Poems
- ألا فاسترزق الرحمن خيراCome, then, seek good provision from the All-Merciful,
- ألا فاسقني والليل قد غاب نورهLo, pour me a drink, while the night has lost its light,
- ألست ترى التل يبدي لناDo you not see the hill reveal to us
- ألست ترى الظلام وقد تولىDo you not see the darkness now departed,
- إن خانك الدهر فكن عائذاIf fortune betrays you, then seek refuge
- إن قيدته يد مشى ومتى خلاIf a hand confines him, he moves; but whenever he is freed
- أنباك شاهد أمري عن مغيبهThe visible witness of my state has told you what lies hidden in it;
- أنظر خليلي ببطن جلق هلLook, my friend, in Jilliq’s heart—can you
- أهلا بشمس مدام من يدي قمرWelcome to a sun of wine from a moon's two hands!
- أيا عمرو يا بن العلى والحسبO Amr, O son of eminence and ancestral honor,
- أيدت ملك معز دولة هاشمYou have strengthened the rule of the one who exalts Hashim’s dynasty;
- بأبي التي كتمت محاسنهاMy father be her ransom—she who concealed her charms,
- ببامخايال إن حاولتما طلبيAt Bamkhayal, if you two seek me,
- بحمرة وجه لذاك الهلالBy the blush upon that crescent's face,
- بدا فأراك الشمس في الغصن النضرHe appeared and showed you the sun in a verdant bough,
- بقاع أشرقت فكأن فيهاTracts of land shone, as though they held
- تتيه كبرا ولكنShe struts with pride, yet
- ترى البرية في حالي ندى وردىYou see humankind in two states: bounty and death;
- حلقت سبالك جهلا بماYou shaved off your mustache, unaware of what
- حور جعلن وقد رحلن وداعناDark-eyed maidens, as they departed, bade us farewell
- حور شغلن قلوبنا بفراغDark-eyed maidens preoccupied our hearts with emptiness,
- حيا الحيا دمن العقيق وإن عفتMay the rain greet al-Aqiq's ruined camps, though effaced
- خليلي إني للثريا لحاسدMy two friends, I am indeed envious of the Pleiades,
- دع العود محزونا يطيل بكاءهLet the sorrowful lute prolong its weeping
- دعا فؤادي للأسى وحدهLeave my heart alone with sorrow, you two,
- دم المجد أجراه الطبيب وعصبتThe physician made Glory’s blood flow, and bandages were bound
- راح كضوء شهابLike the glow of a shooting star,
- رب ليل فضحته بضياء الراحMany a night I unveiled with the radiance of wi—
- رب يوم بوصلها ساعد الدهرMany a day Fate favored us with union with her;
- رق ثوب الدجى وطاب الهواءNight’s robe grew thin, and the air grew pleasant.
- روحي الفداء لظاعنين رحيلهمMy soul be ransom for departing ones whose leaving
- صاح غمضت وماFriend, I closed my eyes, though it was not
- عطلت دارسة المغانيI left the timeworn dwellings deserted,
- غدت دار الأمير كما رويناThe emir's house has become like what we have related
- فالكف عاج والحباب لآلئThe hand is ivory, and the bubbles are pearls;
- فتكت فلا تأخذن من فتكYou have acted recklessly; never hold one who has acted recklessly to account
- فديت من زرعت في القلب لحظتهI would give my life for him whose glance planted in the heart
- فكم من روحة والشمسAnd how many an afternoon outing, while the sun
- فلأشكرن لدير متى ليلةSo I shall surely thank the monastery of Mattā for a night
- في كنف الله ظاعن ظعناIn God's keeping, a traveler has journeyed away;
- قام مثل الغصن الميادHe rose like a swaying bough,
- قامر بالنفس في هوى قمرHe gambled his soul in love for a moon,
- قبر تود العلى ضنا بساكنهA grave: the heights wish—loath to yield its dweller
- قد طفح القلب بالهموم فإنThe heart has overflowed with sorrows; so if
- قل للشريف المستجارTell the nobleman whose protection
- قلت لما بدا الهلال لعينI said, when the crescent moon appeared to an eye
- كأنما أنجم الثريا لمنAs though the stars of the Pleiades, to one
- كأني بهم إذ خالفوا بعض أمرهIt is as though I see them, when they defied part of his command,
- لا تحسبوا أنني باغ بكم بدلاDo not think that I seek another in your stead,
- لا ترى رأيه يضل عن الرشدYou never see his judgment stray from right guidance;
- لا تطنبن في بكاء النؤي والطنبDo not go on at length lamenting the camp trench and tent ropes,
- لا وجفون تنوس في العقدNo, by eyelids swaying amid the knots,
- لفظ كخد يجتلىExpression like a cheek gazed upon,
- لم يغد شكرك في الخلائق مطلقاNever has praise of you gone free among humankind
- لما تبدى الكوفي ينشدناWhen the Kufan appeared, reciting to us,
- له قلم كقضاء الإلاهHe has a pen like the decree of God—
- لو أشرقت لك شمس ذاك الهودجIf the sun of that howdah shone for you,
- لو أن في فمه جمرا وأنشدناIf there were glowing coals in his mouth and he recited to us
- ما زاره الطيف بعد اليوم معتمداThe apparition did not visit him after today with intent
- ما عذرنا في حبسنا الأكواباWhat excuse have we for holding back the cups?
- متوقد مترقرق عجبا لهBlazing, shimmering—what a marvel it is!
- محاسن الدير تسبيحي ومسباحيThe monastery's beauties are my praise and my rosary;
- مطرب الصبح هيج الطرباDawn's songster stirred rapture;
- مهاة توهمها أم غزالاDo you imagine her an oryx or a gazelle?
- هو الفجر قابلنا بابتسامIt is dawn—it greeted us with a smile,
- هو يوم كما تراهIt is a day, as you see it,
- وأخ جفا ظلما ومل وطالماAnd a brother shunned me unjustly and tired of me, though for so long
- وأخ رخصت عليه حتى ملنيAnd to a brother I grew so cheap that he tired of me;
- وإذا أردت ترى فضيلة صاحبAnd if you wish to see the virtue of a man,
- واستشرفت نفسي إلى مستشرفMy soul yearned for a lofty vantage point
- واستمعها أرق من ورق الوردAnd listen to it, more delicate than rose petals,
- وأغيد روته المدامة فانثنىAnd a supple youth, his thirst slaked by wine, swayed,
- وإن بدت الستور لنا رأيناAnd if the curtains come into view before us, we see
- وأنحلني حتى لو أني بكفةAnd I have been made so thin that, were I in one scale-pan,
- وبدر دجى يمشي به غصن رطبBy a full moon in the darkness, borne along by a tender bough—
- وتأتي بك الحاجات عفوا كأنماAnd through you, needs are effortlessly fulfilled, as though
- وتطمح فواراتها فكأنهاAnd its jets soar, as though they were
- وجاهل بالغرام قلت لهAnd to one ignorant of passion I said,
- وخرقاء قد تاهت على من يرومهاAnd a foolish one has vaunted herself above whoever seeks her,
- وزعفرانية في اللون والطيبAnd a wine saffron-like in color and fragrance,
- وسحاب يجر في الأرض ذيليAnd a cloud trails its hem across the earth,
- وكم من عدو صار بعد عداوةAnd many an enemy, after enmity, has become
- ولقد تلقيت الصباح بمثلهAnd indeed I greeted the morning with its equal,
- وما خلق الإنسان إلا لينطويAnd man was created only to be enfolded
- ومدامة صفراء في قارورةAnd golden wine within a flask
- ومعذورة في هجرها لجمالهاAnd she is excused for shunning me, because of her beauty,
- وورد بستان قحابيةAnd the rose of Qahabiyya's garden—
- ويكشف بالآراء ما كان مشكلاAnd through his judgments he makes clear what was obscure,
- يا بن فهد وأنت من ما نراناO son of Fahd, you are one for whom we see
- يا خليلي من عذيري من الدنياO my two friends, who will deliver me from the worl—
- يا سيدا بالعلا والمجد منفرداO master, unrivalled in eminence and glory,
- يا شبيه البدر حسناO you who resemble the full moon in beauty,
- يا معيري بالصد ثوب السقامO you who, through rejection, lend me the robe of sickness,
- يا من جفا في القرب ثم نأىO you who were aloof when near, then went far away,
- يا نفس موتي فقد جد الأسى موتيO soul, die, for sorrow has grown intense—die!
- يرى فيه إيماض السيوف كأنهIn it, the flashing of swords is seen, as though it were
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