لو شاء سارٍ ليلةَ النعف وقفْ

لو شاء سارٍ ليلةَ النعف وقفْ

وعارفٌ يُنكر حقيِّ لاعترفْ

وعارفٌ يُنكر حقيِّ لاعترفْ

Had a night traveler wished, he would have stopped on the night of al-Naʿf.

If he had wanted, he could have stopped the departure one night,

And one who knows yet denies my right would have acknowledged it.

Yet he who knows my right denies and refuses to admit.

عهد تفرَّقْنا وحلّقتْ به

عهد تفرَّقْنا وحلّقتْ به

فتخاء طاح هَدَراً ما تختطِفْ

فتخاء طاح هَدَراً ما تختطِفْ

A pledge at our parting: away with it soared

Since we parted and fantasies have fluttered around it

a broad-winged eagle; whatever it snatches is lost in vain.

So dreams fall as nonsense that cannot be grasped.

بمزلق من العيون ما لمن

بمزلق من العيون ما لمن

يطلبها فائتة إلا الأسفْ

يطلبها فائتة إلا الأسفْ

On the slippery ground of eyes, nothing awaits one who

With eyes that slip, who seeks what is lost

pursues them once lost but regret.

Except with regret, will not attain it.

أسهرني ونام من عاهدني

أسهرني ونام من عاهدني

بنجوةٍ من رغبة ومنحرِفْ

بنجوةٍ من رغبة ومنحرِفْ

He who pledged himself to me kept me sleepless, and slept

He has kept me awake while he who promised me

at a safe remove from desire, and in retreat.

Slept in the calm of desire and inclination.

أكلّما استأنف ذنباً ظالمي

أكلّما استأنف ذنباً ظالمي

عفوتُ من ذنوبه عما سلفْ

عفوتُ من ذنوبه عما سلفْ

Whenever my tormentor commits a fresh offense,

Whenever he renews a wrong that has oppressed me

must I pardon those of his sins that came before?

I pardon his past wrongs and those that came before.

لو قيل سكانُ الحمى وفعلُهم

لو قيل سكانُ الحمى وفعلُهم

بي فعلُهم نزا فؤادي ورجَفْ

بي فعلُهم نزا فؤادي ورجَفْ

Were the preserve's dwellers mentioned, and their deeds—

If it were said the people of passion and their actions

their deeds against me—my heart would leap and tremble.

Offended me, my heart would shudder and tremble.

سل بارقاً أذكى الغضا على الغضا

سل بارقاً أذكى الغضا على الغضا

محدِّثاً عن الحيا كيف يكِفْ

محدِّثاً عن الحيا كيف يكِفْ

Ask a lightning flash that kindled ghada wood upon ghada wood,

Ask the lightning, the most vigilant of the vigilant,

telling of the rain, how it drips:

Speaking of the living, how it hides.

أمن جفون العامريين انتضى

أمن جفون العامريين انتضى

أم من ثنايا العامريّات خطَفْ

أم من ثنايا العامريّات خطَفْ

was it unsheathed from the eyelids of the ʿĀmirī men,

Was it from the eyelids of the settled ones it was taken

or did it flash from the front teeth of the ʿĀmirī women?

Or from the bosoms of the settled women it was snatched?

واسأل بغصن منهُمُ أشكو الجوى

واسأل بغصن منهُمُ أشكو الجوى

وثقلَه إذا مشى يشكو الهيَفْ

وثقلَه إذا مشى يشكو الهيَفْ

And ask about a bough among them: I lament love's burning

Ask a branch among them about whom I complain of ardour

and his heaviness; when he walks, he complains of slenderness.

And its heaviness when he walks complaining of frailty.

شككني فيما استقام وانثنى

شككني فيما استقام وانثنى

ألامُهُ أقتلُ لي أم الألِفْ

ألامُهُ أقتلُ لي أم الألِفْ

He made me doubt, as he stood straight and bent:

He made me doubtful about what was straightforward and bent,

is his lām deadlier to me, or his alif?

Does not killing me please him or intimacy?

عنّ به التيهُ فلو كلَّمه

عنّ به التيهُ فلو كلَّمه

جمالهُ أعرضَ عنه وصدَفْ

جمالهُ أعرضَ عنه وصدَفْ

Pride beset him; were he addressed

Diversion distracted him, so if you speak to him,

by his own beauty, he would turn away from it and shun it.

His beauty turns from you and is aloof.

كأنه لم يرَ حِقْفاً عَمَماً

كأنه لم يرَ حِقْفاً عَمَماً

هِيلَ ولا بدراً مع التمِّ انكسفْ

هِيلَ ولا بدراً مع التمِّ انكسفْ

As though he had never seen a towering dune

As if he never saw a wrapped up camel litter

crumble away, or a moon eclipsed at its fullness.

Or a full moon darkened during an eclipse.

لكلّ شيء آفة تَنقُصُه

لكلّ شيء آفة تَنقُصُه

إذا انتهى وآفة الحسن الصلَفْ

إذا انتهى وآفة الحسن الصلَفْ

Everything has a blight that diminishes it

Every thing has a diminishing affliction

when it reaches its height; beauty's blight is conceit.

When it ends, and the affliction of beauty is impudence.

خبَّرني أنِّيَ شاكٍ بعده

خبَّرني أنِّيَ شاكٍ بعده

لواعجَ الشوق فقال وحلَفْ

لواعجَ الشوق فقال وحلَفْ

He told me that, in his absence, I was lamenting

He told me that I was suspicious after him,

the burning pangs of longing; then he said and swore:

So passions of yearning spoke and he swore,

إن باح بالسرّ لأهجرنَّهُ

إن باح بالسرّ لأهجرنَّهُ

عاقبْ بغير الهجر فالهجرُ سَرَفْ

عاقبْ بغير الهجر فالهجرُ سَرَفْ

“If he reveals the secret, I shall surely forsake him.”

"If he reveals the secret, I will abandon him,"

Punish without abandonment; abandonment is excessive.

So chastise with other than abandonment, for abandonment is excess.

ما لحسودٍ في هواكم عابني

ما لحسودٍ في هواكم عابني

لا رام رفعَ طرفه إلا طُرِفْ

لا رام رفعَ طرفه إلا طُرِفْ

What ails an envious man who faulted me for loving you?

What fault could an envious one find in your love for me?

May he never try to lift his gaze without being struck in the eye!

He only raised his eyes aspiring to be glanced at.

وناقلٍ إليكُمُ ما لم أقل

وناقلٍ إليكُمُ ما لم أقل

أصابه اللّه بذنبِ ما اقترفْ

أصابه اللّه بذنبِ ما اقترفْ

And the man who carries to you what I never said—

And a transmitter to you of what I never said

may God afflict him for the sin of what he committed.

May God afflict him with the sin he committed!

يا للغواني يتجنّبن ولي

يا للغواني يتجنّبن ولي

متى سمحتُ بقيادي للعَنَفْ

متى سمحتُ بقيادي للعَنَفْ

Ah, the beauties keep their distance—and as for me,

O heedless ones, avoid me when

when have I yielded my reins to harshness?

I allow myself to be led by passion.

قد علمتْ إذا الغرام ضامني

قد علمتْ إذا الغرام ضامني

أنِّيَ منه بالسلوّ أنتصِفْ

أنِّيَ منه بالسلوّ أنتصِفْ

She knows, when passion oppresses me,

They knew that when love holds me back

that I win redress from it through forgetting.

I take revenge with forbearance.

وأنني على اللجاج صخرةٌ

وأنني على اللجاج صخرةٌ

إذا لويتُ عُنُقي لم أنعطِفْ

إذا لويتُ عُنُقي لم أنعطِفْ

And that, in obstinacy, I am a rock:

I am like a boulder against stubbornness

once I turn my neck away, I do not turn back.

If I twist my neck, I do not turn back.

لا تنتهي نفسي انصرافاً عن هوى

لا تنتهي نفسي انصرافاً عن هوى

دام ولا ترجعُ حين تنصرفْ

دام ولا ترجعُ حين تنصرفْ

My soul never halts in turning away from a love

My soul does not cease to turn away from desire

that has endured, nor returns once it turns away.

As long as it lasts, nor does it go back when it turns away.

سمحتُ للدنيا بجُلِّ أهلها

سمحتُ للدنيا بجُلِّ أهلها

سماحَ غيرِ نادمٍ ولا أسِفْ

سماحَ غيرِ نادمٍ ولا أسِفْ

I relinquished to the world most of its people,

I was clement with the people of this world, all of them,

freely, with neither regret nor grief.

With a clemency that has no regrets or sorrow.

رأيتهم ببخلهم وعفّتي

رأيتهم ببخلهم وعفّتي

دوني وفيهم ذو الغنى وذو الشرفْ

دوني وفيهم ذو الغنى وذو الشرفْ

I saw them, with their miserliness and my restraint,

I found them, with their stinginess and my restraint,

as beneath me, though among them were men of wealth and rank.

Beneath me, both the wealthy and the noble among them.

لم أخشهم من حيث لم أرجُهُمُ

لم أخشهم من حيث لم أرجُهُمُ

إنك ما لم ترجُ شيئاً لم تخَفْ

إنك ما لم ترجُ شيئاً لم تخَفْ

I did not fear them, since I had no hopes of them.

I did not fear them inasmuch as I did not want them;

For when you hope for nothing, you have nothing to fear.

You do not fear a thing unless you want it.

كفتنيَ الرزقَ يدٌ واحدةٌ

كفتنيَ الرزقَ يدٌ واحدةٌ

والناس طرّاً واحدٌ منهم خَلَفْ

والناس طرّاً واحدٌ منهم خَلَفْ

A single hand has sufficed for my sustenance;

One hand was enough to provide me sustenance

and one among them stands in place of all mankind.

While all the people together retreated from me.

ما رعَتِ الصاحبَ عينُ اللّه لي

ما رعَتِ الصاحبَ عينُ اللّه لي

فشملُ آمالي جميعٌ مؤتلِفْ

فشملُ آمالي جميعٌ مؤتلِفْ

So long as God's eye guards the Ṣāḥib for me,

God's eye did not pasture a companion for me,

all my hopes remain united and in harmony.

So my hopes are all at variance.

سيّان ما استخلصتُه من سيّدٍ

سيّان ما استخلصتُه من سيّدٍ

وما صفا منهم ومن عقَّ وعفّْ

وما صفا منهم ومن عقَّ وعفّْ

It is all the same which lord I singled out,

It is the same whether I gain something from a master

and who among them was true, disloyal, or virtuous.

Or the pure among them, the firm and the weak.

وجدتُ فيه ما طلبتُ عنده

وجدتُ فيه ما طلبتُ عنده

فلم أجدْهُ وهو ما عزَّ وكفّْ

فلم أجدْهُ وهو ما عزَّ وكفّْ

In him I found what I had sought from him,

I found in him what I sought from him

but had not found—what was rare and withheld.

But did not find it though he is the dearest and most steadfast.

لا عِدَةٌ تُلوَى ولا خُلْقٌ على اخ

لا عِدَةٌ تُلوَى ولا خُلْقٌ على اخ

تلاف ألوانِ الزمانِ يختلفْ

تلاف ألوانِ الزمانِ يختلفْ

No promise is twisted, nor does his character, with the changing

There is no gear to be twisted or temperament

colors of time, change.

That changes with the diverse colors of time.

وراحةٌ على مقابض الظبا

وراحةٌ على مقابض الظبا

تثقل أو في بسطة الجود تخِفّْ

تثقل أو في بسطة الجود تخِفّْ

And a palm, upon the hilts of blades,

And tranquility on the hillsides of gazelles

weighs heavy, or grows light when stretched out in generosity.

Or in the open hand of generosity is light.

يومَ الردى جندلة وفي الندى

يومَ الردى جندلة وفي الندى

جندلة كلتاهما ملء الأكفّْ

جندلة كلتاهما ملء الأكفّْ

On death's day, a stone; in bounty,

A troop on the day of calamity and in plenty

a great pearl—both fill the palms.

Both full to the brim.

اُنظرْ إليه تختبرْ ما عنده

اُنظرْ إليه تختبرْ ما عنده

إن الظهاراتِ الرقيقاتِ تشِفّْ

إن الظهاراتِ الرقيقاتِ تشِفّْ

Look at him, and you will discover what lies within;

Look at him and examine what he possesses;

for thin outer fabrics are transparent.

Delicate outward appearances reveal.

وجهٌ لبيقٌ بالنعيم ماؤه

وجهٌ لبيقٌ بالنعيم ماؤه

وبَشرٌ لم يغتربْ فيه التَّرَفْ

وبَشرٌ لم يغتربْ فيه التَّرَفْ

A face whose freshness befits delight,

A radiant face whose water is bliss

and a cheerful look in which luxury is no stranger.

And a complexion in which luxury is not corrupt.

ألومُ إلا حاسداً كمالَه

ألومُ إلا حاسداً كمالَه

وحسدُ الشمسِ علوٌّ وشرفْ

وحسدُ الشمسِ علوٌّ وشرفْ

I blame others, save one who envies his perfection:

I blame only the envious of his perfection

envying the sun is loftiness and honor.

Envying the sun is elevation and nobility.

قل لمُعارِ المجد معنى حائلاً

قل لمُعارِ المجد معنى حائلاً

واسماً على إعرابه لا ينصرفْ

واسماً على إعرابه لا ينصرفْ

Tell the one lent glory—a shifting meaning,

Say to the critic of glory, presenting

and a noun that, though inflected, is not fully declined:

An ambiguous name whose syntax does not turn away,

جارِ أبا القاسم أُولَى خطوةٍ

جارِ أبا القاسم أُولَى خطوةٍ

تعلُّماً ودعه يجري ثم قِفْ

تعلُّماً ودعه يجري ثم قِفْ

“Keep pace with Abū al-Qāsim for the first step,

"The neighbor of Abu al-Qasim has more right to the first step

to learn; let him run on, then stop.”

In learning, so let him proceed then stop."

لم يتقلّدها قصيراً أوقصا

لم يتقلّدها قصيراً أوقصا

إن العلا حمائلٌ لذي الكتِفْ

إن العلا حمائلٌ لذي الكتِفْ

He did not wear them as a short, short-necked man;

He did not undertake it as a short or long one;

high honors are sword-baldrics for one with shoulders.

Loftiness is a test for one with strong shoulders.

سمعاً بني عبد الرحيم إنها

سمعاً بني عبد الرحيم إنها

بناتُ طبع لم يدنّسها الكَلَفْ

بناتُ طبع لم يدنّسها الكَلَفْ

Listen, sons of ʿAbd al-Raḥīm: these are

Listen, Banu ‘Abd al-Rahim, these are

daughters of natural talent, unsullied by strained effort.

The daughters of a natural talent not stained by deception.

تبعثها في مدحكم محبةٌ

تبعثها في مدحكم محبةٌ

مدحُ الرجاءِ غيرهُ مدحُ الشغفْ

مدحُ الرجاءِ غيرهُ مدحُ الشغفْ

Love sends them forth in your praise;

Love sends them forth in your praise,

praise born of hope is unlike praise born of ardent love.

Praise of hope, not like the praise of passion.

مقيمة بذكركم لم تسترح

مقيمة بذكركم لم تسترح

لوطنٍ سائرة لم تعتسفْ

لوطنٍ سائرة لم تعتسفْ

Abiding in your remembrance, they have never rested

Remaining in your memory, not resting

in a homeland; journeying, they have never strayed.

For a homeland, ceaselessly active.

تبيضُّ أو تخضرُّ من سطورها

تبيضُّ أو تخضرُّ من سطورها

بنورِ أوصافكُمُ سودُ الصُّحُفْ

بنورِ أوصافكُمُ سودُ الصُّحُفْ

Turning white or green through their lines,

From its lines they turn white or green

by the light of your qualities, are the black pages.

With the light of your features, blackened pages.

ينشرُ منها المنشدون بُردةً

ينشرُ منها المنشدون بُردةً

أو من رياض الحَزنِ عيناءَ أُنُفْ

أو من رياض الحَزنِ عيناءَ أُنُفْ

From them the reciters unfold a mantle,

Reciters chant from it a mantle

or a lush, ungrazed meadow from the upland gardens.

Or from the gardens of sadness, a bright gazelle.

يعجبني تسلُّطٌ فيها إذا

يعجبني تسلُّطٌ فيها إذا

قامت تعاطي من علاكم ما تصِفْ

قامت تعاطي من علاكم ما تصِفْ

Their mastery delights me when

I like the domination in them when

they rise to grasp the heights of yours that they describe.

They rise to describe your elevation.

تُهدي لكم في كلّ يومِ فرحةٍ

تُهدي لكم في كلّ يومِ فرحةٍ

عيونُها المستغرباتِ والطُّرَفْ

عيونُها المستغرباتِ والطُّرَفْ

They offer you, on every day of joy,

They bring you every day of joy

their wondrous choice verses and rarities.

Eyes full of wonder and a glance.

تجول رعياً حول أعراضكُمُ

تجول رعياً حول أعراضكُمُ

تحمي من العار حماها وترفّْ

تحمي من العار حماها وترفّْ

They roam in watchful care around your honor,

They wander protectively around your honor

guarding its precinct from shame and fluttering.

Guarding their protectorate and turning about.

إن فاتهاعيد فعيد بعده

إن فاتهاعيد فعيد بعده

لكم صفايا سَلْفها والمؤتنَفْ

لكم صفايا سَلْفها والمؤتنَفْ

If a festival passes them by, another follows it;

If they miss a holiday, another comes after

yours are the choicest of their past and what is to come.

For you with the qualities of the previous and renewed.

لا يقدحُ الحسادُ فيَّ عندكم

لا يقدحُ الحسادُ فيَّ عندكم

وفيتُكم رسومها أو لم أوفّْ

وفيتُكم رسومها أو لم أوفّْ

The envious cannot discredit me before you,

The envious ones cannot impugn me with you

whether I have fulfilled their customary duties for you or not.

Whether or not I have fulfilled their beauties.

قلبيَ مأمونٌ على ودادكم

قلبيَ مأمونٌ على ودادكم

ما دام مأموناً على الدرّ الصَّدفْ

ما دام مأموناً على الدرّ الصَّدفْ

My heart can be trusted with your affection,

My heart is trusted with your affection

as long as a shell can be trusted with pearls.

As long as it is trusted with the chaste pearl.