الملك عندك تستوي أقوامه — أحمد الكاشف

الملك عندك تستوي أقوامُهُ

والدهر فيك تنافست أيامُهُ

The realm's peoples are equal in your eyes,

and time's days have vied with one another over you.

أنت الذي نفع البلاد سلامه

بعد الذي ضر البلاد خصامه

You are the one whose peace benefited the land,

after him whose strife harmed the land.

الليل في التدبير لست تنامه

وبغير رأيك لا يضيىء ظلامه

You do not sleep the night away, intent on governing,

and without your judgment its darkness does not brighten.

أعزز ببرك في الرعايا عادلاً

تجري على أقسامها أقسامه

How noble your kindness to your subjects, justly given,

its portions flowing among their several divisions.

أنت الذي أحيى الجهاد رحيله

والرفق والعدل الجميل مقامه

You are the one whose departure revived striving,

and whose stay revived kindness and gracious justice.

كن كيف شئت مشرِّقاً ومغرِّباً

فالأمر موكول إليك تمامه

Be as you wish, journeying east and west,

for the enterprise's completion is entrusted to you.

في الأفق تصعد بالقباب فما ترى

إلا ومن أوتادها أجرامه

You raise the domed tents into the sky; you see them only

with its heavenly bodies among their stakes.

وجرت سفينك في البحار كأنها

لك عسكر منشورة أعلامه

And your ships sailed the seas as though they were

an army of yours, its banners unfurled.

شرفت بعامرها المدائنُ والقرى

وعنتْ لضيغم قفرها آكامه

The cities and villages were honored by their builder,

and the hills of their wilderness bowed to its fierce lion.

للّه عزمُك في القفار وأنت في

جنح الدجى طلق الحيا بسّامه

God bless your resolve in the deserts, while you, in

the folds of darkness, are bright-faced and smiling.

إن يطو ركبك بيدها متمهلاً

فالمحل يؤثر أن يقيم غمامه

If your caravan traverses their deserts unhurriedly,

the parched land prefers its raincloud to linger.

وستصبح الواحات جنات إذا

سار البخار بها وساد نظامه

And the oases will become gardens when

steam runs through them and its system holds sway.

ولسوف تعمرها بجمع حاشد

لَجِبٍ يسرك ورده وزحامه

And surely you will populate them with a great throng,

clamorous, whose arrival and bustle delight you.

لو كان مغوارٌ سواك ارتادها

ما أثّرت في رملها أقدامه

Had an intrepid warrior other than you explored them,

his feet would have left no mark in their sand.

يا حسن ذاك الركب شاقتني إلى

عصر البداوة عيسُهُ وخيامه

How lovely that caravan! I was stirred to yearn for

the Bedouin age by its pale camels and its tents.

فوددت لو كان الفؤاد مجالَه

أو كان كحلاً للعيون قَتامه

So I wished my heart were its roaming-ground,

or its dust were kohl for the eyes.

شرَّفتَ ذاك العهد فافتخرت به

أعرابه وتشبهت أعجامه

You ennobled that age, making it a source of pride

to its Bedouins, while its non-Arabs emulated them.

ذكرت تونس والجزائر ما مضى

من كل مولى زانه إسلامه

Tunisia and Algeria recalled the past

of every lord whose Islam adorned him,

أيامَ ضمَّهما وما والاهما

في واحدٍ دينُ الهدى ووئامه

the days when they and their neighboring lands were joined

as one by the faith of guidance and its concord;

أيام يدعو شرق مصرك غربها

فيموج فيه عراقه وشآمه

the days when the east of your Egypt called to its west,

and its Iraq and its Syria surged within it.

وسعت طرابلس إليك وإنما

حيَّت أبرَّ من اصطفاه إمامه

And Tripoli hastened to you, for it only

greeted the most dutiful man his imam had chosen.

وحنت عليك كما حنا سلطانها

علماً بأنك حصنه وحسامه

And it showed you affection, as its sultan did,

knowing you are his fortress and his sword.

واستقبلتك كريمة النجوى كما

لاقى الحيا الظمآنُ طال أُوامه

And it welcomed you with gracious intimate words, as

one long consumed by thirst meets the rain.

لم لا تعظم قدرك العالي وقد

غلبت بنصحك حولها أحكامه

Why should it not exalt your lofty rank, when

through your counsel its decrees have prevailed around it?

فترى وجوه الوافدين كأنها

زهر الرياض تفتحت أكمامه

So you see the faces of those arriving as though they were

garden blossoms whose buds have opened.

لا يرتجي الوادي سواك فإنما

أنت الوحيد غيوره وهمامه

The valley hopes for none but you, for

you alone are its zealous protector and its champion.

أولى بعافية تدوم وصحة

من ذي مقاصده وذا إقدامه

Worthiest of lasting well-being and health

is one whose aims are these and whose courage is such.

شهدت كنوزك باحتراسك مثلما

شهدت بشدة من مضى أهرامه

Your treasures testified to your vigilance, just as

the pyramids of one long gone testified to his might.

لا يشغلنك عن جهادك زخرف

حسبُ القصورِ منَ الجَسورِ لِمامه

Let no ornament distract you from your striving;

palaces need only a bold man's occasional visits.

فلأنت موسى غير أنك إن تعظ

فرعون عصرك تغتفر آثامه

For you are Moses, save that if you admonish

the Pharaoh of your age, his sins are forgiven.

أبرأته برضاك عنه بعد ما

طالت على آلامه أعوامه

You healed him with your favor, after

his years of suffering had dragged on.

لا تبلوَنِّي بالمطال فإنني

ولِهٌ تحيط بداره لُوّامه

Do not try me with delay, for I am

a love-stricken man whose reproachers surround his home.

باقٍ على ظمأ فلا ترنامُهُ

أهدى إليه غنىً ولا تحوامه

He remains thirsty; neither his singing

has brought him wealth, nor his circling.

أفنى الليالي مغرماً بالنصح في

من لا يعي فجنى عليه غرامه

He wore away the nights, enamored of advising

one who did not understand; his passion brought him harm.

إن يدّع المجد الرجال فإنما

في الشعر آية مجده ووسامه

If men lay claim to glory, it is only

in poetry that his glory's sign and his badge of honor are found.

أتريده لجديد ملكك شاعراً

ومتى تعود حقائقاً أحلامه

Would you have him as poet to your new reign?

And when will his dreams become realities?

لولا اليقين ونخوة وحمية

لقضت على آماله أوهامه

Were it not for conviction, noble pride, and zeal,

his illusions would have destroyed his hopes.

قَدِّرْ لشعبك أن يقرَّب كل من

نصر الحمى فحياته إكرامه

Decree for your people that everyone be brought near who

has defended the homeland; honoring him is his life.

وأحقُّ بالتكريم والتقريب مَن

هذي بشائره وذا إلهامه

And worthiest of honor and favor is he

whose glad tidings are these and whose inspiration is this.