Poems
- أرى ماء وبي عطش شديدI see water, and I am intensely thirsty,
- أعزز علي بأن تبيت عليلاHow grievous it is to me that you should spend the night ill,
- أف للدنيا وللزينةFie on the world and on adorn-
- ألا يا أمير المؤمنين أما ترىAh, Commander of the Faithful, do you not see
- النفس تطمع والأسباب عاجزةThe soul craves, yet the means are inadequate.
- أما يكلفيك أنك تملكينيDoes it burden you that you possess me
- إن استهانتها إذا وقعتIndeed, its scorn, when it comes,
- إن التي عذبت نفسي بما قدرتShe who has tortured my soul with what she decreed
- إن سحرا وضياء وخنثIndeed, Sihr, Diya, and Khunuth
- إنني وزعت حبي طائعاIndeed, I willingly divided my love
- أهدى الحبيب مع الجنوب سلامهThe beloved sent his greeting with the south wind.
- أيا من رد ودي أمسO you who rejected my affection yester-
- بل نحن كنا أهلها فأبادناRather, we were its people; then we were destroyed
- بلى والهدايا المشعرات وما مشىYes—by the marked sacrificial beasts, and by all that walked
- تبدي صدودا وتخفي تحته مقةYou show aversion and hide affection beneath it.
- تقاضاك دهرك ما أسلفاYour time has demanded back what it lent you,
- تقاضيت وعدي ولم أنسهI sought fulfillment of the promise made to me, and did not forget it;
- ثلاث قد حللن حمى فؤاديThree women have settled in my heart’s inviolable preserve,
- جاءت به معتجرا ببردهShe brought him, his head wrapped in his striped cloak—
- دعي عد الذنوب إذا التقيناLeave off counting sins when we meet.
- سرورك ألهاك عن موعديYour joy distracted you from your appointment with me,
- سل عن الصارم ابن يحيىAsk after al-Sarim ibn Yahya,
- سلام على النازح المغتربPeace upon the distant one, living far from home;
- صد عني إذ رآني مفتتنHe turned away from me when he saw me infatuated,
- صيرني الحب إلى ما ترىLove has reduced me to what you see;
- فلو أن شيئا فائت الموت أحرزتIf anything could escape death, it would have been sheltered by
- قاسيت أوجاعا وأحزاناI suffered pains and sorrows
- قالوا تحب صغيرة فأجبتهمThey said, “You love a young girl,” so I answered them:
- قبلته من بعيدI kissed him from afar,
- قد تخوفت أن أموت من الوجدI have feared that I might die of longing,
- قد قلت لما ضمنوك الثرىI said, when they laid you in the earth,
- قل لمن يملك الملوكSay to him who owns the rule
- قلد أمور عباد الله ذا ثقةEntrust the affairs of God’s servants to a trustworthy man—
- كأن لم يكن بين الحجون إلى الصفاAs though between al-Hajun and al-Safa there had never been
- لساني كتوم لأسرارهمMy tongue guards their secrets,
- لم ينلك الرجاء أن تحضرينيHope did not grant you to be present before me
- لها قلبي الغداة وقلبها ليMy heart is hers this morning, and her heart is mine.
- لو أن جعفر هاب أسباب الردىHad Ja‘far feared the paths of doom,
- ما الفخر أني إمام الناس كلهمPride is not in my being the leader of all the people;
- ما يعجب العالم من جعفرWhy does the world marvel at Jaʿfar?
- ملك الثلاث الآنسات عنانيThe three charming maidens have taken hold of my reins,
- ملكت من أصبح لي مالكاI possessed the one who became my master.
- من لم يؤدبه الجميلWhoever kindness fails to discipline,
- نظرت عيني لحينيMy eyes beheld my love
- وتنال منك بحد مقلتهاAnd with the edge of her eye she does you harm
- ولي ولد لم أعصه مذ ولدتهI have a son whom I have never disobeyed since I begot him.
- ومخنث شهد الزفاف وقبلهAnd an effeminate man attended the wedding, and before it
- يا آخذ اللحن علىO you who hold a grammatical slip against the
- يا ربة المنزل بالفركO mistress of the house at al-Fark,
No poems found.