قَضى ولم يَقضِنا من عَدله وطَرا
وكان هَيناً ملامُ المَيتِ محتَقَرا
He has passed judgment, but his justice did not appease us,
And the one who lightly blames the dead is despised.
كُفَّا فَما أقدَر الأيامَ لو فَعَلَت
عليكُم والهَوى لو وافَقَ القَدَرا
Enough! I cannot control fate if it acts against you,
Though passion might have coincided with destiny.
لا يُبعد اللَهُ صَبراً كان ينجدُه
ما كانَ أسرعَ ما ولَّى وما انتَصرا
God does not abandon the patient; He comes to their aid.
What flees faster than what turns and is victorious?
ولَّيتُه في الهَوى قَلبي فَفارَقَني
وما نَهى قطُّ في قَلبي ولا أَمَرا
I set it to wander in passion; my heart deserted me.
It never forbade or ordered anything in my heart.
وكاعِبٍ عاطلٍ حلَّت مَدامعُها
عَنها قَلائِدَها لما جَرت غدرا
Like a gambler without money, tears streamed down her cheeks,
When treachery tore off her necklaces.
كأنَّما جيدُها في الحُسنِ صاغَ لها
من دُرِّهِ فأَبَت أن تحملَ الدُّرَرا
As if its beauty's collar were cast for it
From his pearls, but it refused to carry gems,
أو صيغَ من بعضِ ما أمسى يفرِّقُه
نَدى أبي الحَسنِ الأستاذِ مُعتَذِرا
Or were molded from some of what the tears of
My master al-Astar dispersed as an apology.
مَن ليسَ يُبقي نَداهُ في خَزائِنِه
شَيئاً يُقالُ اقتَنى هَذا ولا ادَّخرا
One whose generosity does not keep anything in his coffers
Cannot be said to have gained and hoarded this or that.
يُبادرُ الخيلَ في الغاراتِ مُبتَدئاً
بالطَّعنِ والضربِ قبلَ الخيلِ مُبتَدرا
He spurs on his horse in raids, beginning
With a stab and blows before the horses rush.
وذاك كَيلا يَقولَ الحاسِدون له
ما كان أسرَعَ ما ولَّى وما انتَصَرا
That is so no enviers can say about him,
"What flees faster than what turns and is victorious?"
تكادُ يومَ الوَغى من طولِ ما انحطَمَت
قَناتُه أن تُساوي سَيفَه قِصَرا
On a day of battle, from the length of how his spear is shattered,
It almost equals his sword in shortness.
سمراءُ يَحفَظُها المَطعون كامنةً
في صَدرِه مثلَ حِفظِ السامِر السَّمَرا
A dark-lipped woman he defends lies hidden
In his breast, like the defense of the sleepless their sleeplessness.
