1. يا سائقَ الأضعانِ يَسري في الفَلا

    مُغرَى بِكُسثبانِ العقيقِ واللوى

    O driver of departing caravans, traveling by night through the wilderness,

    captivated by the dunes of al-ʿAqīq and al-Liwā.

  2. دَعْ عَنْك ذِكْرَِ الواخِداتِ البزْل في

    مهامةٍ تُسَلّي أربابَ النُّهى

    Leave aside mention of swift-striding, mature she-camels in

    deserts that divert men of understanding.

  3. لا تبكيَنْ على أَثافٍ قَدْ خَلا

    واقِدُها فَهْيَ كأحجار الخلا

    Do not weep over hearthstones now abandoned

    by their fire-lighter; they are like stones of the privy.

  4. ولا على نوىً كأنَّ رَسْمَها

    دارِسُ رسمِ الرَّوثِ من بَغْلِ الرحى

    Nor over distant abodes, whose trace looks like

    the faded trace of dung from the mill-mule.

  5. مَنازِلٌ لَمْ يَرَها مُسافِرٌ

    إلاَّ إذا ما ضَلَّ عَنْ طُرْق الهُدَى

    Dwellings no traveler has seen,

    except when he strays from the paths of guidance.

  6. واسمَعْ وَصَايا حاذِقٍ مُجَرِّبٍ

    يُصغي إلى أقواله ذوو الهوى

    And hear the counsels of a skilled, experienced man,

    to whose words people of passion listen.

  7. أُخَيِّ قَولي كُلُّهُ حقٌ فَلا

    تَقِسْ مَقالي وَهْوَ حقٌ بالهدى

    My dear brother, all I say is true; so do not

    compare my speech—true as it is—with guidance.

  8. واعَملْ بما أقولُهُ واطّرح ال

    جَهلَ فإنَّ الجهلَ يَزْري بالفَتى

    Act on what I say, and cast aside

    ignorance, for ignorance demeans a young man.

  9. إذا وَجَدْتَ في الشِّتاءِ عارياً

    مُرْتَعِداً ناد عَلَيْكَ بالدِّفا

    If, in winter, you find a naked man,

    shivering, call out: 'You must seek warmth!'

  10. مَنْ قَتَلَ الحيّة في هاجرةٍ

    عرَّضَ نَفْسَهُ يقيناً لِلبِلى

    Whoever kills a snake in the midday heat

    surely exposes himself to ruin.

  11. وَكُلُّ مَنْ يَشكو صُداعَ رأسِهِ

    فليسَ يَشْفي ما به كحل الجلا

    And whoever complains of a headache

    will not have his ailment cured by eye-clearing kohl.

  12. وليسَ مَن يسكُنُ قاعاً صَفْصَفا

    مثلَ الذي يسكُنُ بيتاً بالكُرى

    And one who lives on a flat, barren plain is not

    like one who lives in a rented house.

  13. والقِطُّ قد يَخْدِشُ مَنْ لاعَبَهُ

    والكلبُ إنْ أوجَعَه الضّرْبُ عوى

    And a cat may scratch whoever plays with it;

    and a dog, if the beating hurts it, howls.

  14. والطّفلُ قَد يَضْحَكُ إنْ أطعَمْتَه

    الحلوى وإنْ أخذْتَها منهُ بكى

    And a child may laugh if you feed him

    sweets; and if you take them from him, he cries.

  15. والخُبْزُ للجائعِ أدمٌ كُلُّهُ

    والصّيْفُ أدْفا زَمناً منَ الشتا

    And for the hungry, bread is relish, every bit of it.

    And summer is a warmer season than winter.

  16. وَيَشْبعُ الجائِعُ بالخُبزِ وَلا

    يَشْبَعُ مَنْ مَصَّ مِنَ الجوعِ النّوى

    And bread fills the hungry man, but does not

    fill one who sucks date stones out of hunger.

  17. والقُطنُ إذْ يُضْرَبُ لا صَوْتَ لهُ

    وإنْ ضَرَبْتَ الطّبْلَ بالسّوط دوى

    And cotton makes no sound when beaten;

    and if you strike a drum with a whip, it booms.

  18. وَيُظلِمُ البيتُ بِغَيْرِ كُوَّةٍ

    ويستنيرُ إنْ تَكُنْ به كُوَى

    And a house grows dark without a window,

    and lights up if it has windows.

  19. والماءُ لا يَسْكَرُ مَنْ يَشْرَبُه

    والخمرُ قد يَشْرَبُها مَنِ انتَشَى

    And whoever drinks water does not become drunk;

    and wine may be drunk by someone who has become tipsy.

  20. مَنْ مَسكوهُ وَهْوَ في سُكْرَته

    وَضَرَبوهُ الحدَّ لا شَكَّ صَحَا

    Whoever they seize in his drunkenness

    and subject to the prescribed flogging will doubtless sober up.

  21. مَن عامَ في الحَشِّ ولا يَغْسِلُ ما

    علاهُ أعمى النّاشِقَينِ

    Whoever swims in the privy and does not wash off what

    covers him is blind in both nostrils.

  22. من غرس البقل على ساقيةٍ

    بطالةٍ في شَهْرِ تموزَ ذَوَى

    If one plants greens by a waterwheel

    idle in the month of Tammuz, they wither.

  23. مَنْ طَلَبَ المعشوقَ مِنْ عاشقهِ

    عادَ وباتَ تَحْتَ النّدى

    Whoever asks a lover for his beloved

    returns and spends the night beneath the dew.

  24. وَمَنْ ثنى فَيْشَتَهُ

    وبالَ سالَ بولُهُ إلى وَرا

    And whoever bends his penis

    and urinates—his urine flows backward.

  25. منْ صاحَِ في سَفْحِ الجبال وَحْدَهُ

    جاوَبَهُ في ذلكَ الوقت الصّدى

    Whoever cries out alone at the foot of the mountains,

    the echo answers him at that moment.

  26. مَن أكَلَ الفِجْلَ تجشّى بعدما

    يأكُلُه بِساعة مثلَ

    Whoever eats radish belches after

    eating it—an hour later—like ...

  27. مَن تَرك النّاسَ وَلم يسْتجدهم

    ظنّوا بأنّه يطيرُ في الهوا

    Whoever leaves people alone and does not beg from them,

    they imagine that he flies through the air.

  28. والشّاعرُ المُفْلِقُ في زَمانِنا

    لو جاءَ بالحِكْمةِ قالوا قد هذى

    And the masterful poet in our time—

    even if he brought wisdom, they would say, 'He is raving.'

  29. منْ لَمْ يَكُنْ في النّاسِ ذا أذيّةِ

    تخافُ منها أو قعوهُ في الأذى

    Whoever among people poses no threat

    for you to fear—they cast him into harm.

  30. كم صَوَّبَ النّاسُ خَطا ذوي الغنى

    وزَعَموا ما قالَ ذو الفقر الخطا

    How often people have deemed the errors of the wealthy correct,

    and claimed that what the poor man said was wrong.

  31. وَمَنْ يَكُنْ في النّاسِ لا حَظَّ لهُ

    راحَ وجاءَ بَيْنهُمْ مِثلَ

    And whoever has no luck among people

    goes and comes among them like ...

  32. لا تَطْلُبَنَّ الرِّزْقَ مِن طالبه

    واطلُبُه منْ خالقه رَبِّ السّما

    Do not seek sustenance from one who seeks it;

    and seek it from its Creator, the Lord of heaven.

  33. فالبدرُ قد يَنْقُصُ بعدَ تَمِّهِ

    وَقَدْ يعودُ نورُهُ كما بَدا

    For the full moon may wane after its fullness,

    and its light may return just as it once appeared.