أساعدكم يا أهل ودي بساعدي — Abu Bakr Al Tunisi

أساعدكم يا أَهل ودي بساعدي

وَلَيسَ بكاف أَن تصافحكم يَدي

I aid you, O friends I love, with my arm;

and it is not enough for my hand to clasp yours.

وَأَهدي لكم بعض النَصيحة أن في

سروري إِلى يومي بكائي عَلى غَدي

And I offer you some counsel: within

my joy to this day lies my weeping for my tomorrow.

وَلست بشاك لا وَلست بآمر

وَلكنَّني آت بحيل التعاضد

I am no complainer—no, nor one who commands;

but I come with means of mutual support.

فَكونوا لما كنتم فَلَستم بعابر

سَبيلا بليل خانه نور فرقد

So be true to what you were; you are no traveler

on a road by night, betrayed by Farqad's light.

وَلَستم بارباب الحسام وانما

اشارتكم فوق احمرار المهند

Nor are you masters of the sword; rather,

your gesture stands above the reddening of the Indian blade.

وصولتكم في الحي رب تزلزل

يمازجها فلتفهموا لغة اليد

And your onslaught within the community—many a tremor

mingles with it; so understand the language of the hand.

دَعونا من الاطناب في وصف غادة

دَعونا من الاطناب في مدح سيد

Spare us lengthy descriptions of a maiden;

spare us lengthy praise of a lord;

وَكَيف بدت سَلمى وَكَيف تكللت

بكف خَضيب أَو بحلي وَعسجد

and how Salma appeared, and how she was adorned

with a henna-dyed hand, or with jewelry and gold.

وَهذي تفوق الغصن قدا وَقامه

وَهَذا شَقيق للسها وَالفراقد

And this one surpasses a branch in figure and stature,

and this one is a brother to Suha and the Farqad stars.

فَتِلكَ لعمري حبة اثر حبة

تصيب المَعالي مقذفات بصائد

For that, by my life, is pellet after pellet,

striking lofty ideals—projectiles hurled by a hunter.

وَفكر جَميل في المَساوي قَد اِغتَدى

ضحيتها كالخالب المتلبد

And fine thought, amid vices, has become

their victim, like a massed, deceptive cloud.

ووقت ثَمين ضائع وَهُوَ صالِح

وَحبر وأَوراق ضحية فاسد

And precious time is wasted, though it is useful,

and ink and paper fall victim to what is corrupt.

فمن ذا اراكم شاكرين تكلفا

وَعهدي بغير الحر غير ممجد

So whom do I see you thanking with such affectation?

And in my experience, none but the free is glorified.

وأي فقيد تندبون غيابه

وَرب انتفاع في احتجاب المعاند

And which departed man's absence do you lament,

when an adversary's disappearance often brings benefit?

جَدير بِهَذا خادم لبلاده

وَفي غير نفع الشعب غير مكابد

Worthy of this is a servant of his country

who toils for nothing but the people's benefit.

اليكم سَلاطين الكَلام مقولة

وَهَذا لكم كالخاضع المتعبد

To you, sultans of speech, these words:

and here I am before you like a humble worshipper.

فَلا تحرموا تلك الرعية حقها

وَلا تجعَلوها في بقاع المفاسد

So do not deny that populace its due,

and do not place it in the haunts of corruption.

ولا تنظموا عقدا بها متكاملا

يَفوز به أَرباب مكر مجدد

Nor string with it a complete necklace

to be won by masters of renewed deceit.

أَضاقَت مَواضيع الكَلام فَسيحة

وَكل سبيلا نافِعا غير واجد

Have the subjects of speech, though vast, grown narrow,

and does each of you find no useful path?

خذوا تلكم الأَقلام حطوا رحالكم

لديها وَقوموا للهَناء المخلد

Take those pens; set down your baggage

beside them, and rise for enduring happiness.

وَصيحوا باقوام حَيارى وَقوموا

فسادا وَمدوا للبلاد بساعد

And call out to bewildered peoples, and remedy

corruption, and lend the country a helping arm.

بذمتكم دين لها وَكأَنَّها

تطالبكم بالدين في كل مشهد

You owe her a debt, and it is as though she

demands that debt from you on every occasion.

حَرام عليكم أَن تَعيشوا بظلها

وَلا تسمعوها وَهيَ مغلولة اليد

It is forbidden for you to live in her shade

and not hear her while her hand is shackled.

وَعار عليكم أَن تَقولوا حَياتنا

رَفيقة يأس لا قيام لراقد

And it is shameful for you to say: ‘Our life

is despair's companion; no sleeper can rise.’

إِلى الحزم وَالتَفكير في شأن أمة

سَقاها كؤوس الويل داء التحاسد

On to resolve and reflection on the affairs of a nation

which mutual envy's sickness has plied with cups of woe.

إِلى خدمة الأَوطان قد ضيع العلا

بَنوها وَحادوا عَن كَمال وَسؤدد

On to serving the homelands: glory has been squandered

by their sons, who have strayed from perfection and eminence.

إِلى رفعها قد حانَ يوم صعودها

وَقَد قابلت سهم العَنا بتجلد

On to uplifting them: the day of their ascent has come,

and they have faced hardship's arrow with fortitude.

إِلى مدها في نهضة ادبية

بأقلامكم قبل اِصطدام الشَدائد

On to aiding them in a literary awakening

with your pens, before hardships strike.

إِلى نهضة بالشعب قبل مماته

إِلى قطع أَسباب الهَلاك المهدد

On to reviving the people before their death,

on to cutting off the causes of looming destruction,

إِلى كشف أَسباب النجاح بربكم

عَسى غافل للخير من ذاك يَهتَدي

on to uncovering the means of success, by your Lord,

perhaps a heedless one may thereby find the way to good.

إِلى بث روح الالتحام لعلنا

بِها في هَناء النفس وَالعَيش نَغتَدي

On to spreading the spirit of unity, that perhaps we

may through it enjoy happiness of soul and life.

إِلى صقل مرآة الفخار إِلى متى

يضيع لدينا وَهُوَ أَشرف تالد

On to polishing glory's mirror—how long

must it be squandered among us, though it is our noblest inherited treasure?

إِلى حث أَقوام لنيل فَضيلة

تجر بني الانسان نحو المَحامِد

On to urging peoples to attain a virtue

that draws the children of humankind toward praiseworthy deeds,

إِلى وضع أَيديكم بكفي فانني

أساعدكم يا أَهل ودي بساعدي

on to placing your hands in my palm, for indeed

I aid you, O friends I love, with my arm.