1. يا أَيُّها الخِلُّ الَّذي لَم يَنسَني

    ما دُمتَ مَوجوداً لَدَيهِ يَراني

    O friend who has not forgotten me,

    As long as you are there with him, he sees me;

  2. وَإِذا بَعُدَت هَنيهَةً عَن وَجهِهِ

    جَرَتِ العَوائِدُ أَنَّهُ يَنساني

    And when I am briefly out of his sight,

    It is customary for him to forget me.

  3. أَنّي لَأَعجَبُ مِن صُدودِكَ وَالجَفا

    هَل بَعدَ ذاكَ الحُبُّ مِن سَلوانِ

    I marvel indeed at your aversion and estrangement:

    Can there be forgetting after that love?

  4. كَم مِن وُعودٍ ما وَفَيتُ بِبَعضِها

    فَحَمَّلتُها حِرصاً عَلى النِسيانِ

    How many promises I never fulfilled even in part—

    So I burdened them with an eagerness to forget.

  5. لَأُنَزِّهَنَّكَ عَن تَقَصُّدِ جَفوَةٍ

    إِنَّ الجَفاءَ قَطيعَةُ الخِلّانِ

    I shall surely absolve you of intentional coldness;

    Estrangement is a breach between friends.

  6. هَل بَينَ عُرقوبَ وَبَينَكَ نِسبَةٌ

    حاشاكَ عَن زورٍ وَعَن بُهتانِ

    Is there any kinship between ʿUrqūb and you?

    Far be falsehood and slander from you!

  7. قَولاً بِلا فِعلٍ وَلَيتَكَ لَم تَكُن

    لِتَزيدُهُ بِمَغلَظِ الأَيمانِ

    A word without a deed—and would that you had not

    Reinforced it with solemn oaths.

  8. فَاِحفَظ زِمامَ مَقالَةٍ إِن قُتَلها

    وَاِحذِر فَدَوتُكَ كَبوَةَ الفُرسانِ

    Then hold the reins of a statement, if you say it,

    And beware—may I ransom you—of a horseman's stumble.

  9. وَاِهمِز جَوادَ عَزيمَةٍ أَمضَيتُها

    وَاِشخَص إِلى مَعَ البَريدِ الثاني

    And spur the steed of a resolve I carried through,

    And set out toward me with the second courier.

  10. أَو ما عَلِمتُ بِوَحدَتي وَبِحاجَتي

    لَكَ دائِماً يا صَفوَةَ الخِلّانِ

    Or did I not know of my solitude and my need

    For you always, O choicest of friends?

  11. فَإِذا حَضَرتَ فَأَنتَ أَفضَلُ قادِمٍ

    عِندي وَأَنتَ أَجَلُ مَن يَلقاني

    So when you arrive, you are the finest visitor

    To me, and the most honored of those who meet me,

  12. إِلّا إِذا كانَ غُلاماً أَهيَفا

    ساجي اللَواحِظِ ناعِسُ الأَجفانِ

    Unless he is a slender youth,

    With tranquil glances and drowsy eyelids,

  13. ظَبياً بَديعَ الشَكلِ مَعسولَ اللَمعي

    لا يُستهانُ بِطَرفِهِ الوَسنانِ

    A gazelle of wondrous form and honeyed radiance,

    Whose sleepy gaze is not to be taken lightly;

  14. ذا وَجنَةٍ حَمرا وَقَد أَسمَرَ

    يَسبي النُهى بِجَمالِهِ الفَتّانِ

    With a rosy cheek, and grown dusky,

    He captivates minds with his bewitching beauty.

  15. الرَدفُ يُقعِدُهُ وَيَجذِبُ خَصرَهُ

    فِعلُ القُوى مَعَ الضَعيفِ الفاني

    His rump weighs him down and pulls at his waist,

    As strong forces act upon the weak and fading.

  16. وَمَنِ الَّذي ما مَيَّلَتهُ يَدُ الهَوى

    إِنَّ الهَوى لَيَميلُ بِالحيطانِ

    And who has not been swayed by the hand of desire?

    Desire can indeed make walls sway.

  17. هَذاكَ أَنتَ فَقَد مَدَّدتَ مِنَ الخَطا

    مُتَوَسِّعاً في حَلبَةِ المَيدانِ

    That is you: you have lengthened your strides,

    Ranging widely through the field's arena.

  18. وَغَدَوتَ في عِلمِ الهَوى مُتَفَنِّنا

    تَستَتبِعُ الأَشياخَ بِالصِبيانِ

    And you have grown versatile in the lore of desire,

    Bringing old men along with boys.

  19. مِن أَيِّ جِنسٍ لا تَخلي واحِداً

    لا مُسلِماً تَبقى وَلا نَصراني

    Of any kind, you leave not a single one:

    You spare neither Muslim nor Christian.

  20. أَمّا اليَهودَ فَهُم أَوائِلُ صَيدِهِ

    وَلَكُم لَهُ خَرّوا عَلى الأَذقانِ

    As for the Jews, they are the first of his quarry,

    And how often they have fallen on their chins before him!

  21. وَمِنَ البَلِيَّةِ أَنَّهُ مُستَحسِنٌ

    لِلخَلقِ كُلُّهُم عَدا النِسوانِ

    And one misfortune is that he admires

    Everyone, except women.

  22. إِن كانَ ذا ذَقنٌ يَقولُ مَعذِرُ

    أَمّا الحَليقَ فَاِمرُدِ المِردانِ

    If a man has a beard, he calls him 'downy-cheeked';

    As for the clean-shaven, he is the smoothest of beardless youths.

  23. وَإِذا الضَرورَةِ أَحوَجَت يا حَبَّذا

    فَالكُلُّ ذو خَرقٍ وَذو جُثمانِ

    And when necessity presses—oh, how delightful!

    For each has a hole and a body.

  24. نِعمَ الظَواهِرِ هَكَذا وَلَعَلَّهُ

    كَمَليحَةٍ رَقَصَت بِلا أَردانِ

    How fine such appearances are! And perhaps he

    Is like a beauty who danced without sleeves.

  25. قُلنا لَئِن تَكُنِ الحَقيقَةُ هَكَذا

    فَالعُذرُ أَقبَحَ جَنبُ ذَنبِ الجاني

    We said, 'If the truth is indeed like this,

    Then the excuse is uglier than the offender's crime.'

  26. لَكِن مُرادي بِالَّذي قَد قُلتُهُ

    أَنّي أَراهُ عَلى القَطيعَةِ باني

    But what I meant by what I said

    Is that I see him building upon estrangement,

  27. مُتَحَيِّزاً في رَبعِهِ مُتَشاغِلاً

    بِذَوي المِلاحَةِ عَن لِقا الإِخوانِ

    Secluding himself in his abode, engrossed

    In handsome ones instead of meeting friends.

  28. يا راحِلاً يَبغيهِ بَلَغَ شَخصُهُ

    عَنّي السَلامُ وَبَثُّهُ أَشجاني

    O traveler who seeks him, convey to him

    My greetings, and tell him of my sorrows.

  29. وَاِشرَح لَهُ إِن شِئتَ بَعضَ قَضِيَّتي

    فَلَعَلَّهُ يَسلو عَنِ الهِجرانِ

    And explain to him, if you wish, some of my plight,

    So perhaps he may abandon his estrangement.

  30. ماذا وَإِلّا لِلكَلامِ بَقِيَّةٌ

    وَسَيقَلِبُ المَوضوعَ قَلباً ثاني

    What then? Otherwise, there is more to say,

    And he will turn the matter over a second time.

  31. فَهوَ المُخَيَّرُ في القُبولِ وَرَفضُهُ

    وَالصُلحُ أَحسَنَ ما يَرى الخَصمانِ

    For he has the choice of acceptance or rejection,

    And reconciliation is the best thing the two adversaries can see.