1. لو أَنّ ذا قَلَمي قُوَى كَلِمي

    نابَتْ يدي لَكَ عن حَدِيثِ فَمي

    If this pen of mine had the power of my words,

    my hand would have served you in place of my mouth's speech.

  2. وكنت تُبْصِرُ كُلَّ مُنْسكِبٍ

    يسرى إِليكَ وكلَّ مُضْطَرِمِ

    And you would have seen every outpouring

    coursing toward you, and every blazing thing.

  3. لكن وجدتُ بَرَاعَتِي اعْتَذَرتْ

    لبَرَاعَتِي بتقاصُرِ الشِّيَمِ

    But I found my skill had offered an excuse

    to my skill for the shortcomings of its qualities.

  4. فقعدتُ عن تكليفِها سِيراً

    قامَ الزمانُ بها على قَدَمِ

    So I sat back from charging it with a journey;

    Time stood with it, upon its feet.

  5. أَوَلَيْسَ أَشواقي وإِن كُتِمَتْ

    كالشَّيْبِ يَضْحَكُ في فَمِ الكَتَمِ

    And are not my longings, even when concealed,

    like gray hair laughing in the mouth of katam dye?

  6. وصبابَتي هيَ ما عَلِمْتَ بها

    نارٌ مُضَرَّمَةٌ على عَلَمِ

    And my yearning is what you have known it to be:

    a fire blazing upon a mountain peak.

  7. ولقد عدِمْتَ سِوى لطيفِ هوًى

    ما زال يُخْرِجُنِي من العَدَمِ

    And indeed you lacked all but a subtle love

    that never ceased drawing me out of nothingness.

  8. وشرقتُ بالمِلْحِ الأُجاجِ فَما

    أُنْسِيتُ سكر الباردِِ الشَّبِمِ

    I choked on bitter saltwater, yet was not

    made to forget the sweetness of cool, cold water.

  9. وسُئِلْتُ حينَ غَرقْتُ في كُرَبٍ

    عنها فقلتُ غَرقْتُ في كَرَمِ

    And when I drowned in troubles, I was asked

    about them; I said, "I drowned in generosity."

  10. ويُقالُ لي هلاَّ ذَمَمْتَ ولي

    شغلٌ بحمدي راعِيَ الذِّمَمِ

    I am asked, "Why have you not censured?" while I am

    occupied with praising the keeper of covenants.

  11. دَعْ من حديثِ حوادثٍ كثُرتْ

    إِن الهمومَ نتائجُ الهِممِ

    Leave aside talk of misfortunes grown numerous;

    indeed, cares are the offspring of aspirations.

  12. وكفاكَ من ذكر المُلِمَّةِ ما

    وَسَمَ الوجوه بحِلْيَةِ اللِّمَمِ

    Enough for you, in recalling calamity, is what

    has marked faces with the adornment of tresses.

  13. ولأَجْلِ صرفِ الدهرِ صرتُ متى

    أَبصرتُ لم أَبصِرْ سوى ظُلَمِ

    And Time's reversals have brought me to this: whenever

    I look, I see nothing but darkness.

  14. ونَعَمْ جهِلْتُ فقمتُ عن نِعمِ

    كانت لَديْكَ وقُمْتُ في نِعَم

    And yes, I was foolish: I rose from blessings

    that were with you, and took my stand amid blessings.

  15. واضَيْعتَاهُ خرجتُ عن عَرَبٍ

    واضَيْعتَاهُ دخَلْتُ في عَجَمِ

    Alas, my ruin! I left the Arabs;

    alas, my ruin! I entered among non-Arabs.

  16. وبضاعَتِي نُطْقِي وأَكسَدُ ما

    بِيع الكلامُ على ذَوي الصَّمَم

    My merchandise is my speech, and the least saleable thing

    sold is speech to those who are deaf.

  17. لَهفِي على الإِفحامِ أَيْن به

    لأَجانِسَ الإِفحامَ بالفَحم

    My anguish at speechlessness—where can I find it,

    to pair speechlessness with charcoal?

  18. بل لَيْتَها من غُمَّةٍ كَشَفَتْ

    وَجْهَ التَّنَقُّل عن ذوِي الغُمم

    Rather, would that this gloom had revealed

    the face of wandering to those burdened by gloom.

  19. وأَنا المَلوُم فإِنْ رَجَعْتُ إِلى

    عَوْدٍ إِليها بعْدها فَلُمِ

    And I am to blame; if I return

    to it again after this, then blame me.

  20. أَحسِنْ أَبا حَسَنَ الأَجَلَّ وقُمْ

    في كَشْفِها واضْرِبْ على القِمَمِ

    Be gracious, most exalted Abu Hasan, and rise

    to dispel it, and strike at the summits.

  21. والْقَ الكتائبَ يا بْنَ والِدِها

    بالكُتْبِ وارْمِ السّيفَ بالقَلَمِ

    And meet the battalions, O son of their father,

    with letters, and assail the sword with the pen.

  22. واخدُمْ بتقبيلي البِساطَ لِمَنْ

    باتَ الزمانُ له من الخَدَمِ

    And offer service, with my kiss upon the carpet, to him

    for whom Time has become one of the servants.

  23. واعرِضْ عليه حالَ خادِمِهِ

    سِرًّا ونَبِّهْهُ لَهَا وَنَمِ

    And present to him his servant's condition

    in secret; alert him to it, and sleep.

  24. وكِلا أَسيراً منك مالكاً أَبدا

    فبحق مُلْكِكَ لا عُدِمْتَ دُمِ

    And both—a captive, through you a master forever—

    so by the right of your sovereignty—may you never be lost—endure.

  25. يا ياسِرَ بْنَ بلالٍ انْتَقَمتْ

    مِنِّي صروفُ الدَّهْرِ فانْتَقِم

    O Yasir ibn Bilal, vengeance has been taken

    on me by Time's reversals; so avenge me.

  26. هذا أَبوكَ البحْرُ جارَ على

    مالِي وأَجْرَى في الدُّموعِ دمِي

    This is your father, the sea: it has encroached upon

    my wealth, and made my blood flow in my tears.

  27. وعَدَا على حُرَمي وقد جُعِلَتْ

    منذُ انتميتُ إِليكَ في حَرَمِ

    And it assaulted my sacred things, though they had been placed

    in sanctuary ever since I attached myself to you.

  28. في كلِّ يومٍ منه قارِعةٌ

    أَلَمِي بها أَنْ لَسْتُ ذا أَلَمِ

    Every day there comes from it a calamity;

    my pain at it is that I feel no pain.

  29. فأَكونَ فيه بنانَ ذِي لَهَفٍ

    طَوْراً وطوراً سِنَّ ذي نَدَمِ

    So in it I become the fingertips of one in anguish,

    at one time, and at another the tooth of one remorseful.

  30. أَعطيتَني ما قام يأْخُذُهُ

    مني وظنُّكَ فيه لَمْ يَقُمِ

    You gave me what it has set about taking

    from me, and your expectation of it has not held true.

  31. روا لَسْتُ أَقولُ صِنْوُكَ

    في اللُّؤْمِ أَحْظَى منكَ في الكَرمِ

    Gently—I am not saying your counterpart

    is richer in meanness than you in generosity.

  32. كم صارخِ مِنَّا ومُلْتَطِمٍ

    في زاخِرٍ منه ومُلْتَطِمِ

    How many of us cry out and beat their faces

    in its surging, crashing waters!

  33. ومُكابدٍ تَعَباً إِلى أَكَمٍ

    وافَى عليها كُلُّ مُرْتَكِمِ

    And how many toil wearily toward hillocks

    upon which every heaped-up wave has come!

  34. مالي رُمِيتُ بكلِّ عاصِفَةٍ

    أَنا لَسْتُ من عادٍ ولا إِرَمٍ

    Why have I been assailed by every tempest?

    I am not of 'Ad, nor of Iram.

  35. وعلى ابْتِدائي ذا الحديثُ جَرَى

    يا لَيْتَ شعرِي كَيْف مُخْتَتَمِي

    And this tale has unfolded at my very beginning;

    oh, would that I knew what my ending will be!