1. مِثالُ عَينَيكَ في الظَبيِ الَّذي سَنَحا

    وَلّى وَما دَمَلَ القَلبَ الَّذي جَرَحا

    The likeness of your eyes is in the gazelle that crossed my path;

    he turned away without healing the heart he wounded.

  2. فَرُحتُ أَقبَضُ أَثناءَ الحَشا كَمَداً

    وَراحَ يَبسُطُ أَثناءَ الخُطا مَرَحا

    I went on clutching the folds of my innards in grief,

    while he went on lengthening his strides in delight.

  3. صَفَحتُ عَن دَمِ قَلبٍ طَلَّهُ هَدراً

    بُقياً عَليهِ فَما أَبقى وَلا صَفَحا

    I waived vengeance for a heart whose blood he spilled with impunity,

    out of mercy for him; yet he neither spared nor pardoned.

  4. حَمى لَهُ كُلَّ مَرعىً سَهمُ مُقلَتِهِ

    وَمَورِدَ الماءِ مَغبوقاً وَمُصطَبَحا

    The arrow of his eye reserved every pasture for him,

    and the watering-place, for evening and morning drinking.

  5. أَماتِحٌ أَنتَ غَربَ الدَمعِ مِن كَمَدٍ

    عَلى الظَعائِنِ إِذ جاوَزنَ مُطَّلَحا

    Are you drawing up the great bucket of tears in grief

    over the women in howdahs, when they passed Muttalah?

  6. أَتبَعتُهُم نَظَراً تَدمى أَواخِرُهُ

    وَقَد رَمَلنَ عَلى رَملِ العَقيقِ ضُحى

    I followed them with a gaze whose furthest reaches bleed,

    as they trotted over al-Aqiq's sands at forenoon.

  7. فيهُنَّ أَحوى فَضيضُ الطَرفِ رِعيَتِهِ

    حَبُّ القُلوبِ إِذا ما رادَ أَو سَرَحا

    Among them is a dark-lipped gazelle, languid-eyed, whose pasture

    is the kernels of hearts, whenever he forages or roams.

  8. عِندي مِنَ الدَمعِ ما لَو كانَ وارِدَهُ

    مَطيُّ قَومِكَ يَومَ الجِزعِ ما نَزَحا

    I have tears enough that, if those drinking them were

    your people's mounts on the day at al-Jiz‘, the tears would not run dry.

  9. غادَرنَ أَسوانَ مَمطوراً بِعَبرَتِهِ

    يَنحو مَعَ البارِقِ العُلوِيُّ أَينَ نَحا

    They left a sorrowing man drenched in his own tears,

    following the upland lightning wherever it turns.

  10. يَروعُهُ الرَكبُ مُجتاَزاً وَيُزعِجُهُ

    زَجرُ الحُداةِ تَشُلُّ الأَينُقَ الطُلُحا

    A passing caravan startles him, and he is troubled by

    the drivers' cries as they urge the weary she-camels onward.

  11. هَل يُبلِغَنَّهُمُ النَفسَ الَّتي ذَهَبَت

    فيهِم شَعاعاً أَوِ القَلبَ الَّذي قَرِحا

    Will it bring them the soul that has flown

    in fragments after them, or the heart that has grown sore?

  12. إِن هانَ سَفحُ دَمي بِالبَينِ عِندَهُمُ

    فَواجِبٌ أَن يَهونَ الدَمعُ إِن سُفِحا

    If the spilling of my blood through parting means little to them,

    then surely tears must mean little too, if they are shed.

  13. قُل لِلعَواذِلِ مَهلاً فَالمَشيبُ غَداً

    يَفدو عِقالاً لِذي القَلبِ الَّذي طَمَحا

    Tell the reproaching women: Gently! Tomorrow gray hair

    will become a hobble for the man whose heart ran wild.

  14. هَيهاتَ أُحوَجُ مَع شَيبي إِلى عَذَلٍ

    فَالشَيبُ أَعذَلُ مِمَّن لامَني وَلَحا

    Far from it—that, gray-haired, I should need reproach!

    Gray hair reproaches me more than those who blamed and chided me.

  15. قِف طالِعاً أَيُّها الساعي لِيُدرِكَني

    فَبَعدَكَ الجَزَعُ المَغرورُ قَد قَرَحا

    Halt and look, you who hasten to overtake me:

    since you left, the unsuspecting yearling has come of age.

  16. لا عَزَّ أَخبَثُنا عِرقاً وَأَهجَنُنا

    أُمّاً وَأَصلَدُنا زَنداً إِذا قُدِحا

    May the foulest-rooted of us never prosper, the basest

    on his mother's side, and the most sparkless when his firestick is struck.

  17. أَظُنُّ رَأسَكَ قَد أَعياكَ مَحمَلُهُ

    وَرُبَّ ثِقلٍ تَمَنّاهُ الَّذي طُرِحاً

    I think carrying your head has wearied you;

    many a burden is wished back by the man who cast it off.

  18. كَمِ المُقامُ عَلى جيلٍ سَواسِيَةٍ

    نَرجو النَدى مِن إِناءٍ قَلَّ مارَشَحا

    How long must we stay among a generation all alike,

    hoping for bounty from a vessel that scarcely seeps?

  19. تَشاغَلَ الناسُ بِاِستِدفاعِ شَرِّهِمُ

    عَن أَن يَسومَهُمُ الإِعطاءَ وَالمِنَحا

    People are preoccupied with warding off their evil,

    rather than asking them for generosity and gifts.

  20. في كُلِّ يَومٍ يُناديني لِبَيعَتِهِ

    مُشَمِّرٌ في عِنانِ الغَيِّ قَد جَمَحا

    Every day there calls me to pledge him allegiance

    an eager man who has bolted in error's bridle.

  21. إِن تُمنَيَنَّ لِمِنديلٍ إِذاً لَكُمُ

    مَتى يَشا ماسِحٌ مِنكُم بِها مَسَحا

    My right hand, then, is a wiping-cloth for you [text uncertain];

    whenever a wiper among you wishes, he wipes with it.

  22. إِلامَ أُصفيكُمُ وُدّي عَلى مَضَضٍ

    وَكَم أُنيرُ وَأُسدي فيكُمُ المِدَحا

    How long shall I offer you my pure love despite the pain,

    and how long weave praises of you, warp and woof?

  23. يَرومُ نُصحِيَ أَقوامٌ وَرَوا كَبِدي

    وَالعَجزُ أَن يُجعَلَ المَوتورُ مُنتَصَحا

    Men who have inflamed my liver seek my sincere counsel;

    it is folly to make a wronged man a trusted counselor.

  24. أَرى جَنانِيَ قَد جاشَت حَلائِبُهُ

    ما يَمنَعُ القَلبَ مِن فَيضٍ وَقَد طَفَحا

    I see the gathered currents of my heart surging;

    what can keep a heart from overflowing when it has brimmed over?

  25. شَمِّر ذُوَيلَكَ وَاِركَبها مُذَكَّرَةً

    وَاِطلُب عَنِ الوَطَنِ المَذمومِ مُنتَدَحا

    Tuck up your little hem and mount her, sturdy as a male,

    and seek room to roam away from this despised homeland.

  26. وَحَمِّلِ الهَمِّ إِن عَنّاكَ نازِلُهُ

    غَوارِبَ اللَيلِ وَالعَيرانَةَ السُرُحا

    Load your grief, if its visitation troubles you,

    onto the crests of night and the strong, swift-striding she-camel.

  27. وَاِنفُض رِجالاً سَقوكَ الغَيظِ أَذنَبَةً

    وَأَورَثوكَ مَضيضَ الداءِ وَالكَشَحا

    Shake off men who made you drink bucketfuls of rage,

    and bequeathed you the sting of sickness and rancor.

  28. إِن عايَنوا نِعمَةً ما توا بِها كَمَداً

    وَإِن رَأوا غُمَّةً طاروا بِها فَرَحا

    When they see a blessing, they die of grief at it;

    when they see a calamity, they fly with joy over it.

  29. أَوهَت أَكُفُّهُمُ بَيني وَبَينَهُمُ

    فَتقاً بِغَيرِ العَوالي قَلَّ ما نُصِحا

    Their hands have widened, between me and them,

    a rent seldom stitched without long spears.

  30. نالوا المَعالي وَلَم تَعرَق جِباهُهُمُ

    فيها لُغوباً وَما نالَ الَّذي كَدَحا

    They attained the heights, yet their brows never sweated

    with toil for them, while the man who labored attained nothing.

  31. سائِل عَنِ الطَودِ لِم خَفَّت قَواعِدُهُ

    وَكانَ إِن مالَ مِقدارٌ بِهِ رَجَحا

    Ask of the mountain why its foundations grew light,

    when once it outweighed any weight set against it.

  32. قَد جَرَّبوهُ فَما لا نَت شَكيمَتُهُ

    وَحَمَّلوهُ فَما أَعيا وَلا رَزَحا

    They tested him, yet his resolve never softened;

    they burdened him, yet he neither tired nor sagged beneath the load.

  33. رَمَوا بِهِ الغَرَضَ الأَقصى فَشافَهَهُ

    مَرَّ القَطامِيُّ جَلّى بَعدَما لَمَحا

    They shot him at the farthest mark, and he met it face to face.

    The falcon sped, coming first once he glimpsed the mark,

  34. مِنَ العِراقِ إِلى أَجبالِ خُرَّمَةٍ

    يا بُعدَهُ مَنبَذاً عَنّا وَمُطَّرَحا

    from Iraq to the mountains of Khurramah.

    How far away he is, cast out from us and thrown aside!

  35. لَيسَ المَلومُ الَّذي شَدَّ اليَدَينِ بِهِ

    بَلِ المَلومُ المُرَزّا مَن بِهِ سَمَحا

    Not to blame is the man who held him fast with both hands;

    rather, blame and loss fall on the man who let him go.

  36. هُوَ الحُسامُ فَمَن تَعلَق يَداهُ بِهِ

    يَضمُم عَلى الصَفقَةِ العُظمى وَقَد رَبِحا

    He is the keen sword; whoever clasps him with both hands

    closes his grasp on the greatest bargain, and has profited.

  37. إِن أَغمَدوهُ فَلَم تُغمَد فَضائِلُهُ

    وَلا نَأى ذِكرُهُ الداني وَقَد نَزَحا

    If they have sheathed him, his virtues have not been sheathed;

    nor has his close-at-hand renown receded, though he is far away.

  38. أَهدى السَلامَ إِلَيكَ اللَهُ ما حَمَلَت

    غَوارِبُ الإِبِلِ الغادينَ وَالرَوَحا

    May God send you peace as long as

    the camels' high backs bear morning and evening travelers.

  39. وَلا أَغَبُّ بِلاداً أَنتَ ساكِنُها

    مَسرى نَسيمٍ يُميطُ الداءَ إِن نَفَحا

    May the lands you inhabit never lack

    the nightly passage of a breeze that dispels sickness when it blows.

  40. أَغدو عَلى سُبُلِ الأَنواءِ مُشتَرِطاً

    سُقياكَ في البَلَدِ النائي وَمُقتَرِحا

    I go along the paths of the rain-stars, stipulating

    rain for you in the distant land, making that my plea.

  41. أَفرَدتَ لِلهَمِّ صَدراً مِنكَ مُتَّسِعاً

    عَلى الهُمومِ وَقَلباً مِنكَ مُنشَرِحا

    You reserved for grief a breast of yours wide enough

    for cares, and a heart of yours open and serene.

  42. كَساهُمُ البُهمَةَ الدَهماءَ عَجزُهُمُ

    وَالعَزمُ أَلبَسَكَ التَحجيلَ وَالفَرَحا

    Their helplessness clothed them in unmarked, pitch-black coats;

    resolve clothed you in white stockings and joy.

  43. عَلَّ اللَيالي أَن تُثنى بِعاطِفَةٍ

    فَيَستَقيلَ زَمانٌ بَعدَما اِجتَرَحا

    Perhaps the nights will be turned by compassion,

    and time seek pardon after the wrong it did.

  44. كَما رَمى الداءُ عُضواً بَعدَ صِحَّتِهِ

    كَذا إِذا التاثَ عُضوٌ رُبَّما اِصطَلَحا

    Just as illness strikes a limb after it has been sound,

    so too, if a limb grows diseased, it may recover.

  45. فَكَم تَلاحَكَ بابُ الخَطبِ ثُمَّ رُمي

    بِقارِعٍ مِن يَمينِ اللَهِ فَاِنفَتَحا

    How often has calamity's door closed tight, then been struck

    by a knock from God's right hand, and swung open!

  46. وَكَم تَلاحَمَ كَربٌ عِندَ مُعضِلَةٍ

    فَاِنجابَ عَن قَدرٍ لِلَّهِ وَاِنفَسَحا

    How often has distress tightened amid a hard plight,

    then cleared away by God's decree, and opened wide!

  47. أَرى رِجالاً كَبُهمِ القاعِ عِندَهُمُ

    سَيّانِ مِن مَزقَ الآراءِ أَو صَرَحا

    I see men like the plain's dumb beasts, to whom

    the mangler of opinions and the plain speaker are alike.

  48. يَعلو عَلى قُلَلِ الأَعناقِ بَينَهُمُ

    مَن غَشَّ رِئياً وَيوطا عُنقُ مَن نَصَحا

    Among them, above the summits of necks rises

    the giver of false counsel; the honest counselor's neck is trodden down.

  49. تَظاهَروا بِنِفاقِ الغَيِّ عِندَهُمُ

    حَتّى اِدِّعاهُ عَلى مَكروهِهِ الفُصَحا

    They joined forces to make error fashionable among them,

    until even the eloquent claimed it, hateful though it is.