1. لِكُلِّ مَوَدَّةٍ أَجرٌ وَأَجري

    عَلى وُدّي لَكُم تَضييعُ أَمري

    Every affection has a reward, and my reward

    for my love for you is the neglect of my affairs.

  2. وَأَنّي إِن جَرى ذِكرٌ بِحَفلٍ

    دَفَعتُم بِالأَسى في صَدرِ ذِكرى

    And whenever a mention of me arises in a gathering,

    you thrust sorrow into the breast of my remembrance.

  3. عَلى هَذا وَفيهِ وَمِنهُ ما لا

    يَفي صَبري بِهِ بِأَقَلِّ شُكري

    For this—and in it and from it comes what

    my patience cannot repay with even my least thanks.

  4. ظَنَنتُكُمُ عَلى دَهري سُيوفاً

    فَقَد كُنتُم عَلَيَّ سُيوفَ دَهري

    I thought you swords against my Time;

    instead, you were my Time's swords against me.

  5. فَكَم دارَت عَلَيَّ كُئوسُ هَمٍّ

    كَما دارَت عَلَيَّ كُئوسُ خَمرِ

    How many cups of sorrow have made their rounds to me,

    as cups of wine have made their rounds to me.

  6. فَلا تَأخُذ إِذا عَربَدتُ يَوماً

    عَلَيكَ إِذا جَنَيت عَلَيَّ سَكري

    So do not take me to task if one day I rage

    against you, when you have inflicted my drunkenness upon me.

  7. وَكَم مِن لَيلَةٍ عُكِسَت عَلَينا

    فَما كانَت كَما كانَت لِقَدرِ

    How many a night has turned against us,

    and been unlike the Night of Decree:

  8. فَخَيرٌ تِلكُمُ مِن أَلفِ شَهرٍ

    وَشَرٌّ هَذِهِ مِن أَلفِ شَهرِ

    that one is better than a thousand months,

    while this one is worse than a thousand months.

  9. فَلا تَضرِب لَهُ أَجَلاً بِفَجرٍ

    فَقَد مَخِضَت وَما طَرَقَت بِفَجرِ

    So do not set its ending at dawn:

    it has labored, yet brought forth no dawn.

  10. وَما يَرمي الزَمانُ بِغَيرِ سَهمٍ

    وَلا أَلقى السِهامَ بِغَيرِ نَحرِ

    Time never shoots with anything but an arrow,

    nor do I meet its arrows with anything but my throat.

  11. عَلى يَبَسٍ كَما أُخبِرتُ لَكِن

    غَريقٌ خاطِري في أَلفِ بَحرِ

    On dry land, as I have been told, yet

    my mind is drowning in a thousand seas.

  12. وَما عَدَّ الغَريقُ المَوجَ فَاِترُك

    مُطالَبَتي بِعَدِّ ذُنوبِ دَهري

    A drowning man does not count the waves; stop

    demanding that I count the sins of my Time.

  13. أَتَطلُبُ بِالبَيانِ غَريقَ بَحرٍ

    مَتى طُلِبَ الغَريقُ بِجَلبِ دُرِّ

    Do you demand eloquence of a man drowning at sea?

    When was a drowning man asked to bring up pearls?

  14. كَأَنَّ الدَهرَ في تَعذيبِ سِرٍّ

    لِما يأتيهِ مِن تَعذيبِ سِرّي

    As though Time hid some secret in torment,

    judging by the torment it inflicts on my secret heart.

  15. أَقَرَّ اللَهُ يَومَ فِراقِ وَجهي

    بِفُرقَتِهِ سَخينَةَ عَينِ مِصرِ

    May God, on the day my face departs,

    cool Egypt's sorrow-hot eye by that parting.

  16. وَما يَجري إِذا ما سِرتَ عَنها

    لَعَلَّ النيلَ بَعدَكَ لَيسَ يَجري

    And what will flow when you depart from her?

    Perhaps the Nile will no longer flow after you.

  17. وَهَل يَعرى ضُحاها أَو دُجاها

    مِنَ النُورَينِ مِن شَمسٍ وَبَدرِ

    Will her daylight or her darkness be stripped

    of the two lights—the sun and the full moon?

  18. وَما يَدري الجَهولُ بِقَدرِ نَفعي

    وَأَدري أَنَّهُ بَعدي سَيَدري

    The ignorant man does not know the measure of my usefulness,

    but I know he will know after I am gone.

  19. سَأُصبِحُ بَعدَها في خَيرِ دارٍ

    وَيُصبِحُ فَوقَها في شَرِّ قَبرِ

    After her, I shall dwell in the best abode,

    and he, upon her soil, in the worst grave.

  20. وَلَم أَتَأَلَّ لَكِن لي رَجاءٌ

    بِهِ أَرجو كَريمَ المُستَقَرِّ

    I have sworn no oath, but I have a hope;

    through it I hope for a noble resting place.

  21. أَتُنكِرُ إِن نَزَلتُ عَلى كَريمٍ

    كَرامَتُهُ لِمُستَقرٍ مُقِرِّ

    If I lodge with a generous host, do you deny

    his kindness to one who abides with him and confesses?

  22. أَإِخواني وَإِخواناً لِجَهري

    أَعُدُّكُم وَأَيُّ أَخٍ لِسِرِّ

    My brothers? As brothers for my outward self

    I count you—but what brother is there for my secret self?

  23. ما يَعدوكُمُ خَيرٌ بِخَيرٍ

    بِهِ تدلونَ نَحوي أَو بِشَرِّ

    No good passes you by, whether with kindness

    you approach me, or with evil.

  24. وَما أَغلَقتُ عَنكُم كَفَّ يُسري

    وَلَم أَكشِف إِلَيكُم وَجهَ عُسري

    I never closed the hand of my prosperity against you,

    nor exposed to you the face of my hardship.

  25. وَما أَخلَيتُكُم مِن ذِكرِ خَيرٍ

    فَلِم تُخلونَ مِنّي خَيرَ ذِكرِ

    I never deprived you of good mention,

    so why do you strip me of good remembrance?

  26. أَيَنصُرُني عَدُوّي في هَواهُم

    عَلى حَربي أَباهُ وَهوَ دَهري

    Will my enemy help me in loving them,

    in my war against his father, who is my Time?

  27. مَعاذَ اللَهِ غَيرُكُمُ لِنَصري

    وَلَو شِئتُم لَما قُمتُم بِنَصري

    God forbid that anyone but you should aid me;

    yet even if you wished, you would not come to my aid.

  28. نَعَم أَكفاءُ آمالٍ تجيب

    إِذا نادَيتُ واحِدَةً بِعَشرِ

    Yes, peers of hopes that answer,

    whenever I call on one, with ten.

  29. لَهُم إِن أَمكَنَت فُرَصٌ وَفاتَت

    عَلى الحالَينِ إِقدامي وَصَبري

    For them, whether opportunities arise or are lost,

    in either case are my boldness and my patience.

  30. فَلا تَجلِب عَلَيَّ بِنَقصِ مالي

    فَلَم أَجلِب عَلَيكَ بِنَقصِ عُمري

    So do not assail me over the dwindling of my wealth,

    for I did not assail you over the dwindling of my life.

  31. فَلا سُبُلٌ إِلى البُقيا بِشَخصي

    وَلا سُبُلٌ إِلى البُقيا بِذِكري

    There are no paths to preserving my person,

    nor paths to preserving my remembrance.

  32. أَراني اليَومَ أَربَحَ مَن تَراهُ

    لِأَنّي أَشتَري عُمراً بِوَفرِ

    Today I see myself as the most profitable man you see,

    for I purchase life with wealth.

  33. وَما أَخرَجتُ مِن صُندوق مالي

    نَقَلتُ بِهِ إِلى صُندوقِ عُمري

    Whatever I have taken from the chest of my wealth,

    I have thereby transferred to the chest of my life.

  34. فَمَن هالوا عَلَيهِ ثَرىً فَقيراً

    فَقَد هالوا عَلَيَّ ثَرايَ مُثرِ

    He over whom they heap earth is poor;

    yet they have heaped my earth over me, a rich man.

  35. وَكانَ القَبرُ مِنهُ مَحَطَّ جَنبٍ

    وَكانَ القَبرُ مِنّي كيسَ تِبرِ

    His grave was a resting place for his side,

    while my grave was a bag of gold dust.

  36. وَكَم حُفَرٍ مُعَطَّلَةٍ كَبِئرٍ

    مُعَطَّلَةٍ وَإِن شيدَت كَقَبرِ

    How many abandoned pits, like a well

    abandoned, though built up like a grave.

  37. أَلا يا لَيتَ لي أُذناً وَعَيناً

    إِذا ما لَيلَتي عَقِمَت بِفَجرِ

    Ah, if only I had an ear and an eye

    when my night proves barren of a dawn;

  38. إِذا ما اِستَبطَئوا مَن نَفَّذوهُ

    وَوَصّوهُ عَلى تَعميقِ حَفرِ

    when they grow impatient with the man they sent

    and instructed to deepen the digging;

  39. وَوَلَّوني الظُهورَ وَأَفرَدوني

    بِمَن وَلَّوهُ تَجهيزي وَطُهري

    when they turn their backs on me and leave me alone

    with the man they entrusted with preparing and washing me.

  40. قَليلٌ ما أُزَوِّدُ مِن ثيابي

    قَليلٌ ما يُقيمُ بِهِنَّ عِطري

    Little do I provide from my clothes;

    little does my perfume linger in them.

  41. وَساروا بي إِلى سِجنِ اللَيالي

    أَسيرٌ لا يُؤَمِّلُ فَكَّ أَسرِ

    They carry me away to the prison of nights,

    a captive who hopes for no release from captivity.

  42. أَلا يا حامِلي بادِر فَإِنّي

    غَريبٌ بَينَهُم في مُستَقَرّي

    O bearer of mine, make haste, for I am

    a stranger among them in my resting place.

  43. وَقَد كَذَبَت عُيونٌ ثَمَّ تَبكي

    وَقَد كَذَبَت عُيونٌ ثَمَّ تَجري

    And eyes that weep there have indeed lied,

    and eyes that stream there have indeed lied.

  44. يُضَيِّقُ صَدرُهُم مِنّي فَسيحاً

    وَلَو أَدرَكتُ ذَلِكَ ضاقَ صَدري

    Their breast makes a spacious place narrow because of me,

    and if I perceived that, my own breast would tighten.

  45. دَعو ذاكَ الحَبيبَ لَقىً كَسيراً

    تَمامَ نَهارِهِ مُلقىً بِكَسرِ

    They left that beloved one a broken castoff,

    lying in a corner for the whole of his day.

  46. فَآخِرُ أَمرِهِ أَن يُخرِجوهُ

    وَذَلِكَ فيهِ آخِرُ كُلِّ أَمرِ

    His final fate is that they carry him out,

    and that, for him, is the end of every affair.

  47. فَجَرّوني وَلَيسَ بِيَ اِمتِناعٌ

    وَلَولا المَوتُ أَعيا حَرفُ جَرِّ

    They drag me away, and I offer no resistance;

    but for death, even a preposition could not have dragged me.

  48. وَخاضَ حَزينُهُم في حَوزِ إِرثي

    وَجَدَّ وَصولُهُم في قَطعِ إِثري

    Their grieving one plunges into claiming my inheritance,

    and their affectionate one strives to cut off my trace.

  49. فَإِن يَكُ في المُقامِ هُناكَ دينٌ

    فَإِنَّ الهَمَّ يَقبَلُ فيهِ عُذري

    If there is a religious duty in staying there,

    sorrow will accept my excuse concerning it.

  50. وَقُل لِمُوَدِّعِيَّ تَحَمَّلوا بي

    فَلا يَصعُب عَلَيكُم صَعبُ أَمري

    Tell those bidding me farewell: bear with me,

    and do not find my hard plight too hard.

  51. مُقامي ساعَةً إِن أَضجَرَتكُم

    فَإِنَّ وَراءَها تَفريقَ دَهرِ

    If my remaining for an hour wearies you,

    beyond it lies a lifetime's separation.

  52. سَأَخرُجُ مِن صَديقي مِن عِيانٍ

    وَمِن سَمعٍ وَمِن نُطقٍ وَفِكرِ

    I shall pass out of my friend's sight,

    and out of hearing, speech, and thought.

  53. وَيوحِشُ ناظِري مِن مَوتِ شَخصي

    وَيوحِشُ مسمَعي مِن مَوتِ ذِكري

    My body's death leaves my eye desolate,

    and the death of my remembrance leaves my ear desolate.

  54. سَقاني القَطرُ إِنّي صِرتُ قَفراً

    بِلا روحٍ وَمَهجوراً بِقَفرِ

    May rain water me, for I have become a waste,

    without a soul, abandoned in a wilderness.

  55. فَلَو جَلَبوا بِجَبري كَسرَ عَظمٍ

    لَما طالَبتُهُم فيهِ بِجَبرِ

    Even if, in mending me, they caused a bone to break,

    I would not demand that they mend it.

  56. وَصارَ الوَفرُ وَفرَهُمُ هَنيئاً

    وَكانَ الوَفرُ لَما كُنتُ وَفري

    The wealth has become their wealth—may they enjoy it!

    It was my wealth when I existed.

  57. أَلا يا رَبِّ بارِك في غِناهُم

    وَلا تَجعَلهُ مُقتَضِياً لِفَقري

    O Lord, bless their prosperity,

    and do not make it entail my poverty.

  58. وَلا تُكثِر فَإِنَّ القَطرَ يَعفو

    وَلا تُضعِف فَإِنَّ الريحَ يُذري

    Do not make it too abundant, for rain effaces;

    nor too feeble, for the wind scatters.

  59. وَلا تُروِ السَماءُ القُطرَ عَنّي

    فَما بَخِلَت سَماءُ يَدي بِقَطرِ

    Let the sky not water the lands while passing me by,

    for the sky of my hand never begrudged a drop.

  60. مُقيماً تَحتَ لَيلٍ لَيسَ يَسري

    بِهِ النَجمُ الَّذي في المَيلِ يَسري

    Abiding beneath a night through which does not travel

    the star that travels on its slanting course.

  61. يَهابُ الطَيفُ مَسراهُ إِلَيهِ

    وَيَعثُرُ بَينَ صُفّاحٍ وَصَخرِ

    The dream-phantom fears its night journey to him,

    and stumbles among stone slabs and rock.

  62. فَإِن فَرِحوا لِتَركِهِمُ بِخَيرٍ

    فَوا حَزَني لِتَركِهِمُ بِشَرِّ

    If they rejoice that I leave them in comfort,

    alas for my sorrow that they leave me in misery!

  63. فَقامَ بِهِم لِأُسرَتِهِ المُعَزّي

    وَقامَ لَهُ بِغَسلَتِهِ المُعَرّي

    The consoler rises among them for his family,

    and the one who strips him rises to wash him.

  64. أَسُكّانَ القُصورِ لَئِن قُطِعتُم

    فَقَد قُطِّعتُ مِن سُكّانِ قَصري

    O dwellers in palaces, though you are cut off,

    I have been severed from the dwellers of my palace.

  65. وَما يَبقى لِمَيتٍ عِندَ حَيٍّ

    سِوى تَسليمَةٍ وُصِلَت بِهَجرِ

    Nothing remains for the dead with the living

    but a greeting joined to abandonment.

  66. يَمُرُّ عَلَيهِ بِالذِكرى قَليلاً

    وَيُضجِرُ فِكرَهُ فَيَقولُ مُرّي

    He briefly revisits him in memory,

    then it wearies his mind, and he says, 'Pass on.'

  67. أَلا مُرّوا إِلى الذِكرى فَإِنّي

    وَإِن خَفَّ التَرابُ غَريقُ بَحرِ

    Come, turn to remembrance, for I,

    though the earth is light, am drowning in a sea.

  68. وَلَو عَينُ الشَفيقِ بَدَت لِوَجهي

    لَفاضَت أَدمُعاً إِذ غاضَ بِشري

    If a compassionate eye appeared before my face,

    it would overflow with tears, for my cheer has ebbed away.

  69. وَكَم طَمِعَ الفَتى في غَيرِ كُنهٍ

    وَعُرَّ لِصَحبِهِ مِن غَيرِ عُرِّ

    How often a youth has longed for what lacks substance,

    and has been shamed before his companions without a blemish.

  70. أَيَشكو العَيشُ مِن قَومٍ عُقوقاً

    وَيَرجو المَوتَ مِنهُم فَضلَ بِرِّ

    Does life complain of a people's ingratitude,

    while death hopes for abundant kindness from them?

  71. فَلَيتَهُمُ إِذا ما مَرَّ ذِكري

    عَفَوا عَنّي فَبَعضُ القَومِ مُرّي

    Would that, whenever my name is mentioned,

    they pardon me—for some people are bitter to me.

  72. وَقولوا ما أَرَدتُم أَن تَقولوا

    فَلَيسَ القَولُ مِن اَمني وَذُعري

    Say whatever you wish to say,

    for words are no part of my security or my fear.

  73. خُذو حَذَراً مِنَ الأَيّامِ إِنّي

    أَخَذتُ وَما أَفادَ الأَخذُ حِذري

    Be wary of the days, for I

    took precautions, yet my caution gained nothing from them.

  74. وَإِن يَتَوَرَّعوا عَن نَحتِ ذِكري

    فَتَحتَ الجَنبِ مِنّي أَيُّ وَعرِ

    If they scruple to chisel away my remembrance,

    what rough ground lies beneath my side!

  75. ثِقوا بِإِجابَتي يا أَهلَ وُدّي

    يَكونُ السَمعُ ذا وَقرٍ بِوَقرِ

    Trust in my answering you, O people of my affection:

    hearing grows deaf beneath a weight.

  76. وَأَنَّ اللَهَ يَسمَعُكُم جَميعاً

    وَأَنَّ الكاتِبينَ عَلَيَّ تَجري

    And know that God hears you all,

    and that the scribes' record runs against me.

  77. فَإِن قُلتُم مِنَ الأَقوالِ حُرّاً

    فَقَد يُثنى عَلى حُرٍّ بِحُرِّ

    If among your words you speak something noble,

    a noble man may be praised with noble speech.

  78. وَإِنَّ عَقائِلَ الأَعراضِ تُمسي

    إِذا سَكَنَت ثَراها تَحتَ خِدرِ

    And honor's noble ladies pass the night,

    when settled in their earth, within a curtained chamber.

  79. وَقَذفُ المُحصَناتِ كَما عَلِمتُم

    وَيَومُ الحَشرِ لَيسَ بِيَومِ هَذرِ

    And slandering chaste women is as you know,

    and the Day of Gathering is no day for idle talk.

  80. فَلا تَحشُر بِقَبرِكَ غَيرَ ما قَد

    يَسُرُّكَ أَن تَراهُ يَومَ حَشرِ

    So gather in your grave nothing but what

    will delight you to see on the Day of Gathering.

  81. إِلَهي لا تُعَذِبني فَإِنّي

    مُقِرٌّ وَالتَجاوُزُ عَن مُقِرِّ

    My God, do not torment me, for I

    confess—and pardon is for one who confesses.

  82. أَقِل يَومَ الصِراطِ عِثارَ خَطوي

    فَإِنّي مُثقَلٌ مِن حَملِ وِزري

    On the day of the Path, pardon my stumbling steps,

    for I am weighed down by the burden of my sin.

  83. بِخِفَّةِ مَنطِقي في الذِكرِ خَفِّف

    إِذا الداعي دَعاني ثِقلَ ظَهري

    By the lightness of my speech in remembrance, lighten,

    when the caller summons me, the burden on my back.