Ḋayxte Naṡirte
Kaccaf ṫṫamax xan wijjo ssa`iil xan manbar
Xeele bi markaz t``iil, muna almax nneejḣiin
Yxiico bala ḋaġt, aw ḱawf aw wiḣdit l ḣaziin
Maḣall ahlo ahil xa ṫṫabiixa ḣaddil baḣir
Ccillel wi nnahr kameen byimce, fayyit l ḣawr
Mayyiṫ ṡṡaḱir, ġamrit zzaytun, w ġamzit l ḣa`il
Caġlit l ariḋ ifeede la ṡṡiḣḣa w lal xa`il
La ṫṫaamiḣ cheede, ḋamiir w ḣikme bi ddawr
Ḋayxte, ḣuḋurik waḋax bi alb l ḣaḋaara
Liġiz min fann w xilm l idaara, ḱajal jbaara
Minnik nafaro w siḱro bi daxwit xaar
La ilik li kbiir bi xilmo rijix miḣtaar
Ilik naṡrit l ma`mun xan ha`` w jadaara
Saleem la bayt amiin min ḱirbe xamaara
Copyright July 27, 2009 Hicham Khalil Bourjaili
Our Lady of Lebanon, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
English Version
My Village, My Victory
Greed revealed its ugly face from above a high stand
In a high position, the most brilliant successful people desire
To live without stress, fear or loneliness
In a friendly place with nature and next to the sea
Falls and rivers are also acceptable neighborhoods, the shadow of popular trees
The water from the rock, the embrace of the olive trees, and the glimpse of the fields
Working the land brings benefits to the health and the mind
To the ambitious it is a mark of good conscience and wisdom in turn
My Village, your presence put in the heart of civilization
An enigma of art and science of management that humiliated the powerful
Who scorned you and mocked you, calling you by shameful names (1)
To you the proud in their knowledge came back confused
To you the victory of the faithful in righteousness and merit
Hail to a haven house rising from ruins
Notes:
1) One tenet of modernity is that old fashioned traditions are devolved and inferior in status to modern societies living in the age of science and enlightenment, in industrial and post industrial societies. As a matter of fact, the beginning of the industrial revolution started a process of rural exodus emptying the countryside from its inhabitants who flocked to urban areas seeking for work and opportunity and often meeting misery after the loss of their farmland and their traditional societal network. The process did not stop since that time but even accelerated with World War I and World War II and up until now with conflicts ripping entire populations and forcing them to exile when they are fortunate not to be exterminated. Faith in science, progress, power and wealth often brought calamity whether through wars between nations, within societies, through family and personal failures, because of the environment pollution and poisoning, and the many tragedies that could not be all counted. People from rural areas were viewed by the urban and proud ones as left behind people, doomed, lacking education and sophistication, naive, old-fashioned and many other insults that I am not going to cover. Yet, amazingly and startlingly, those same successful and ultra-modern people are longing to have a life style that resembles that of the villages of old times! Should we condemn science and the achievements of the modern world? Not necessarily. We need to learn to appreciate life and be grateful, and the first step in that direction is to become humble. As mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels of the Apostle Matthew, and the Evangelists Mark and Luke, the first will become last and the last first.
Copyright August 1, 2009 Hicham Khalil Bourjaili
Our Lady of Lebanon, Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Post a Comment