1. تِلكَ السُنونُ الغارِباتُ وَرائي

    سِفرٌ كَتَبتُ حُروفَهُ بِدِمائي

    Those years that have set behind me

    Are a book whose letters I wrote in my blood.

  2. ما عِشتُها لِأَعُدَّها بَل عِشتُها

    لِتَبينَ في سيمائِها سيمائي

    I did not live them to count them; rather, I lived them

    So that my countenance might appear in theirs.

  3. سِيّانَ لَو أَنّي قَنِعتُ بِعَدِّها

    عُمري وَعُمرُ الصَخرَةِ الصَمّاءِ

    Had I been content to count them, the same would be

    My lifetime and the lifetime of the deaf rock.

  4. وَلَبَذَّني يَومَ التَفاخُرِ شاطِئٌ

    ما فيهِ غَيرُ رِمالِهِ الخَرساءِ

    And on the day of boasting, a shore would outdo me,

    Containing nothing but its mute sands.

  5. لاحَت لِيَ العَلياءُ في آفاقِها

    فَأَرَدتُها دَرباً إِلى العَلياءِ

    The heights appeared to me on their horizons,

    So I wanted them to be a path to the heights,

  6. وَمَحَبَّةً لِلخَيرِ تَسري في دَمي

    وَرِعايَةً لِلضَعفِ وَالضُعَفاءِ

    And a love of goodness flowing through my blood,

    And care for weakness and the weak,

  7. وَعِبادَةً لِلحَقِّ أَينَ وَجَدتُهُ

    وَالحُسنِ في الأَحياءِ وَالأَشياءِ

    And worship of truth wherever I found it,

    And of beauty in living beings and things,

  8. لِتَدورَ بَعدي قِصَّةٌ عَن شاعِرٍ

    رَقَصَت بِهِ الدُنيا جَناحَ ضِياءِ

    So that after me a story might circulate about a poet

    With whom the world danced, a wing of light,

  9. نَشَرَ الطُيوبَ عَلى دُروبِ حَياتِهِ

    وَسَرى هَوىً في الطيبِ وَالأَنداءِ

    Who spread fragrances along the paths of his life,

    And flowed as love through fragrance and dew,

  10. وَأَطَلَّ مِن قَلبِ البَخيلِ سَماحَةً

    وَشَجاعَةً في السِلمِ وَالهَيجاءِ

    And emerged from the miser's heart as generosity,

    And as courage in peace and battle,

  11. وَمَشى إِلى المَظلومِ بارِقُ رَحمَةٍ

    وَهَوى عَلى الظَلامِ سَوطَ بَلاءِ

    And walked to the oppressed, a flash of mercy,

    And fell upon darkness as a scourge of affliction.

  12. فَتُعِزُّ دُنيا قَد طَوَت آبائي

    وَتَهِشُّ دُنيا أَطلَعَت أَبنائي

    So a world that has enfolded my fathers may honor me,

    And a world that has brought forth my sons may smile.

  13. تِلكَ السُنونُ بِبُؤسِها وَنَعيمِها

    مالَت بِعودي وَاِنطَوَت بِرِوائي

    Those years, with their misery and their bliss,

    Bent my stem and folded away my freshness.

  14. أَينَ الشَبابُ أَلُفُّ أَحلامي بِهِ

    لَيسَ الشَبابُ الآنَ لي بِرِداءِ

    Where is youth, in which I wrap my dreams?

    Youth is no longer a cloak for me.

  15. نَفسي تَحُسُّ كَأَنَّما أَثقالُها

    قَد خُيِّرَت فَتَخَيَّرَت أَعضائي

    My soul feels as though its burdens

    Were given a choice and chose my limbs.

  16. كَم مِن رُؤىً طَلَعَت عَلى جَنَباتِها

    رَكباً مِنَ الأَضواءِ وَالأَشذاءِ

    How many visions rose upon its flanks,

    A caravan of lights and scents!

  17. قَلَّبتُ فيها بَعدَ لَأيٍ ناظِري

    فَتَعَثَّرَت عَينايَ بِالأَشلاءِ

    After much effort, I turned my gaze within it,

    And my eyes stumbled over dismembered remains.

  18. يا لِلضَحايا لا يَرِفُّ لِمَوتِها

    جَفنٌ وَلا تُحصى مَعَ الشُهَداءِ

    Alas for the victims, at whose death no

    Eyelid flutters, nor are they counted among the martyrs.

  19. وَدَّعتُ لَذّاتِ الخَيالِ وَعُفتُها

    وَرَضيتُ أَن أَشقى مَعَ الحُكَماءِ

    I bade farewell to fancy's delights and shunned them,

    And was content to suffer alongside the wise.

  20. فَعَرَفتُ مِثلَهُمُ بِأَنّي موجِدٌ

    بُؤسي وَأَنّي خالِقٌ نُعَماءِ

    So I learned, like them, that I am the maker of

    My misery, and that I am the creator of bliss.

  21. إِنّي أُراني بَعدَ ما كابَدتُهُ

    كَالفُلكِ خارِجَةً مِنَ الأَنواءِ

    I see myself, after what I have endured,

    Like a ship emerging from the storms,

  22. وَكَسائِحٍ بَلَغَ المَدينَةَ بَعدَما

    ضَلَّ الطَريقَ وَتاهَ في البَيداءِ

    And like a traveler who reached the city after

    Losing the way and wandering in the desert.

  23. شُكراً لِأَصحابي فَلَولا حُبُّهُم

    لَم أَقتَرِب مِن عالَمِ اللَألاءِ

    Thanks to my friends: were it not for their love,

    I would not have drawn near the world of radiance.

  24. بِهِمِ اِقتَحَمتُ العاصِفاتِ بِمَركَبي

    وَبِهِم عَقَدتُ عَلى النُجومِ لِوائي

    Through them I plunged into the storms in my vessel,

    And through them I fastened my banner upon the stars.

  25. شُكراً لِأَعدائي فَلَولا عَيثُهُم

    لَم أَدرِ أَنَّهُموا مِنَ الغَوغاءِ

    Thanks to my enemies: were it not for their havoc,

    I would not have known they were of the rabble.

  26. نَهَشَ الأَسى لَمّا ضَحِكتُ قُلوبَهُم

    عُرسُ المَحَبَّةِ مَأتَمُ البَغضاءِ

    When I laughed, sorrow gnawed at their hearts;

    Love's wedding is hatred's funeral.

  27. ذَنبي إِلى الحُسّادِ أَنّي فُتُّهُم

    وَتَرَكتُهُم يَتَعَثَّرونَ وَرائي

    My offense in the eyes of the envious is that I outstripped them,

    And left them stumbling behind me.

  28. وَخَطيئَتي الكُبرى إِلَيهِم أَنَّهُم

    قَعَدوا وَلَم أَقعُد عَلى الغَبراءِ

    And my greatest sin in their eyes is that they

    Sat down, while I did not sit upon the dusty earth.

  29. عَفوُ المُروءَةِ وَالرُجولَةِ أَنَّني

    أَخطَأتُ حينَ حَسِبتُهُم نُظَرائي

    Let nobility and manhood pardon me, for I

    Erred when I counted them my peers.

  30. شُكراً لِكُلِّ فَتىً مَزَجتُ بِروحِهِ

    روحي فَطابَ وَلاؤُهُ وَوَلائي

    Thanks to every young man with whose soul I mingled

    My soul, so his loyalty and mine grew sweet.

  31. مَن كانَ يَحلَمُ بِالسَماءِ فَإِنَّني

    في قَلبِ إِنسانٍ وَجَدتُ سَمائي

    Whoever dreams of heaven—as for me,

    I found my heaven in a human heart.

  32. لَيسَ الجَمالُ هُوَ الجَمالُ بِذاتِهِ

    الحُسنُ يوجَدُ حينَ يوجَدُ رائي

    Beauty is not beauty in and of itself;

    Beauty exists when a beholder exists.

  33. ما الكَونُ ما في الكَونِ لَولا آدَمٌ

    إِلّا هَباءٌ عالِقٌ بِهَباءِ

    The universe and all within it, without Adam,

    Are but dust suspended in dust.

  34. وَأَبو البَرِيَّةِ ما أَبانَ وُجودَهُ

    وَأَتَمَّ غايَتَهُ سِوى حَوّاءِ

    And for the father of humankind, none revealed his being

    Or fulfilled his purpose but Eve.

  35. إِنّي سَكَبتُ الخَمرَ حينَ سَكَبتُها

    لِلناسِ لا لِلأَنجُمِ الزَهراءِ

    When I poured the wine, I poured it

    For people, not for the radiant stars.

  36. لا تَشرَبُ الخَمرَ النُجومُ وَإِن تَكُن

    مَعصورَةً مِن أَنفُسِ الشُعَراءِ

    The stars do not drink wine, even if it is

    Pressed from the souls of poets.

  37. تِلكَ السُنونُ عَقيمُها كَوَلودِها

    حُلوٌ لَدَيَّ كَذا يَشاءُ وَفائي

    Those years—their barren ones and their fruitful ones alike—

    Are sweet to me; so my fidelity decrees.

  38. فَاللَيلَةُ العَسراءُ مِن عُمري

    وَعُمرُ الدَهرِ مِثلَ اللَيلَةِ السَمحاءِ

    For the harsh night in my life

    And in the life of time is like the gracious night.

  39. يا مَن يَقولُ ظَلَمتَ نَفسَكَ فَاِتَّئِد

    دَعني فَلَستَ بِحامِلٍ أَعبائي

    O you who say, 'You wronged yourself,' be not hasty;

    Leave me be: you are not carrying my burdens.

  40. إِنَّ الحَياةَ الروحُ بَعضُ عَطائِها

    وَأَنا ثِمارُ الروحِ كُلُّ عَطائي

    Indeed, the soul is only part of life's gifts,

    And the fruits of the soul are all I give.

  41. ما العُمرُ إِن هُوَ كَالإِناءِ وَإِنَّني

    بِالطَيِّبِ الغالي مَلَأتُ إِنائي

    What is a lifetime? It is like a vessel, and I

    Filled my vessel with precious perfume.

  42. فَإِذا بَقيتُ فَلِلجَمالِ بَقائي

    وَإِذا فَنيتُ فَفي الجَمالِ فَنائي

    So if I remain, I remain for beauty,

    And if I perish, I perish in beauty.

  43. لِلَّهِ ما أَحلى وَأَسنى لَيلَتي

    هِيَ في كِتابِ العُمرِ كَالطُغراءِ

    By God, how sweet and radiant is my night!

    It is like an ornate monogram in the book of life.

  44. يا صَحبُ لَن أَنسى جَميلَ صَنيعِكُم

    حَتّى تُفارِقَ هَيكَلي حَوبائي

    O friends, I shall never forget your gracious deed,

    Until my soul leaves my bodily frame,

  45. وَتَقولُ عَيني قَد فَقَدتُ ضِيائي

    وَيَقولُ قَلبي قَد فَقَدتُ رَجائي

    And my eye says, 'I have lost my light,'

    And my heart says, 'I have lost my hope.'