طالعت نجمي بالحسا

طالعت نجمي بالحسا

ب مدققا في كل حاله

ب مدققا في كل حاله

By calculation I examined my star—

I examined my star by calcu-

—scrutinizing its every state.

lation, scrutinizing its every condition.

وضربت بالهندي ضر

وضربت بالهندي ضر

ب مكشّف جهد احتياله

ب مكشّف جهد احتياله

By Indian arithmetic I made—

And with Indian numerals I performed a multi-

—a reckoning that exposed the utmost of its cunning.

plication, like an investigator using all his ingenuity.

فحسبته فوجدته

فحسبته فوجدته

الدبران في درج اعتداله

الدبران في درج اعتداله

I calculated it, and found it

So I reckoned it, and found it to be

to be Aldebaran in the degree of its equipoise.

Aldebaran, in the degrees of its equilibrium.

ورأيته لا كالنجو

ورأيته لا كالنجو

م الخمس في معنى خصاله

م الخمس في معنى خصاله

I saw that it was unlike the five—

And I saw it was unlike the sta-

—planets in the very nature of its qualities.

rs—the five—in the nature of its traits.

وسعوده لا كالسعو

وسعوده لا كالسعو

د ونحسه أدنى فعاله

د ونحسه أدنى فعاله

Its auspicious fortune was unlike the fortunate—

And its good fortunes are unlike good for-

—stars, while its malign influence was the least of its effects.

tunes, and its ill luck is the least of its deeds.

قوّمته في سيره

قوّمته في سيره

ووقوفه عقبى زياله

ووقوفه عقبى زياله

I precisely charted its course

I charted it in its motion

and its station, through to the outcome of its setting.

and its standstill following its departure.

فرأيته عند السعا

فرأيته عند السعا

دة ما خطرت له بباله

دة ما خطرت له بباله

Then I saw that happiness—

Then I saw that, when it came to happi-

—had never so much as crossed its mind.

ness, I had never crossed its mind.

غفلت مذاهبه الكوا

غفلت مذاهبه الكوا

ئن في القديم على اعتقاله

ئن في القديم على اعتقاله

Its paths escaped the ken of created—

Its courses neglected the happen-

—beings of old, though bent on apprehending it.

ings of old, in its confinement [wording unclear].

فاشتقّ لي من فعله

فاشتقّ لي من فعله

اسما يشاب على اعتلاله

اسما يشاب على اعتلاله

Thus from its deeds a name was coined for me—

So from its deeds it derived for me

—a name tinged with its infirmity.

a name whose infirmity makes one grow gray.

ووجدت حكمى حكمهُ

ووجدت حكمى حكمهُ

في سلمه ولظى قتاله

في سلمه ولظى قتاله

And I found my lot to be its lot,

And I found my lot was its lot,

in its peace and in the blaze of its battle.

in its peace and the blaze of its warfare.

بيت الحياة معلّل

بيت الحياة معلّل

وقف على عقبى مطاله

وقف على عقبى مطاله

The House of Life stands marked,

The house of life is kept hoping,

dependent on where its delays will end.

held in suspense for the outcome of its delays.

ولبيت مالي مذهب

ولبيت مالي مذهب

ما خصّني يوما بماله

ما خصّني يوما بماله

And the House of my Wealth has a course

And my house of wealth has a way:

that never once singled me out with its riches.

never once has it favored me with its wealth.

ومن العلامة أنّه

ومن العلامة أنّه

نحمي خلقت على مثاله

نحمي خلقت على مثاله

And among the signs is this:

And a sign that it is

my star—I was fashioned in its likeness—

my star [probable reading] is that I was made in its image:

حنَفٌ وحرف متقنٌ

حنَفٌ وحرف متقنٌ

بل لست أنهض من خباله

بل لست أنهض من خباله

crookedness, and a letter perfectly wrought;

crooked feet and perfectly wrought ill fortune;

yet I cannot rise above its ravaging madness.

nay, I cannot rise from its crippling harm.

وتصرّفي في مكسب

وتصرّفي في مكسب

بين النجوم معا وفاله

بين النجوم معا وفاله

And all my striving after livelihood—

And my endeavors to earn a living

—among all the stars, together with its omen—

lie among the stars, together with its omen.

ضنك المنالة ما يني

ضنك المنالة ما يني

ل لهى فمي بندى نواله

ل لهى فمي بندى نواله

is scant in yield: it never—

Scant in yield, it never besto-

—moistens the palate of my mouth with the dew of its bounty.

ws on my mouth's palate the dew of its bounty.

سيّان عندي هجره

سيّان عندي هجره

في بعده أو في وصاله

في بعده أو في وصاله

Its estrangement is all the same to me,

Its abandonment is all the same to me,

whether in its remoteness or in conjunction.

whether in its distance or in its union.