غنى المعنى من فؤاد موجع — Shibli Al Atrash

غَنى المَعنى مِن فُؤاد مُوجع

دَمعي جَرى فَوق الخُدود قَناه

The afflicted one sang from an aching heart.

My tears ran in a channel over my cheeks.

دَمعي جَرى عَالخَد وضح شهابو مِن النَوى

مِن هجر مَن قَلبي يَود هَواه

My tears ran down my cheek, their glow bright with separation.

From being forsaken by the one whose love my heart desires.

يا نار كَبدي كُل ما قول تَنطَفي

تُوجس بِقَلب المُستَهام لَظاه

O fire in my liver, whenever I say you will die out,

Its blaze flares in the lovesick heart.

يُوجس ضَميري المُستَهام زَفيرها

مثل نار تون القرطيان سَناه

Its roaring sears my lovesick soul,

Like the radiance of a Qartiyan kiln's fire.

مثل نار تون القرطيان بضمايري

وَقادها دايم يجيب غَذاه

Like a Qartiyan kiln's fire within my soul,

Its stoker constantly brings its fuel.

وقادها ما كان يَرثي لحالتي

كُل ما برد حم اللَهيب ذَكاه

Its stoker showed no pity for my condition;

Whenever the blaze cooled, he stoked its heat.

كُل ما برد حَمه يوازن لَهيبها

لا ما دَعت جسمي النَحيف هباه

Whenever its heat cooled, he renewed its blaze,

Until it left my frail body dust.

لا ما دَعَت جسمي دَقايق ذفلها

كَلمتها يا نار ماش رجاه

Until it left my body fine particles of its ashes.

I told it: O fire, there is no hope.

كلمتها يا نار قرين واهجَعي

أَما تشفقي عاللي زَمان بَلاه

I told it: O fire, be still and sleep.

Will you not pity one whom time has afflicted?

ما تشفقي عاللي مَفارق وَلا يَفو

اشلك بمهكوب الغَرام حَناه

Will you not pity one parted from his beloved, unable to recover?

What do you want with one whom love has stricken and bent?

حناني الهَوا وَالوَجد وَالشُوق وَالجَفا

وَبَعد الَّذي قَلبي يَوَد لقاه

Love, yearning, longing, and estrangement bent me,

And the distance of the one my heart longs to meet.

بَعدي عَن رُبوع المُحبين هانني

دَعا ناظِري عَلى الخَد يذرف دماه

My distance from the homes of loved ones humbled me.

It made my eyes shed their blood upon my cheek.

دَعا خاطِري مَكسور عَن ساير المَلا

ما حيلَتي شط المَزار وَتاه

It left my spirit broken, apart from all mankind.

What can I do? The place of reunion is distant and lost.

ما حيلَتي يا ناس حارَت بَصيرَتي

ضعنا مثل رَهو دَليلو تاه

What can I do, people? My judgment is bewildered.

We are lost like a flock whose guide has gone astray.

حالي الشبك عالكل مِنا وَصادَنا

وَلا مِن شَفيع القَلب يَترَجاه

My plight was a net cast over us all, and it caught us.

There is no intercessor for the heart to hope for.

وَلا مِن كَريم الناس ترجا مَواهبو

وَلا مِن رَحيم إِن كان رَجُل دَعاه

No generous person whose gifts may be hoped for.

No merciful person when a man calls upon him.

وَلا مِن حَليم إِن شاف محنة رَثى لَها

وَلا مِن شَئيم إِن كان رَجل نَخاه

No forbearing person who sees distress and pities it.

No honorable person when a man appeals to his protection.

وَلا مِن خَليل يفش همي إِذا طفح

وَلا مِن صَديق نتآنس وَياه

No intimate friend to relieve my grief when it overflows.

No friend with whom we may find companionship.

وَلا مشن شَفيع إِن رمت حاجة سَعى لَها

وَلا مِن وَديع إِن حب طال مَداه

No intercessor to pursue a need when I seek one.

No gentle soul whose love, once given, endures.

سِوى القَرقره وَالمرمره في لغاتهم

وَهرجا شَنيعاً لا سمعت نَباه

Only gurgling and muttering in their languages,

And hateful talk whenever you hear its sound.

هَرجاً شَنيعاً لا بِدُون بَلَفظه

مِن قَوم وَحشية شناع رَداه

Hateful talk whenever they begin to utter it,

From savage people, hideous and vile.

اللَه بَلاني وَاِبتَلاني بقربهم

وَفراق أَهل العز يا وَيلاه

God afflicted me and tried me through their proximity,

And separation from people of honor—alas for me!

فرقة بِلاد اللي كَريمة نُفوسهم

وَصار العوض عَنهُم وُحوش فَلاه

Separation from the land of those whose souls are generous,

And in their place came beasts of the wilderness.

صار العَوض عَن ذول غيده مَعطَرَه

عَبدة مصنة مشوها برياه

Those, a slender perfumed beauty, were replaced

By a stinking slave girl, disfigured by her reek.

بدلتها مِن غير قَصدي وَخاطِري

وَعانَقتها أَربَع سِنين سِواه

I exchanged the former for her against my intention and desire,

And embraced her for four full years.

عانَقتها بِفراش واحد وَذقتها

حطت بجسمي ميت داء وَداء

I embraced her in one bed and tasted her;

She placed a hundred ailments and another in my body.

وَللحين عِندي في مَحلي مَقرها

وَمن شوفها سَعدي الظَلام غَشاه

Even now she has her dwelling here in my place.

At the sight of her, darkness covered my fortune.

من شوفها سَعدي عَزاني وَفاتني

وَشَرق عَلى حوران إِلى مَشحاه

At the sight of her, my fortune consoled me and departed,

And turned east toward Hauran, following its course.

وَاضحيت أَنا مَسلوب سَعدي وَراشدي

أَوقف بديران التراك بَلاه

I became deprived of my fortune and sound judgment.

I remain afflicted in the lands of the Turks.

أَوقف بِأَرض الترك من غَير خاطري

كَما طَير مَكسور الجَناح شَداه

I remain in the Turks' land against my will,

Like a bird they bound with its wing broken.

كَما طَير مَكسور الجَناحين بِالخَلا

في بر مُوحش وَالوُحوش أَعداه

Like a bird with both wings broken in the wilderness,

In a desolate land, with beasts as its enemies.

وَلا يَرتَجي مِن وَحش يرفق بحالتو

وَعداوتو من جده وَأَباه

It hopes for no beast to show kindness to its plight;

Their enmity comes from grandfather and father.

وَمِن غَير هذي يَموت مِن لَوبة الظَما

لَو المَوت بِالمنوا بَغيت شَراه

Besides all this, it dies from thirst's burning ache.

If death were sold by the measure, I would seek to buy it.

خانَت بِنا الأَيام ما أَخبَث أَعمالها

وَخان الزَمان اللي غَدر ما رَداه

The days betrayed us—how wicked their deeds!

Time betrayed us; how vile the age that dealt treacherously!

تاري الدَهر غرار غدار بِالفَتى

مَن آمنوا رايو وَعقلو تاه

It turns out that time deceives and betrays a man.

Whoever trusts it has lost his judgment and reason.

مَن آمنوا لا بُد يَندم مِن البَلا

وَالدَهر لا خم النَطيح رَماه

Whoever trusts it must regret the affliction.

When time seizes a fallen man, it casts him down.

الأَيام يَشبهن الزَخاريف وَاللعب

وَالدَهر لا مال الطَليب هَفاه

The days resemble baubles and games.

When time turns upon its quarry, it ruins him.

الأَيام بيض وَسُود لا من يذوقهن

وَالدَهر ما قالوا أَحد صَافاه

The days are white and black to whoever tastes them.

No one, they say, has ever found time faithful.

الأَيام يَزهن لِلفَتى في وقاتهن

وَالدَهر سمو بِالنياب كَماه

The days shine for a man at their appointed times.

Time conceals its poison in its fangs.

الأَيام يَعطو للمرء لَكن يغيروا

وَالدَهر صلف إِن ناش رَجل عَماه

The days give to a man, but then they change.

Time is ruthless; when it reaches a man, it blinds him.

الأَيام مِنهن مثل شَهد الخَلايا

حلوه وتألفها النُفوس شهاه

Some days are like honey from the combs,

Sweet and desired, drawing the soul to them.

الأَيام منهن مثل صَبر السقطري

من مجَّها ماعَت جَميع حَشاه

Some days are like Socotran aloe;

Whoever tastes it feels all his entrails melt.

الأَيام مِنهن كَيف بِاللَهو وَالطَرَب

يَزهن مثل رَوض يَميد فَلاه

Some days bring delight in amusement and music,

Shining like a garden whose open spaces sway.

الأَيام مِنهن هم بِالغَم وَالكدر

لا حاطن برجلا غَشاه بَلاه

Some days bring anxiety, grief, and gloom;

When they surround a man, their affliction covers him.

الأَيام مِنهن عز السَيف وَالقَنا

وَالأَيام منهن للعَزيز شَقاه

Some days bring the glory of sword and spear.

Other days bring misery to the honored man.

الأَيام مِنهن بيض أَبيض من اللبن

وَالأَيام مِنهن عتم سُود فَجاه

Some days are white, whiter than milk.

Other days are darkness, black in all their reaches.

الأَيام لا مالوا عَلى طود عالي

يَفنوه لَو هوَ بِالسَحاب علاه

When the days turn upon a lofty mountain,

They destroy it, even if its summit stands in the clouds.

الأَيام قلابات يَكفيك شرهن

دُولاب لاهب النَسيم دَعاه

The days are ever-turning—may you be spared their evil!

A wheel set turning when the breeze blows.

الأَيام يحبلن وَالأَيام يولدن

وَعيالهن يَسقوا القُلوب صَداة

The days conceive, and the days give birth;

Their children make hearts drink rust.

الأَيام مِن نسل الزَمان الَّذي عَدا

عَلينا وَخلانا نَذوق بَلاء

The days descend from time, which assailed

Us and made us taste affliction.

مَن عاند الأَيام مَغلوب جانبو

لَو كان جيشو ميت أَلف قَناه

Whoever defies the days finds his side defeated,

Even if his army numbers a hundred thousand spears.

وَالدَهر من دور الصَحابة وَقبلهم

خوان ما قالوا أَحد صافاه

Time, since the age of the Companions and before them,

Has been treacherous; no one, they say, found it faithful.

من آمن الدَهر المشقا يخونه

وَيسقيه من عقب الزلال قَذاه

Whoever trusts wretched time, it betrays,

And gives him dregs to drink after clear water.

يسقيه من بعد الزلال الَّذي صَفا

مِن قوصرة ماها مزج بدماه

It gives him drink after water that was clear,

From a vessel whose water is mixed with his blood.

ما دام هذي يا رفاقه فعايله

ما حيلة اللي مثلنا عاناه

Since these, comrades, are its deeds,

What can one like us do, who has suffered it?

ما حيلة اللي مثلنا مج حنظلو

رَوى مِن مرار النايبات ظَماه

What can one like us do, who has tasted its colocynth,

And quenched his thirst with the bitterness of calamities?

صبراً جَميل الصَبر أَحلى مِن العَسَل

من لا صَبر زاد البَلا بَلواه

Have beautiful patience: patience is sweeter than honey.

For whoever lacks patience, affliction increases his suffering.

انظر لدهرك كَيف سار مع القَدر

وَدَعا السوار العاليات فلاة

Look at your age, how it moved with destiny,

And left lofty ramparts a wilderness.

أين الأَمير المالطي مع لزايمو

وَسعيد بيك وَقبل وين أَباه

Where is Emir al-Malti with his retainers?

And Sa'id Bey—and before him, where is his father?

أَين الشهابيين انظر بلادهم

وَجرار مع طوقان لا تَنساه

Where are the Shihabis? Look at their lands.

And Jarrar with Tuqan—do not forget him.

أَين الظَواهر وَالهَوادي مقرهم

عقيلي صفد وَبلادها زَكاة

Where are the Zawahir and Hawadi, and their abode?

Aqili of Safed, and the purity of its lands?

أَين الإِمارة الخرفشيد تشتتوا

وَالليث أَبو هواش مان هفاة

Where is the Kharfashid emirate? They scattered.

And the lion Abu Hawwash—where has he fallen?

شيوخ العَرب صاروا عَلى الديك يطحنوا

من بَعد ما كانوا مُلوك فلاة

The Arab sheikhs now grind at the dik,

After having been kings of the wilderness.

في بلادنا الحمدان كانوا منادر

وَكان الجبل هم ذروتو وَذراه

In our land, the Hamdans were champions;

They were the mountain's summit and shelter.

ياما مُلوك الدَهر خرب شوارهم

وَزالوا مثل ما زال أَمس بَهاه

How many kings has time ruined in their fortunes!

They vanished as yesterday's splendor vanished.

وَياما عَلى جسر الزَمان الَّذي مَضى

فاتَت قفول مشنقات عراة

How many, over the bridge of bygone time,

Have passed in caravans, strung up and naked!

هذي فعال الدَهر في ساير المَلا

ذا يخفضو أَيضاً وَذا علاه

These are time's deeds among all mankind:

This one it lowers, and that one it raises.

ما دام غَير اللي دَحى الأَرض عالميا

اللي الخلايق كُلها تَرجاه

None endures but He who spread the earth upon water,

He in whom all creatures place their hope.

يا رَب يا رَحمَن يا رافع السَما

عَلى غَير عَمد مِن الحَضيض بَناه

O Lord, O Merciful One, O raiser of heaven,

Who built it above the depths without pillars.

يا حاكم الحُكام يا ضابط الوَري

يا داحي الخرسا عا وَجه مياه

O ruler of rulers, O governor of creation,

O spreader of the mute earth upon the face of water.

وَثبتها بطواد شمخ عواليا

حَتّى تقر وَيَستقر فَلاه

You secured it with proud, towering mountains,

So it would settle and its wilderness be still.

وَارسل مياه البَحر تَجري مَع السُحب

تَسقي الصقاع الشاسعات مَداه

You sent the sea's waters flowing with the clouds,

Watering regions of vast extent.

وَتحيي الأَرض مِن بَعد ما تَكُون مَيتة

يَخضر مِن فُوق الحُقول جَناه

They revive the earth after it has been dead;

Its produce grows green above the fields.

تزهر أَعشاب مخالفات شكالها

من كل شكل ولون ما أَبهاه

Grasses bloom in differing forms,

Of every shape and color—how splendid!

الأَشجار تورق ثم تينع ثمارها

وَيؤكل جناها في لَذيذ حَلاه

Trees put forth leaves, then their fruits ripen.

Their harvest is eaten in its delicious sweetness.

تَسقى بَماء واحد من مراحمك

وَالأَرض غَبرا وَالحَضيض ثَراه

They are watered with one water through Your mercies,

While the earth is dusty and its depths are soil.

وَتخالفت بالذوق نَكهة طَعومها

البَعض حامض وَالبَعض ما أَحلاه

Yet the flavors of their produce differ to the taste:

Some are sour, and some—how sweet!

كَثيرة وَما تنحد صدق عجايبو

يا ويل من لا يرهبو وَيَخشاه

Truly, His wonders are many and beyond counting.

Woe to whoever does not stand in awe of Him and fear Him.

يا بار يا جبار يا خالق البَشَر

يا حَق يا قدوس في عَلياه

O Beneficent One, O Almighty One, O creator of mankind.

O Truth, O Most Holy One in His heights.

يا مُنتَهى الغايات يا صاحب العلا

يا حي يا معبودنا وَرَجاه

O ultimate end of all aims, O possessor of exaltedness.

O Living One, O our worshiped God and our hope.

يا زاحر البَحر المحيط وَعجايبو

ومدعي السُفن تَجري عَلى عَلياه

O You who fill the encompassing sea with its wonders,

And make ships run upon its surface.

تحسن خَلاص الكُل مِنا مِن البَلا

وَتلم شمل اللي الزَمان خَذاه

You can deliver every one of us from affliction,

And reunite those whom time has carried away.

إِنك قَدير وَقادر إِنكَ تَفكنا

مِن غَير بابك مالنا مَلجاه

You are mighty and able to free us.

Outside Your door, we have no refuge.

بِجاه النَبي المُختار وَالأَربعة الَّذي

شرفت فيهم سائر الأَنحاه

By the standing of the chosen Prophet and the four through whom

You honored every region,

بِالعدة الأَطهار جُملة جَميعهم

تودع كناره وَالسُموم نَفاه

By the holy company, all of them together,

Lay its fire to rest and banish the scorching wind.

مِن بَعدِها عَودت نَفسي عَلى الجَفا

راودتها وَرضع اليراع لَباه

Afterward, I accustomed my soul to hardship.

I coaxed it, and the reed pen suckled its first milk.

راودتها عَالضيم وَالويل وَالشَقا

وَسار القَلم يَملي بفن حداه

I coaxed it to endure oppression, woe, and misery.

The pen began dictating its artful song

عَلى كاغد ينثر قَوافي جَنيتها

مِن قَلب تيار الهُموم مَلاه

Upon paper, scattering rhymes I had gathered

From an overflowing heart filled by cares.

يا غادياً مني تحمل رِسالَتي

عَلى مَتن شاحوف يلج بِماه

O you departing from me, carrying my letter,

Upon a skiff's back, plunging through its water.

تَمد مِن سيناب يخرب سِوارها

يا ريت زلزالاً يهد بَناه

Set out from Sinab—may its ramparts be ruined!

Would that an earthquake demolished its buildings!

عَنا بوليا يا رسل وَانحر مَغرب

وَمِنها على اِستانبول بَعد انحاه

Toward Bolia, O messenger, then head west.

From there, afterward, make for Istanbul.

عَلى مدن ما نَعرف أَسامي بلادهم

يا ريت سافلهم يصير أَعلاه

Through cities whose lands' names we do not know,

Would that their lowest parts became their highest!

عَلى أَزمير بِأَرض التُرك وَانحر مشرق

عاظاليا دخن وَطاب هَواه

To Izmir in the Turks' land, then head east.

To Adalia; smoke, and sweet is its air.

عاسيواس بَعد جبال شمخ عَوالي

وَشَرق عَلى رودس ديار بَلاه

To Sivas, beyond proud, towering mountains,

Then turn east toward Rhodes, a land of affliction.

ان جيت رودس صَيح من شاف ربعنا

أَهل المَضايف وَالدَفين قراه

If you reach Rhodes, cry: Who has seen our people?

The people of guesthouses, whose hospitality reaches even the buried.

ربع الشهامة وَالمُروءة مَصيرة

اللي ذروا عالطيب وَالجَوداه

A band whose lot is gallantry and manly honor,

Raised in goodness and generosity.

أَهل السُيوف الرخم يحموا نزيلهم

يعزوه لو أَن الوزر تدعاه

People of fine swords who protect their guest,

Honoring him even when calamity claims him.

منادر مثل ري السباع بيوتهم

ريف اليتامى وَالسنين غلاه

Champions, their homes like the lairs of lions,

A refuge for orphans in years of scarcity.

زبن المجنا لا لفاهم من البَلا

إِحداهم من اللي يطلبوا عذاه

A refuge for the fugitive who comes to them in distress;

They shield him from those who seek to harm him.

يعطوا السلايل ما يراعوا بلونها

وَلا يطلبوا عقب العَطا بغلاة

They give noble steeds without considering their color,

And demand no high price after giving.

بالموزمه يا طوا المَواهيف وَالدرك

يومن ردي الخال ذل وَتاه

In crisis they crush terrors and pursuing troops,

When the base-born man is humbled and lost.

جَملة مناصب يكرموا الضيف لا لفي

شُيوخ الجبل من يُوم صار بَناه

All are dignitaries who honor the guest when he arrives,

The mountain's sheikhs since its founding.

وَرثوا الشهامة عن آباهم وجدهم

وَلما يرثها ما يعز الجاه

They inherited gallantry from their fathers and grandfathers.

Whoever does not inherit it gains no honor through rank.

رَماهم وَخيم الدضهر بالويل وَالشَقا

كَم خَيراً دَهرو الوَخيم رَماه

Cruel time struck them with woe and misery.

How many worthy men has their cruel age struck!

ما يعرفوا الوحشة وَلا يعرفوا الجَفا

وَلا عمرهم ذاقوا العَذاب جَناه

They knew neither desolation nor estrangement.

Never had they tasted the fruit of torment.

وَلا عمرهم شاحوا مشاحي بعيدة

وَلا دوروا التجرات غَير الجاه

Never had they traveled far-off paths,

Nor sought ventures other than honor.

مَربى دَلال بنقطة العز وَالهَنا

إلى أَن قَضى رَب العِباد قَضاه

Raised in pampering, in a place of glory and ease,

Until the Lord of His servants decreed His decree.

اقفوا بِهم من غَير جادي عَلى الهَفا

وَالكل منا العج عاد غَشاه

They were led away to ruin without any offense.

Again the dust covered every one of us.

سلم عَلَيهُم يا رَسولي جَميعهم

وَانطي كِتابي من حضر يقراه

Greet them, my messenger, all of them.

Give my letter to whoever is present to read it.

وَاحكي لَهُم إِني عَلَيهُم مُوجع

وَعلى كُل من صرف الزَمان هَفاه

Tell them that I ache for them,

And for everyone whom time's turning has cast down.

عَلى كُل من من طايفتنا مغرب

قَلبي قطر بين الضُلوع دماه

For every exile from our community,

My heart dripped its blood between my ribs.

وَاشكي لَهُم يا طارشي علة الهَوى

ظَني كَلامي ينقدون لغاه

Complain to them, my messenger, of love's affliction;

I think they will understand my words' language.

إِني بديرة ترك ما يفهموا اللغا

مَأسور مالي في مطب حَياه

I am in a Turkish land where they do not understand the language,

A prisoner with no foothold in life.

مَأسور خاوي عادم الرشد وَالهُدى

وَعزي لمغضوب التراك أنعاه

A prisoner, empty, bereft of judgment and guidance.

I mourn whoever incurs the Turks' anger.

ما يفهموا مني لغاتي غَريبة

وَلا يرحموا المبلي عَلى بَلواه

They do not understand me; my language is foreign.

They do not pity the afflicted in his affliction.

وَلا يرحموا اللي مثل حالي وَحالكم

وَطريحهم ما هوَ طَريح هَواه

They do not pity those in my condition and yours.

Their victim is not one laid low by love.

وَالي عليه اللَه غضبان مننا

ما بينهم يجعل قصاص جَزاه

Whoever among us has God's anger upon him,

He makes life among them his punishment and recompense.

مَن عاشر الأَتراك مات منغصا

كَمَن مات مِنا بعنفوان صِباه

Whoever lives among the Turks dies embittered,

Like those of us who died in the prime of youth.

ما ينقدوا عز النَزيل وَخمالها

وَلا العَيب يزعلهم هرج طَرباه

They do not value a guest's dignity or its virtues.

Shame does not upset them; such talk amuses them.

ظَلام خوانين عزك فراقهم

اللي بكنفهم ما يذوق هَناة

Oppressors and traitors: your dignity lies in leaving them.

Whoever is under their protection tastes no happiness.

انشح من الجوز العويل المعفن

درب الكرم ما ابن ترك مَشاه

Keep away from that miserable, rotten pair.

No son of a Turk has walked generosity's path.

وَكبارهم اللَه يلطف بحالنا

اليا عطاك الصُبح باق مَساه

As for their great men—may God be gentle with us!

If one gives to you in the morning, he steals it that evening.

رضعوا الخِيانة وَالخباثة مَع اللبن

وَلا دين ينهاهم عن الفَحشاء

They suckled treachery and wickedness with their milk.

No religion restrains them from indecency.

لَو تحلفوا بِاللَه وَالبَيت الحَرام

يَحنث وَيخلف لا بدا محكاه

Even if he swears by God and the Sacred House,

He perjures himself and breaks his word when he starts speaking.

قال المثل من قبل يا سامع المثل

ملحو عاذيلو إِن بَغاه رَماه

The proverb said long ago, O hearer of the proverb:

His salt is on his tail; whenever he wishes, he casts it off.

يا طارشي بَعد أَن تبلغ تحيتي

إِلى من كلامي يفهموا مَعناه

My messenger, after you deliver my greeting

To those who understand the meaning of my words,

سلم عَلى بوحصاص ينقد قصيدتي

أَبو عجاج إِن راد فن بَناه

Greet Bu Hassas, who can appraise my poem.

Abu Ajjaj, if he desires an art, constructs it.

خَليه يفهمها وَيروي كَلامها

وَيوقع المَعنى عَلى مسداه

Let him understand it and recite its words,

And set the meaning upon its warp.

وَقلو الأُمور تَرى ما فيها فَوايد

وَرجلا مكبل ما تطول يَداه

Tell him: These matters offer no benefit.

A shackled man's hands cannot reach far.

وَاللي وَقع بِالبير ما يفك روحه

يريد نشالاً يشد رَشاه

Whoever falls into a well cannot free himself;

He needs a rescuer to pull his rope.

وَاللي غرق بِالماء عَلى الهَفا

عيبو عَلى من شافه وَما جاه

Whoever drowns in water, helpless and abandoned,

The shame lies on whoever sees him and does not come.

وَالعيب عاللي بِالفضا في بلادنا

كَيف الأَخو يَنسى العَضيد أَخاه

The shame lies on those at liberty in our land:

How can a brother forget his supporting brother?

عَلى الشوف وَالتيمين وَاللي بحالهم

تسعين عيب وَعيب بعد وَراه

Upon the Chouf, the two Tayms, and those like them,

Lie ninety shames, and another shame beyond them.

اللي نسونا بالهفا مع عيالنا

في بر موحش ساكنو يخشاه

They forgot us in abandonment, with our children,

In a desolate land whose own inhabitants fear it.

حنا أَلف ويزيد عَنها حسابنا

يَخسوا نسونا بين قَوم أَعداه

We are a thousand, and our number exceeds that.

Shame on them! They forgot us among hostile people.

لَو أَنَّنا أَغنام همل تنفقد

لا بُد من راعي يَهز عَصاه

Had we been stray sheep, we would have been sought out.

Surely some shepherd would shake his staff.

لا بُد من راعي يَدور ذواهبو

شرفوا وَناموس الوَطَن يدعاه

Surely some shepherd would search for his strays.

His honor and the homeland's dignity would call him.

ما حيلَتي يا لربع يَدي قَصيرة

وَعيني عُيوب بلادنا تَرعاه

What can I do, comrades? My hand is short.

My eyes behold our country's shame.

لَو أَنَّني منفه ما كان الَّذي جَرى

خَرج الرَجُل ما ينفهم مَحكاه

If I were exiled alone, what happened would not be

A fitting lot for a man whose speech goes uncomprehended.

العَيب يَغشى الضلع وَاللي مواطنو

من متان للهيات إِلى اللجاه

Shame covers the mountain and its inhabitants,

From Mtan to Lahiyat and on to Lajat,

للدور لا ذيبين واسند مشرق

وَكُل من بحوران غَدا مَشحاه

To al-Dur, on to Dhibin, then head east,

And everyone whose course has led him through Hauran.

لا صار أَنَّهُم ربع رجعوا لعزهم

اعزاز يقرون الضُيوف بِشاه

If they truly are our people, restored to their honor,

Honored men who entertain guests with a sheep,

وَلا من حرج يخصر بنفس عَن الهَوا

وَكُل من منفه بالفلا ذرواة

Yet no distress tightens a soul with longing,

While every exile is scattered through the wilderness.

هو ليه سود اللون ما يطلبوننا

وَعمر الفرج ما قيل طال مَداه

Why do those blackened faces not seek us?

Relief was never said to take so long.

أَينَ المَعاريض الَّذي قدمونها

للشام وَاستانبول باب علاه

Where are the petitions they submitted

To Damascus and Istanbul's lofty gate?

أَين المَراسيل الَّذي طرشونها

للشام واستانبول بعد رَجاه

Where are the messengers they dispatched

To Damascus and Istanbul, still hoping for it?

هوَ ليه رخم الحدب ما جردونها

وَقالوا الحرم وَالعرض وَدناياه

Why have they not unsheathed their fine curved blades,

And cried: Our households, our honor, and our worldly goods!

هوَ ليه نار الحَرب ما يوقدونها

وَيعووا مثل ذيب يربد عَشاه

Why do they not kindle the fire of war,

And howl like a wolf seeking its supper?

وَإِن كان خلفهم حدا من ربوعهم

هوَ ليه ما يرموا جَمال بَهاه

If any of their comrades remains behind,

Why do they not cast aside the beauty of their splendor?

هوَ ليه الخون ما يفرشونهم

وَيدعوا مواشيهم تروح هباه

Why do they not lay the traitors low,

And let their livestock go to waste?

لا صار من كل الطَوايف جَميعها

منفي وَعسكر في ديار هفاه

Since from every community, all of them,

There are exiles and soldiers in lands of ruin,

ما يستحوا عاطفالهم مع حريمهم

العرض يدشر بين قوم رداه

Have they no shame for their children and women?

Honor is abandoned among vile people.

ما مدخل الحرات بكر بناتنا

وَقد غَدوا يشدوا فروخ قطاة

What place is this for our freeborn women, our virgin daughters?

They have set about binding sandgrouse chicks,

حَتّى يجروهم عَلى الويل وَالهَفا

وَيشتتةهم بين قَوم أَفناه

To drag them into woe and abandonment,

And scatter them among a people who destroy them.

لومي عَلى مير الدروز وَزعيمها

وَلومي عَلى بيك الدروز مَعاه

My blame rests on the Druzes' emir and leader.

My blame rests on the Druzes' bey with him.

وَلومي عَلى كُل المَناصب جَميعهم

بَني قيس رايتهم سَواد عَماه

My blame rests on all the dignitaries, every one.

Banu Qays—their banner is black with blindness.

بس الحَريم من الحُكم يطلبونهن

وَلا الرِجال تَموت بِأَلف وَباه

They ask the authorities only for the women,

While the men die of a thousand plagues.

ما يستحوا عالعرض تدشر حريمنا

بَين الملل أَين الشَرَف وَالجاه

Have they no shame for honor, while our women are abandoned

Among the communities? Where are honor and standing?

أَين الشهامة وَالمُروءة مقرها

وَإِن ردت أَحدث قَد يَطول مَداه

Where do gallantry and manly honor dwell?

If I wished to tell it all, the account would grow long.

مِن أَجل منصب خربوشور بعضهم

وَغدوا بسورية لِسان لغاة

For the sake of office, they ruined one another's counsels.

They became the gossip of tongues in Syria.

البيك قال المير أريد وَظيفتو

وَالمير قال البيك هاذبلاه

The bey said: The emir—I want his office.

The emir said: The bey—this is a scourge.

وَالكُل مِنهُم بردوا عزم بعضهم

وَخلوا الشَرَف وَالشان وَالشوماه

Each of them cooled the others' resolve,

And abandoned honor, distinction, and gallantry.

ما تسمع إِلا قَليل عَنهُم يخبروا

هاذا نفر هاذا وَهاذا شناه

You hear only a little when people tell of them:

This one drove off that one, and that one hated him.

ما حيلة اللي مثلنا ذاق ضرعهم

وَلا من شَفيع خلافهم نَرجاه

What can people like us do, who have tasted their udder's milk?

There is no intercessor besides them for us to hope for,

سوى اللَه يرحمنا وَيلطف بحالنا

وَيجعل لنا بعد الهَلاك نَجاه

Except God, to have mercy on us and be gentle with our plight,

And grant us deliverance after destruction.

يلطف بِنا الرَحمن وَيلم شملنا

أَما بزيد وعمر ماش دَواه

May the Merciful One be gentle with us and reunite us.

As for Zayd and Amr, they hold no cure.

وَاختم كَلامي بِالصَلاة عَلى النَبي

المُصطَفى اللي فاح مسك ثَراه

I close my words with blessings upon the Prophet,

The chosen one, whose grave's soil breathes musk.

يختم لنا بالخير جملة جَميعنا

وَيَشفع لَنا يَوم الهوال غداة

May He grant a good ending to us, all together,

And may he intercede for us on the morning of the day of terrors.