Sol 6.1

  1. وددت لو أني كنت في مصر محشوراً

    فشاهدت يوماً للعروبة مذكورا

    I wished I had been among those gathered in Egypt,

    And witnessed a memorable day for Arabism.

  2. وإني أوتيت البلاغة ساعة

    فاديت حق القول نظما ومنثورا

    And that I had been granted eloquence for an hour,

    And so had done justice to speech in verse and prose.

  3. وإني قد ألقيت شعري ساحراً

    فألفيت جمهور المصيخين مسحورا

    And that I had recited my poetry with enchanting power,

    And found the throng of listeners spellbound.

  4. او اني اسمو للكواكب ناظما

    فارسلها شعراً إلى صاحب الشورى

    Or that I could rise to the stars and string them together,

    Then send them as poetry to the proprietor of Al-Shura.

  5. او اني في مصر الجميلة بلبل

    فاطرب بالتغريد تلك الجماهيرا

    Or that I were a nightingale in beautiful Egypt,

    And delight those crowds with my song.

  6. المّ بزهر الفكر ريان نافحاً

    وابصر روض العلم اخضر ممطورا

    I would alight on thought's blossoms, lush and fragrant,

    And behold knowledge's garden, green and rain-drenched.

  7. سأبقى كئيباً ملء نفسي حسرة

    اذا لم يكن لي ما هنالك منظورا

    I shall remain dejected, my soul brimful of regret,

    If I cannot behold what is there.

  8. اذا ما اقيمت حفلة وطنية

    ولم الق فيه الشعر لم اك معذورا

    Whenever a patriotic celebration is held,

    And I do not recite poetry at it, I cannot be excused.

  9. واكثر اخبار الجرائد ظلمة

    ولكنما الشورى لنا ترسل النورا

    And most newspaper reports are darkness,

    But Al-Shura sends us light.

  10. يحبرها ذو قدرة بيراعه

    ويسلكها المثلى ويجنبها الزورا

    A gifted man adorns it with his pen,

    And guides it along the best path, keeping it from falsehood.

  11. وما زال فيها بالعروبة شاديا

    وما زلت فيها اقرأ الصدق مسطورا

    And in its pages he has kept singing of Arabism,

    And there I have kept reading truth set down.

  12. وفي مصر يلقى الصدق كل حفاوة

    ويلقى رجال الصدق في مصر تقديرا

    And in Egypt truth is met with the utmost warmth,

    And men of truth are held in esteem in Egypt.

  13. اني نبأ الحفل المجيد عشية

    فاصبح منه الشعب اجمع مسرورا

    News of the glorious celebration reached me one evening,

    And all the people were gladdened by it.

  14. احييك عن بعد تحية معجب

    بآدابك اللائي بها كنت مفطورا

    I salute you from afar with the greeting of one who admires

    The noble qualities with which you were born.

  15. لقد كنت في كل الذي قد كتبته

    بمصر مثالا للشهامة مشكورا

    You have indeed been, in everything you have written,

    A lauded model of nobility in Egypt.

  16. وبلغت ما بلغته عن عقيدة

    فما كنت غراراً ولا كنت مغرورا

    And you achieved all you achieved out of conviction,

    You were neither a deceiver nor one deceived.

  17. ولم تتهجم في جهادك طائشاً

    كمن جاء عداءاً او صادف احدورا

    Nor did you plunge recklessly into your struggle,

    Like one who comes running or finds a downhill slope.

  18. ومن كان ذالب فليس بمقدم

    على جلل حتى يفكر تفكيرا

    And whoever has understanding does not venture

    Into a grave matter until he has thought it through.

  19. بدت من فريق في البلاد نكاية

    وما زال منها الشعب اجمع موتورا

    Harm arose from a faction in the land,

    And the whole people remain aggrieved by it.

  20. ورب عقور جاء يبرز نابه

    فادبر لما شام سيفك مشهورا

    And many a savage beast came baring its fang,

    Then retreated when it saw your sword unsheathed.

  21. وذي سفه حردان يأتي مناوئا

    فينكص مذموما ويرجع مدحورا

    And many an angry fool comes as an adversary,

    Then recoils reviled and returns defeated.

  22. وكم مرة فيها لقيت جموعهم

    فكنت بها صقرا وكانوا عصافيرا

    And how often there you faced their multitudes,

    And there you were a falcon, while they were sparrows!

  23. لقد ساءني ان العروبة اكأبت

    وان لها قلباً من الحزن مفطورا

    It has grieved me that Arabism has sunk into sorrow,

    And that her heart is rent by grief.

  24. رمتها الليالي في الفؤاد بصرفها

    فلم تبق اذ اصمت شغافاً وتامورا

    The nights struck her in the heart with their vicissitudes,

    And, striking fatally, spared neither its sheath nor its lifeblood.

  25. وليس بمسطيع سوى الدمع وحده

    لآلام قلب قد تفجع تصويرا

    Nothing but tears alone can

    Portray the anguish of a heart stricken by grief.

  26. تفرس بوجهي تلق دمعي شاهدا

    على ان قلبي بات لليأس مكسورا

    Look closely at my face: you will find my tears a witness

    That my heart has been broken by despair.

  27. هلموا الى الاصلاح يا قوم واعجلوا

    فما هو بعد اليوم يقبل تأخيرا

    Come to reform, my people, and make haste!

    For after today it will brook no delay.

  28. هلموا الى الاصلاح ان زمانه

    اتى ولعل اللَه يجعل تغييرا

    Come to reform, for its time

    Has come, and perhaps God will bring about a change.

  29. ان الدم لم تسخنه يوماً حماسة

    فان نخاع النشء يجمد مقرورا

    If fervor has never once warmed the blood,

    Then the marrow of the young freezes, chilled through.

  30. يقولون محظور علينا نهوضنا

    فقلت انهضوا طراً وان كان محظورا

    They say, 'Our rising is forbidden to us.'

    I said, 'Rise, all of you, even if it is forbidden!'

  31. الام يقاسى العقل برد جموده

    وحتام يبقى الرأي في الرأس محجورا

    How long must reason suffer the cold of its stagnation,

    And how long must thought remain imprisoned in the head?

  32. نفاخر بالمجد الذي مات عهده

    وما خير مجد ميت ظل مقبورا

    We boast of glory whose age is dead,

    And what good is dead glory that remains buried?

  33. اجل كان ربع للحضارة عندنا

    ولكن ذاك الربع اصبح مهجورا

    Yes, civilization once had an abode among us,

    But that abode has become deserted.

  34. فماذا وقوفي فيه اندب ارسما

    تقاسي من الدهر العتي الاعاصيرا

    Why, then, do I stand there lamenting ruins

    That suffer the hurricanes of relentless time?