لِمَن حِلَلٌ تَهاداها البِقاعُ

كأنَّ بيوتَها إبلٌ رِتاعُ

For whom are the abodes that the lands offer as gifts

As if their homes were camels grazing

أَراهُم حَيثُما حلُّوا استَقَلُّوا

فَفيما تَطمَئِنُّ بِهم تُراعُ

Wherever they settled, they were at home

And wherever they feel reassured, they pasture

أتَدري ما دَهاكَ فَكيفَ تَدري

إذا كانَ اللِّقاءُ هو الوَداعُ

Do you know what has brought you here, so how do you know

If the meeting is the farewell

وبينَ بيوتِ هَذا الحَيِّ بَيتٌ

لَه عِندي حَديثٌ لا يُذاعُ

And between the homes of this neighborhood is a home

That has a story I do not divulge

فحسبُكَ لا تُنازِعُني عَلَيه

وإِلا طالَ بي وبكَ النِّزاعُ

So suffice it, do not dispute me over it

Otherwise, the dispute between you and I would be prolonged

وقَد يُخشَى مِن القَول اتِّصالٌ

يَطولُ بِه من الوَصل انقِطاعُ

And it is feared that words would lead to connection

That would lead to the cutting off of connection

وفي الخَيماتِ ألحاظٌ بِطاءٌ

لفَترتِها وفَتكاتٌ سِراعُ

And in the tents are slow glances

For their leisure and swift killings

وغصنٌ خِفتُ خِفَّتَه بقَلبي

فثقلَه الذي لا يُستَطاعُ

And a branch whose whisper I felt in my heart

So I found its heaviness unbearable

كثيبُ نَقاً يزلُّ الثوبُ عَنه

لَه مِن حيثُ طُفت بهِ ارتِفاعُ

Like a sandy dune from which clothes slip

It has a height from wherever I circled around it

ولم أرَ قطُّ مَحجوباً كقَلبي

وراءَ الصَّدرِ ليسَ له امتِناعُ

And I have never seen a heart as hidden as mine

Behind the chest, having no acquiescence

وآلى لا تُمدُّ يَدٌ فتُثنى

لخَيبَتها كما آلى سِباعُ

And hopes that no hand extends and then folds

For its disappointment, as predators do

رأى الدُّنيا وللتَبذيرِ فيها

عَلَى التدبيرِ أمرٌ لا يُطاعُ

He saw the world and for extravagance in it

There is a matter of administration that cannot be obeyed

فأرسَلَها ولو شَدَّت يَداها

شَكائِمَها لحلَّتها الطِّباعُ

So he let it go, and if it had grasped his hands

With its disheveled hair, instincts would have released it

إذا لَم يَبقَ إلا الذكرُ مِنها

فذاكَ الذِّكرُ أرخَص ما يُباعُ

When nothing remains of it but the memories

Those memories are the cheapest merchandise sold

لَه في كلِّ مَكرُمةٍ سُلوكٌ

ولِلباقي مِن الدُّنيا اتِّباعُ

For every honor there is access

And for the rest of the world there is pursuit

يعد الغبنَ أن تَمضي الليالي

ولا يَمضي له فيها اصطِناعُ

He considers it cheating when nights pass

Without progressing in them his craft

ومَن يَزرَع لَه المَعروفُ مجداً

ويثبتُه يريعُهُ اليَراعُ

And he who plants good deeds for himself will reap glory

And he will establish it to harvest benefits

وقد سَلفَ الكرامُ بمِثلِ ماذا

خَلَفتَ بِه فَهَل ظَمِئوا وجاعوا

The generous passed on the likes of what

You left behind, so were they thirsty and pained?

أَرى المِلَلَ التي افتَرقَت قَديماً

لَها فيما تُسَرُّ بِه اجتِماعُ

I see the milestones that scattered long ago

Have in what they feel happy about a reunion

وذلكَ بعضُ مُكتَسَبِ الليالي

وما يَبني لكَ الخلقُ الوساعُ

And that is some of the nights' acquisitions

And what people build up for you an amplitude

يَخصُّ العيدُ قَوماً دونَ قَومٍ

ولَكِنَّ السرورَ بِه مُشاعُ

Eid distinguishes some people over others

But happiness in it is common