1. أهابَ به داعي الهَوى فأجابا

    وعاودَهُ نكسُ الصّبَا فتصَابَى

    Love's caller summoned him, and he answered.

    Youth's relapse returned to him, and he played the youth.

  2. وأدَّاهُ من بعدِ التجارب رأيُهُ

    إِلى أن عصَى حُكْمَ الحِجَى فتغابَى

    After all his experiences, his judgment led him

    to disobey reason's rule and feign folly.

  3. وطابَ له عن غِرَّةِ العيشِ أَرْيُهُ

    وقد ذاقَ من طعمِ التجارب صَابَا

    Life's honey grew sweet to him through heedlessness,

    though he had tasted bitter sap from experience.

  4. وحَلَّ عِقَالَ العَقْلِ عندَ يَدِ الهَوى

    فسامَ كما شاء الغرامُ وسَابَا

    He loosed reason's tether at passion's hand,

    and grazed and wandered freely as love wished.

  5. وشَام بُرَيْقَاً بالحِمى شاقَ لَمْعُهُ

    رفاقاً وخيلاً بالغُويرِ عِرَابَا

    He watched a little lightning-flash in the protected pasture, whose gleam stirred longing in

    companions and purebred Arabian horses at al-Ghuwayr.

  6. تناعس للأيقاظ فوقَ رِحالِهم

    فمدّوا عُيوناً نحوَهُ ورِقَابَا

    It feigned drowsiness before the wakeful atop their saddles,

    so they stretched their eyes and necks toward it.

  7. فكم دونَ ذاك البرق من متجلِّدٍ

    يُكاتمُ أسرارَ الغَرامِ صحَابَا

    How many a man holding firm, short of that lightning,

    conceals love's secrets from his companions;

  8. وآخرَ نمّامِ الجفونِ زفيرهُ

    يشُقُّ وراءَ السابريِّ حِجابَا

    and another, whose eyelids tell tales, whose sigh

    rends a veil behind the fine Sabiri cloth;

  9. ومن مُقْصِرٍ يصمي حَماطةَ قلبهِ

    صوائبُ وُطْفٌ ما كُسِينَ لُغَابَا

    and one who holds back, whose heart's core is pierced by

    unerring, long-lashed darts, never clad in poor feathers.

  10. يُردّدُ طرفا في صَرى الدمع سابحاً

    ويَرقِي فُؤاداً بالعَزاء مُصَابَا

    He turns an eye to and fro, swimming in pooled tears,

    and charms a stricken heart with consolation.

  11. وأغيدَ لو خاصرتَهُ في سُجوفِه

    لردَّ مشيبَ العارضَيْنِ شَبابَا

    And a supple beloved—if you clasped his waist within his curtains,

    he would turn the gray of both cheeks back to youth.

  12. أغنَّ إِذا استمليتَ وحيَ جُفونِه

    درسْنَ من السحرِ المبينِ كِتابَا

    Soft-voiced—if you asked his eyelids to dictate their revelation,

    they would recite a book of manifest magic.

  13. فيا رُفقة تُزجِي الرِكابَ طلائحاً

    سقَتْهَا الغوادِي رُفقةً ورِكابَا

    O company urging your weary mounts onward,

    may morning rain-clouds water you, companions and mounts alike!

  14. حَدا بِهِمُ حادي الغرامِ فَيَمَّمُوا

    مساقِطَ مُزْنٍ بالأباطحِ صابَا

    Love's camel-driver sang them onward, and they headed toward

    the places where rain-clouds pour upon the gravelly valleys.

  15. ولو قايَسُوا بالمُزْنِ عيني لصادفوا

    دُموعيَ أندى العارضين سَحابَا

    Had they compared my eye with the rain-clouds, they would have found

    my tears the more rain-laden of the two clouds.

  16. يَؤُمّونَ أرضاً بالبِطَاحِ أريضَةً

    وزُرقَ حمامٍ بالعُذَيبِ عِذَابَا

    They make for a fertile land among the broad valleys,

    and blue springs at al-ʿUdhayb, sweet-watered;

  17. ومرهومةً مرقومةً عُنِيَتْ بها

    صَناع كستْ وجهَ السماء نِقَابَا

    and a drizzle-watered, embroidered land, tended by

    a deft craftswoman who veiled the face of the sky.

  18. يلينُ لها قلبُ الهجير إِذا قَسا

    بسُقْيا جُفونٍ ما يَزَلْنَ رِطَابَا

    The heart of midday heat softens for it when it grows harsh,

    watered by eyelids that never cease to be moist.

  19. وتهدي إليها في النسيمِ إِذا سرَى

    لطائمُ تَحوي عنبراً ومَلابَا

    And, as the breeze wafts by, gifts are brought to it by

    perfume-caravans bearing ambergris and saffron scent.

  20. لك اللّه إني ناشدٌ كَبِداً بها

    صُدوعٌ فهل من مُنْشِدٍ فيُثَابَا

    God keep you! I seek a liver bearing

    fissures—is there a finder to receive a reward?

  21. وهل عندكم صبرٌ جميلٌ فتعمرُوا

    فُؤاداً من الصبرِ الجميلِ خرابَا

    Have you any noble patience, with which to rebuild

    a heart desolate for lack of noble patience?

  22. وهل فيكمُ راقٍ فيشفي برُقْيَةٍ

    لديغَ هوىَ يرجُو لديهِ ثَوابَا

    Is there a healer among you to cure with an incantation

    one stung by love, from whom he hopes for a reward?

  23. وهل نظرةٌ عجلَى يُريكَ اختلاسُها

    غليلَ مُعَنَّى لا يذوقُ شَرابَا

    Is there a fleeting glance whose furtive snatching shows you

    the burning thirst of a tormented man who tastes no drink?

  24. أخادعُ نفسِي بالسؤالِ تعَلُّلاً

    وإن لم تردُّوا للسؤالِ جَوابَا

    I beguile myself with questions, seeking solace,

    even if you return no answer to my question.

  25. وما الرأيُ إلّا الهجرُ لو أنَّ مُسْعِداً

    من الصبرِ إذ يُدعَى إليهِ أجابَا

    The only counsel is to part—if only some ally

    in patience would answer when called to it.

  26. إِذا ما الهَوى استولَى على الرأي لم يدعْ

    لصاحبهِ في ما يراهُ صَوابَا

    When passion takes command of judgment, it leaves

    its possessor no rightness in what he judges.

  27. مَلِلْتُ ثَوائي بالعراقِ وملَّني

    رفاقي وكانوا بالعراق طِرابَا

    I grew weary of my stay in Iraq, and weary of me grew

    my companions, once merry in Iraq.

  28. وأَنفقتُ من عُمْرِي وذاتِ يدي بها

    بضائِعَ لم أملِكْ لهُنَّ حسابَا

    There I spent, of my lifetime and what my hand possessed,

    goods of which I could keep no account.

  29. وزاحمت مهري والمهنَّدَ في الغِنَى

    فلم أُبْقِ إلّا مِقوداً وقِرابَا

    I encroached on my colt and Indian blade for means,

    and left nothing but a lead-rein and a scabbard.

  30. وأبْلَى بها الجُردُ العِتاقُ أجِلَّةً

    عليهنَّ والصحبُ الكرامُ ثِيابَا

    There the sleek, blooded horses wore out coverings

    upon their backs, and the noble companions their clothes.

  31. وفارقَنِي أهلُ الصَّفاءِ تبرُّماً

    بشَحْطِ نوىً شابوا عليه وشَابَا

    The people of sincere friendship left me, weary

    of far-off separation, over which they grew gray, and it grew gray too.

  32. فلا زائرٌ يَغشَى جنابي لحاجةٍ

    ولا أنا أغشَى ما أقمتُ جَنابَا

    No visitor comes to my quarter with a need,

    nor, while I remain, do I visit any quarter.

  33. ولا موقِدٌ ناري بعلياءَ للقِرَى

    ولا رافعٌ لي بالعَراء قِبابَا

    No one lights my fire on high ground to welcome guests,

    nor raises tents for me in the open.

  34. إِذا قلتُ إني قد ظفِرتُ بصاحبٍ

    سكنتُ إليه خاننِي وأرابَا

    Whenever I say, 'I have found a friend

    in whom I can rest,' he betrays me and arouses doubt.

  35. أُقلِّبُ عيني لا أرى غيرَ صاحبٍ

    ظننتُ به الظَّنَّ الجميلَ فخابَا

    I turn my eyes about and see only a friend

    of whom I thought well, but who failed me.

  36. وكيف ثَوائي بالعراق وقد غَدا

    عليّ بها رَوْحُ النسيم عَذابَا

    How can I stay in Iraq, when

    the breeze's refreshment has become torment to me there?

  37. هو الربعُ لم يُخْلَق بنوه أعزَّةً

    كِراماً ولم تَنبُتْ قناهُ صلابَا

    It is a dwelling whose sons were not created mighty

    and noble, nor did its reeds grow firm;

  38. ولا طرقت أُمُّ الحفاظِ بماجدٍ

    ولا حضَنَتْ ظِئرُ العفافِ كِعابَا

    nor did fidelity's mother bring forth a noble man,

    nor did chastity's wet nurse foster budding-breasted maidens.

  39. بنو الغَدْرِ لما فتَّشَ البحثُ عنهم

    أراكَ وميضَاً خُلَّباً وسَرابَا

    Sons of treachery—when inquiry searched them out,

    it showed you rainless lightning and a mirage.

  40. متى ما نَبَا دهرٌ نَبَوا وتصَّرفُوا

    على حالتَيْه جَيْئَةً وذَهابَا

    Whenever fortune turns hostile, they turn hostile and shift

    with its two states, coming and going.

  41. معاشرُ لو طابَ الثرى في بلادِهم

    زكا عندَهم غرسُ الجميلِ وطابَا

    A people—had the soil of their lands been good,

    the planting of kindness among them would have flourished and thrived.

  42. مناكِيدُ تأبَى أن تجودَ لِقاحُهم

    بِدَرِّ بَكِيٍّ أو تُشَدّ عِصابَا

    Ill-fated men whose milk-camels refuse to yield

    even a scant flow of milk, or to be bound with udder-bands.

  43. إِذا استخبَر المرءُ التجاربَ عنهمُ

    أرتْهُ بِهاماً رُتَّعاً وذِئَابَا

    When a man questions experience about them,

    it shows him grazing livestock and wolves.

  44. إِذا كنتَ عند الحادثاتِ وقد عرتْ

    مِجَنّاً لهم كانوا قَناً وحِرابَا

    If, when calamities have struck, you serve

    as their shield, they become spears and javelins.

  45. أُفارقُهم لا آسفاً لفراقِهمْ

    ولا مؤْثِراً نحو العراق إيابَا

    I leave them without regret at parting,

    nor desiring a return toward Iraq.

  46. فيا عجباً حتى الخلافةُ ما رأتْ

    لحقِّيَ أن أُجْزَى به وأُثَابَا

    How strange! Even the caliphate did not see fit

    that my due should earn me recompense and reward;

  47. ولم تَرْعَ لي نُصْحِي القديمَ وخدمتِي

    أخوضُ غِماراً أو أروضُ صِعابَا

    nor did it honor my old counsel and my service,

    as I plunged into deep waters or tamed the unruly.

  48. لَعمري لَقَدْ ماحضتُها النُّصحَ باذلاً

    لوُسعي وقد رُدَّتْ إليَّ منابَا

    By my life, I offered it pure counsel, giving

    my utmost, though it was returned to me as recompense.

  49. فيا ليت نُصحي كان غِشَّاً وطاعتي

    نفاقاً وصِدقي في الولاء خِلابَا

    Would that my counsel had been deceit, and my obedience

    hypocrisy, and my sincere allegiance trickery,

  50. كما صار آمالي غُروراً وخدمتي

    هباءً وسعيي خيبةً وتَبابَا

    just as my hopes became illusion, my service

    dust, and my striving disappointment and ruin!

  51. ويا ليتني دامجتُ فيه معاشراً

    تركتهُمُ شُوْسَاً عليَّ غِضَابَا

    And would that, in that, I had humored a people

    whom I left glaring angrily at me.

  52. أليس زُرَيقٌ لم يخَفْ أن أمضَّهُ

    عتاباً وهل يخشَى اللئيمُ عتابَا

    Was it not Zurayq who had no fear that I would sting him

    with reproach? And does a base man fear reproach?

  53. تصاممَ عنِّي أو تعامَى ولم يخَفْ

    سِهاماً من العَتْبِ الممِضِّ صِيَابَا

    He feigned deafness to me, or feigned blindness, and did not fear

    unerring arrows of stinging reproach.

  54. وفَيْتُ بعهدٍ كان بيني وبينَهُ

    وبينَ مَقاماتٍ بمصرَ خطابَا

    I honored a covenant that lay between me and him,

    and amid assemblies in Egypt, in spoken discourse.

  55. ولو صَحَّ ما يُعزى إليه لحلَّقتْ

    بأشلائه رُبْدُ النُّسورِ سِغَابَا

    Had what is attributed to him been true, there would have soared

    with his torn limbs, hungry gray vultures.

  56. وكيف يُرَجِّي من يكونُ ادِّعَاؤُهُ

    وَلاءَ أميرِ المؤمنين كِذابَا

    How can someone inspire hope, when his claim

    of allegiance to the Commander of the Faithful is a lie?

  57. لعمريَ ما فارقتُ ربعيَ عن قِلىً

    ولا رَضيَتْ نفسي سواهُ مَآبَا

    By my life, I did not leave my dwelling out of hatred,

    nor did my soul accept any other place to return to.

  58. ولكنْ تكاليفُ السيادةِ جَعْجَعَتْ

    برحلي ودهرٌ بالحوادثِ رَابَا

    But the burdens of high station harried

    my saddle, and time grew ominous with calamities.

  59. أهُمُّ بأمرٍ والليالي تردُّنِي

    وأجمعُ شملي والحوادثُ تابَى

    I resolve on a course, but the nights turn me back,

    and I gather my scattered affairs, but calamities refuse.

  60. سقَى اللّه جَيَّا ما أرقَّ نسيمهَا

    إِذا الظِلُّ من لفحِ الهواجرِ ذابَا

    May God water Jayy! How gentle its breeze,

    when the shade melts beneath the blast of midday heat!

  61. وأندى ثراها والغوادي شحيحةٌ

    بصوبِ حَياها أن تبلَّ تُرابَا

    And how moist its soil, though morning clouds are stingy

    with pouring rain that would moisten the soil!

  62. وأطيبَ مغناها وأعذبَ ماءَها

    وأفيحَها للطارقينَ رِحابَا

    How pleasant its abode, how sweet its water,

    and how spacious its courts for those who arrive by night!

  63. وأبهى رِباعاً وسْطَها ومنازلاً

    وأزكى صُحوناً حولَها وهِضَابَا

    How splendid the dwellings and houses within it,

    how fertile the open grounds and hills around it!

  64. عسى اللّه يقضي أوبةً بعد غيبةٍ

    ويختِمُ بالحُسنَى ويفتحُ بابَا

    May God decree a return after absence,

    end with goodness, and open a door!