1. أَيَتِم أُنْسٌ أمْ يَطِيبُ تَرَنمٌ

    إلاَّ إذَا كَانَ المُرَجِّعُ سَامِي

    Can delight be complete, or song be sweet,

    Unless the musician is Sami?

  2. تَتَدَفَّقُ الأوْتَارُ تَحْتَ بَنَانِهِ

    كَتَدَفُّقِ الأَنْهَارِ بِالأَنْغَامِ

    The strings flow beneath his fingertips

    Like rivers flowing with melodies,

  3. بَيْنَ انْسِجَامٍ وَاخْتِلاَطٍ مُونِقٍ

    وَتَوَافُقٍ وَتَبَايُنٍ بِنِظَامِ

    Between harmony and delightful blending,

    And concord and contrast, all in order.

  4. يَجْرِي عَلَى أَسْلاَكِهَا إيقاعُهُ

    مُتَحَدِّراً مِنْ مَصْدَرِ الإلْهَامِ

    His rhythm runs along their wires,

    Flowing down from the source of inspiration.

  5. نَبَرَاتُهُ لُغُةٌ تُنَاطُ حُرُوفُهَا

    بِالسَّمْعِ يَحْمِلُهَا إلَى الأَفْهَامِ

    His tones are a language whose letters are entrusted

    To hearing, which carries them to minds.

  6. شَتَّانَ فِي كَشْفِ السَّرَائِرِ بَيْنَها

    طَرَباً وَبَيْنَ مَقَاطِرِ الأقْلاَمِ

    How vast the gulf, in unveiling secrets, between them

    In their rapture and the fetters of pens!

  7. يَشْجِيكَ مِنْهَا مَا يُعِيدُ رَنينَهَا

    مِنْ شَدْوِ قُمْرِيٍّ وَسَجْعِ حَمَامِ

    Their ringing moves you with what it recalls

    Of a turtledove's song and the cooing of doves.

  8. وَتَحِسُّ تَنْسِيمَ الصَّبَا فِي رَوْضَةٍ

    وَتَرَى فُطُورَ الْوَرْدِ فِي الأكْمَامِ

    And you feel the east wind breathe through a garden,

    And see the roses opening in their bud-sheaths.

  9. يَا مُبْدِعاً فِي فنه وَمُحَلياً

    يَقَظَاتِنَا بِرَوَائِعِ الأحْلاَمِ

    O creator in your art, adorning

    Our waking hours with wondrous dreams,

  10. فِي الشَّرْقِ أَوْ فِي الغَرْبِ لاَ عَجَبٌ إذَا

    لُقِّيْتَ مَا تَلْقَى مِنَ الإكْرَامِ

    In East or West, it is no wonder if

    You are accorded the honor you receive.

  11. حَقُّ النُّبُوغِ وَإنَّهُ لَشَرِيعَةٌ

    تُسْتَنَّ فِي مَتَبَايِنِ الأَقْوامِ

    It is the right of genius, and indeed a law

    Enacted among diverse peoples.

  12. نِعْمَ الثَّوَابِ عَلَى التَّمَامِ وَشَدَّ مَا

    يَتَجَشَّمُ المِجْوادُ دُونَ تَمَامِ

    Fine is the reward for perfection—and how much

    The master endures before reaching perfection!

  13. مَا العَبْقَرِيَّةُ سَهْلَةٌ لِلْمُجْتَنِي

    هِيَ مِنْ ثِمَارِ السُّهْدِ وَالآلاَمِ

    Genius is not easy for its gatherer;

    It is among the fruits of sleeplessness and pain.

  14. فَنٌّ قَصَرْنَا هَمَّنَا فِيهِ عَلَى

    عَتَبٍ وَأَعْتَابٍ وَبَثِّ غَرَامِ

    An art in which we confined our concern to

    Reproach, appeasement, and outpourings of love,

  15. وَعَلَى نَجِيبٍ خَافَتٍ لَمْ يَعْدُ مَا

    يَشْكُوهُ ذُو دَنَفٍ مِنَ الأسْقَامِ

    And to muted sobbing, never exceeding what

    A man wasted by sickness laments.

  16. حَجَبَ السُّرُورَ نُطَالِعُ شَمْسُهُ

    أرْوَاحَنَا إلاَّ وَرَاءَ غَمَامِ

    It has veiled joy; its sun is beheld by

    Our souls only from behind clouds.

  17. وَتَكَادُ بَارِقَةُ المُنَى لاَ تَنْجلي

    لِعُيُونِنَا إلاَّ وَهُنَّ هَوَامِي

    And the gleam of hope can scarcely appear

    To our eyes except when they stream with tears.

  18. أَلشَّرْقُ وَهْوَ مَجَالُ أرْبَابِ النُّهَى

    وَمَصَالُ أهْلِ الْكَرِّ وَالإِقْدَامِ

    The East, the realm of masters of reason,

    And the arena of men of charge and daring:

  19. رَانَ الكَرَى دَهْراً عَلَى أَجْفَانِهِ

    فَالْعَيْشُ مِمَّا رَقَّ شِبْهُ مَنَامِ

    Slumber has weighed upon its eyelids for an age,

    So life, grown faint, resembles a dream.

  20. أَخْلِقْ بِمُوسِيقَاهُ بَعْدَ سَرَارِهَا

    أَلاَّ تُبَارَى فِي عُلُوِّ مَقَامِ

    How worthy its music, after its dark-moon phase,

    To stand unrivaled in exalted rank!

  21. هَلْ بُحَّ صَوَتُ فَخَارِنَا وَكَلامُهُ

    فِي كُلِّ قَوْمٍ فَوْقَ كُلِّ كَلاَمِ

    Has the voice of our pride grown hoarse, though its speech

    Among every people stands above all speech?

  22. أَوْ مَا لَنَا فِي تَالِدٍ أَوْ طَارِفٍ

    مَجْدٍ لَهُ رَجْعٌ عَلَى الأَيَّامِ

    Or have we not, in what is inherited or newly won,

    A glory whose echo rings through the ages?

  23. أَوْ مَا لِهَذَا الغِيلِ زَأْرٌ مُنْذِرٌ

    لِلطَّارِقِينَ بِيَقْظَةِ الضِّرْغَامِ

    Or has this thicket no warning roar

    For those who approach, announcing the lion's awakening?

  24. زِيدُوا وَسَائِلَكُمْ لِيَرْقَى فَنُّكُمْ

    وَيَعِزَّ بِالغَرَضِ الْبِعِيدِ السَّامِي

    Increase your means, that your art may rise

    And gain honor through a far-reaching, lofty aim.

  25. أَمَّا اللُّبَابُ فَلاَ مَسَاسَ وَلَيْسَ مَا

    نَبْغِي سِوَى التَّنْويعِ وَالإحْكَامِ

    As for the essence, no tampering; what

    We seek is nothing but variety and craftsmanship.