فمي لولا همو

ما كنت منتضيا لسيفي الباتر

So I am the tongue and they are my mouth, without them

I would not be a drawn sword

هم لي عيون قد سقيت بمائها

من سلسبيلي فاح عرف أزاهري

They are eyes for me I quenched with their water

From my spring, the fragrance of my flowers spread

طابت مغارس روضتي مذ اينعت

أفنان دوحتها لطيب عناصري

The saplings of my garden thrived since they blooded

The varieties of its plants from the good components

في حب تونس قد اصبت ولم يزل

قلبي غريقا في الغرام الطاهر

In love of Tunisia I was right and still

My heart is drowning in pure love

أسفت لسجني واشتكت لشكيتي

سكانها حتى كرام حرائر

I regretted my imprisonment and complained my complaint

To its people, even the generous ladies

ها قد تمحّض خادم الخضرا لهم

ليحوطها من شعره بعشائر

Behold, the servant of the Greens has purified for them

To protect it with his poetry and clans

ونضوت من غمد الوظيف حسامكم

فخذوه منطقا بقوة قادر

And I have drawn your sword from the scabbard of the job

So take it logically with the power of the Able

رغم الحضور لقد رجعت لحيّكم

وأنا أمانتكم رجوع مسافر

Despite the attendance, I have returned to your alley

And I am your trust, the return of a traveler

وحللت بالوطن العزيز مبجّلا

لأقيم بالتوفيق فيه شعائري

And I entered the dear homeland honored

To perform my rituals in it successfully

نادي لتحي تونس وأميرها

فيها وحيّا بالسلام العاطر

Call to greet Tunisia and her prince

In it, and greet with fragrant peace