1. يا أبي .. للحروف عندي سؤال

    مستحيلٌ ، وكلُّ عذب محال

    O my father, I have a question for the letters:

    An impossible one—and all that is sweet is beyond reach.

  2. منذ عشرٍ والشجو يغزلُ شعري

    فحروفي قوافل ورِحال

    For ten years, sorrow has been spinning my poetry;

    So my letters are caravans and saddles.

  3. يُورق الشِّعر في فمي عربياً

    بين جنبيه ، نباةٌ وصيال

    Poetry puts forth leaves in my mouth, in Arabic;

    Within its flanks are defiance and onslaught.

  4. وزنه فيلقٌ من الجُرد يغلي

    وقوافيه بيرقٌ ونصال

    Its meter is a seething legion of sleek steeds,

    And its rhymes are a banner and blades.

  5. قرأ الكفَّ ، والوجوهَ الحيارى

    والزوايا .. وما طوته الظلال

    It read the palm and the bewildered faces,

    And the corners, and what the shadows had enfolded.

  6. فاستبانت صُبارةً ، وقتاداً

    ورسوماً تحثو عليها الرمال

    Then they appeared as a mass of rock and thornbushes,

    And traces over which the sands heap up.

  7. وجِهَات تداخلت فتناءت

    وتلاشى جنوبها والشمال

    And directions intermingled, then grew far apart,

    And their south and north faded away.

  8. حدّثونا ، وأسرفوا عن هوانا

    فلماذا لا تصدق الأقوالُ ؟

    They told us—and spoke lavishly—of our love;

    So why do the words not prove true?

  9. أنّ أمّ الشاهين تُنجبُ صقراً

    كأبيه .. له تتوق الجبال

    That the peregrine's mother bears a falcon,

    Like its father—the mountains yearn for it;

  10. أن غصن الأراك يحيا كسيحاً

    وتموت النّخيل وهي طوال

    That an arak branch lives on, crippled,

    While the palms die, tall as they are.

  11. فلماذا لا ينجب السيف سيفاً ؟

    ولماذا لا تزأر الأشبال ؟

    So why does a sword not beget a sword?

    And why do the lion cubs not roar?

  12. يا صباح السؤال ، سنَّةُ ربي

    ليس إلا له الجليل الكمال

    O dawn of questioning—such is my Lord's way:

    Perfection belongs to none but Him, the Majestic.

  13. حين تهوي سنابل القمح أرضاً

    يبتدي مولدٌ .. ويدنو زوال

    When ears of wheat fall to the earth,

    A birth begins, and a passing draws near.

  14. حدّثونا .. لم يكذِبوا وعرفنا

    بعد لأي " أن الحياة سِجال "

    They told us; they did not lie, and we learned,

    After much toil, that life is a contest of changing fortunes.

  15. وتعبنا " ضاقت بنا الأرض " لكن

    رغم هذا .. في عمقنا آمال

    And we grew weary; the earth closed in on us—but

    Despite this, there are hopes deep within us.

  16. إن أُمّاً يا ملهمي أنجبتكم

    لم يزل للجواب فيها رجال

    Indeed, a mother, O my inspirers, who bore you,

    Still has men within her to answer.