ظَنَنتُ حَسُودي حينَ غالَت غَوائِلُه

يُريعُ إِلى البُقيا وَتُطوى حَبائِلُه

I thought my enviers when their animosities intensified

Would return to sanity and their ropes would coil

وَقُلتُ كَفاهُ ما لَقيتُ وَنالَني

بِهِ الدَهرُ مِمّا كانَ قِدماً يُحاوِلُه

And I said enough what I have endured and attained from

Destiny from what it tried long ago to attempt

فَأَغمَضتُ جَفناً وَالقَذى مِلءُ ناظِري

وَأَبدَيتُ سلماً لَيسَ تخشى دَغائِلُه

So I closed an eyelid with specks filling my sight

And I showed tolerance that doesn’t fear its braids

وَأَطفأتُ نارَ الجَهلِ بِالحِلمِ بَعدَما

غَلى المِرجَلُ الأَحوى وَذيقَت تَوابِلُه

And I extinguished the fire of ignorance with wisdom after

The fiery pot boiled and its spices were cooked

وَوَطَّنتُ نَفسي لِلمُداراةِ ما رَأى

رَأيتُ وَمَهما قالَهُ أَنا قائِلُه

And I conditioned myself for tolerance whatever

I see and no matter what one says I say it

فَما زادَ ذُو الأَضغانِ إِلّا تَمادِياً

وَلا بَشَّرَت إِلّا بِشرٍّ مَخائِلُه

So the hateful one increasingly persisted

And his good news brought no comfort to the dejected

كَذَلِكَ أَحوَالُ الحَسُودِ وَخِبُّهُ

وَما تَقتَضي أَخلاقُهُ وَشمائِلُه

That’s how enviers are and their spite

And what their morals and traits necessitate

فَلا تَرجُ يَوماً في حَسُودٍ مَوَدَّةً

وَإِن كُنتَ تُبدي وُدَّهُ وَتُجامِلُه

So never hope for affection from an envier one day

Even if you show him affection and indulge him

وَلا تَبغِ بالإِحسانِ إِرضاءَ كاشِحٍ

فَلَيسَ بِمغنٍ في دَمالٍ تَدامُلُه

And don’t seek to please a slanderer with favors

For flattering a scoundrel never benefits the flatterer

فَقُل لِخَليعٍ هَمُّهُ ما يَسُوءُني

رُوَيدَكَ فاتَ الزُجَّ في الرُمحِ عامِلُه

So say to the villain whose concern is my harm

Gently, for the opportunity for the spear has missed its wielder

وَلا تَحسَبَنّي ضِقتُ يَوماً بِما جَرى

ذِراعاً فَما ضاقَت بِحُرٍّ مَراكِلُه

And don’t think I ever felt restricted with what has transpired

For a free soul isn’t restricted however high its ambitions swell

فَقَد يُدرِكُ البَدرَ الخُسوفُ وَتَنجَلي

غَياهِبُهُ عَن نُورُهِ وَغَياطِلُه

The full moon can be eclipsed and its

Darkness covers its light and shades

وَقَد يَجزِرُ الرَجّافُ طَوراً وتارَةً

يُسَيِّرُ ذاتَ الجُلِّ بِالمَدِّ ساحِلُه

And the high tide ebbs at times

Speeding the one with flags ashore with a flow

فَإِن سَاءَني القَومُ الكِرامُ وَضَيَّعُوا

حُقوقي وَهَديُ المَجدِ فيهِم وَكاهِلُه

So if the honorable people did me wrong and neglected

My rights though the glory of glory lies with them

فَقَبلي أَخُو شَنّ بنِ أَفصى أَضاعَهُ

بَنُو عَمِّهِ دَونَ الوَرى وَفَضائلُه

For my paternal uncle Shann bin Ufaysah his nephews

Destroyed though virtues lie in him below the soil

وَلا بُدَّ هَذا الدَهرُ يَرجِعُ صَحوُهُ

وَيَنجابُ عَنهُ غَيُّهُ وَيُزايِلُه

This world must wake from its drunkenness

And its smog clear from it and depart

وَقَد يُشرِقُ الرّيقُ الفَتى وَهوَ غَوثُهُ

وَيَجرَحُهُ ماضي الشَبا وَهوَ فاصِلُه

And the spirit of a young man may shine though unripe

And the draws of youth wound him while he ripens

فَيَنطِقُ عَن صِدقٍ وَيَسمَعُ واعِياً

وَيَفهَمُ عَن عَقلٍ فَيَزهَقُ باطِلُه

So he speaks truthfully and listens consciously

And understands reasonably so falsehoods dissipate

فَيَذهَبُ قَومٌ كَاليَعاليلِ لا يُرى

لَها أَثَرٌ وَالماءُ تغطي جَداوِلُه

Then a people like mirages disappear unobserved

With water covering their valleys’ streams

فَجَدعاً وَعَقراً لِلزَمانِ إِذا اِستَوى

مُطَهَّمُهُ في عَينِهِ وَطَهامِلُه

Damnation and destruction to time when decadent

Its beasts are its heroes and crows are its nobles

وَقُبحاً لِدَهرٍ أَصبَحَ العَلُّ فيلُهُ

وَأَضحَت بُزاةُ الطَيرِ فيهِ عُلاعِلُه

So let not the falling ask my demise to rejoice

For the turns of fate struck me no less than their blows

فَلا يَفرَحِ الخَلفُ الهِدانُ بِنَكبَتي

فَما نالَني مِن صَرفِها فهوَ نائِلُه

Yet I’m no subservient to events

With receiving and releasing equal from what comes my way

عَلى أَنّني لا مُستَكيناً لِحادِثٍ

وَسيّانِ عِندي نِيلُهُ وَصَلاصِلُه

With a pot pouring tears like oozing sap

That I repeat while my chest is full with its flood

وَقائِلَةٍ وَالعِيسُ تُحدَجُ لِلنَوى

وَدَمعُ الجَوى قَد جالَ في الخَدِّ جائِلُه

Do you frighten me of death like myself and with vows

Both its immediate and deferred to me are equal

عَلَيكَ بِصَبرٍ وَاِحتِسابٍ فإِنَّما

يَفُوتُ الثَنا مَن راحَ وَالصَبرُ خاذِلُه

For death is better than living in an abode

Where the freeman sees himself constantly duped

وَلا تَرمِ بِالأَهوالِ نَفساً عَزيزَةً

فَذا الدَهرُ قَد أَودى وَقامَت زَلازِلُه

And no strangerhood away from a home of disgrace with a stranger

Even if dire the conditions and his winnings have dwindled

فَكَم كُربَةٍ في غُربَةٍ وَمَنِيَّةٍ

بِأُمنِيَّةٍ وَالرِزقُ ذُو العَرشِ كافِلُه

And many a stranger lives in bliss while a native

His own people make him weep before death makes him

فَقُلت لَها وَالعَينُ سَكرى بِزَفرَةٍ

أُرَدِّدُها وَالصَدرُ جَمٌّ بَلابِلُه

My stay here oh people’s girl is but for turmoil

And injustice for the inability to escape what I can’t

أَبالمَوتِ مِثلي تُرهِبينَ وَبِالنَوى

وَعاجِلُهُ عِندي سَواءٌ وَآجِلُه

So do not reject my crossing marshes and traversing

Plateaus if kinsmen openly flaunt vile deeds

وَلَلمَوتُ أَحيا مِن حَياةٍ بِبَلدَةٍ

يُري الحُرَّ فيها الغَبنَ مَن لا يُشاكِلُه

For it’s the noble’s virtue to move from corruption

If riffraff are promoted and platforms disdained

وَما غُربَةٌ عِن دارِ ذُلٍّ بِغُربَةٍ

لَوَ اِنّ الفَتى أَكدى وَغَثَّت مَآكِلُه

An stop is inevitable before my trip

To trail my tears so they pour heavily as rain

وَرُبَّ غَريبٍ ناعِمٍ وَاِبنِ بَلدَةٍ

تُبَكِّيهِ قَبلَ المَوتِ فيها ثَواكِلُه

Upon a grave where glory lies dormant

Where the Euphrates shores parallel on its other side

وَإِنّ مُقامي يا اِبنَةَ القَومِ لِلقَلى

وَلِلضَيمِ لَلعَجز الَّذي لا أُزامِلُه

To ask that grave, did decrepitude change

The beauty that its winding sheets concealed

فَلا تُنكري خَوضي الطَوامي وَجَوبِيَ ال

مَوامي إِذا الآلُ اِسجَهَرَّت طَياسِلُه

And did the dead consider blazing a raid

To avenge this dishonor piercing from all directions

فَمِن كَرَمِ الحُرِّ اِرتِحالٌ عَن الفِنا

إِذا قُدِّمَت أَوباشُهُ وَرَعابِلُه

For the living have slept from fighting, so equal

With every path are the lions and wild cats

وَلا بُدَّ لي مِن وَقفَةٍ قَبلَ رِحلَةٍ

أُذيل بِها دَمعي فَيَنهَلُّ وابِلُه

What a wonder with an atheist who gathered matter

And oceans and mountains that the rational ride

عَلى جَدَثٍ أَضحى بِهِ المَجدُ ثاوياً

بِحَيثُ يَرى شَطَّ العَذارِ مُقابِلُه

The most pristine of morals and tents never inclined

To stupidity one day nor failed the hopeful to attain their wants

لِأَسأَلَ ذاكَ القَبرَ هَل غَيَّرَ البِلى

مَحاسِنَ مَجدٍ غَيّبَتها جَنادِلُه

What abundant glory whose branches bent

And its crops have leaned and its bottoms caved

وَهَل هَمَّت المَوتى بِإشعاءِ غارَةٍ

يُثارُ بِها مِن كُلِّ جَوٍّ قَساطِلُه

To lament it are nobleness, glory, valor and high spirit

Its valleys’ streams certainly flowed but now dried

فَقَد نامَتِ الأَحيا عَنِ الغَزوِ فَاِستَوى

بِكُلِّ سَبيلٍ أُسدُهُ وَخَياطِلُه

And the white sharp swords and spears mourn

What his palm dispensed and what his fingers distributed

فَيا عَجَباً مِن مُلحِدٍ ضَمَّ فَيلَقاً

وَبَحراً وَطَوداً يركَبُ المُزنَ عاقِلُه

By my life if Prince Muhammad was killed

And fell one sinister day fighting the combatant

مَضى طاهِرَ الأَخلاقِ وَالخِيمِ لَم يَمِل

إِلى سَفَهٍ يَوماً وَلا خابَ آمِلُه

Surely the enemy was warned with rage

That refused to accept disgrace upon its shoulders

فَيا لَكَ مِن مَجدٍ تَداعَت فُرُوعُهُ

وَمالَ ذُراهُ وَاِنقَعَرَّت أَسافِلُه

Oh Virtue no cessation for your favors to meet

Your excellence with the elite and the nobility at your service

لِيَبكِ العُلى وَالمَجدُ وَالبَأسُ وَالنَدى

لَقَد صَلَّ واديها وَجَفَّت مَسايِلُه

I gave you an affection I gave before to your

Father and Muzain though no detractions could soil it

وَتَندبُهُ البيضُ الصَوارِمُ وَالقَنا

لِما أَنهَلَتها كفُّهُ وَأَنامِلُه

And I witnessed from your dignity what you knew

And does anyone else from all people not know it

لَعَمري لَئِن كانَ الأَميرُ مُحمَّدٌ

قَضى وَأُصيبَت يَومَ نَحسٍ مَقاتِلُه

And how many haters of mine by your love and defamers

Upon me with fires of hatred boiling their pots

لَقَد مُنيَت مِنهُ الأَعادي بِثائِرٍ

هُمامٍ أَبى أَن يَحمِلَ الضَيمَ كاهِلُه

So do not load me while tears heavily fall

Upon a stream where death tastes sweet to the drinker

أَيا فَضلُ لا زالت لِنُعماكَ تَلتَقي

بِمَغناكَ ساداتُ المَلا وَعَباهِلُه

I see you if you delay me and show contempt

With fate persistently harming and openly displaying its onslaught

مَنحتُكَ وُدّاً كُنتُ قَبلُ مَنحتُهُ

أَباكَ وَمُزني لَم تَقَشَّع هَواطِلُه

And the Bahraini islands have passed with threat

And turned Omani with claims on its coasts

وَلاقَيتُ مِن جَرّائِكُم ما عَلِمتَهُ

وَهَل أَحَدٌ مِن سائِرِ الناسِ جاهِلُه

And the Yemeni encampment’s pegs are lodged

With its burdens and carriers settling upon it

وَكَم مُبغِضٍ لِي في هَواكُم وَشانئٍ

عَلَيَّ بِنارِ الحِقدِ تَغلي مَراجِلُه

Or it turned to the Hejazi soil heading

For the Hashemites while excellence lies with them decaying

فَلا تَحمِلنّي وَالمَناديحُ جَمَّةٌ

عَلى مَوردٍ يَستَعذِبُ المَوتَ ناهِلُه

Or it sheltered with the family of Muhanna so protection lies

Where its visitor feels no fear from fate assailing

أَرَيتُكَ إِن أَخَّرتَني وَجَفَوتَني

وَذا الدَهرُ قَد أَربى وَبانَ تَحامُلُه

Or it relied on the tribe whose traces

Are the progeny of all men who face the questioning

وَجازَت قُرى البَحرَينِ عِيسي وَأَصبَحَت

عُمانِيَّةً وَاِستَبهلَتها سَواحِلُه

So tell me Imad al-Din what can I say

When everyone faces what questions him looming

وَأًصبَحَ في الحَيِّ اليَمانيّ رَحلُها

وَحَفَّت بِهِ أَقيالُهُ وَمَقاوِلُه

If I’m told where did you come from and alight

The unrest upon you or who were you contacting before

أَوِ اِستَقبَلَت أَرضَ الحِجازِ فَيَمَّمَت

بَني حَسَنٍ وَالفَضلُ بادٍ شَواكِلُه

And who are your closest company that you pride

And seek glory for those who don’t match your equal

أَوِ اِنتَجَعَت آلَ المُهَنّا فَفيهمُ

حِمىً آمِنٌ لا يَرهَبُ الدَهرَ نازِلُه

Over there truthfulness would do you deficiency

And none enact lies except the most despised of vileness

أَوِ اِعتامَتِ القَومَ الَّذينَ أَحَلَّهُم

ذُرى كُلِّ اِمرِئٍ قُدّامُهُ مَن يُسائِلُه

Your sublime position to glory is my position

And your environs are mine and you are its superlative

فَقُل لي عِمادَ الدِينِ ماذا أَقُولُهُ

وَكُلُّ اِمرِئٍ قُدّامُهُ مَن يُسائِلُه

So be with what your hands contain to the creation

And be sufficient with what I am saying to them

إِذا قيلَ لِي مِن أَينَ أَقبَلتَ وَاِرتَمَت

بِكَ العِيسُ أَو مَن كُنتَ قِدماً تُواصِلُه

For musk is only from the pouches of its disclosure

And pearls hidden are only for their special qualities

وَمَن رَهطكَ الأَدنى الَّذي لَكَ فَخرُهُ

وَنابِهُ قَدرٍ لا يُساوِيهِ خامِلُه

Your view is higher and contentment is what pleases you

And all men face what question them in death hailing

هُناكَ يَكُونُ الصِدقُ نَقصاً عَلَيكُمُ

وَلا يَتَحرّى الكِذبَ إِلّا أَراذِلُه

There lies the truth’s flaw not except in its channels’ essence

And jewels concealed but for traits that define them

وَمَنصِبُكَ السامي إِلى الفَخرِ مَنصِبي

وَرَبعُكَ رَبعي وَالعُلى أَنتَ آيِلُه

Your view is loftier and satisfaction is what you accept

And every person faces what questions him from the grim reaper hailing

فَجُد بِالَّذي تَحوي يَداكَ عَلى الوَرى

وَضِنَّ عَلَيهم بِالَّذي أَنا قائِلُه

So speak of what your hands contain to the people

And be satisfied with what I’m telling them

فَما المِسكُ إِلّا مِن عَقابيلِ نَشرِهِ

وَلا الجَوهَرُ المَكنونُ إِلّا خَصائِلُه

For musk but screams from the pouches of its harvest

And pearls concealed have qualities that reveal them

وَرَأيُكَ أَعلى وَالرِضا ما رَضيتَهُ

وَكُلُّ اِمرئٍ غُولُ المَنِيَّةِ غائِلُه

Your view is loftier, and happiness is what makes you happy,

While every man is met by the questions of mortality