1. بعــض الأنـام يـرى الحقيقـة مـرة

    فيفـر منهـا مطبقـا عنهـا الفمـا

    Some people find truth bitter,

    and flee from it, clamping their mouths shut against it,

  2. كــي لا تلاحقــه فتــدخل فــاه أو

    يبقــى يشــاهد وجههـا المتجهمـا

    lest it pursue them and enter their mouths, or

    they keep beholding its scowling face.

  3. وأنـــا أراهــا مــرة فألوكهــا

    كـي أغتـدي منهـا وإن تـكُ علقمـا

    I too find it bitter, but I chew it,

    to nourish myself on it, even if it is bitter colocynth.

  4. ولكـــم تقاليــد شــغفت بحبهــا

    زمنـــاً وكنــت بظلهــا متنعمــا

    How many traditions I passionately loved

    for a time, living comfortably in their shade!

  5. دبّ الفســاد لهــا فرمـت أصـونها

    بالحـــافظين مطهـــرا ومعقمــا

    Corruption crept into them, so I sought to preserve them

    with preservatives, purifying and sterilizing them.

  6. لكــن عييــت بأمرهــا فتركتهــا

    لمــا رأيــت فســادها مســتحكما

    But their plight defeated me, so I abandoned them

    when I saw their corruption firmly entrenched.

  7. وقطعتهــا مــن روح روحــي فلـذة

    وتركـت منهـا الروح تقطر بالدّما

    I cut them out—a piece of my soul's very soul—

    and left my soul, because of them, dripping blood.

  8. والحــق أوثــره علــى نفعـي وإن

    يــك مـدخلي يـوم الحسـاب جهنمـا

    I prefer truth to my own advantage, even if

    my destination on the Day of Reckoning should be Hell.

  9. لكـن أضـحى الحـق فـي نفـع الورى

    فعليـــه نفعهـــم أراه مقـــدما

    But truth has come to concern humanity's welfare,

    so I deem their welfare to take precedence over it.

  10. قلــبي علــى نفسـي يفيـض قسـاوة

    وعلـى بنـي الـدنيا يفيـض ترحمـا

    My heart overflows with harshness toward myself,

    and overflows with compassion for the children of the world.

  11. أبكــي علـى غيـري إذا مـا نـابه

    خطــب فيجــري الــدمع منهلا دمـا

    I weep for another whenever he is struck

    by calamity, and tears gush down as blood.

  12. لكــن أثــور إذا دهتنــي نكبــة

    وأعــود مـن حكـم القضـا متبرمـا

    But I revolt when disaster overtakes me,

    and become resentful of fate's decree.

  13. وعلــي دمعــي فــي البلا متحجــر

    حـتى ولـو وقعـت علـى الأرض السما

    Yet for myself, my tears in affliction turn to stone,

    even if heaven should fall upon the earth.

  14. ولئن بكــت نفســي فليسـت ترتضـي

    بالــدمع عنهــا مفصـحاً ومترجمـا

    And even if my soul weeps, it will not accept

    tears as its spokesman and interpreter.

  15. فــدموعها ليســت ســوى زفراتهـا

    أو شــعرها بالـدمع يبـدو مفعمـا

    For its tears are nothing but its sighs,

    or its poetry, which appears brimming with tears.

  16. يرثــي الأنـام لحـالتي إمـا رأوا

    بؤســي وأنظــر حــالتي متبســما

    People pity my condition whenever they see

    my misery, while I regard my condition with a smile.

  17. آلام روحـــي غيـــر آلام الـــورى

    ولكــم فرحــت بمــا رأوه مؤلمـا

    My soul's pains are not the pains of humankind;

    how often I have rejoiced in what they found painful!

  18. كــم يحزنــون لمــا أراه سـعادة

    أو يرقصـــون بمــا أراه مأتمــا

    How often they mourn what I see as happiness,

    or dance at what I see as a funeral!

  19. عينــي تــرى مـالا يـرون وعينهـم

    مــالا أراه تــرى ففــي أي عمــى

    My eye sees what they do not, and their eye

    sees what I do not—so which eye is blind?

  20. إن يبصـروا فتقـاً بثـوبي يأسـفوا

    فأجيــل فيهــم نــاظري متهكمــا

    If they spy a tear in my garment, they grieve;

    then I cast a mocking glance around at them.

  21. مـــاذا تهمنــي الفتــوق بمئزري

    ســيظل عرضــي سـالما لـن يثلمـا

    Why should the rents in my waistcloth concern me?

    My honor will remain intact, never to be breached.

  22. مــا شـأن جسـمي والـرداء فـإنني

    مهمــا بــي اتصـلا غريـب عنهمـا

    What have my body and robe to do with me? For I,

    however closely the two are joined to me, am a stranger to both.

  23. أبكي على الحيوان أكثر من بني الـ

    انســـان مهمــا يقتلا أو يظلمــا

    I weep for animals more than for the children of

    humankind, however they may be killed or wronged.

  24. إذ لا أرى الحيــوان مالــك حيلـة

    عنــه يـرد بهـا البلاء المبرمـا

    For I do not see the animal possessing any means

    by which to ward off inexorable calamity from itself.

  25. ولقـد أرى الحيـوان حينـا ظالمـاً

    لكــن أرى الانســان منـه أظلمـا

    Indeed, I sometimes see an animal acting unjustly,

    but I find humankind more unjust than it.

  26. عجبــا مــن الانسـان فـي أحكـامه

    إن أنــت تضــربه شــكا وتبرّمــا

    How astonishing humankind is in its judgments!

    If you strike a man, he complains and grumbles,

  27. ويبيــد حيوانــاً بــريئاً وداعـاً

    قتلا وليــس يحــسّ أن قـد أجرمـا

    yet he destroys an innocent, gentle animal

    by killing it, without feeling he has committed a crime.

  28. ولطفــل ليــدنبرغ إذ خطفـوه قـد

    ضــج الـورى وبكـوا عليـه تألمـا

    And for Lindbergh's child, when they kidnapped him,

    humankind cried out and wept for him in anguish.

  29. وبكــل يــوم ألـف طفـلٍ مـن طـوى

    تقضـي ومـا عنهـا تـرى مسـتفهما

    And every day, from hunger, a thousand children

    die, yet you see no one asking about them.

  30. كـــل يقلـــد غيـــره بجهالـــة

    وأشــــدهم جهلا يســـمى أعلمـــا

    Everyone imitates another in ignorance,

    and the most ignorant of them is called the most learned.

  31. ذا جاهـــل غـــرٌّ يقلــد جــاهلا

    ولعلنـي فـي الجهـل أعظـم منهمـا

    This naive ignoramus imitates another ignoramus,

    and perhaps I am greater in ignorance than them both.

  32. روحـي تفـر مـن الـدميم وإن غـدا

    مضــنى فقيـرا عـدت فيـه متيمـا

    My soul flees the ugly man; but if he becomes

    sick and poor, I return enamored of him,

  33. حـــتى أمرضـــه وأســـفعه فــإن

    أثــرى وعـوفي وازدهـى واسـتعظما

    to nurse him and [aid him]; but if

    he grows wealthy, recovers, becomes proud and self-important,

  34. أبغضـــته وفـــررت منــه لأننــي

    أهــوى الشــقي وأبغـض المتنعمـا

    I hate him and flee from him, because I

    love the wretched and hate the pampered.

  35. أســعى لإضــعاف القــوي وقـوة الـ

    ـواهـي الضـعيف لكي أساوي اثنيهما

    I strive to weaken the strong and strengthen the

    frail and weak, so that I may make the two equal.

  36. لنـواقص الـدنيا أسـاء فهـل تـرى

    عــن كـل نقـص سـوف أسـأل مرغمـا

    The world's shortcomings distress me; do you think

    I shall be forced to answer for every shortcoming?

  37. عنـــدي نـــواقص جمــة وكــأنني

    لنــواقص الــدنيا أتيـت متممـا

    I have shortcomings aplenty, yet it is as though I

    came to make up for the world's shortcomings.