1. يا قلبُ أَيْنَكَ؟ أين وَلَّى خاطِري؟

    وبأيِّ حَرْفٍ قَدْ أَخُطُّ دَفاتِري؟

    O heart, where are you? Where has my mind gone?

    And with what letter might I write in my notebooks?

  2. لمَّا رَحَلْتَ إلى الحِسانِ وكُنتَ في

    أوجِ المعالي والشَّبابِ النَّاضِرِ

    When you departed for the beautiful women, while you were at

    the peak of glory and radiant youth,

  3. وهَجَرْتَ أحلامي وأقلامَ الهوى

    وذَهَبْتَ عِندَ خُوارِ عِجْلِ السَّامِرِي

    and abandoned my dreams and the pens of love,

    and went to the lowing of al-Samiri's calf,

  4. وأبيتَ أنْ تَبْقَى مَعي وكأنَّنا

    خَصمانِ يَقْتَتِلانِ دُونَ عَساكِرِ

    and refused to stay with me, as though we were

    two foes fighting without armies.

  5. يا قلبُ أَيْنَكَ؟ والحَياةُ قصيرةٌ

    والوَصْلُ أَقْصَرُ مِنْ خَيالٍ عابِرِ

    O heart, where are you? And life is short,

    and union is shorter than a passing vision.

  6. ما لي إذا جَحَدَ المَوَدَّةَ خائِنٌ؟!!

    ما لي إذا جَرَحَ الأَحِبَّةُ خاطِري؟

    What am I to do if a traitor denies affection?

    What am I to do if loved ones wound my feelings?

  7. ما لي أراكَ تَغِيبُ؟ أينَ تَقاطَرَتْ؟

    بكَ غادِياتُ الحُبِّ في ذا الباكرِ

    Why do I see you vanish? Where have they rained down

    upon you—love's morning clouds—at this early hour?

  8. أإلى بلادِ الشَّامِ شوقُك والهوى؟

    ودُموعُ عَينِكَ كالغَزيرِ الماطِرِ

    Do your yearning and love turn toward the lands of al-Sham?

    And the tears of your eye are like copious, pouring rain.

  9. أم نَحْوَ صَنعاءَ التي لِحَمامِها

    تهفو ولِلأَرَجِ العَليلِ العاطِرِ؟

    Or toward Sana'a, for whose doves

    you yearn, and for its gentle, fragrant scent?

  10. يا قلبُ قل لي: أين أنتَ؟ وما تَرى

    أَتُحِبُّ؟ أم تَهْوَى جِراحَ مَشاعِرِي؟

    O heart, tell me: where are you, and what do you see?

    Do you love, or relish the wounds to my feelings?

  11. ويُجِيبُ مِنْ خَلْفِ الضُّلُوعِ كأنَّهُ

    في الأَسْرِ يَبكي مِن قيودِ الآسِرِ

    And it answers from behind the ribs, as though it

    were captive, weeping because of the captor's chains.

  12. ويقولُ قَلْبُكَ لم يَعُدْ في وُسْعِهِ

    صَبْرًا هنا يَبْقى لِقَيْدٍ آخَرِ

    And says: your heart no longer has the strength

    to remain patiently here for another fetter.

  13. أنا لم أَعُدْ في النَّاسِ إلّا شاعِرًا

    لا شيءَ إلّا الشِّعْرُ كلُّ مفاخِري

    I am no longer, among people, anything but a poet;

    nothing but poetry is all I boast of.

  14. أنا في الحقيقةِ شاعِرٌ ومُحارِبٌ

    وهَوايَ في حُبِّ الجِهادِ جَزائِرِي

    In truth, I am a poet and a warrior,

    and my passion, in my love of struggle, is Algerian.

  15. إنَّ الجزائرَ والكِفاحَ مَلاحِمي

    تُروى إذا كَتَمَ اللِّسانُ سَرائري

    Indeed, Algeria and the struggle are my epics,

    recounted when the tongue conceals my secrets.

  16. إنَّ الجزائرَ والكِفاحَ تَعاشَقا

    وعَشِقْتُ ذَيْنِ العاشِقَينِ فحاذِرِ

    Indeed, Algeria and the struggle fell in love with each other,

    and I loved those two lovers—so beware.

  17. ورَكِبْتُ مِنْ هَوْلِ الجَحيمِ خَنادقًا

    وغَدَوْتُ مِنْ أَتباعِ (عَبْدِ القادِرِ)

    And I took to trenches of hell's terror,

    and became one of Abd al-Qadir's followers.

  18. وَطَنٌ عليهِ مِنَ الفِداءِ غِلالَةٌ

    ومِنَ الشُّمُوخِ مَعاطفي ومآزِري

    A homeland clothed in a thin garment of sacrifice,

    and my coats and waistcloths are made of lofty pride.

  19. ولَثَوْرَةُ الأَوراسِ أَكْمَلُ عبرةٍ

    فَبِأَيِّ شَرْعٍ أَنْحَنِي لِلجائِرِ؟

    And surely the Aurès revolution is the fullest lesson:

    by what law, then, should I bow to the oppressor?

  20. وبأيِّ مِيزانِ العُقولِ سَيَنْثَنِي الـ

    ـطَّاغوتُ إلّا بالكفاحِ الزَّاخِرِ

    And by what measure of reason will he yield—the

    tyrant—except through surging struggle?

  21. إنَّ التَّحَرُّرَ لِلبِلادِ أمانَةٌ

    للهِ في عُنقِ الحُسامِ الباتِرِ

    Indeed, the country's liberation is a trust

    owed to God, borne upon the neck of the cleaving sword.

  22. ما عُدْتُ أَعْشَقُ والبِلادُ أَسِيرةٌ

    ومُلَوَّثٌ يَلْهُو بِعِرْضٍ طاهِرِ

    I no longer fall in love while the land is captive,

    and a defiled one toys with pure honor.

  23. ما عُدْتُ أُعْرَفُ عَاشِقًا ومَتَيَّمًا

    إنَّ الصَّبايا قد كَرِهْنَ جَواهِرِي

    I am no longer known as a lover, besotted;

    indeed, the young women have come to hate my jewels.

  24. ما عُدْتُ أَعْرِفُ لِلرُّجُولَةِ حَقَّها

    مُذْ حامَ حَولَ حِمى المَذَلَّةِ طائِرِي

    I no longer recognize manhood's due,

    since my bird hovered around the sanctuary of humiliation.

  25. عَفْوًا إذا جَفَّتْ عيونُ محابري

    وغَرَفْتُ مِنْ بَحْرِ الغَرامِ الوافِرِ

    Forgive me if the eyes of my inkwells have dried,

    and I have drawn from the abundant sea of love.

  26. لِلشَّاعِرِ المِنْطِيقِ أَجْنِحَةُ العُلَى

    في قَومِهِ وسِواهُ ليس بِشاعِرِ

    The eloquent poet has the wings of glory

    among his people; anyone else is no poet.

  27. إنّي صَبَرْتُ وفي التَّصَبُّرِ ذِلَّةٌ

    مازلتُ أَطْمَعُ في ثَوابِ الصَّابِرِ

    Indeed, I have been patient, though forcing patience brings humiliation;

    I still hope for the reward of the patient.

  28. وكَرِهْتُ زَجْرَ القاعِدِينَ عَنِ العُلَى

    ومَلَلْتُ موعظةً ونَهيَ الزَّاجِرِ

    And I have loathed the rebukes of those who hold back from glory,

    and grown weary of admonition and the rebuker's prohibitions.

  29. وكَفَرْتُ بِــ(الفِيتو) اللَّعينِ وجورهِ

    إنِّي غَدَوْتُ مَعَ الكِفاحِ جَزائري

    And I have repudiated the accursed veto and its injustice;

    indeed, with the struggle I have become Algerian.