You were created unbound as a passing breeze, and free…
Quote
You were created unbound as a passing breeze, and free as morning light in its sky.
Arabic original
خلقت طليقًا كطيف النسيم، وحرًّا كنور الضحى في سماه.
What it means
Freedom appears as the original condition of human life. Breeze and light suggest openness and movement. The rest of the poem challenges the reader’s acceptance of humiliation and chains.
The story behind this quote
This line opens al-Shabbi’s poem O Son of My Mother, collected in Songs of Life. The speaker addresses another human being as a brother.
The poem begins with natural things moving freely, then asks why human beings accept chains. That sequence contrasts freedom as a birthright with submission that has been accepted. The speaker’s brotherly address makes the appeal feel personal and direct.
The linked transcription has spelling variants; the Arabic original keeps the wording already published on Quotesay.
The source
قصيدة «يا ابن أمي» (أغاني الحياة), مطلع القصيدة
The text appears in the indicated source. A traditional attribution remains distinct from proof of authorship: see the context.
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Author
Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi
Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi, a Tunisian poet who died at twenty-five, wrote the Songs of Life, published after his death. His poem “The Will to Live” became an anthem of freedom across the Arab world.
Quotes by Abu al-Qasim al-Shabbi