حيًا ستبقى وإن لفتك أكفان

حيًا ستبقى وإن لفتك أكفان

خالدًا رغم ما قلوا وما شانوا

خالدًا رغم ما قلوا وما شانوا

Alive you will remain, even if shrouds enfold you.

Alive you will remain though shrouds enfold you,

Alive you shall remain, though shrouds enfold you,

Immortal, despite their hatred and disparagement.

Immortal though they said and machinated.

Immortal, despite what they said and how they scorned.

دنياك يا شاعر الآلام عامرة

دنياك يا شاعر الآلام عامرة

بذات نفسك لا كنا، ولا كانوا

بذات نفسك لا كنا، ولا كانوا

Your world, O poet of sorrows, is flourishing

Your world, O poet of sorrows, flourishes

Your world, O poet of sorrows, is flourishing,

Through your own being—not through ours, nor theirs.

With your own soul, not what they were or became.

Filled by your own soul—not by us, nor by them.

لم تُلق شعرك في إرضاء عاطفة

لم تُلق شعرك في إرضاء عاطفة

ولا ضعفت وكم في ضعفهم خانوا

ولا ضعفت وكم في ضعفهم خانوا

You did not recite your verse to gratify an emotion,

You did not cast your poetry to please a whim

You never cast your verse to appease a passing whim,

Nor did you weaken—and how often they betrayed in their weakness!

Nor weaken, though in their weakness they betrayed.

Nor did you falter, while many in their weakness betrayed.

ولا تملقت تستجدي أخا كرم

ولا تملقت تستجدي أخا كرم

وكم تملق بالأشعار إخوان!

وكم تملق بالأشعار إخوان!

Nor did you flatter, seeking handouts from a generous man,

You did not flatter to beg a generous brother,

You never fawned to beg from a generous hand,

And how often brethren have flattered with poems!

Though many flattered with poems, oh brothers!

Though how many 'brethren' have flattered with their lines!

لهفي على الشعر أضحى عند بعضهم

لهفي على الشعر أضحى عند بعضهم

بضاعة ما لها عز ولا شان

بضاعة ما لها عز ولا شان

Alas for poetry! For some of them it has become

Yearning for poetry has become for some of them

My grief is for poetry, which has become in the hands of some

A commodity with neither dignity nor standing.

Goods without pride or stature.

A cheap commodity, bereft of glory or worth.

هذا يتاجر بالأشعار محترفا

هذا يتاجر بالأشعار محترفا

وذاك غايته بالشعر نيشان

وذاك غايته بالشعر نيشان

This one trades in poems as a profession,

This one trades in poems professionally,

This one trades in verses as a common profession,

And that one's goal in poetry is a medal.

And that one's goal with poetry is a spearhead.

And that one seeks, through poetry, a medal to wear.

هذي الدعارة في الآداب رائجة

هذي الدعارة في الآداب رائجة

بناتها اليوم أشعار وألحان

بناتها اليوم أشعار وألحان

This prostitution thrives in literature;

This is rampant prostitution in literature,

This prostitution in literature runs rampant;

Its daughters today are poems and melodies.

Its daughters today are poems and melodies.

Its offspring today are mere lyrics and tunes.

ترى الميوعة والإسفاف يجمعها

ترى الميوعة والإسفاف يجمعها

بخسة الروح تقطيع وأوزان

بخسة الروح تقطيع وأوزان

You see effeminacy and vulgarity brought together

You see the diluted and wasteful collected

You see softness and vulgarity bound together

With baseness of soul by scansion and meters.

By the meanness of spirit, scanning and meters.

By a baseness of spirit, mere scansion and meter.

فأصبح الشعر "خنثى" مثل قائله

فأصبح الشعر "خنثى" مثل قائله

لا الشعر شعر، ولا الفنان فنان

لا الشعر شعر، ولا الفنان فنان

So poetry has become a "hermaphrodite," like its author:

So poetry became "effeminate" like its sayer,

So poetry became effeminate, much like its speaker;

Poetry is not poetry, nor is the artist an artist.

No longer poetry, nor the artist an artist.

The verse is not verse, and the artist no artist.

وكل شعب غدا بالشعر مرتزقًا

وكل شعب غدا بالشعر مرتزقًا

فحظه من حياة العز خسران

فحظه من حياة العز خسران

And every nation that becomes a hireling through poetry—

And every people turned mercenary with poetry,

And any people who turn poetry into mercenary work,

Its share in a life of honor is loss.

So their share of a life of pride is loss.

Their share in a life of honor is absolute loss.

يا شاعر الخلد دعهم في غوايتهم

يا شاعر الخلد دعهم في غوايتهم

وخالد الشعر ذرهم حيثما كانوا

وخالد الشعر ذرهم حيثما كانوا

O poet of immortality, leave them in their waywardness,

O immortal poet leave them to their misguidance,

O poet of eternity, leave them in their delusion,

And you, immortal in verse, leave them wherever they are.

And leave the immortal poetry wherever they were.

And O immortal of verse, leave them wherever they are.

عوضت بالخلد خيرًا من صداقتهم

عوضت بالخلد خيرًا من صداقتهم

كفاك بالخلد أصحاب واخلدن

كفاك بالخلد أصحاب واخلدن

You have been recompensed with immortality—better than their friendship;

You replaced with immortality better than their friendship,

You were compensated with eternity, better than their friendship;

Companions in immortality suffice you—live forever!

Immortality suffices you for companions and brethren.

Suffice for you eternity as companions and friends.