مَنيتُها تفرق مِن عَاذِلي
أَن يَحملَ النُّصحَ إِلى قابِلِ
My reproacher's wish that I convey advice
To one accepting it was vain.
تُصغِي إِلَى بَعضِ أَقاويلِهِ
لا تفرَقي ما كُنتُ بِالفاعِلِ
You listen to some of his words
Don't be misled - I wasn't the doer.
إِنِّي بِكُم ذو ضِنَّةٍ فَاعجَبي
مِن ضِنَّةِ المَقتولِ بِالقاتِلِ
I care for you deeply, so realize
My care, like one slain cares for his killer.
وَعاذِلي إِن قَالَ قَولاً فَقَد
ضَيَّعَه في والِهٍ ذاهِلِ
My reproacher, if he spake, has squandered
His words on an oblivious confidante.
كَأَنَّما خَيل ما بِي لَهُ
أَن يَعرِفَ الحَق مِنَ الباطِلِ
It's as if he imagined I'd recognize
Truth from falsehood in this affair of passion.
أَلقَتكَ يا قَلبُ صُروفُ الهَوى
ما بَينَها في شُغلٍ شاغِلِ
Oh heart, the turns of love have cast you
Distracted by the busyness of fervent passion.
تَشييعُكَ الرّاحلَ مِن مَنِّها
أَذىً وتَرحيبُكَ بِالنازِلِ
Bidding farewell to each departing lover
And welcoming each new arrival.
وَناعِبٍ بِالبَينِ مِن كَاعِبٍ
مخاطِبٍ عَن فَادِحٍ عَاجِلِ
A lamenter lamenting the separation
Addressing the imminent, urgent separation.
يُفصِحُ لِي بِالقَولِ فِي بَينِها
لا مَرحَبا بِالقَولِ والقَائِلِ
Speaking to me plainly about her
No welcome to his words or him.
مَن نَاصِري عِندَ صُروفِ الهَوى
فإنَّ صَبري عِندَها خاذِلِي
Who will support me against the turns of love
For my patience with her is defeated?
وَلَو غَدا يَحملُ فيها النَّدى
كانَ الحُسينُ ابنُ أَبي كامِلِ
And if tomorrow it bears reproach for her
Al-Hussain son of Abu Talib would bear it.
تَحلُبُ كَفَّاهُ وَبالاً عَلَى
صُروفِها كَالعارِضِ الوَابِلِ
It would squeeze its palms, pouring calamities
On its turns, like pouring heavy rain.
أَصبَحَ في الساحِلِ مِن جُودِهِ
وفَضلِه بَحراً بِلا ساحِلِ
It has, through its generosity and exceeding virtue
Become in the coast an endless ocean.
إِن مَدَّ باعَ البأسِ في مَعركٍ
طالَ فأَغناهُ عَن الذابِلِ
If it brandishes a sword in battle
It outlasts the vanishing fate of death.
أَو هَز مِن آرائِه صارِماً
أدنَى حلُولَ الأَجلِ الآجِلِ
Or if it wields a blade from its principles
It hastens the arrival of inevitable death.
أبا عَليٍّ شِيَمٌ وَصفُها
تَضعُفُ عَنه قُوَّةُ الحامِلِ
Abu Ali, describing her is a trait
Beyond the strength of any undertaker.
أشغَلتُ طولَ الدَّهرِ فِكري بِها
جَهدي ولَم أُصبِح علَى طائِلِ
I have distracted my thoughts with her for ages
Exerting myself without reaching any goal.
مَناقِب أَمكَن مَن لَم يكُن
إِلى اختِزانِ المالِ بالمائِلِ
Her qualities empower whoever lacks
Inclination to hoarding money.
فمَن أرادَ المَجدَ والمجدُ لا
يملكُهُ إِلا يَدا باذِلِ
Whoever wants glory - and glory
Cannot be possessed except by a spending hand.
هَل العُلى إِلا ثناءٌ وهَل
تَسمعُ مَن يُثني عَلى باخِلِ
Is not high station but praise? And have you
Heard any praise for a miser?
