هاج حزني لما تفنى الحمام

وبدا لي من الهيام الحمام

My sorrow stirred when the doves perished,

and through passionate longing death appeared to me.

يا حماماً بدا على الروح يشدو

أنت طلق الجناح ماذا الغرام

O dove that appeared, singing to the soul,

your wing is free—what is love to you?

لا يحول البعاد عن نيل إلفٍ

لك فالدار إن تناءت ترام

Distance does not prevent reaching a beloved

of yours; even a far-off home can be sought.

أنا أولى بأن أنوح وأشدو

وعلى كاهلي يعلو الرغام

I have more cause to lament and sing,

while dust rises upon my shoulders.

أنا أولى إذا بكيت بدمعٍ

أذهبت نور عينه الأيام

I have more cause, when I weep, to shed the tears

of one whose eye the days have robbed of light.

يا خفيف الجناح إن لم تعريف

ه فهذي تحيتي والسلام

O light-winged one, if you do not recognize

him, here are my greeting and peace.

كن حميم الزجال وامض سريعاً

تخو شهمٍ له الدجيل مقام

Be the singer's close companion, and go swiftly

toward a gallant man whose home is al-Dujayl.

قبل الأرض ثم بلغ سلامي

ثم كلم بعد السلام الكلام

Kiss the ground, then convey my greeting;

then, after the greeting, speak these words:

إن عبد الرحمن في الكرخ باك

بعيون لها العيون قوام

Indeed, Abd al-Rahman is weeping in al-Karkh,

with eyes sustained by flowing springs.

حيثما صح قولكم لأخيه

مذ بدا نثركم له والنظام

Just as your words to his brother proved true,

since your prose and verse appeared to him:

جئتنا والهموم تحكي الرواسي

وعلى القلب لا يزال الغرام

You came to us with cares resembling steadfast mountains,

and passion still weighs upon the heart.

صار نضواً وزاده الوجد شجواً

وأعترته الأفكار والأوهام

He grew wasted, and longing deepened his grief,

and thoughts and fancies beset him.

صار ذا البيت ورده كل وقتٍ

يعتريه إذا تلاه أوام

This verse became his litany at every hour;

burning thirst assails him whenever he recites it.

لهف نفسي على غريب فريد

ألفته بعد الخواص العوام

My soul aches for a stranger, all alone,

whom the common folk befriended after the elite.

لهف نفسي على مقيمٍ بأعما

ل رجيلٍ وهو الرئيس الإمام

My soul aches for one dwelling in the districts

of Rujayl, though he is the chief and imam,

بين جلفٍ من الجفاة وبين ال

أعراب هاتيكم الطغاة الطغام

between a boor of the uncouth and the

Bedouins—those tyrants, that rabble.

وغدا بالعذاب خل كريم

بين قوم هم شحاح لئام

And a noble friend is now in torment,

among people who are miserly and base.

عمري له نجار إذا ما

ذكروه خرت لديه الكرام

By my life, he has a lineage such that, whenever

they mention it, the noble bow down before him.

حازم قوسه الى كل قصدٍ

لم يفت سهمها إليه سهام

A resolute man, his bow trained upon every target;

no arrows have outstripped its arrow in reaching it.

ذو خصال حسانها باسماتٍ

عن ثنايا بها يروق النظام

A man of virtues, whose beauties smile,

revealing teeth that lend charm to verse.

يم جود تثني عليه الغوادي

والربى والوهاد والآكام

An ocean of generosity, praised by the morning rainclouds,

and the hills, the hollows, and the knolls.

سيدي الدهر هكذا في كرامٍ

ما له قط في الكرام زمام

My lord, this is how Time treats the noble;

it is never bridled in its dealings with the noble.

والد ليته يكون عقيماً

حيث من ولده الطغاة اللئام

A father—would that he were sterile,

since tyrants and base men are among his offspring.

أبعض الناس من بنيه لديه

ماجد كامل كريم همام

The most hated person among his sons, in his eyes,

is a noble, accomplished, generous, high-minded man.

روح القلب سيدي بالأماني

لا تدعه تنوشه الأسقام

Refresh the heart, my lord, with hopes;

do not let illnesses assail it.

وأنعش العقل بانتظارك لطفاً

عن قريب يأتيك وهو المرام

And revive the mind by awaiting grace

that will soon come to you—the very thing desired.

وعد النفس ما استطعت بنعمى

ذاكراً ما مضت به الأعوام

Promise yourself blessings as much as you can,

remembering what the years have carried with them.

فرج اللَه بغتةً حيث يأتي

غير أن الرجاء برق يشام

God's relief comes suddenly, whenever it comes;

yet hope is lightning watched for rain.

فرج بعد شدة ويسار

بعد عسر قضى به العلام

Relief after distress, and prosperity

after hardship—the All-Knowing has decreed it.

دولة المرء بالسلامة لا بال

صفر والبيض فالحطام حطام

A person's good fortune lies in well-being, not in

gold and silver, for worldly wealth is only debris.

وكمال الإنسان بالعلم والحلم

ونجر تعشو إليه الأنام

And human perfection lies in knowledge and forbearance,

and in a lineage toward which all people turn.

والدنا قد علمت من شأنها ال

غدر ولكن جل ما تصيب الكرام

And the world—you know its way is

treachery; yet most of its blows fall on the noble.

سيفها فيهم هو الصارم العضب

وفي الأرذلين سيف كهام

Its sword against them is keen and cutting,

while against the basest its sword is blunt.

قد بلينا بغدرها ودهاها

حين أنتم للمعتفين العصام

We have been tried by its treachery and wiles,

while you were the lifeline for those seeking bounty.

فرددتم من بأسها كل جيش

حينما أرجفت بنا أقوام

So you drove back every army of its fury,

when people spread alarming rumors about us.

وسعيتم لنا بكل جميلٍ

هو للدهر غرة ولئام

And you strove for us with every noble deed;

it is a bright mark upon Time's brow, and a healing accord.

وانتصبتم لنفعنا ما استطعتم

وبدا منكم لنا الاحترام

You stood ready to benefit us as much as you could,

and your respect for us became plain.

فجزيتم عنا بخير جزاء

عاجلاً قبل أن يجيء القيام

May you receive the best reward on our behalf,

soon, before the Resurrection comes.

وأقبلن سيدي ركيك نظام

شغلتني عن حسنه الأسقام

And do accept, my lord, this feeble verse;

illnesses kept me from perfecting its beauty.

أوثقتني وقيدتني بضعف ال

قلب لا يستطاع معه نظام

They bound and fettered me through weakness of the

heart, which makes verse impossible.

قطعتني عن المسير فأصبح

ت وقد ثلثت لي الاقدام

They cut me off from walking, so I have become

one whose feet now number three.

ألحقتني لولا ولاؤك بالما

ضين رمسي يعلو عليه الرغام

But for your loyalty, they would have joined me with the

departed, with dust rising over my grave.

فلو اسطعت زرتكم كل يوم

فعليكم تحية وسلام

If I could, I would visit you every day;

so greetings and peace be upon you.