Sol 6.1

  1. تغيّرتِ الأوقاتُ وانقبضَ الدَّهْرُ

    وقد مَرِضَتْ بالأفْق أنجمُهُ الزُهْرُ

    The times have changed, and time has drawn in upon itself.

    And its radiant stars have sickened on the horizon.

  2. فاخسف وجهُ البدرِ والشمسِ أكسفت

    فلا شمسَ في أفق تَنُورُ ولا بَدْرُ

    The full moon's face was eclipsed, and the sun darkened.

    So no sun shines on the horizon, nor any full moon.

  3. ولا بقيتْ من أدمعِ الخَلْقِ قطرةٌ

    ولا لاح من أفواهِهم باسماً ثَغْرُ

    Nor did a single drop of creation's tears remain,

    Nor did smiling teeth gleam from their mouths.

  4. وذلك من ثِقْل الرزايا وعُظْمِها

    بفقدانِ شخصٍ بعدَهُ رَحَلَ الصَّبرُ

    And that is from the weight and enormity of calamities,

    Through losing a man after whom patience departed.

  5. لقد حملوا بحرَ العلومِ إلى الثرى

    ومن عَجَبٍ بحرٌ تَضَمَّنَهُ قَبْرُ

    They have carried the sea of learning into the earth;

    And what a marvel: a grave has enclosed a sea!

  6. سعيدُ بن ثاني قد بكا بعد موتِه

    على فقدهِ مَنْ قَلْبُهُ جَلْدٌ صَخْرُ

    Sa'id ibn Thani—after his death, tears were shed

    For his loss, even by those whose hearts are hard as rock.

  7. سقى اللهُ قَبْراً دُسَّ فيه عظامُه

    بأدمعِ رَجَّاسٍ له دِيَمٌ غزر

    May God water the grave in which his bones were buried

    With the tears of a thundercloud bearing abundant, steady rains.

  8. مَِحَلُّك ألبابُ الورى لو تَشَحَّطَتْ

    لتخفيكَ عن أبصارهم هَوْجَلُ قَفْرُ

    Your dwelling is in people's minds, even if there stretches far

    A barren wilderness to hide you from their eyes.

  9. وما زلت من دهري أحاذر جَذْعه

    إلى أن سقاني السُّمَ منه فلا عُذْرُ

    And I never ceased to fear the fatal blow of my time,

    Until it made me drink its poison—there is no excuse.

  10. فقدناكَ والأيامُ سودٌ عوابسٌ

    وكنت بليلاتٍ يُضِئُ لها سِفْرُ

    We lost you while the days were black and scowling,

    And in the nights you were a book that gave them light.

  11. ومن لائمي إنْ ذبتُ حُزناً وقد جَرَتْ

    ينابيعُ من عيني يماثلُها التِبْرُ

    And who would blame me if I melted with grief, as there flowed

    Springs from my eyes, resembling raw gold?

  12. تَحَنْظَلَ عيشي بعدَهُ وتأجّجتْ

    مناهلُ وردي وهي صافيةٌ خُضْرُ

    My life grew bitter as colocynth after him, and into flame burst

    My watering places, though clear and green.

  13. وقد ضمَّ لي الدهرُ الخؤونُ دسيسةً

    تُحَطِّم أعضائي وَيَنْفلِقُ الصَّدْرُ

    And treacherous time harbored a hidden plot against me,

    That shatters my limbs, while my breast splits apart.

  14. ونغصني من بؤسهِ بمصيبةٍ

    تُمَاثِلُ فعلاً ما تَضَمَّنَهُ الحَشْرُ

    And in its harshness it tormented me with a calamity

    That in its effects resembles what the Day of Gathering holds.

  15. ولي والدٌ فرقاه نارٌ بأكبدي

    ولكنَّ عبدَ اللهِ ليس له أمرُ

    And I have a father whose parting is fire in my vitals,

    But God's servant has no say in the matter.

  16. يعلمني علمَ الفصاحة قَصْدُهُ

    يقومُ له حَظّ وينمو له وَفْرُ

    He teaches me the art of eloquence, his purpose being

    That his good fortune may rise and his abundance grow.

  17. وادعو له بالخيرِ عند قراءتي

    ويعلو له قدرٌ ويسمو له فَخْرُ

    And I pray for blessings upon him whenever I read,

    And his standing rises and his honor soars.

  18. ويبلغ من علمي عُلاً وغزازةً

    ولكنها الدنياءُ شيمتُها الغَدْرُ

    And through my learning he attains eminence and abundance,

    But such is the world: treachery is its nature.

  19. فحالت صروفٌ بيننا ومصائبٌ

    وتَعْجَزُ عن أفعالها البيضُ والسُّمر

    So turns of fate and calamities came between us,

    And white swords and brown spears cannot match their deeds.

  20. ولكنَّ صبراً فالقضاءُ مَقَدَّرٌ

    وأن الليالي شأنُها الخَدْعُ والمَكْر

    But patience! For the decree is preordained,

    And the nights' way is deceit and cunning.

  21. ولا غروَ أن الموتَ حَقّ ولازمٌ

    على كلِّ ذي روحٍ إذا أكمَلَ العُمرُ

    Nor is it strange that death is certain and inevitable

    For every living soul, when its lifespan has run its course.