1. هَبَّتِ الريحُ والفضاءُ اكْفَهَرَّا

    وَتَوَارَى الهِلَالُ يَنْظُرُ شَزَرا

    The wind rose, and the sky grew grim;

    and the crescent hid itself, looking askance.

  2. طَمس النُّور غير بعض سطورٍ

    خطَّها الفجر فامَّحتْ ليس تُقْرا

    Light was blotted out, save for a few lines

    that dawn had drawn; they faded, no longer readable.

  3. فَانْتَضَى البرق سيف نور ضئيل

    شقَّ مسح الدجن شقًّا وَفَرَّا

    Then lightning drew a sword of faint light;

    it slashed the sackcloth of darkness and fled.

  4. وَانْبَرَى الرعدُ مُنْذِرًا بالبَلَايَا

    وَاسْتَشَاطَ الخضمُّ مَدًّا وَجَزَرا

    And thunder stepped forth, warning of calamities;

    and the deep sea raged, in flood and ebb.

  5. وَتَنَادَتْ عناصرُ الكونِ للثورة

    فانقضَّتِ الصواعقُ جَمْرَا

    The elements of the cosmos called one another to revolt;

    then thunderbolts plunged down like burning coals.

  6. وَتَبَارَتْ فِي حلبةِ الأُفْقِ الريحُ

    فَأَمْسَى الرَّقيع يزأر زأرا

    And the winds competed in the horizon’s arena;

    so the vault of heaven roared aloud.

  7. علمونا أنَّ الطبيعةَ أمٌّ

    وَيْحَ أُمٍّ مِنَ الشَّوَاعِرِ تَبْرَا

    They taught us that nature is a mother;

    alas for a mother devoid of feeling!

  8. يَا لَأُمٍّ خَرْسَاء إِنْ حَدَّثَتْنَا

    فَحَدِيثٌ يفِيضُ خَوْفًا وَذُعْرَا

    What a mute mother! If she speaks to us,

    her speech overflows with fear and terror.

  9. هَمْسُهَا الرَّعْدُ، وَالصَّوَاعِقُ نَجْوَى

    وَالْبَرَاكِينُ زَفرة تُوجَد حرى

    Her whisper is thunder, and thunderbolts her confidences;

    and volcanoes are a sigh, found burning hot.

  10. وَيْكِ أُمًّا منحتِ أَلْفَ لِسَانٍ

    وَتَكَتَّمْتِ لَسْتِ تُفْشِينَ سِرا

    Woe to you, mother, granted a thousand tongues,

    yet you keep your counsel, revealing no secret.

  11. أَيُّها الْأُمُّ كَيْفَ تُخْفِينَ عَنَّا

    في ثناياكِ جَاعل البَحْرِ بَرا

    O mother, how do you hide from us,

    within your folds, the One who makes the sea dry land?

  12. كَيْفَ تُخْفِينَ وَالِدًا عَنْ بَنِيه

    وظهورُ الآباءِ بِالعطفِ أَحْرَى

    How do you hide a father from his children,

    when fathers ought rather to appear with affection?

  13. أَصَحِيحٌ يَا أُمُّ أَنَّ أَبِي مثلي

    شَكْلًا، وَيَمْلَأُ الْكَوْنَ بِرَّا!

    Is it true, Mother, that my father is like me

    in form, and fills the universe with goodness?

  14. فَأَجِيبِي فَوَاجِبُ الْأُمِّ تَعْرِيفُ

    بَنِيهَا بِوَالِدٍ عَزَّ قَدْرَا

    So answer: a mother’s duty is to acquaint

    her children with a father exalted in rank.

  15. خَبِّرِينِي: أحلَّ في بيتك الله

    خفيًّا؟ فصاحب البيت أدرى

    Tell me: has God dwelt in your house

    in secret? The householder knows best.

  16. آهِ ضيَّعتُهُ فَضَاعَ رَجَائِي

    فَأَرْشِدِينِي إِلَيْهِ يكسبك أَجْرَا

    Alas, I lost Him, and my hope was lost;

    so guide me to Him; it will earn you a reward.

  17. فَأَجَابَتْ إِنِّي أُفَتِّشُ عَنْهُ

    لَا أَرَاهُ، سُبْحَانَهُ، أَيْنَ قَرَّا

    Then she answered, “Indeed, I am searching for Him.

    I do not see Him—glory be to Him! Where has He settled?”

  18. قُلْتُ: هَلَّا، فَقَطَّبَتْ حَاجِبَيْهَا

    فَأَرَتْنِي فِي وَجْهِهَا الْجهمِ شَرَّا

    I said, “Why not?” Then she knit her brows

    and showed me evil in her grim face.

  19. وَأَشَارَتْ إِلَى الْعَوَاصِفِ أَنْ سِيرِي

    وَهدِّي مِن أَرْضِهِ مَا اشْمَخَرَّا

    She signaled to the storms: “March,

    and raze whatever towers high upon His earth!”

  20. فَاسْتَجَرْنَا مِنْهَا بِهَا وَهيَ غَضْبَى

    وَاعْتَصَمْنَا بِصَخْرَةٍ نَتَذَرَّى

    So we sought refuge from her in her, while she raged,

    and sheltered by a rock, seeking cover.

  21. فَرَأَيْنَا الْأَمْوَاجَ تَقْتَحِمُ الشَّطَّ

    جُيُوشًا عَمْيَاءَ كَرًّا وَفَرَّا

    Then we saw the waves storming the shore

    like blind armies, charging and retreating.

  22. كَمْ بُيُوتٍ تَهَدَّمَتْ وَقُصُورٍ

    صَيَّرَتْهَا الْعَوَاصِفُ الْهوجُ قَبْرا

    How many houses crumbled, and palaces

    the raging storms turned into a grave!

  23. فمن الدوح أسجدتْ كلَّ عاتٍ

    لم يعفِّرْ وجهًا ولم يحنُ صدرا

    Among the spreading trees, they forced every defiant one to prostrate itself,

    that had never rubbed its face in dust or bowed its breast.

  24. وإذا بالأشجارِ تمشي الهوينا

    ثم تكبو، سيَّان صغرى وكبرى

    And behold, the trees walked slowly,

    then stumbled, small and great alike.

  25. ثورةٌ في الطبيعة اجتاحتِ الأر

    ضَ كما اجتاحَ يعربٌ ملكَ كِسْرى

    An upheaval in nature swept the earth,

    as Ya‘rub swept through Kisra’s realm.

  26. لمْ أجد منجدًا، فناديت ربًّا

    عَبدُوهُ في الأرض عصرًا فعصرا

    I found no rescuer, so I called upon a Lord

    whom they worshiped on earth, age after age.

  27. من تراني دعوتُ لولا سماعي

    باسمِهِ في الوجود سرًّا وجهرا

    Whom, do you think, would I have called upon, had I not heard

    His name throughout existence, in secret and aloud?

  28. هدأتْ ثورةُ الطبيعةِ والريح

    تهادتْ في الجوِّ تمشي السبطرى

    Nature’s revolt subsided, and the wind

    glided through the air, walking with a graceful gait.

  29. فرأينا أنَّ الذي هدمته

    كان بالهدم والتجدُّد أحرى

    Then we saw that what she had demolished

    was better suited to demolition and renewal.

  30. إنَّمَا هذهِ العواصفُ أيدٍ

    ما تُهَدِّم يمنى تشيِّدْهُ يسرى

    These storms are but hands;

    what a right hand destroys, a left hand rebuilds.

  31. رسلُ النشءِ والتجدُّد بل زند

    متى شاءتِ الطبيعةُ يورى

    Messengers of growth and renewal—rather, a fire-stick

    kindled whenever nature wills.

  32. فَهْيَ كفُّ الوجود تهدم ما لا

    يستطيع البقاء برًّا وبحرا

    For they are existence’s hand, destroying whatever cannot

    endure, on land or sea.

  33. ليت من هذه «العواصف» أصنا

    فًا تثير الأكوان طيًّا ونشرا

    Would that there were kinds of these storms

    that stirred the worlds, folding and unfolding them,

  34. لنرى كلَّ هائرٍ وعقيمٍ

    ليس يجدي نفعًا تداعى وخرَّا

    so we might see every unsound and barren thing,

    yielding no benefit, collapse and fall,

  35. من تقاليدِنَا ومن كل عُرْفٍ

    صيَّرته الآراءُ دينًا وكفرا

    among our traditions and every custom

    that opinions have turned into faith and unbelief.

  36. إِنَّما هذهِ العواصفُ فأسٌ

    تقصمُ الشامخاتِ ظهرًا فظهرا

    These storms are but an axe

    breaking the backs of towering things, one after another.

  37. من قديمٍ والمرءُ نضوُ افتكارٍ

    أشغلتهُ «الأشياءُ» دهرًا فدهرا

    Since ancient times, man has been worn thin by thought;

    things have preoccupied him, age after age.

  38. ما رآه بالأمسِ علمًا يراهُ

    اليومَ جهلًا، وهكذا العمر مرَّا

    What he saw yesterday as knowledge, he sees

    today as ignorance; thus life has passed.

  39. إنَّ آراءَهُ لأشبَهُ بالموج

    توالى، تمحو الجديدةُ أُخرى

    Indeed, his opinions are much like waves

    following one another: the new one erases another.

  40. أوغلَ الفكر في التأمُّل حتى

    لاحَ وجهُ النهار يفترُّ بشرا

    Thought delved deep into contemplation until

    the face of day appeared, smiling with joy.

  41. فبدا لي أنَّ الطبيعة فرحى

    بالذي قلَّبتهُ حتى استقرَّا

    Then it seemed to me that nature was glad

    at what she had tossed about until it settled.

  42. إيهِ يَا أُم إن أردتِ صلاحًا

    فاكنسي بالعواصف الكون طرَّا

    Go on, Mother—if you desire reform,

    sweep the whole universe clean with storms.