From the 'Kaside to the Fatherland'

We saw the rulers of the age, their edicts of futility, And we retired from office, with honour and with dignity.

From service to their fellow men, true men will never rest, The brave of heart will not withhold their help from the oppressed.

A nation may be humbled, and yet not lose its worth, A jewel is still precious, though trampled in the earth.

… There is a core of fortitude, the jewel of the heart, Which tyranny cannot crush, might cannot tear apart.

How you bewitch us, liberty, for whom so long we strove, We who are freed from slavery are prisoners of your love.

Beloved hope of days to come, how warm your presence is, And how it frees our troubled world from all its miseries!

Yours is the era that begins, impose your mastery, And may God bring fulfilment to all that you decree.

The stealthy dogs of despotism across your homelands creep, Awake, O wounded lion, from your nefarious sleep!

Translated by Nermin Menemencioğlu