قلب الدهر الشؤونا — Ahmed Al Kashef

قلب الدهرُ الشؤونا

وتخلّى القائمونا

Time has overturned affairs,

and those in charge have withdrawn.

وأتى الأمر كما سا

يره المنتظرونا

And the matter came about just as

those awaiting it had gone along with it.

يغضب الراضين عن أم

س ويُرضي الغاضبينا

It angers those content with yesterday,

and pleases the angry.

ولقد عاد ضجيجاً

فيه ما كان حنينا

And into clamor has indeed turned

what within it was once yearning.

وطوى المستقبلونا

صفحة المستدبرينا

And those coming in have folded

the page of those going out.

وهوىً سار شمالاً

وهوى سارٍ يمينا

And one desire went left,

while another goes right.

لم نزل في كل شيء

بيننا مختلفينا

In everything we still remain

at odds among ourselves.

لم تؤلفنا المقاد

ير أمام الغالبينا

Fate has not united us

in the face of the conquerors.

بدلوا اليوم طريقاً

بطريق يبتلونا

Today they replaced one path

with another, putting us to the test.

وأطالوا بين آبا

ء عراكاً وبنينا

And they prolonged, between fathers

and sons, a struggle.

واشتفى من أهله من

ساءه الأهل سنينا

And he took revenge upon his kin—

he whom his kin had hurt for years.

ولقوا منَّا لَهُم هَ

ذا على هذا معينا

And they found among us, to help them,

this one against that one.

والذين اضطُهدوا اليو

م غداً ينتقمونا

And those persecuted today

will take revenge tomorrow.

والذي يشمت في الشا

كي سيلقى شاميتنا

And he who gloats over the sufferer

will meet gloaters in turn.

حِيَلُ القوم وما زا

لت ضروباً وفنونا

The people's stratagems have always remained

of many kinds and forms.

قد أجادوها شباكاً

وأعدوها كمينا

They have perfected them as nets,

and prepared them as an ambush.

عركوا الكل فساوى ال

آخرون الأولينا

They tried them all, and the later ones

proved equal to the earlier ones.

ما عرفنا من يزكُّو

ن ومن يتهمونا

We do not know whom they commend

and whom they accuse.

وجزاء الساكنينا

كجزاء الثائرينا

And the recompense of the quiet

is like the recompense of the rebels.

وقديماً كان سلطا

نهمُ بأساً ولينا

And formerly their authority

was force and gentleness.

جنَّ بالعزل وبالتو

لية الناس جنونا

Over dismissal and appointment,

the people went utterly mad.

وتلاقوا عند من فر

رقهم يحتكمونا

And they met before the one who divided

them, seeking his arbitration.

حسبوا التغيير تفري

جاً عساهم يسلمونا

They thought change a relief,

hoping they might come through safely.

ومضوا فيه بحاجا

تهمُ يبتهلونا

And they went on in it, bearing their

needs, beseeching earnestly.

أجلاء الخصم ما را

حوا به يحتفلونا

Was it the enemy's departure

that they went about celebrating?

من هو المحدث هذا

بينهم هل يعلمونا

Who is the one who brought this about

among them—do they know?

وفضول ما جرى أم

هو أمر المالكينا

Was what happened mere meddling,

or the command of the masters?

هبة مرّ سواها

واسترد الواهبونا

A gift—others before it have passed,

and the givers took them back.

وخداع لم يزل تع

مية للغافلينا

And deception that remains

a means of blinding the heedless.

أين بالحرية اليو

م لمصر الهاتفونا

Where today are those calling for freedom

for Egypt?

ونصيب الوطن الأق

دس فيما يطلبونا

And the share of the most sacred homeland

in what they demand?

أي عيش يشتهَى في

حوزة المستعمرينا

What life can be desired in

the dominion of the colonizers?

أربع مرت ولو شا

ءوا لكانت أربعينا

Four have passed; had they wished,

they would have been forty.

وعسى هذا نذير

يزع المستوزرينا

May this be a warning

that restrains those seeking ministerial office,

وقضاءٌ بعده يص

طلحُ المختصمونا

and a judgment after which

the disputants make peace.

إن في الحزبية الآ

فةَ والداءَ الدفينا

In partisanship lie the blight

and the deep-hidden disease.

ما الذي يصنعه الحا

ضر بعد الذاهبينا

What does the man now here do

after those who have gone?

وقرارٌ عهده أم

سبب للآخرينا

And is his tenure secure,

or a means for others?

إننا للعمل الصا

لح نرجو أن يكونا

For righteous work, indeed,

we hope it will be.

حسبه أن عطل الدس

تور أو ألغى اليمينا

Enough for him that he suspended the constitution

or annulled the oath:

راحة الهدنة بين ال

أخوة المقتتلينا

the respite of a truce between

brothers fighting one another.

وإذا القانون لم تن

فذْه أيدي الواضعينا

And if the law is not enforced

by the hands of those who laid it down,

فقديم السابقينا

كجديد اللاحقينا

then the old ways of predecessors

are like the new ways of successors,

وصدور الحافظينا

كسطور الكاتبينا

and the breasts of those who memorize

are like the lines of those who write.

إنما الأبقى على الده

ر نظام المصلحينا

What endures longest through time

is the order of the reformers.

وصواب الرأي لا يغ

ني بغير العاملينا

And sound judgment is of no avail

without those who act.

ولنا سنَّتنا لا

ما يسنُّ الداخلونا

We have our own tradition, not

what newcomers prescribe.

خف ما فيه تغالى ال

آملون المسرفونا

Dwindled is what was overvalued

by those extravagant in hope.

واكتفى بالممكن المُح

تَمَلِ المقتصدونا

And with the possible and plausible

the moderate were content.

وانتهى المشترطونا

بالذي يقترحونا

And those who set conditions ended up

with what they themselves propose.

واستوى المستعجلونا ال

آن والمستمهلونا

And those in haste are now on a par

with those who ask for more time.

والذي طاروا به ما

زال رجماً وظنونا

And what they took wing with remains

mere guesswork and conjecture.

ولقد يعبس بعد ال

مرح المستبشرونا

And after merriment, they may well frown—

those who rejoice at good news.

لمن اليوم نعد ال

شعر والوحي المبينا

For whom today do we prepare

poetry and lucid inspiration?

إننا بعد التجاري

بِ لنأبى أن نهونا

After these experiences, indeed,

we refuse to be held cheap.

كم رفعنا بالأمادي

حِ رجالاً أغفلونا

How many have we raised through praises—

men who then neglected us!

وائتمناهم على العه

د فلم نلق أمينا

We entrusted them with the covenant,

but found not one trustworthy.

لم ننل فيما أنلنا

هم قلوباً وعيونا

We gained, for all we bestowed

on them, neither hearts nor eyes.

وانقضت تلك الأحادي

ث وقد كانت شجونا

And those tales have ended,

though they had been sorrows.

قادة الشعب وأين ال

قادة المؤتلفونا

Leaders of the people! Where are

the leaders united in concord?

كلكم مارس في الح

كم عناء الحاكمينا

All of you have experienced, in ruling,

the hardships of those who govern.

ما الذي فاز الأقلُّو

ن به والأكثرونا

What is it that the few have gained,

and the many?

وأحق الناس بالعذ

رِ ولاة الأمر فينا

And those most deserving of pardon

are those who rule among us.

أتعدون لحرب ال

غد جنداً وحصونا

Are you preparing for tomorrow's war

soldiers and fortresses?

ولقد جاء بها من

كل جوٍّ منذرونا

And warners have already brought news of it

from every sky.

لم تفكر مصر فيها

وهي شغل العالمينا

Egypt has not thought about it,

though it preoccupies all the world.

وسنغشاها كحرب ال

أمس عزلاً مكرهينا

And we shall enter it, as in yesterday's war,

unarmed and against our will.

هل عرفنا الآن ما نح

ن إليه صائرونا

Do we now know what

we are heading toward?

لست من أهل التقالي

د ولا المتبعينا

I am not one of those bound by tradition,

nor one of the followers.

لم أكن في جانبٍ حي

ناً وفي آخرَ حينا

I have not stood on one side for a time,

then on another for a time.

ولي المبدأ أرعا

ه وفاءً ويقينا

I have a principle that I uphold

with loyalty and conviction.

أبتني للأمة العز

زةَ والخلق المتينا

I build for the nation dignity

and steadfast character.

وأرى في جمعها الشم

ل لعقباها ضمينا

And in its unity I see

a guarantor of its future.