Sol 6.1

  1. قالَتِ الشَيبُ بَدا قُلتُ أَجَل

    سَبَقَ الوَقتَ ضِراراً وَعَجِل

    She said, 'Gray hair has appeared.' I said, 'Yes.'

    It came before its time, spitefully and in haste.

  2. وَمَعَ الشَيبِ عَلى عِلّاتِهِ

    مُهلَةٌ لِلَّهوِ حيناً وَالغَزَل

    And with gray hair, despite its drawbacks,

    there is still some time for pleasure and courtship.

  3. خَيَّلَت أَنَّ التَصابي خَرَقٌ

    بَعدَ خَمسينَ وَمَن يَسمَع يَخَل

    She made it seem that youthful dalliance is folly

    after fifty—and whoever hears thinks so.

  4. أَتُرى حُبّي لِسُعدى قاتِلي

    وَإِذا ما أَفرَطَ الحُبُّ قَتَل

    I wonder: will my love for Su'da kill me?

    And when love exceeds its bounds, it kills.

  5. خَطَرَت في النَومِ مِنها خَطرَةٌ

    خَطرَةَ البَرقِ بَدا ثُمَّ اضمَحَل

    A fleeting vision of her passed through my sleep,

    like a flash of lightning that appeared, then vanished.

  6. أَيُّ زَورٍ لَكِ لَو قَصداً سَرى

    وَمُلِمٍّ مِنكِ لَو حَقّاً فَعَل

    What a visitor of yours, had it come deliberately by night,

    and what a caller from you, had it truly done so!

  7. يَتَراءى وَالكَرى في مُقلَتي

    فَإِذا فارَقَها النَومُ بَطَل

    It appears while slumber is in my eye,

    and when sleep leaves it, the vision vanishes.

  8. قَمَرٌ أَتبَعتُهُ مِن كَلَفٍ

    نَظَرَ الصَبِّ بِهِ حَتّى أَفَل

    A moon that, out of ardent love, I followed

    with the gaze of one lovesick for it, until it set.

  9. أَوجَلَتني بَعدَ أَمنٍ غِرَّتي

    وَاِغتِرارُ الأَمنِ يَستَدعي الوَجَل

    My heedlessness made me fearful after I had felt secure;

    and being lulled by safety invites fear.

  10. لَم أُوَهَّم نِعمَتي تَغدُرُ بي

    غَدرَةً الظِلُّ سَجا ثُمَّ اِنتَقَل

    I was never led to think my good fortune would betray me

    with the treachery of shade that lay still, then moved away.

  11. زَمَنٌ تَلعَبُ بي أَحداثُهُ

    لَعِبَ النَكباءِ بِالرُمحِ الخَطِل

    An age whose misfortunes toy with me,

    as a crosswind toys with a long, swaying spear.

  12. وَأَرى العُدمَ فَلا تَحفِل بِهِ

    عُقَبَةً تُقضى وَكَلماً يَندَمِل

    And I regard poverty—so pay it no heed—

    as a spell that runs its course, and a wound that heals.

  13. أَكبَرَت نَفسي وَكَرهاً أَكبَرَت

    أَن تَلَقّى النَيلَ مِن كَفِّ الأَشَل

    My soul found it intolerable—and with loathing found it so—

    to receive bounty from a palsied man's palm.

  14. وَمِنَ المَعروفِ مُرٌّ مَقِرٌّ

    يَلفِظُ الطاعِمُ مِنهُ ما أَكَل

    And some kindness is bitter, intensely bitter:

    the eater spits out what he has eaten of it.