To the Tyrants of the World
| حبيب الظلام عدو الحياة | ألا أيها الظالم المستبد | |
| وكفك مخضوبة من دماه | سخرت بأناة شعب ضعيف | |
| وتبذر شوك الأسى في رباه | وسرت تشوه سحر الوجود |
| وصحو الفضاء وضوء الصباح | رويدك لا يخدعنك الربيع | |
| وقصف الرعود وعصف الرياح | ففي الأفق الرحب هول الظلام | |
| ومن يزرع الشوك يجني الجراح | حذار فتحت الرماد اللهيب | |
| رؤوس الورى وزهور الأمل | تأمل هناك أنى حصدت | |
| وأشبعته الدمع حتى ثمل | ورويت بالدم قلب التراب | |
| ويأكلك العاصف المشتعل | سيجرفك السيل سيل الدماء |
أبو القاسم الشابي
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English version
O oppressive tyrant
Lover of the darkness, enemy of the life
You laughed at a powerless people
Your hand is dyed by their blood.
You destroy the magic of the universe
And you sow thorns wherever you go.
Gently! Don’t get amazed by the spring,
the clarity of the space and the light of the day.
For in the wide horizon, there are night horror,
Thunder rumbling and blustering wind.
Be careful! From the ash grow the flames
He who sows the thorns shall reap wounds.
Look there, where you harvested
The flowers of hope
The bloody stream will tear you
And the burning storm will devour you.
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Version Française
Ô tyran oppresseur
Ami de la nuit, ennemi de la vie
Tu t’es moqué d’un peuple impuissant
Ta main est teinte de son sang
Tu abîmes la magie de l’univers
Et tu sèmes les épines du malheur dans ses éminences
Doucement! Que ne te trompent pas le printemps,
La clarté de l’air et la lumière du jour:
Dans l’horizon vaste il y a l’horreur de la nuit,
Le grondement du tonnerre et les rafales du vent.
Attention ! Sous le cendre il y a des flammes
Celui qui plante les épines récolte les blessures.
Regarde, là-bas où tu as moissonné
Les fleurs de l’espoir
Le torrent du sang va t’arracher
Et l’orage brûlant va te dévorer.
Ami de la nuit, ennemi de la vie
Tu t’es moqué d’un peuple impuissant
Ta main est teinte de son sang
Tu abîmes la magie de l’univers
Et tu sèmes les épines du malheur dans ses éminences
Doucement! Que ne te trompent pas le printemps,
La clarté de l’air et la lumière du jour:
Dans l’horizon vaste il y a l’horreur de la nuit,
Le grondement du tonnerre et les rafales du vent.
Attention ! Sous le cendre il y a des flammes
Celui qui plante les épines récolte les blessures.
Regarde, là-bas où tu as moissonné
Les fleurs de l’espoir
Le torrent du sang va t’arracher
Et l’orage brûlant va te dévorer.
June 3rd, 2007 at 7:36 pm
[…] It’s interesting to see an Aboul-Qacem Echebbi’s poem translated into English. No wonder that Wikipedia makes such an effort. I have already translated the same poem into English and French one year and half ago, but I don’t have the skill of writing in poetic English. In the poem “To the Unfair Tyrant”, the Tunisian young poet (1909-1934) denounces the crimes of the French colonialism, threatens the occupants and predicts a revolt, yet without mentioning them directly. Here’s the text from Wikipedia To the unfair tyrants… To the lovers of the darkness… To the enemies of life… You’ve made fun of innocent people’s wounds; and your palm covered with their blood You kept walking while you were deforming the charm of existence and growing seeds of sadness in their land Wait, don’t let the spring, the clearness of the sky and the shine of the morning light fool you… Because the darkness, the thunder rumble and the blowing of the wind are coming toward you from the horizon Beware because there is a fire underneath the ash Who grows thorns will reap wounds You’ve taken off heads of people and the flowers of hope; and watered the cure of the sand with blood and tears until it was drunk The blood’s river will take you away and you will be burned by the fiery storm. […]