يا حرفَةَ الشّعراءِ إنَّكِ منهمُ
حيث اِبتغوا رزقاً لبِالمِرْصادِ
O poets’ ill-starred calling—you are ever among them,
O poetry, profession of poets, you are one of them
O craft of the poets, you are their inseparable shadow; wherever they seek sustenance, you lie in ambush.
lying in ambush wherever they seek a livelihood.
Wherever they sought livelihood lying in wait
If their caravan were to descend into the Holy Valley, to quench their burning thirst, the valley would run dry.
لو حلَّ بالوادي المقدَّسِ ركبُهُم
لشِفَاء غُلَّتهم لجفَّ الوادِي
Were their caravan to alight in the sacred valley
If their caravan had entered the sacred valley
And if they sought to shave their heads in Mecca, Al-Rashid would be present there, and Al-Hadi absent.
to quench their thirst, the valley itself would run dry.
To cure their rancor, the valley would dry up
ولو اِبتغوا حلقَ الرؤوسِ بمكّةٍ
حضر الرشيدُ بها وغابَ الهادِي
And were they to seek the shaving of heads in Mecca,
If they had sought to shave their heads in Mecca
al-Rashid would be present there, while al-Hadi was gone.
Al-Rashid would attend it but Al-Hadi would be absent
Sol 5.6