منَّتك نفسُك أن تُطيلَ فتقصُرُ

إن أكثَروا فلعلَّ ما بك أكثرُ

You wished your soul to be patient, yet it is impatient

Even if they blame much, what's with you is more

لاح الهَوى اللائِمونَ على الهوى

لم يحكُموا إلا على ما أبصَروا

The censurers of love shine when loving

They only judged based on what they saw

وأغرَّ يختلسُ الوداعَ مُسارقاً

والبينُ مشدودٌ عليه مشمِّرُ

And parting slyly steals the farewell

While distance stretches tight upon it

يكبو لسرعَته ويبكي للنَّوى

وكأنه بدمُوعِه يَتعثَّرُ

It stumbles due to its haste and cries for the beloved

As if with its tears it trips

قد كنتُ أسمعُ ما أرى فيروعُني

فاليوم ليس يروعُني ما أنظُرُ

I used to hear what I see and it would frighten me

But today what I see does not frighten me

والشيخ بين زَهادَتينِ زهادةٌ

فيه وأخرى منه حين يعيَّرُ

The old man is an ascetic between two asceticisms

One in him and one from him when he is chided

والغانياتُ إذا اكتَحلن بشَيبه

رفعَ الفراشُ لها وشدَّ المِئزرُ

And the singing girls, when they use his old age as kohl

The mattress is lifted for them and they tighten their waist wrapper

وتظنُّ أن الدهرَ شيَّب لمني

هيهات قد صارت تشيبُ الأدهُرُ

And you think time turned white because of sorrow

Nay, it is the eras that turned white

وتموتُ والأحياءُ أحياءٌ بها

ممَّن أخبَّرُ عنه أو لا أخبَرُ

And she dies while the living are alive through her

Of whom should I inform or not inform?

أسماء قومٍ كالحروفِ دليلُها

في غيرها ودليلُها ما يحضرُ

The names of a people are like guideposts to them

In others, and their guideposts are what come to mind

من حبِّهم أن لا يَجودوا أنهم

ودُّوا لو افتَقروا لكَيلا يَقدروا

Of their love, that they not be generous, that they

Wished, if they became needy, they wouldn't be able to

داءٌ أظنُّك حِدتَ عن طُرُقاته

ونجوتَ من طَرَقاتِه يا جَعفرُ

An illness I think you avoided its ways

And escaped its ways, O Ja'far

والسيلُ يخترقُ الوِهاد فمن علا

شَرفاً يرى ما لا يَرى المُتحدِّرُ

And the torrent breaks through the valley, so whoever ascends

A lofty place sees what the descending one does not see

وأراك قد أوفَيت فوقَ تنوفةٍ

مترقِّباً من أيِّ وجه تُشكرُ

And I see you fulfilled above Taneuf

Waiting from which direction you will be thanked

أنا من خُؤولَتِكَ الذين وإن خَلَوا

لا تُذكرُ العلياءُ حتَّى يُذكَروا

I am of your lowly ones, who even if they are absent

The exalted ones are not mentioned until they are mentioned

وإذا وصلتَ وصلتَ ذا رحمٍ دنَت

ومودَّةٍ عُرِفَت فليسَت تُنكَرُ

And if you reconciled, you reconciled one of kinship drawn near

And affection known, which cannot be denied

وكفاك ذاكَ فصار يَفضلُ عنك ما

تَبني عليه ما بَناهُ ميسَّرُ

And that is enough for you, so whatever you build upon it

Exceeds you, built by the one who facilitated

ومقالةٌ طالَت على أترابِها

لكنَّها عن وصفِ مَدحِكَ تَقصُرُ

And a discourse prolonged upon its companions

Yet in describing your praise it falls short