تمادى بهم أمدٌ سرمد

وطال بنا الأمد الأبعدُ

Their days with them have lasted long,

And our time with them has been prolonged.

يكون الوفاءُ عليه العفا

إذا يستجدُّ لهم مَوعدُ

Loyalty to them would be forgiveness,

If a new promise is made for them.

وعندي إذا ظعنوا لاعجٌ

مقيمٌ مقيمٌ بهم مقعدُ

And I have, when they are wronged, no impatience,

Remaining, remaining with them, seated.

وأغيدَ يَحسُنُ فيه الهَوى

كأنَّ الهَوى مِثلُه أغيدُ

And I sing, in which love is good,

As if love itself were my song.

يبينُ على شفتيهِ الظما

ذُبولاً وبينَهما موردُ

Withering shows on his lips,

And between them a stream flows.

ويشرقُ من قدِّهِ خدُّه

كما أزهر الغصنُ الأملدُ

And from his neck his cheek glows,

As the laden branch blossoms.

وأعجبُ من صُدغه أنه

تحير به ليس يسترشدُ

And I wonder at his cheekbone, that

By it one is bewildered, unable to be guided.

فدونكمُ البابَ إني امرؤٌ

من الباب في علَّتي أقصدُ

So I come to you, as I am a man,

Due to my illness, I head to the door.

ومع كلِّ من عادَني لوعةٌ

تبيتُ وينصرفُ العوَّدُ

And with everyone who consoled me, grief remains,

That spends the night, and habitual pain departs.

وللعاذلينَ معي شيمةٌ

إذا رغبوا في هوىً أزهدُ

And for those who blame me, a nature,

When they aspire to a love, I become indifferent.

وأولى الورى أن يُرى مفرداً

من الناس من داؤه مفردُ

And the best of creation is that one be seen

Among people cured of his sole disease.

وسوداء من نكباتِ الزمان

كأن الزمانَ بها أسودُ

And dark from the setbacks of fate,

As if fate itself had darkened through them.

ركبتُ وعادلتُها بالثنا

فأجهدتُها مثلَ ما أجهدُ

I rode and matched them with melody,

Exhausting them as I exhaust myself.

إلى أحمدٍ ومتى لم يكن

يفرِّقُ ما بيننا أحمدُ

To Ahmad, and when has he not

Been the one to separate what is between us, Ahmad.

فيحسنُ إلا إلى ماله

ويستصلحُ المال مستفسدُ

So it is good of him only to his money,

And he reforms the money while corrupting.

أبو المجدِ والمجد لا يولدُ

أخو الجودِ والجودُ لا يوجدُ

Father of glory, and glory is not born,

Brother of generosity, and generosity is not found.

تعالَوا أخبِّركم ما العُلى

يدٌ أتربَت من نداها يدُ

Come let me tell you what the most high is,

A hand whose palms were ennobled by his gifts.

وتلك المكارمُ من مثلها

لأمثالِهِ ركبَ السؤدَدُ

And those virtues are the likes of which

Rode the neck of the eminent for their likes.

وقيسر باتَ صريع المَدى

له في الدجى كالدجى ملحدُ

And Qaysar spent the night slain in the plain,

For him in the darkness like the darkness, shrouded.

إذا انتشر الصبحُ أنشرته

فقام تحفُّ به الأسعدُ

When dawn shone I made him rise,

So he stood wrapped in good fortune.

فأمضيتَه ما مضى أبيضٌ

وأجريتَه ما جرى أجردُ

So I sent him away white in what passed,

And let him go bare in what occurred.

ليُبعدَ ما قرَّبَ المبطلون

ويدني إلى الحقِّ ما أبعدوا

To distance what the corrupters made near,

And bring near to truth what they distanced.

وإنك لَلمرتجى المتَّقى

كما الماطرُ البارقُ المرعِدُ

And you are truly the hoped for, the God-fearing one,

As the cloudburst, the lightning, the thunder roar.

إذا قلتُ لم يَجدوا حيلةً

تضاع لقولي وإن غرَّدوا

When I speak they find no trick,

To counter my words, even if they twitter.

ولما انتَهى حسنُه لم يَزِد

فغنوا به مثلما أنشدُ

And when his beauty came to an end, it did not increase,

So they sang of him just as I recited.

ستَبقى بذكركَ أخبارُه

وتُسند ما بقي المُسندُ

With your mention will remain news of him,

And whatever remains will be supported.

ولما اتَّفقنا اختلفنا الطري

قَ فأصبح كلٌّ له مقصِدُ

And when we agreed, we differed in path,

So each of us reached his destination in the morning.

فها أنا للغيثِ مستنزلٌ

وها أنت للجدِّ مستصعِدُ

So here I am, lodging for the rain,

And here you are, ascending for duty.

قطعتُ إليك على ما تَرى

ما الثقلِ تَيهاءَ لا تنفَدُ

I have cut to you, over what you see,

What fatigue wandering endlessly.

لبيضاءَ خلقتها سوِّدَت

من الدينِ تذكر من يَشهدُ

For one whose creation was whitened then blackened

From religion, remembering those who bear witness.

وسوف أروّح يوم اللقا

ففي يومِه للغِنى مَولدُ

And I will cheer on the day we meet,

For on its day, wealth has its birth.