Poems
- أحببت بدرا ما له مشبهI loved a full moon who has no equal
- أخٍ مزجت بروحي روحه جرىA brother whose soul I mingled with mine flowed
- إذا باسمي دعيت حننت شوقاWhenever I am called by my name, I yearn with longing,
- إذا لم يكن للأير بخت تعذرتEnglish translation unavailable
- أرى حللا وديباجا حساناI see beautiful robes and brocade,
- أشبهه وحاشية لديهI liken him, with a retinue beside him—
- اشرب فلليوم فضل لو علمت بهDrink, for today has a special merit—if you knew of it,
- أطعمني في خروفكم خرفيMy folly whetted my appetite for your lamb,
- اقر الله عينك يا جفونيMay God gladden your eye, O my eyelids.
- أكره أن أدنو إلى داركمI hate to draw near your house,
- الجوع يطرد بالرغيف اليابسHunger is driven away by a dry loaf;
- الغصن منسوب إلى قدهThe bough is likened to his figure,
- الليالي تسوء ثم تسرThe nights bring sorrow, then joy,
- إليك أذم حمام ابن موسىTo you I speak ill of Ibn Musa's bathhouse,
- أما الصيام فشيء لست أعدمهAs for fasting, it is something I never lack,
- أما ترى الروضة قد نورتDo you not see that the garden has blossomed,
- أمسى يسائل عن حالي يخبرهاHe came at evening asking after my condition, to report it to her,
- إن كنت تنشط للمديحIf you are eager for praise,
- أنا والله تالفI am, by God, doomed,
- إني بليت بشادن غنجIndeed, I have been afflicted with a coquettish young gazelle,
- أهلا وسهلا بمن زارت بلا عدةA warm welcome to her who visited without a prior promise,
- أيا من كله قمرO you whose whole being is a moon,
- أيها التركي ما عندكO Turk, what have you
- بأبي الأسمر الذي فزت منهMay my father be ransom for the dark-skinned one, from whom I won
- بات سكران لا يحير جواباHe fell asleep drunk, no longer puzzling
- بليت ولا أقول بمن لأنيI am afflicted, but I will not say by whom, for
- تجشأت في وجه بوابهI cleared my throat at the gatekeeper's face
- تظن أني أسلوYou think I shall cease to love.
- تهت علينا ولست فيناYou lorded it over us, though among us you are neither
- جاء الشتاء وعندي من حوائجهWinter has come, and of its necessities I have
- جملة أمري أنني مفلسThe sum of my affairs is that I am penniless;
- حذار من وصل من بليت بهBeware of union with the one I am afflicted with;
- حسبي سواك وبسي من وصالك ليSomeone other than you suffices me; I have had enough of your intimacy.
- خذ من الدهر ما صفا لك منهTake from time whatever is unclouded for you,
- ذنبي عظيم ما أرى يغفرMy sin is great; I do not think it will be forgiven,
- رب عجوزٍ مستعينيهMany an old Mustaʿinite woman,
- رسالة من مكدA letter from a beggar,
- شقراء إلا حجول مؤخرهاChestnut, save for the white anklets on her hind legs;
- ظبي من الزط تعلقتهA gazelle of the Zutt—I fell in love with him;
- عابوا وقالوا تسل عنهThey found fault and said, “Forget about him.”
- عجبت لخمرة البخراء أنىI marveled at foul-breathed Khamra—how
- عشقت للحين قينة عطفتI fell in love, to my ruin, with a singing slave-girl who bent
- علامة النحس والخذلان والشومThe sign of misfortune, betrayal, and ill omen
- على الأثافي لنا قدورOn the hearthstones we have pots,
- عليل لا يعاد من الخساسةA sick man no one visits because of his baseness;
- عماد الدين قابلك السعودImad al-Din, may good fortunes greet you.
- غزال فؤادي إليه صباA gazelle—my heart has yearned for him,
- غشت خميرة يوم العرس حاجبهاOn their wedding day she lowered her eyelids
- غصن بان بدا وفي اليد منهA bough of the bān tree appeared, and in its hand
- فإن كنت من هاشم في الذرىRoses bloom amidst the thorns
- فديت من الناس من لحظهI would ransom with my soul anyone whose glance,
- في وجه إنسانة كلفت بهاIn the face of a woman I fell in love with
- قالوا التحى وستسلو عنه قلت لهمThey said, “He has grown a beard, and you will forget about him.” I said to them:
- قالوا بليت بأعرج فأجبتهمThey said, 'You have been afflicted with a lame man'; I answered them:
- قام إلى كلب له مثلهHe set upon a dog—the very image of himself,
- قد أتى العيد لا أتىThe feast has come—would that it had not!
- قد بدا الصبح مؤذنا بسفورMorning has appeared, heralding a radiant unveiling,
- قد قلت لما مر بي معرضاIndeed, I said when he passed me, turning away,
- قل للكويتب عنيTell the little scribbler on my behalf:
- قلت للنزلة حليI said to the catarrh, “Settle,
- قم يا غزال من الكرىRise, O gazelle, from slumber.
- قيل ما أعددت للبردI was asked, 'What have you prepared for the col—
- كددتني أن سألتك الورقاYou've hurt me by asking for the paper
- كل العجائب قد سمعت وما أرىI have heard of every marvel, yet I do not think
- كنت فقيرا ثم أغنيتنيI was poor; then you made me rich,
- لا تسمعوا خمرة فقد هرمتDo not listen to Khamra, for she has grown old,
- لا عذب الله ميتا كان ينعشنيMay God not torment a dead man who used to sustain me.
- لا قدست أرض أقمنا بهاMay the land where we stayed never be blessed,
- لا وصل الروح إلى تربةMay no solace reach a grave
- لخمرة عندي حديث يطولI have a long tale to tell about Khamra.
- لقد أمسكت من عمر بن يحيىFrom Umar ibn Yahya I have indeed grasped
- لقد بان الشباب وكان غضاYouth has indeed departed; once it was tender.
- للأمير الجليل لاThe illustrious emir has—may no
- للورد عندي محلFor me, the rose holds a special place,
- لما رأت كلفي بها وصبابتيWhen she saw my infatuation with her and my ardent longing,
- لنا شيخ يصلي من قعودWe have an old man who prays sitting down,
- لنا على النار قدرWe have a pot upon the fire,
- ليت شعري عن ماء وردك هذاIf only I knew about this rosewater of yours:
- ليس شرب المدام للمستهامFor the love-stricken, drinking wine does not
- ليلتي في الغمر دهريMay my night at al-Ghamr last my lifetime,
- ما تركناه وفيهWe did not abandon him while he still had
- محمد ما أعددت للقبر والبلىMuhammad, what have you prepared for the grave and decay,
- مستهام ضاق مذهبهA love-stricken man, his path grown narrow,
- مضى ملك عم البرية جودهA king has passed away whose generosity embraced all creation.
- من عذيري من شادن لا يرانيWho will defend me against a fawn who does not deem me
- هل لك يا خمرة في تجرةWould you, Khumra, care for a trade,
- هو البحر إلا أنه عذب موردٍHe is the sea—except that what I drink from him is sweet;
- واجر غلماني في واسطAnd my boys in Wasit were hired out
- وبات في السح معي واحدAnd a man spent the night with me in the pouring rain,
- وجاهل قال لي لا بد من فرجٍAn ignorant man said to me, "You must have relief!"
- وجاهلة هبت سفاها تلومنيAnd an ignorant woman sprang up foolishly to blame me,
- وزنجية لم تعرف الزنج طفلةAnd a delicate black woman who has never known the Zanj,
- وسوداء بورك في بعضهاAnd a black woman—may a part of her be blessed,
- وشادن ما رأيت غرته الغراءAnd a fawn—never have I seen his brow,
- وقائل لم غبت عن لحظهAnd someone asked: “Why have you been absent from his sight,
- وقد كنت قبل الشيب أعشق خمرةBefore my hair turned gray, I was in love with Khamra.
- ولعمر الإله لولا أياديكAnd by the life of God, were it not for the favors
- وهامة نيطت بها لحيةAnd a head with a beard fastened to it—
- وهنوا بالصيام فقلت مهلاThey congratulated me on fasting, so I said, “Wait—
- ويوم لا يقاس إليه يومAnd a day to which no other day compares,
- ويوم لا يقاس إليه يومA day that no day can compare,
- يا جوامرد يا حليف البلادهO Jawamard, O ally of stupidity,
- يا ساهر الطرف قد بدا السحرO wakeful-eyed one, the predawn hour has already come.
- يا سائلي عن ليلة لي مضتO you who ask me of a night of mine gone by,
- يا سيدا ظل فردا في سيادتهO master who remains alone in his mastery
- يا سيدي أنت إن لي خبراO you, my master, I have a tale
- يا سيدي مؤمليO my lord, my hope,
- يا شاعرا جمت مصائب دبرهO poet whose anus’s afflictions have multiplied,
- يا شاعرا نمتار منO poet, we gather from
- يا صاحبي قفا أبثكماO my two companions, halt; let me tell you both
- يا صديقا أفادنيه زمانO friend whom an age has bestowed on me,
- يا ضاحكا يستهل مضحكهO laughing one, whose smiling mouth opens
- يا فتى الجصاص قدO young man of al-Jassas, you have
- يا ليلة ليس فيهاO night in which there is no
- يا من ثناه وذكرهO you whose praise and mention
- يا نظير البدر في صورتهO you whose form is like the full moon,
- يطيل المكث في الإصطبل حتىHe lingers long in the stable
No poems found.