1. أغايةُ حظّك أن تُظلماَ

    وعُقبى شبابك أن يُرحَمَا

    Is the utmost of your fortune to be wronged,

    and the end of your youth to be pitied?

  2. أُعيذك من أدمعٍ جارياتٍ

    ومثلُ شبابك يُبكَى دما

    I would shield you from flowing tears,

    yet youth like yours is mourned with blood.

  3. ومن نكد العيش قول الذي قا

    لَ إن القبورَ طريقُ السَّما

    Among life's woes are the words of the one who said:

    'Graves are the road to heaven.'

  4. أفي القبر غيرُ عظام رميمٍ

    وفي القبر غير دجىً خيّما

    Is there anything in the grave but decayed bones,

    and anything in the grave but darkness settled there?

  5. شَقينا وآباؤنا قبلنا

    فصاروا ونحن نصير لِمَا

    We suffered, and our fathers before us;

    they passed on, and we are passing to what

  6. هُوَ الموت فابذُل له أدمعاً

    وإِن شئت فابذُل له عَنْدَما

    is death: so pour out tears for it,

    and, if you wish, pour out crimson blood.

  7. فليست تردّ الدموعُ حَبيباً

    ولست تجُرّ الدِّما مَغْنما

    For tears do not bring a loved one back,

    nor do you draw any gain from blood.

  8. أقِلّ البكا بعد عباسَ إِني

    رأيت بُكا حظّه أكرما

    Lessen your weeping after Abbas; I

    have found it nobler to weep for his fate.

  9. ومن لم يكن حظه في الحياة

    لَهُ مُسعِداُ عزّ أن يسلما

    And one whose lot in life was not

    a joy to him could scarcely come through unharmed.

  10. حياة الفتى سرُّ هذا الوجودِ

    ومِن عبث الدهر أن تفهما

    A young man's life is the mystery of this existence,

    and understanding it is one of time's follies.

  11. سلام على قبر عباسَ إِني

    وقفت به الموقفَ المؤلِما

    Peace upon Abbas's grave; I

    stood beside it in a painful vigil.

  12. وقفت به خاشعاً جزعاً

    أُودّعُه مُكرَها مرغَما

    I stood beside it, humbled and grief-stricken,

    bidding him farewell, unwilling and compelled.

  13. وما خانني الصبر فيه ولكن

    وجدت بكائي له أحزما

    Patience did not fail me in this, but

    I found weeping for him the wiser course.

  14. بكَيتُ رقيقَ شبابي وإني

    لأَبكي به الصاحبَ الأَكرما

    I wept for the gentle one of my youth; indeed,

    in him I mourn the noblest companion.

  15. رفيق صباً لم يطُل عهدُه

    إلى أن غدا حلوُه عَلقما

    A companion of youth, whose days did not last long

    before its sweetness turned to bitter colocynth.

  16. سقاني رِضاه فلما صَحَوتُ

    إذا بفؤاديَ يشكو الظَما

    His favor gave me drink; then, when I sobered,

    suddenly my heart was complaining of thirst.

  17. فيا ويحَ حظيَ بعد الشبابِ

    وحظُّ الشباب غدا معدَمَا

    Alas for my lot after youth,

    and youth's fortune has become destitute.

  18. ومن فَجَعتْهُ المُنَى في صباه

    تراءى صِباه له مظلِما

    And one whom hopes have bereaved in his youth

    sees his youth appear dark before him.

  19. رفيقَ الصبا أين عهدُ الإخاء

    أَكان الوفاءُ بأن أُظْلَما

    Companion of youth, where is the pledge of brotherhood?

    Was faithfulness to lie in my being wronged?

  20. حنانَيكَ لا أدّعي الظلمَ فيكَ

    أُعيذ ودادك أن يُلَثما

    Have pity on me; I do not accuse you of injustice;

    I would shield your affection from being marred.

  21. لقد كنتَ لي ساعدي ويميني

    وكنتُ لديكَ الأخَ المكرَما

    Indeed, you were to me my arm and my right hand,

    and to you I was the honored brother.

  22. فإن فَجَعتني بك الحادثاتُ

    فما غيَّرتْ قلبيَ المُغرَما

    So if misfortunes have bereaved me of you,

    they have not changed my devoted heart.

  23. ذكرتُكَ ما أَنسىَ عهداً

    نعِمْنا به زمناً منعما

    I remember you; I never forget the time

    when we lived in delight for a blissful while,

  24. على شاطئ النيل من روضةٍ

    إلى روضة كطيورِ الحِمى

    on the bank of the Nile, from one garden

    to another, like birds of the sanctuary,

  25. طروبَين نسرَحُ في ظِلّه

    ضحوكَينِ قَلْباً به وفما

    both joyous, we roamed in its shade,

    both laughing there, in heart and mouth.

  26. بلى سالَمَتْنَا الليالي ولكنْ

    أَرتنا جزاءَ الذي استسلما

    Yes, the nights made peace with us, but

    showed us the recompense of one who surrendered.

  27. يقولون عباس في غربتي

    عداه الحِمام فلن يُعصَما

    They say that Abbas, while I am far from home,

    has been assailed by death and will not be spared.

  28. فوا لهفي من صروف الزمانِ

    يموتُ الحبيبُ ولن يلثما

    Oh, my anguish at the vicissitudes of time:

    the beloved dies and will not be kissed.

  29. فيا روح عباس أين تكونين

    في ذا الفضا أم بلغت السَّما

    O spirit of Abbas, where are you?

    In this expanse, or have you reached heaven?

  30. أفي عالمِ النور مثل النجومِ

    تضيئين أم في دجى أظلما

    In the world of light, like the stars,

    do you shine, or are you in deeper darkness?

  31. أطِلّي علينا وبُوحي لنا

    بِسرّ الوجودِ لكي نعلما

    Show yourself to us, and reveal to us

    the secret of existence, that we may know.

  32. أفي الكونِ ربٌ فنشكو له

    وربُّك كان بنا أرحما

    Is there a Lord in the universe to whom we may complain?

    And your Lord was once more merciful to us.

  33. أم الكون لا شيءَ نحيا ونفنى

    وما الروح في الحيّ إلاّ الدّما

    Or is the universe nothing: we live and perish,

    and the spirit in the living is nothing but blood?

  34. أطلي أجيبي أشيري لنا

    فقد آن يا روحُ أن نفهما

    Appear, answer, give us a sign,

    for the time has come, O spirit, for us to understand.

  35. أَناجيتِ ربَّك في مُلكِهِ

    وقلتِ له رحمةً قبلما

    Did you commune with your Lord in His kingdom,

    and say to Him beforehand, 'Have mercy:

  36. فلي والدٌ أعجزته الليالي

    وأمٌّ ستقضي أسىً بعدما

    for I have a father whom the nights have enfeebled,

    and a mother who will die of grief afterward;

  37. ولي طفلة لم تَحُزْ سنَتَينِ

    إذا أَنا مُتُّ فلن تَسْلَما

    and I have a little girl not yet two years old;

    if I die, she will not be safe'?

  38. أعباس نَمْ آمِناً مستريحاً

    فقد قُضِي الأمرُ أن تُظلَما

    O Abbas, sleep safe and at rest,

    for it has been decreed that you be wronged.

  39. ومن مبلغٌ هند في مصر أني

    رأيتُ التأسي بها أكرما

    And who will tell Hind in Egypt that I

    have found it nobler to follow her example?

  40. إذا كفرت هند في ربّها

    فربكِ يا هندُ لن يَرْحَمَا

    If Hind has disbelieved in her Lord,

    then your Lord, O Hind, will show no mercy.

  41. يقول لعباس نَمْ بسلامٍ

    حبيبٌ على قبره سَلَّما

    To Abbas, 'Sleep in peace,' says

    a loved one who offered greetings at his grave.

  42. ويا قبرَ عباس كن ليّناً

    على جِسمِهِ لا تكن مؤلِما

    And, O grave of Abbas, be gentle

    with his body; do not hurt him.

  43. فتى ملء بردتِهِ عِفّةٌ

    طليقٌ محياَ ضحوكٌ فما

    A youth whose mantle is filled with chastity,

    cheerful of countenance, laughing of mouth.

  44. أيبلو الحياة ثلاثين عاماً

    ولما بَلَتْهُ قضى مرغما

    Did he put life to the test for thirty years,

    and, when it tested him, die against his will?

  45. سقت قبرَك الأدمعُ الجارياتُ

    وإلاّ سقاه فؤادي الدما

    May flowing tears water your grave;

    or else my heart will water it with blood.