لم تستَمع سِرَّهُ من كلِّ مُلتَمِسِ
حتى أصابَ لِسانَ الدمعِ بالخرَسِ
No secret of his did any supplicant hear
Until his tongue of tears was struck dumb
وللشؤونِ شُؤونٌ في شَهادَتِها
وأنتَ تَعرفُها فاطلِق أو احتبِسِ
And events have their own events in relating them
You know them, so give release or withhold
وناظرٍ عادَ بعدَ البرءِ مُنتكِساً
من أجلِ بدرِ تمامٍ غيرِ مُنتكِسِ
A watcher returned, after innocence, crestfallen
On account of the full moon's, not the crescent's, eclipse
ألَم أقُل لكَ لا تهجم مفاجَأةً
أخشى عليكَ التباسَ الخيس بالكَنسِ
Did I not tell you not to attack by surprise?
I fear for you the muddling of the vile and the noble
وخلسَةٍ بعد طولِ اليأسِ فزتُ بها
ممَّن محاسِنُه أحلَى من الخُلسِ
By stealth, after long despair, I slipped away
From one whose charms are sweeter than thefts
من مُرهَفِ الطرفِ دامي الخدِّ دلَّ عَلى
أن جاورَ السَّيفَ منه غيرُ مُحتَرِسِ
From a fawn-eyed one, my cheek's constant friend, so gentle
That the sword has not feared his neighborhood, being unguarded
صابٍ إلى الوَصلِ نابٍ عنه ممتزجٍ
كأنَّه رِدفُه في اللين والدهَسِ
Arriving at union, avoiding it, mingled therein
As if coupled with him in softness and trampling
عصى عليَّ فَلا ينسَي فأذكرُه
أذكرتُهُ اللَّهَ فيما بَينَنا فَنَسي
He disobeyed me, so let him not forget me; I'll remember him
I remembered him to God, between us, but he forgot
أرى الخطوبَ ثكولاً حيثُما وَلدت
وابنُ الخُطوبِ يتيمٌ في طَرابلُسِ
I see misfortunes pregnant wherever they are born
And the son of misfortunes is an orphan in Tripoli
من كدت حجركَ في خَضراء من غَدَقٍ
وكان بالأمسِ في شَهباء من بلَسِ
You who nearly stoned me in a verdant valley
Yesterday in a gray one of affliction
أنزَلتَهُ في جَنابٍ غيرِ مُهتَضمٍ
أبا الحُسينِ ورِزقٍ غيرِ محتبسِ
You brought him down in a precinct not yet digested
O father of Hussein and unstinted provision
وأنتَ من مَعشرٍ جرَّت مناقِبُهم
شُغلاً طَويلاً عَلى الأَقلامِ والطرسِ
You are of a party whose glories have furnished
Much occupation for pens and tablets
تَعلو فتَدنو كَما تَعلو خَلائقُهم
مثلَ الشُّموسِ ولكن ليسَ بالشمُسِ
You ascend and draw near as their natures ascend
Like suns, but not being the sun
وطالَما أطلَعوا من نارِ عَزمهم
شُهباً وربَّ شهابٍ غيرِ مُقتبَسِ
Long have they risen out of the fire of their resolve
Meteors, and many a meteor unlit
تأبى الوقوفَ عَلى الحاجاتِ أنفسُهم
حتى تَودّ لو استَغنَت عن النَّفَسِ
Their very selves refuse to halt for necessities
Until they wish their spirit could dispense with breath
عزٌّ ركبتَ به ليثَ العَرينِ فما
ميَّزتَ صَهوتَه عَن صَهوةِ الفرَسِ
A glory you rode, the lion of the lair, and yet
You distinguished not its roar from the whinny of a mare
وقامَ عرشُك بالسعدِ المُنيفِ عَلى
الحصنِ المنيفِ لَهم عَن ذلك الحَرسِ
Your throne endured upon auspicious, lofty aid
The lofty fortress, protecting them from that guard
