إِذا الشَّعْبُ يوماً أرادَ الحياةَ

فلا بُدَّ أنْ يَسْتَجيبَ القدرْ

If the people will to live one day,

Then destiny must surely respond,

ولا بُدَّ للَّيْلِ أنْ ينجلي

ولا بُدَّ للقيدِ أن يَنْكَسِرْ

And the night must eventually clear,

And the chains must inevitably break.

ومَن لم يعانقْهُ شَوْقُ الحياةِ

تَبَخَّرَ في جَوِّها واندَثَرْ

And he who is not embraced by the longing for life,

Evaporates in its mist and fades away.

فويلٌ لمَنْ لم تَشُقْهُ الحياةُ

من صَفْعَةِ العَدَمِ المنتصرْ

So woe to him whom life does not stir,

From the slap of victorious nothingness.

كذلك قالتْ ليَ الكائناتُ

وحدَّثَني روحُها المُستَتِرْ

Thus the living creatures spoke to me,

And their hidden spirit confided in me.

ودَمْدَمَتِ الرِّيحُ بَيْنَ الفِجاجِ

وفوقَ الجبالِ وتحتَ الشَّجرْ

The wind murmured amidst the ravines,

And above the mountains and beneath the trees.

إِذا مَا طَمحْتُ إلى غايةٍ

رَكِبتُ المنى ونَسيتُ الحَذرْ

If ever I aspired to a goal,

I rode my desires and forgot caution,

ولم أتجنَّبْ وُعورَ الشِّعابِ

ولا كُبَّةَ اللَّهَبِ المُستَعِرْ

And I did not shun the rugged paths,

Nor the ball of raging fire.

ومن لا يحبُّ صُعودَ الجبالِ

يَعِشْ أبَدَ الدَّهرِ بَيْنَ الحُفَرْ

And he who does not love climbing mountains,

Shall live forever within the hollows.

فَعَجَّتْ بقلبي دماءُ الشَّبابِ

وضجَّت بصدري رياحٌ أُخَرْ

So the blood of youth roared in my heart,

And other winds clamored within my chest.

وأطرقتُ أُصغي لقصفِ الرُّعودِ

وعزفِ الرّياحِ وَوَقْعِ المَطَرْ

I bowed my head to listen to the crashing thunder,

The playing of the winds, and the rhythm of the rain.

وقالتْ ليَ الأَرضُ لما سألتُ

أيا أمُّ هل تكرهينَ البَشَرْ

And the Earth said to me when I asked,

"O Mother, do you hate mankind?"

أُباركُ في النَّاسِ أهلَ الطُّموحِ

ومَن يَسْتَلِذُّ ركوبَ الخطرْ

"I bless among people the ambitious,

And he who delights in riding danger.

وأَلعنُ مَنْ لا يماشي الزَّمانَ

ويقنعُ بالعيشِ عيشِ الحجرْ

And I curse him who does not keep pace with time,

And settles for a life like that of a stone.

هو الكونُ حيٌّ يحبُّ الحَيَاةَ

ويحتقرُ الميْتَ مهما كَبُرْ

The universe is alive; it loves life,

And despises the dead, no matter how grand.

فلا الأُفقُ يَحْضُنُ ميتَ الطُّيورِ

ولا النَّحْلُ يلثِمُ ميْتَ الزَّهَرْ

The horizon does not embrace dead birds,

Nor do the bees kiss dead flowers.

ولولا أُمومَةُ قلبي الرَّؤومُ لمَا

ضمَّتِ الميْتَ تِلْكَ الحُفَرْ

And were it not for the motherhood of my tender heart,

Those pits would not have embraced the dead.

فويلٌ لمنْ لم تَشُقْهُ الحَيَاةُ

منْ لعنةِ العَدَمِ المنتصرْ

So woe to him whom life does not stir,

From the curse of victorious nothingness."

وفي ليلةٍ مِنْ ليالي الخريفِ

متقَّلةٍ بالأَسى والضَّجَرْ

And on one of the autumn nights,

Burdened with sorrow and weariness,

سَكرتُ بها مِنْ ضياءِ النُّجومِ

وغنَّيْتُ للحُزْنِ حتَّى سَكِرْ

I became drunk within it from the light of stars,

And I sang to sadness until it became drunk.

سألتُ الدُّجى هل تُعيدُ الحَيَاةُ

لما أذبلته ربيعَ العُمُرْ

I asked the darkness: "Does life restore

What the spring of life has withered?"

فلم تَتَكَلَّمْ شِفاهُ الظَّلامِ ولمْ

تترنَّمْ عَذارَى السَّحَرْ

But the lips of darkness did not speak,

Nor did the virgins of the dawn chant.

وقال ليَ الغابُ في رقَّةٍ

محبَّبَةٍ مثلَ خفْقِ الوترْ

Then the forest spoke to me with a tenderness,

Beloved like the trembling of a string:

يجيءُ الشِّتاءُ شتاءُ الضَّبابِ

شتاءُ الثّلوجِ شتاءُ المطرْ

"Winter is coming, the winter of fog,

The winter of snows, the winter of rain.

فينطفئُ السِّحْرُ سحرُ الغُصونِ

وسحرُ الزُّهورِ وسحرُ الثَّمَرْ

So the magic is extinguished, the magic of the branches,

The magic of the flowers, and the magic of the fruit,

وسحْرُ السَّماءِ الشَّجيّ الوديعُ

وسحْرُ المروجِ الشهيّ العَطِرْ

And the magic of the sky, melodious and meek,

And the magic of the meadows, luscious and fragrant.

وتهوي الغُصونُ وأوراقُها

وأَزهارُ عهدٍ حبيبٍ نَضِرْ

And the branches and their leaves fall,

And the flowers of a beloved, fresh era.

وتلهو بها الرِّيحُ في كلِّ وادٍ

ويدفنها السَّيلُ أَنَّى عَبَرْ

The wind plays with them in every valley,

And the torrent buries them wherever it crosses.

ويفنى الجميعُ كحلْمٍ بديعٍ

تأَلَّقَ في مهجةٍ واندَثَرْ

And everyone perishes like a wondrous dream,

That shone in a soul and then vanished.

وتبقَى البُذورُ التي حُمِّلَتْ

ذخيرَةَ عُمْرٍ جميلٍ غَبَرْ

But the seeds remain, holding the burden,

The reserve of a beautiful life that has passed,

وذكرى فصولٍ ورؤيا حَياةٍ

وأَشباحَ دنيا تلاشتْ زُمَرْ

And the memory of seasons and the vision of life,

And ghosts of a world that faded in droves.

معانِقَةً وهي تحتَ الضَّبابِ

وتحتَ الثُّلوجِ وتحتَ المَدَرْ

Embracing, while beneath the fog,

And beneath the snows and beneath the clods,

لِطَيْفِ الحَيَاة الَّذي لا يُملُّ

وقلبُ الرَّبيعِ الشذيِّ الخضِرْ

The phantom of life that never grows tedious,

And the heart of the fragrant, green spring,

وحالِمةً بأغاني الطُّيورِ

وعِطْرِ الزُّهورِ وطَعْمِ الثَّمَرْ

And dreaming of the songs of birds,

The scent of flowers, and the taste of fruit.

ويمشي الزَّمانُ فتنمو صروفٌ

وتذوي صروفٌ وتحيا أُخَرْ

Time walks on, and vicissitudes grow,

And vicissitudes wither, and others live.

وتَصبِحُ أَحلامَها يقْظةً

موَشَّحةً بغموضِ السَّحَرْ

And her dreams become a wakefulness,

Adorned with the mystery of the dawn.

تُسائِلُ أَيْنَ ضَبابُ الصَّباحِ

وسِحْرُ المساءِ وضوءُ القَمَرْ

She asks: "Where is the mist of the morning,

And the magic of the evening and the light of the moon?"

وأَسرابُ ذاكَ الفَراشِ الأَنيقِ

ونَحْلٌ يُغنِّي وغيمٌ يَمُرْ

"And the flocks of those elegant butterflies,

And bees singing, and clouds passing by?"

وأَينَ الأَشعَّةُ والكائناتُ

وأَينَ الحَيَاةُ التي أَنْتَظِرْ

"And where are the rays and the creatures,

And where is the life for which I wait?"

ظمِئْتُ إلى النُّورِ فوقَ الغصونِ

ظمِئْتُ إلى الظِّلِّ تحتَ الشَّجَرْ

"I thirsted for the light above the branches,

I thirsted for the shade beneath the trees,"

ظمِئْتُ إلى النَّبْعِ بَيْنَ المروج

يغنِّي ويرقصُ فوقَ الزَّهَرْ

"I thirsted for the spring amidst the meadows,

Singing and dancing above the flowers,"

ظمِئْتُ إلى نَغَماتِ الطُّيورِ

وهَمْسِ النَّسيمِ ولحنِ المَطَرْ

"I thirsted for the melodies of birds,

The whisper of the breeze, and the tune of the rain,"

ظمِئْتُ إلى الكونِ أَيْنَ الوجودُ

وأَنَّى أَرى العالَمَ المنتظَرْ

"I thirsted for the universe—where is existence?

And when shall I see the awaited world?"

هُو الكونُ خلف سُبَاتِ الجُمودِ

وفي أُفقِ اليَقظاتِ الكُبَرْ

It is the universe behind the slumber of stagnation,

And on the horizon of great awakenings.

وما هو إلاَّ كَخَفْقِ الجناحِ

حتَّى نما شوقُها وانتصَرْ

It was but like the beat of a wing,

Until her longing grew and triumphed.

فصدَّعَتِ الأَرضُ من فوقها

وأَبْصرتِ الكونَ عذبَ الصُّوَرْ

So she cracked the earth from above her,

And beheld the universe in sweet images.

وجاءَ الرَّبيعُ بأَنغامهِ

وأَحلامِهِ وصِباهُ العَطِرْ

And Spring came with his melodies,

His dreams, and his fragrant youth.

وقبَّلها قُبَلاً في الشِّفاهِ

تُعيدُ الشَّبابَ الَّذي قدْ غَبَرْ

And he kissed her with kisses on the lips,

Restoring the youth that had passed away.

وقال لها قدْ مُنِحْتِ الحَيَاةَ

وخُلِّدْتِ في نَسْلِكِ المدَّخَرْ

And he said to her: "You have been granted life,

And immortalized in your stored offspring."

وباركَكِ النُّورُ فاستقبلي

شَبابَ الحَيَاةِ وخصْبَ العُمُرْ

"And the Light has blessed you, so welcome

The youth of life and the fertility of age."

ومن تَعْبُدُ النُّورَ أَحلامهُ

يُبارِكُهُ النُّورُ أَنَّى ظَهَرْ

"For whoever's dreams worship the light,

The light blesses him wherever he appears."

إليكِ الفضاءَ إليكِ الضِّياءَ

إليكِ الثَّرى الحالمَ المزدهر

"Yours is the space, yours is the light,

Yours is the dreaming, flourishing soil."

إليكِ الجمالُ الَّذي لا يَبيدُ

إليكِ الوُجُودَ الرَّحيبَ النَّضِرْ

"Yours is beauty that does not perish,

Yours is the vast, fresh existence."

فميدي كما شئتِ فوقَ الحقولِ

بحُلْوِ الثِّمارِ وغضِّ الزَّهَرْ

"So sway as you wish over the fields,

With sweet fruits and tender flowers."

وناجي النَّسيمَ وناجي الغيومَ

وناجي النُّجومَ وناجي القَمَرْ

"And converse with the breeze and converse with the clouds,

And converse with the stars and converse with the moon."

وناجي الحياة وأشواقها

وضنة هذا الوجود الأغر

"And converse with life and its longings,

And the precious glory of this noble realm."

وشفَّ الدُّجى عن جمالٍ عميقٍ

يُشِبُّ الخيالَ ويُذكي الفِكَرْ

And the darkness revealed a deep beauty,

That ignites imagination and kindles thought.

ومُدَّ على الكونِ سحرٌ غريبٌ

يصرّفُهُ ساحرٌ مقتدِرْ

And a strange magic was spread over the universe,

Wielded by a powerful magician.

وضاءَتْ شموعُ النُّجُومِ الوِضَاءِ

وضاعَ البَخُورُ بَخُورُ الزَّهَرْ

And the candles of the bright stars lit up,

And the incense wafted, the incense of flowers.

ورَفْرَفَ روحٌ غريبُ الجمال

بأَجنحةٍ من ضياءِ القَمَرْ

And a spirit of strange beauty fluttered,

With wings made of moonlight.

وَرَنَّ نشيدُ الحَيَاةِ المقدَّس

في هيكلٍ حالِمٍ قدْ سُحِرْ

And the holy anthem of life rang out,

In a dreaming temple that was enchanted.

وأُعْلِنَ في الكونِ أنَّ الطّموحَ

لهيبُ الحَيَاةِ ورُوحُ الظَّفَرْ

And it was proclaimed in the universe that ambition,

Is the flame of life and the spirit of victory.

إِذا طَمَحَتْ للحَياةِ النُّفوسُ

فلا بُدَّ أنْ يستجيبَ القَدَرْ

If souls ever aspire to life,

Then destiny must surely respond.