لنا من الدَّهرِ خَصْمٌ لا نُغالبُه

لنا من الدَّهرِ خَصْمٌ لا نُغالبُه

فما على الدهرِ إنْ ولَّتْ نوائبُه

فما على الدهرِ إنْ ولَّتْ نوائبُه

We have in Time an adversary we cannot overcome;

We have an enemy in fate that we cannot overcome,

what would Time lose if its calamities withdrew?

So do not blame fate when calamities befall you,

يرتدُّ عنه جريحاً من يُسَالِمُه

يرتدُّ عنه جريحاً من يُسَالِمُه

فكيفَ يَسْلَمُ منه من يُحارِبُه

فكيفَ يَسْلَمُ منه من يُحارِبُه

Whoever makes peace with it comes away wounded;

Whoever tries to make peace with it returns wounded,

how, then, can one who fights it escape unharmed?

So how can one who fights it find safety?

ولو أمِنْتُ الذي تَجني أراقمُه

ولو أمِنْتُ الذي تَجني أراقمُه

عليَّ هانَ الذي تَجني عقاربُه

عليَّ هانَ الذي تَجني عقاربُه

And were I safe from what its vipers inflict

If I were safe from the one whose signs portend

on me, what its scorpions inflict would be slight.

Evil for me, then the one whose claws threaten me would be harmless.

تَظلَّم الشِّعرُ من ليْثٍ يُساوِرُه

تَظلَّم الشِّعرُ من ليْثٍ يُساوِرُه

إذا تبرَّجَ أو صِلٍّ يُواثبُه

إذا تبرَّجَ أو صِلٍّ يُواثبُه

Poetry has complained of a lion that assails it

Poetry complains of a lion that stalks it,

when it displays its beauty, or an asp that pounces on it.

Whether it flirts or a jealous rival threatens it,

وحُجِّبَت دون رائيها بدائِعُه

وحُجِّبَت دون رائيها بدائِعُه

وقُيِّدَت دونَ مَسراها غرائبهُ

وقُيِّدَت دونَ مَسراها غرائبهُ

And its marvels have been veiled from their beholder,

Its subtle charms are veiled from viewers’ eyes,

and its wonders fettered short of their course.

And its strange wonders are restricted from where it roams,

وكيفَ لا يتحامى سَفْرُها سَنناً

وكيفَ لا يتحامى سَفْرُها سَنناً

أمسى به أَسَدٌ ضارِ نوائبُه

أمسى به أَسَدٌ ضارِ نوائبُه

How could their travelers not shun a path

How could its journeys not take careful heed

where there is now a lion whose attacks are savage?

When a vicious lion blocks its path?

يا غَيْبَةَ الكَرَمِ المفقودِ غائبُه

يا غَيْبَةَ الكَرَمِ المفقودِ غائبُه

وخيْبةَ الأدَبِ المجفوِّ صاحبُه

وخيْبةَ الأدَبِ المجفوِّ صاحبُه

Alas for generosity's absence, its absent one nowhere to be found,

O absence of generosity, whose absence pains,

and the disappointment of letters, whose practitioner is spurned!

And loss of refinement, whose company is missed!

أَتُستباحُ على قَسْرٍ مَحارِمُه

أَتُستباحُ على قَسْرٍ مَحارِمُه

وتُستَرقُّ على صُغْرٍ كواعبُه

وتُستَرقُّ على صُغْرٍ كواعبُه

Are its sanctities to be violated by force,

Can sacred bounds be violated by force,

and its budding-breasted maidens enslaved in humiliation?

And tender young women stolen in their innocence?

أَبَعْدَ ما انْهَدَّ عُمري في محاسِنه

أَبَعْدَ ما انْهَدَّ عُمري في محاسِنه

حتى وَهَى بحُلولِ الشَّيْبِ جائبُه

حتى وَهَى بحُلولِ الشَّيْبِ جائبُه

Is it after my life has crumbled away over its beauties,

After my life flourished with virtue

until its traveler grew frail with the coming of gray hair,

Until faded by the coming of old age,

ورَقرقَ الطْبعُ فيه ماءَ رَوْنَقِهِ

ورَقرقَ الطْبعُ فيه ماءَ رَوْنَقِهِ

فجاء كالوَشْيِ مصقولاً سَبائبُه

فجاء كالوَشْيِ مصقولاً سَبائبُه

and innate talent made the water of its luster ripple within it,

And natural vigor in it ran clear as water,

so it emerged like brocade, its lengths burnished,

Then came like polished steel its gray hairs,

وكانَ كالثَّمَرِ استقصَيْتُ غايَته

وكانَ كالثَّمَرِ استقصَيْتُ غايَته

خُبْراً فما يبدي إلا أطايبُه

خُبْراً فما يبدي إلا أطايبُه

and it was like fruit whose fullest ripeness I had tested

And it was like fruit whose essence I tested

through experience, so it reveals only its choicest parts—

Ripely, but showing nothing but its delicacies,

ضَرْبٌ من السِّحْرِ أجْلوه على نَفَرٍ

ضَرْبٌ من السِّحْرِ أجْلوه على نَفَرٍ

سِيَّانِ قائلُه فيهم وجالبُه

سِيَّانِ قائلُه فيهم وجالبُه

a kind of magic I unveil before a company

A kind of magic cast on a group

to whom its composer and its bearer are alike,

Of dissolute revelers, praising and urging them on,

تُضيءُ مثلَ سطورِ البرْقِ أسطُرُه

تُضيءُ مثلَ سطورِ البرْقِ أسطُرُه

كأنما ذَهَبُ القُرطاسِ كاتبُه

كأنما ذَهَبُ القُرطاسِ كاتبُه

its lines shining like streaks of lightning,

Its lines shine like streaks of lightning,

as though the page's gold itself were its scribe—

As if the parchment’s gold is the hand of its writer.

تدنَّسَتْ بيدَيْ غَيري مَطارِفُه

تدنَّسَتْ بيدَيْ غَيري مَطارِفُه

وسُوّدَتْ بسوِى قَوْمي مَناسُبه

وسُوّدَتْ بسوِى قَوْمي مَناسُبه

that its bordered cloaks are sullied by hands other than mine,

Defiled by others’ hands are its subtleties,

and its lineages blackened by people other than my own?

And blackened by my people’s flaws are its appropriatenesses,

وَشْيٌ إذا نَمَنمَتْ منه خواطِرُنا

وَشْيٌ إذا نَمَنمَتْ منه خواطِرُنا

بُرْداً فلا بُدَّ من كفٍّ تُجاذِبُه

بُرْداً فلا بُدَّ من كفٍّ تُجاذِبُه

It is brocade: whenever our thoughts embroider from it

A tender feeling, when our thoughts caress it,

a cloak, some hand is sure to tug at it.

That necessarily draws a hand to stroke it.

نَهْبٌ فلو حضَرَتْه النارُ مُضْرَمةً

نَهْبٌ فلو حضَرَتْه النارُ مُضْرَمةً

جرى إليه يخوضُ النارَ ناهبُه

جرى إليه يخوضُ النارَ ناهبُه

It is plunder: even if fire blazed around it,

Plunder, and if devouring fire were to attend it,

its plunderer would race to it, wading through the fire.

Its plunderer would plunge into the flames,

بل لو تعلَّقَ بالجَوزاءِ هاربُه

بل لو تعلَّقَ بالجَوزاءِ هاربُه

ما فاتَ خَطْفَ أبي عثمانَ هاربُه

ما فاتَ خَطْفَ أبي عثمانَ هاربُه

Indeed, if its fugitive clung to al-Jawza,

Indeed, if its fugitive were to cling to the Pleiades,

its fugitive would not escape Abu Uthman's swift seizure.

The flight of Abū ‘Uthmān’s grasp would not miss him.

سَبَى وأبقَتْ بَوادي سَبْيَهِ لُمَحاً

سَبَى وأبقَتْ بَوادي سَبْيَهِ لُمَحاً

معشوقةً إن عفَتْ عنها عَواقبٌه

معشوقةً إن عفَتْ عنها عَواقبٌه

He took captives; his early seizures left glimpses

It captured and left in the valleys of captives flashes

still beloved, if his later deeds spared them.

Of beloveds—if their consequence had spared them—

إذا الكميُّ تَحامَى بعضَ ما مَلكَتْ

إذا الكميُّ تَحامَى بعضَ ما مَلكَتْ

رِماحُه من خطيرٍ فهو واهبُه

رِماحُه من خطيرٍ فهو واهبُه

When the armored warrior shuns some of what has been won

When the archer sometimes contends with some

by his spears—a precious prize—he gives it away.

Of the deadly blows his bow unleashes, its giver is also its donor.

له على سَرْجِ شِعْري غارةٌ أبداً

له على سَرْجِ شِعْري غارةٌ أبداً

يرتاعُ معقولُه منها وساربُه

يرتاعُ معقولُه منها وساربُه

He forever raids the saddle of my poetry;

Upon my horse’s saddle it always launches raids

its hobbled beasts and its roaming ones take fright at it.

At which rational minds quake in fright.

فلا السِّنانُ لها دامٍ وقد برقَتْ

فلا السِّنانُ لها دامٍ وقد برقَتْ

فتْكاً ولا السَّيفُ مخضوباً مضاربُه

فتْكاً ولا السَّيفُ مخضوباً مضاربُه

Yet no spearpoint is bloodied in it, though it has flashed

Neither does it have a blunt spear when it flashes

murderously, nor are the sword's striking edges bloodstained.

Murderously, nor when its sword is bloodstained, a dull edge.

إذا تخطَّفَ من أولادِنا ولداً

إذا تخطَّفَ من أولادِنا ولداً

قامتْ بمِثْلِ قوافيه نوادبُه

قامتْ بمِثْلِ قوافيه نوادبُه

When he snatches a child from among our children,

If it snatches away one of our sons,

the women mourning him rise with rhymes like his own.

His wailing kin rise to match his rhyme.

إليكُمُ عن شِهابٍ طارَ طائِرُهُ

إليكُمُ عن شِهابٍ طارَ طائِرُهُ

قِدْماً يُعَرِّي أديمَ الجوِّ ثاقبُه

قِدْماً يُعَرِّي أديمَ الجوِّ ثاقبُه

Stand back from a meteor whose fury took wing

To you, from a star whose bird took flight

long ago; its piercing flame strips the sky's skin bare.

On high, stripping the atmosphere’s skin!

فنضكبُوا عن طريقِ السَّيْلِ تمتنعُوا

فنضكبُوا عن طريقِ السَّيْلِ تمتنعُوا

من قبلِ أن تَتَهاداكُم غَوارِبُه

من قبلِ أن تَتَهاداكُم غَوارِبُه

So turn aside from the torrent's path, and you will be safe,

So avoid the torrent’s path, take cover

before its wave crests pass you around as gifts.

Lest its swirling pools jostle you.

فلسْتُ أُهدي إلى قومٍ سَمائِحَه

فلسْتُ أُهدي إلى قومٍ سَمائِحَه

من بعدِ ما قُسِّمَت فيهم جنائبُه

من بعدِ ما قُسِّمَت فيهم جنائبُه

For I will not offer its generous gifts to a people

I do not give guidance to a people whose

after its led horses have been divided among them.

Calamities among them have been apportioned.

ولا تَمُدُّوا إلى العيُّوقِ أيديَكم

ولا تَمُدُّوا إلى العيُّوقِ أيديَكم

جَهْلاً فلم يُدرِكَ العيُّوقَ طالبُه

جَهْلاً فلم يُدرِكَ العيُّوقَ طالبُه

And do not stretch your hands toward al-Ayyuq

And do not in ignorance extend your hands

in ignorance, for no seeker has reached al-Ayyuq.

To the unobtainable, which no seeker attains.

هل للغَنِيَّيْنِ عُذْرٌ في اغتصابِهِما

هل للغَنِيَّيْنِ عُذْرٌ في اغتصابِهِما

حَلْياً يَبوء بأَوفْى اللَّعنِ غاصِبُه

حَلْياً يَبوء بأَوفْى اللَّعنِ غاصِبُه

Do the two rich men have any excuse for seizing

Do the wealthy have any excuse for seizing

jewelry whose usurper incurs the fullest curse?

Finery, though its boldest robber earns the worst curses?

قلْ للوزير تحرَّجْ إنْه سَلَبٌ

قلْ للوزير تحرَّجْ إنْه سَلَبٌ

غَشْماً تعدَّى على المسلوبِ سالبُه

غَشْماً تعدَّى على المسلوبِ سالبُه

Tell the vizier: shun the sin—it is plunder;

Tell the minister to be ashamed! His

its plunderer unjustly transgressed against the one plundered.

Ruthless plunder exceeds the plundered.

لا يُبعدِ اللهُ دُرّاً حلَّياكَ به

لا يُبعدِ اللهُ دُرّاً حلَّياكَ به

فكَمْ فتىً عُطِّلَتْ منه تَرائِبُه

فكَمْ فتىً عُطِّلَتْ منه تَرائِبُه

May God not banish the pearls with which the two adorned you,

God does not keep you from the pearls that adorn you,

for many a youth's breast has been left bare of them;

So how many a man has had his finery stripped!

ومرْكَباً يتحرَّى الصِّدقَ مادِحُه

ومرْكَباً يتحرَّى الصِّدقَ مادِحُه

حُسْناً كما يتحرَّى إلافْكَ عائبُه

حُسْناً كما يتحرَّى إلافْكَ عائبُه

and a mount whose praiser seeks truth

And a ship that verifies sincerity, its praiser,

about its beauty, as its detractor seeks falsehood,

As the slanderer verifies nothing but lies.

مُدَفَّعاً بأكفِّ الظُّلمِ رائضُهُ

مُدَفَّعاً بأكفِّ الظُّلمِ رائضُهُ

مُنكَّباً برماحِ الجُودِ راكبُه

مُنكَّباً برماحِ الجُودِ راكبُه

whose trainer is thrust aside by the hands of injustice,

Propelled by the palms of injustice, provoked,

whose rider is knocked aside by the spears of generosity.

Bent by the spears of generosity, its rider.

أضحى ابنُ فهْدٍ حَريباً من مَحاسِنه

أضحى ابنُ فهْدٍ حَريباً من مَحاسِنه

من بعدِ ما بُذِلَتْ فيها حَرائبُه

من بعدِ ما بُذِلَتْ فيها حَرائبُه

Ibn Fahd has been despoiled of its beauties,

Ibn Fahd has become, through his virtues, an enemy

after his treasured possessions had been spent on them.

After his weapons were spent in their battles.

وأنتَ لا شكَّ من أفوافِ يُمنَتِه

وأنتَ لا شكَّ من أفوافِ يُمنَتِه

عارٍ كما عُرِّيَت منها مناكبُه

عارٍ كما عُرِّيَت منها مناكبُه

And you, without doubt, of his Yemeni robe's fine fabrics

You, undoubtedly, are of the heights of its prosperity,

are bare, just as his shoulders were stripped of them.

Though its summit was stripped bare.

وكيفَ تسحَبُ وَشْياً قد تداولَه

وكيفَ تسحَبُ وَشْياً قد تداولَه

قومٌ سِواك فقد رَثَّت مساحبُه

قومٌ سِواك فقد رَثَّت مساحبُه

And how can you trail brocade already passed around

How can you pull tenderly that which

by people other than you, its trailing hems now threadbare?

Others besides you have worn threadbare?

تبرَّجَتْ فيهمُ قِدْماً عرايسُه

تبرَّجَتْ فيهمُ قِدْماً عرايسُه

وأشرقَت فيهمُ دهراً كواكبُه

وأشرقَت فيهمُ دهراً كواكبُه

Its brides displayed their beauty among them long ago,

Of old, its brides flashed among them,

and its stars shone among them for an age.

And its stars shone among them for ages.

لا يُعجِبَنَّكَ دينارُ المديحِ ولم

لا يُعجِبَنَّكَ دينارُ المديحِ ولم

يَضْرِبْهُ باسمِكَ دونَ الناسِ ضارِبُه

يَضْرِبْهُ باسمِكَ دونَ الناسِ ضارِبُه

Let not the dinar of praise delight you when

The dirham of praise does not please you, and its mint

its minter has not struck it in your name alone.

Did not stamp it with your name, unlike others’.

فخيرُ صَيدِكَ ما حلَّت مَصايِدُه

فخيرُ صَيدِكَ ما حلَّت مَصايِدُه

وخيرُ مالِكَ ما طابَتْ مَكاسِبُه

وخيرُ مالِكَ ما طابَتْ مَكاسِبُه

For your best quarry is that whose snares are lawful,

The best game for you is that whose snares

and your best wealth is that whose earnings are wholesome.

Were permitted, and the best money for you is that gained lawfully.

وإن أَصَخْتَ لتَغريدِ المديحِ فقد

وإن أَصَخْتَ لتَغريدِ المديحِ فقد

وافَى مُغَرِّدُهُ وانحطَّ ناعبُه

وافَى مُغَرِّدُهُ وانحطَّ ناعبُه

And if you listen closely to praise's warbling, then indeed

If you inclined to the warbling of praise, its

its warbler has arrived, and its cawing crow has sunk low.

Warbler has arrived, while its critic sank down.