1. عِندي لَكُم نَبَأٌ عَجيبٌ شَيِّقٌ

    سَأَقُصُّه وَعَلَيكُمُ تَفسيرُهُ

    I have wondrous, captivating news for you.

    I shall recount it; its interpretation is up to you.

  2. إِنّي رَأَيتُ البَحرَ أَخرَسَ ساهِياً

    كَالشَيخِ طالَ بِما مَضى تَفكيرُهُ

    Indeed, I saw the sea mute and lost in thought,

    Like an old man long absorbed in thoughts of the past.

  3. فَسَأَلتُ نَفسي حائِراً مُتَلَجلِجاً

    يا لَيتَ شِعري أَينَ ضاعَ هَديرُهُ

    So I asked myself, bewildered and stammering:

    If only I knew—where has its roar gone?

  4. بَِلأَمسِ قالَت مَوجَةٌ ثَرثارَةٌ

    وَمَضَت فَأَكمَلَتِ الحَديثَ صُخورُهُ

    Yesterday a chattering wave spoke,

    And passed on; its rocks then finished the tale:

  5. بِالأَمسِ مَرَّ بِنا فَتىً مِن قَومِكُم

    رَقَّت شَمائِلُه وَدَقَّ شُعورُهُ

    Yesterday a young man from your people passed by us,

    His manners were gentle, his feelings delicate.

  6. مُتَرَنِّحٌ مِن خَمرَةٍ قُدسِيَّةٍ

    فيها الهَوى وَفُتونِه وَفُتورُهُ

    Swaying from a sacred wine,

    In which were love, its enchantment, and its languor.

  7. مُتَرَفِّقٌ في مَشيِهِ يَطَءُ الثَرى

    وَكَأَنَّما بَينَ النُجومِ مَسيرُهُ

    Gentle in his gait, he trod the earth,

    As though his path lay among the stars.

  8. يَلهو بِأَوتارِ الكَمَنجَة وَالدُجى

    مَرخِيَّةٌ فَوقَ العُبابِ سُتورُهُ

    He played upon the violin's strings, while darkness

    Had its curtains lowered over the surging sea.

  9. يَهدي إِلى الوَطَنِ القَديمِ سَلامَهُ

    وَيُناشِدُ الوَطَنَ الَّذي سَيَزورُهُ

    He offered his greeting to the old homeland,

    And entreated the homeland he would visit.

  10. فَشَجا الخِضَمَّ نَشيدُه وَهُتافُهُ

    فَسَها فَضاعَ هَديرُه وَزَئيرُهُ

    His song and his call moved the ocean to sorrow,

    And it drifted into reverie; its rumble and roar faded away.

  11. أَعَرفتُموهُ إِنَّهُ هَذا الفَتى

    هَذا الَّذي سَحَرَ الخِضَمَّ مُرورُهُ

    Have you recognized him? He is this young man,

    This one whose passing enchanted the ocean.

  12. داوُد وَالمِزمارُ في نَغَماتِهِ

    وَالموصِلِي وَمَعبَد وَسَريرُهُ

    David and the pipe are in his melodies,

    And al-Mawsili, and Ma'bad, and his throne.

  13. يا ضَيفَنا وَالأُنسُ أَنتَ رَسولُهُ

    وَبَشيرُه وَالفَنُّ أَنتَ أَميرُهُ

    O our guest, you are delight's messenger,

    And its herald; you are the prince of art.

  14. لَو شاعَ في الفِردَوسِ أَنَّكَ بَينَنا

    لَمَشَت إِلَينا سافِراتٍ حَورُهُ

    If word spread in Paradise that you were among us,

    Its houris would walk to us unveiled.

  15. ذَهَبَ الرَبيع وَجِئتَنا فَكَأَنَّما

    جاءَ الرَبيعُ زُهورُه وَطُيورُهُ

    Spring had gone; you came to us, and it was as though

    Spring had come with its flowers and its birds.

  16. الفَنُّ هَشَّ إِلَيكَ في أُمَرائِهِ

    وَتَفَتَّحَت لَكَ دورُه وَقُصورُهُ

    Art, through its princes, greeted you with delight,

    And its houses and palaces opened wide for you.

  17. إِنَّ الجَواهِرَ بِالجَواهِرِ أُنسُها

    أَمّا التُرابُ فَبِالتُرابِ حُبورُهُ

    Indeed, jewels delight in the company of jewels;

    As for dust, it finds its joy in dust.

  18. يا شاعِرَ الأَلحانِ إِنّي شاعِرٌ

    أَمسى ضَئيلاً عِندَ نورِكِ نورُهُ

    O poet of melodies, I am a poet

    Whose light has grown faint beside your light.

  19. أَسمى الكَلامِ الشِعرُ إِلّا أَنَّهُ

    أَسماهُ ما أَعيا الفَتى تَصويرُهُ

    Poetry is the loftiest of speech; yet

    Its loftiest is what a young man cannot portray.

  20. وَأُحِبُّ أَزهارِ الحَدائِقِ وَردَها

    وَأُحِبُّ مِن وَردِ الرِياضِ عَبيرُهُ

    And I love the gardens' flowers—their roses,

    And of the garden roses I love their fragrance.

  21. أَنتَ الفَتى لَكَ في النَسيمِ حَفيفُهُ

    وَلَكَ الغَديرُ صَفائُه وَخَريرُهُ

    You are the youth; the breeze's rustle is yours,

    And yours are the pool's clarity and murmur.

  22. القَومُ صاغِيَةٌ إِلَيكَ قُلُبَهُم

    وَاللَيلُ مُنصِتَةٌ إِلَيكَ بُدورُهُ

    The people's hearts are listening to you,

    And the night's full moons listen to you in silence.

  23. وَبِهَذِهِ الأَوتارِ سِحرٌ جائِلٌ

    مُتَمَلمِلٌ كَالوَحيِ حانَ ظُهورُهُ

    And in these strings a spell is wandering,

    Restless as revelation whose time to appear has come.

  24. إِن كُنتَ لا تَهتاجَه وَتُثيرُهُ

    فَمَنِ الَّذي يَهتاجَه وَيُثيرُهُ

    If you do not rouse it and stir it,

    Then who will rouse it and stir it?

  25. دَغدِغ بِريشَتِكَ الكَمَنجَةَ يَنطَلِق

    وَيَدُبُّ في أَرواحِنا تَأثيرُهُ

    Tickle the violin with your bow; it will break free,

    And its influence will steal through our souls.

  26. وَاِمشِ بِنا في كُلِّ لَحنٍ فاتِنٍ

    كَالماءِ يَجري في الغُصونِ طُهورُهُ

    And walk with us through every enchanting melody,

    Like water whose purity flows through the branches.

  27. وَأَدرِ عَلى الجَلّاسِ أَكوابَ الهَوى

    في راحَتَيكَ سُلافُه وَعَصيرُهُ

    And pass among the seated guests the cups of love;

    In your two palms are its choicest wine and its juice.

  28. فَيَخُفُّ في الرَجُلِ الحَليمِ وَقارُهُ

    وَيُراجِعُ الشَيخَ المُسِنَّ غُرورُهُ

    Then the self-possessed man's solemnity will lighten,

    And the elderly man's vanity will return to him.

  29. وَتَنامُ في صَدرِ الشَجِيِّ هُمومُهُ

    وَيُفيقُ في قَلبِ الحَزينِ سُرورُهُ

    And the sorrowful man's worries will sleep within his breast,

    And the sad man's joy will awaken in his heart.

  30. هَذي الجُموعُ الآنَ شَخصٌ واحِدٌ

    لَكَ حُكمُه وَكَما تَشاءُ مَصيرُهُ

    These crowds are now a single person;

    You command him, and his fate is as you wish.

  31. إِن شِئتَ طالَ هُتافُه وَنَشيدُهُ

    أَو شِئتَ دامَ نُواحُه وَزَفيرُهُ

    If you wish, his cheering and his singing will go on,

    Or, if you wish, his wailing and his sighing will endure.

  32. إِنّا وَهَبناكَ القُلوب وَلَم نَهَب

    إِلّا الَّذي لَكَ قَبلَنا تَدبيرُهُ

    We have given you our hearts, and have given nothing

    Except what was yours to govern before us.