بعثَتْ طَيْفَها فَزَارَ طُرُوقَا

فَشَجَا وَامِقاً وهَاجَ مَشُوقَا

She sent her phantom; it came visiting by night.

It grieved a lover and roused one sick with longing—

زَوْرةٌ ما شَفَتْ مَرِيضاً شَكَا الهَجْ

رَ زماناً واسْتوحشَ المَطْرُوقَا

a visitor that did not heal a sufferer who complained of aban-

donment for so long; the one visited by night grew desolate.

حِينَ شَقَّ الصَّباحُ حُزْناً على اللّيْ

لِ وقد مَاتَ جَيْبُهُ والزِّيْقَا

When dawn tore through, grieving over the night—

whose neck and neckline had already died away—

بَزَّ نَوْمي وطَارَ والقَلبُ يقفُو

هُ امتِسَاكاً بذيلِهِ وعُلُوقَا

the phantom robbed me of sleep and fled, my heart pursuing

and clinging fast to the hem of its robe.

كَمَدٌ لم يُبَلْ فيُنْكَسْ وَدَاءٌ

لم يُصَادِفْ صَاحِي الجَنَان مُفِيقا

A wasting sorrow that does not wear out and overturn; a sickness

that never found the heart awake and recovering.

يا سَمِيِّي ولا سَبِيلَ إلى نَصْ

ري ولكنْ يَدْعُو الصديقُ الصديقَا

O my namesake, there is no path to my aid—

yet one friend must call upon another.

أَوَلَمْ يَأْنِ للذي أَسْكَرَتْهُ

حَدُقُ البِيضِ ساعةً أن يَفيقا

Is it not time for him whom the pupils

of fair-eyed women have intoxicated to sober for an hour?

أَوْقَعَتني الأيامُ في قَبْضَةِ الحُبْ

بِ وما كنتُ للبَلاءِ مُطِيقَا

The days have cast me into love’s grip,

though I was never strong enough to bear affliction.

ضِقتُ ذَرْعاً بحبِّ من لا أُسمّي

هِ وإنْ مَزَّقَ الحشَا تَمزيقا

My endurance has failed through loving one I will not name,

although she has torn my innermost heart to pieces.

زفَرَاتٌ لو تَصْطَلي حَرَّها النَّا

رُ لأَضحَى بها الحريقُ حَرِيقا

Sighs whose heat, if fire itself endured it,

would make the very conflagration burn;

ودُمُوعٌ لولا اعتِصَاميَ بالسَّبْ

حِ لأَلفيتَني بِهِنَّ غَريقَا

and tears—had I not held fast to patience,

you would have found me drowned in them.

تُسْعِدُ العينُ أُختَها ويُعينُ المُو

قُ في صَبَّهِ الدموعَ المُوْقَا

One eye assists its sister, while the tear duct

helps it pour forth streaming tears.

وبِنَفْسِي خَرِيدةٌ لا أرَى الوَصْ

فَ مُؤدٍّ ممّا حَوَتْهُ حُقُوقا

My life be ransom for a maiden whose full

due no description can discharge.

تَملأُ السُّورَ والخَلاخيلَ أَعْضَا

داً تقضُّ البُرَى مُلاءً وسُوْقا

Her limbs fill armlets and anklets,

their fullness almost snapping bracelets and adorning her legs.

وتَسُومُ الأُزْرَ المُلاثَةَ سَوْمَ الْ

قَلْبِ ما لا يُطيقُهُ أن يُطيقا

She makes the triple-folded robes endure

what the heart itself can scarcely bear.

مَنْظَرٌ مُبْهِجٌ أُفيضَ عليهِ الْ

حُسْنُ من كلِّ جَانِبٍ وأُريقَا

A radiant prospect over which beauty

has been poured from every side.

لا تَرَى الزَّهْرَ عنده باسِمَ الثَّغْ

رِ وما منظرُ الرياضِ أَنِيقا

Beside her, you never see a blossom smiling with an open mouth;

the spectacle of gardens cannot rival her.

يَمْلأُ العينَ لَذَّةً تُعْقِبُ الصَّدْ

رَ شَجاً لا يُسيغُهُ وحَريقا

She grants the eye a pleasure followed

by choking grief and an unquenchable burning.

لَحْظُ عَيْنٍ كالسَّهْمِ رُشْتَ أعَالي

هِ وأصْلحتَ نَصْلَهُ والفُوقَا

Her eye’s glance is an arrow, its upper reaches fletched,

its blade and nock made keen.

فَوقَهُ حَاجِبٌ كما حقَّقَ الكا

تِبُ نُوناً في طِرْسِهِ تحقيقا

Above it lies an eyebrow, as though a scribe

had drawn a perfect nūn upon his page.

وفَمٌ كاستدارةِ الميمِ يُبديْ

لَكَ دُرّاً مُفَصَّلاً وعَقِيقا

And a mouth, round as the letter mīm, revealing

strung pearls and red carnelian to you.

وخُدُودٌ شَرِقْنَ بالحُسْنِ حُمْرٌ

لا تَرَى عِندها الشقيقَ شَقيقا

Cheeks steeped in beauty, glowing red—

beside them even the anemone is no true sibling.

لم تَرِدْ ماءَها النواظرُ إلاّ

أَصدرتْهنَّ بالدمُوعِ شُرُوقا

No gazing eyes approach their water

without departing at sunrise brimming with tears.

وإذا استقبلتْكَ أجْدتْكَ طِيباً

سَاطِعاً نَشَرُهُ ومِسْكاً سحيقا

When she faces you, she gives you a fragrance

whose breath spreads far—deep, enduring musk.

فِطْرةٌ لا لخلطِ طِيبٍ وإنْ لم

تخلُ منهُ وخِلقةٌ لا خُلوقَا

It is natural, not the blending of perfumes, although

never without perfume: an innate form needing no cosmetic art.

يا أَخَا هَاشمَ بنِ عبدِ مَنَافٍ

طَالَما استصرَخَ الأسيرُ الطَّليقا

O brother of Hāshim son of ʿAbd Manāf,

how long has the captive cried to the free man for rescue!

مَنْ رَسُولي لها ولو سَامَني الرِقْ

قَ على عِزَّتي لَرحْتُ رَقيقا

Be my messenger to her; even if she demanded bondage,

I would surrender my pride and go to her a slave—

بكلامٍ لو بتُّ أستعطفُ الصَّخْ

رَ بهِ كادَ أن يكونَ شقيقا

with words which, if I spent the night addressing them to rock,

would nearly make the rock itself split apart.

أيُّها الغَادةُ التي لا أرَى المَرْ

زُوقَ من غيرِ وَصْلِها مَرْزُوقَا

O maiden, I cannot count as truly provided for

anyone denied the provision of union with you.

إنَّ عَيناً تَراكِ يوماً منَ الدّهْ

رِ لَعَينٌ لا تَعْدَمُ التوْفِيقا

An eye that sees you for one day of its life

is an eye that will never lack good fortune.

لِيَ عَينٌ ما أن تفيقَ بُكاءً

وفُؤَاداً ما أَنْ يقِرَّ خَفُوقَا

Yet mine is an eye that never recovers from weeping,

and mine a heart whose throbbing never rests.

وبلائي إنِ انتشقْتُ نَسيماً

هَبَّ يهدي أريجَكِ المنشوقا

My affliction is that, whenever I breathe a breeze

laden with your inhaled fragrance,

لا أَنيْ دُونَ أن أذوبَ زَفيراً

قَاتِلاً حَرُّهُ وأهفُو شهيقا

I burn before I can breathe out a sigh—

a sigh lethal in heat, while I gasp for breath.

أَفَلا يستمِدُّ قلبُكِ في الرِّقْ

قَةِ لَفْظاً أسمعتِنيهِ رقيقا

Will your heart not draw upon tenderness

and let me hear from you one gentle word?

لَرَحيقُ المُدامِ فِعلاً لئنْ كا

نَ الذي يسكنُ العقولَ رحيقا

It would indeed be the nectar of wine, if that

which intoxicates minds deserves the name of nectar.

لا أرَى للرجاءِ فيكِ مَجَالاً

لا ولا للسُّلوِّ عَنكِ طريقا

There is no room left for hope in you,

nor any road to consolation away from you.

يا جَزى الشّيبَ ما جزاهُ وأثْوا

هُ مَكَاناً من البلادِ سحيقا

May gray hair receive its due reward—cast it

to some far corner of the earth!

سَرَقَ العمرَ من يديَّ اختلاساً

فقُصارايَ أن أقُصَّ السَّرُوقا

It stole the lifetime of my youth by stealth;

my utmost hope is merely to pursue the thief.

شَانَ وَجْهاً ما كانَ في وُسْعِ وَجْهٍ

أنْ يضاهي جمالَهُ أو يفوقا

That was a face no other face possessed the power

to equal in beauty or surpass:

أبيضٌ شَانَ أبيضاً وسَنا المِصْ

بَاحِ يشكُو ضَوءَ الصباحِ شُرُوقا

white in radiance, with the brilliance of a lamp

before which dawn complains that its own light is dim.

يا ليَ اللهُ كمْ يُجرّعُني الدَّهْ

رُ صَبُوحاً من ظُلْمِهِ وغَبُوقا

O God, how often fate makes me swallow

its injustice as both morning draught and evening cup!

كلّما قُلتُ آنَ أنْ يقضِيَ الدَّهْ

رُ حُقوقي قَضى عليَّ عُقوقَا

Whenever I say, ‘The time has come for fate to pay

my rights,’ it instead condemns me to wrong.

ولَحَا اللَّه مَعشَراً أُشْرِبوا الغَدْ

رَ قُلُوباً وأَوجرُوهُ حُلُوقا

May God rebuke a people made to drink treachery

into their hearts and forced to gulp it down their throats.

كلُّ مُسْتنكِفٍ عَنِ الوِدِّ لا يَعْ

لِقُ حبلاً من الوَلاءِ وثيقا

Everyone who proudly disdains affection fails to grasp

a strong and trustworthy rope of loyalty.

إنّ أَولَى الورَى بخالصِ ودّي

جَعْفرٌ قد غَدَا بِذَاكَ خَلِيقا

The person most entitled to my unalloyed love

is Jaʿfar, who has proved himself worthy of it—

عَلَويٌّ يعلُو الرجالَ إذا طَا

وَلَهم مَحْتِداً وعِرْقاً عَريقَا

an ʿAlid who towers over men whenever they compete

in ancient lineage and deeply rooted descent;

وكريمٌ أعْتَدُّ منه على الَّلأْ

واءِ كفّاً طَلْقاً وَوَجْهاً طَلِيْقا

a noble man on whose aid I reckon in adversity,

with an open hand and a cheerful face.

سَارَ ما سَارَ أَوَّلُوهُ فأعلى السْ

سَمْكَ مِمّا بنَوْا وسَدَّ الفُتُوقَا

He followed the road his forefathers traveled, raising

the roof of what they built and closing every breach.

وَحَمَى ما حَمَوْا وزَادَ فأعْطَى

فَوقَ ما قد أَعْطَوا وأدَّى الحُقُوقا

He guarded all they had guarded and added still more,

giving what they gave and making every right secure.

وجَرَى خَلفَ مَعْشَرٍ أحرزُوا السَّبْ

قَ وَجِيفاً إلى العُلا وعنيقا

He followed a company who had already won the race,

racing swiftly toward glory at full gallop.

قَسَماً لم يَعُقْهُ شَيءٌ وجَازَ الْ

أُفقَ سَعْياً واستخدمَ العَيُّوقا

A resolve that nothing hindered: it crossed

the horizon in its striving and pressed al-ʿAyyūq into service;

صَارِمٌ كلّما هَتَفْتُ بِهِ هَبْ

بَ انْسلالاً لِنُصْرتي وذُلُوقَا

a keen sword that, whenever I call upon it, leaps

from its sheath to my defense, sharp and swift;

وَجَوَاداً إذا استرشتُ بِهِ مَدْ

دَ بِأمْدَادِهِ وسَاقَ الوُسُوقَا

and a generous giver who, when I seek his bounty, extends

its abundance and drives whole caravans of gifts—

والكِسَا والحِلْيَ إلى أنْ يعودَ الْ

غُصْنُ غَضّاً بعد القُحُولِ وَرِيْقا

clothing and ornaments—until the withered branch

returns fresh, tender, and green after barrenness.

يا ابنَ عبدِالجبّارِ إنْ طبتَ فَرْعاً

فلقد طِبْتَ بَعْدَ ذَاكَ عُرُوقَا

Son of ʿAbd al-Jabbār, if you are good as a branch,

you were good in roots long before that.

وكريمُ الآباءِ إنْ شَفَعَ الأَصْ

لَ بِفَرْعٍ أَفَادَهُ تَصْديقا

You are noble through your forefathers; if their deeds intercede,

their descendants bear confirming witness.

لو مَدَحْنَاكَ بالذي فيكَ سُمْنا

سَعَةَ العمرِ لا القراطيسَ ضِيقا

Were we to praise all that is in you, we would find

a lifetime too short—not merely the pages too narrow.

خُلُقٌ كالنسيمِ لُطْفاً وصَدْرٌ

يشتكي عندَهُ الفضاءُ الضّيقا

A character gentle as the breeze, and a heart so spacious

that open space itself complains of narrowness beside it.

لَسْتُ أدري ماذَا أقولُ وإنْ كُنْ

تُ أُعَدُّ المُفَوَّهَ المنطِيقا

I do not know what I can say, although I am

counted among the eloquent and articulate.

وَرَدَ الناسُ قَبلَنَا مَوْرِدَ النَّظْ

مِ فَأَضْحَى مُكَدَّراً مَطْرُوقا

People before us reached the wellspring of verse,

leaving it muddied and repeatedly trodden.

إنْ نَظمْنَا بَيْتاً غَريباً وخِلْنَا

هُ جَدِيداً كَانَ الجَدِيدُ عَتِيقا

If we compose an unfamiliar line and imagine

it new, that very novelty was ancient long ago.

أو سَبَقْنا فيما نَظُنُّ لِمعنىً

مُعْجِبٍ كان سَبْقُنا مَسْبوقا

Or if we think we have preceded others to some

marvelous meaning, our precedence has itself been preceded.

سَبَقُونَا والمرءُ يأنفُ أنْ يُسْ

بَقَ يوماً وإنْ أَطَاقَ لُحُوقا

They went before us; and a man, in what he thinks,

may lead for a day though he was led before.

أيُّ معنىً أَبقُوهُ لم يَسِمُوهُ

سِمَةً تتركُ الصَّرِيحَ لصيقا

What meaning did they leave without marking it

with a sign that makes even the purebred seem derivative?

فاستمعْها لو أنْشَدُوها أبا الطَّيْ

يِبِ مَا كَادَ أنْ يُسيغَ الرِّيقا

So listen to this poem: had they recited it to Abū al-Ṭayy—

ib, he could scarcely have swallowed the pure wine.