Poems
- أبو سعيد زحل للكرامAbu Sa'id is Saturn to the noble,
- أخو كلمات ما جلاها لسانهA man of words: his tongue never unveils them
- أرى لك أفعالا تناقض أمرهاI see deeds of yours whose nature is contradictory,
- أكل بناءٍ أنت بانيه معجزIs every building you build inimitable?
- ألا أبلغ بني شار كلاميTake heed: convey my words to the sons of Shār.
- ألا حركا لي أبرويز بن هرمزCome, you two, rouse for me Abarwiz, son of Hormuz,
- ألست ترى السيف كيف انثلمDo you not see how the sword has been chipped,
- الملك عندي متعة الشبابKingship, to me, is the enjoyment of youth.
- إن ذا البلعمي والعين غينIndeed, this al-Balʿamī—change the ʿayn to ghayn—
- أيدري السيف أي فتى يبيدDoes the sword know what young man it destroys,
- بحمدك لا بحمد الناس أضحيBy praising you, not other people, I have come to this:
- بسمت فأبدت جيدها فتكشفتShe smiled and bared her neck, revealing
- تأخر عن كتبي الجواب وإنماThe reply to my letters is late; yet it is only
- حسد السماك سميه لما بداEnvy named him Smoothie when he appeared
- ختمت بك العجم الملوك وراجعتWith you the Persians completed their line of kings and regained
- خضبتني الأيام لون بياضThe days have dyed me a shade of white;
- خليلي عهدي بالليالي صوافياMy two friends, I remember the nights as serene.
- رأيتك إن أيسرت خيمت عندناI have seen you, when I prosper, pitch your tent with us,
- شريف فعله فعل وضيعA nobleman whose conduct is ignoble,
- شموس لهن الخدر والبدر مغربSuns whose setting place is the curtained chamber and the full moon;
- طلقت بعدك مدح الناس كلهمAfter you, I divorced praise of all people;
- عذيري من تلك الوجوه التي غدتWho will excuse me for those faces whose
- عذيري من ضحك غدا سبب البكاWho will defend me against laughter that became the cause of weeping,
- غريب على الأيام وجدان مثلهRare for the ages is the finding of his like;
- فإن ردني دهري عليك طريدةSo if my fate has driven me back to you as hunted prey,
- فديتك ما بدالي قصد حرMy life for you! Whenever the thought comes to me of seeking a noble man
- فسا الشيخ سهوا وفي كفهThe old man farted by accident, and in his hand was
- قد عصاني دمعي وخلي فخلت الخلMy tears and my beloved have defied me, so I mistook the beloved
- قلت للعين حين شامت جمالاI said to the eye, when it glimpsed beauty
- كتابي أبا نصر إليك وحالتيMy letter is to you, Abū Naṣr—and as for my state,
- كتبت ابن عباد إليك وحالتيI have written to you, Ibn ʿAbbād, and my condition
- كلم هي الأمثال إلا أنهاWords that are proverbs, except that they
- لا تحمدن ابن عبار وإن هطلتDo not praise Ibn ʿAbbār, even if his hands rain down
- لا تصحب الكسلان في حاجاتهDo not accompany the lazy man on his errands.
- لا تغترر بالحليم تغضبهDo not be deceived by a forbearing man into provoking him;
- لا يصغر الرجل الكبيرA great man is not made small
- لاحت لوجهي أنجمStars appeared upon my face,
- لعمرك لولا آل بوية في الورىBy your life, were it not for the house of Buwayh among humankind,
- ما لي رأيت بني العباس قد فتحواHow is it that I see the sons of al-ʿAbbās have opened
- مات أبو سهل فواحسرتاAbu Sahl has died—alas for me,
- متى أشق رواق الملك تلحظنيWhen shall I pass through the royal portico and be seen
- مجبر صير ابنه ناصبياA determinist made his son a Nasibi,
- مضت الشبيبة والحبيبة فالتقىYouth and the beloved have departed, and so there met
- مضت الشبيبة والحبيبة فالتقى دمعانYouth and the beloved departed; then there met
- مقابل بين اقوام وألويةComparing peoples and banners,
- هذا أبو بكر صقلت حسامهThis is Abu Bakr, whose sword I polished;
- هلم الخطا بدر الدجنة وارفقاStep toward the full moon of darkness, and be gentle
- وإذا ابتدهت بديهة يا سيديAnd when I improvise a verse, my lord,
- وأرثي له من موقف السوء عندهAnd I pity him for his wretched position before him,
- وشمس ما بدت إلا أرتناAnd a sun that never appeared without showing us
- وصاحب لي لو حلت رزيتهAnd a friend of mine—had the calamity of his loss befallen
- وصفراء كالدينار بنت ثلاثةAnd a yellow wine like a dinar, daughter of three:
- وغاظ مدحك أقواما وفي يدهمAnd praising you enraged some people, though in their hands lay—
- وقينة أحسن من لقياهاAnd a singing girl, fairer than meeting her,
- وكم ليلة لا أعلم الدهر طيبهاAnd many a night whose sweetness I do not reveal to Time,
- وكنت سماء والعجاج سحائباAnd you were a sky, the dust its clouds,
- ولقد بلوت الأصدقاء فلمIndeed, I have tested friends, and have not
- ولقد ذكرتك والنجوم كأنهاAnd indeed I remembered you, while the stars were like
- ولما اكثر الحساد فيهAnd when the envious spoke at length about him,
- ولي والله إخوان كثيرAnd by God, I have many brothers;
- ومتى شتمت الدهر تشتم صابراAnd whenever you revile time, you revile one who patiently endures;
- ومن نصر التوحيد والعدل فعلهHe who upholds divine oneness and justice through his deeds
- وهم جعلوني بين عبد وقينةAnd they placed me among a slave and a singing girl,
- يا أيها الخاطب مدحي وهلO you who seek my praise—and can
- يا ترجمان الليالي عن معاذرهاO interpreter of the nights, voicing their excuses,
- يا دهر إنك بالرجال بصيرO Time, you know men well;
- يا طالبا روحي ليبتاعهاO seeker of my soul, wishing to buy it—
- يا عضد الدولة من يمناهاO ʿAḍud al-Dawla, from her right hand,
- يا قاضيا ما مثله من قاضO judge—there is no judge like you.
- يبكي من الموت أبو طيبAbu Tayyib weeps for fear of death;
- يفل غدا جيش النوى عسكر اللقاTomorrow separation’s army will rout the host of reunion.
No poems found.