أَهَزُّ حُسام يُنتَضى وَسِنان

وَمَوتُ شُجاعٍ مِثل مَوتِ جَبانِ

I brandish a drawn sword and a spearhead,

Yet the death of the brave is like the death of the coward.

عَلَينا المَنايا قُدِّرَت وَعَلى العِدى

فَيا لِضرابٍ بَينَنا وَطِعانِ

Dooms are decreed upon us and upon our foes,

So alas for the striking and stabbing between us.

رُزِئتُ فَعَزَّوني وَقَد عَزَّني الأَسى

وَكَيفَ التَأَسّي وَاِبني الثَقلانِ

I was stricken, so they offered condolences, yet sorrow overwhelmed me,

And how can there be consolation when my son was equal to all worlds?

وَقالوا تَفَرَّس هَل مِنَ القَومِ فارِس

بِحصنٍ يُوَقّى المَوتَ أَو بِحصانِ

They said, "Look closely: is there any knight among the people

Protected from death by a fortress or a steed?"

فَقُلتُ الرَدى لا ردَّ فيهِ وَإِنَّما

عَزاءُ هِجان في مُصابِ هِجانِ

I said, "There is no turning back destruction, but only

The solace of the noble in the loss of the noble."

لِكَثرَةُ رُزء أَو لِقِلَّةِ فُرصَةٍ

تعرُّ بِعارٍ أَو تَهونُ بِهانِ

Whether for the magnitude of calamity or the scarcity of opportunity,

One is tainted by shame or humbled by disgrace.

بِنَفسي نَجم أَظلَم الأُفق إِذ هَوى

وَكادَ يُعَزّيني بِهِ القَمَرانِ

I ransom with my soul a star that darkened the horizon when it fell,

And for which the sun and moon almost offered me solace.

سَلوا الدَهرَ هَل أخبى غداةَ وَفاته

سَنا المُشتَري أَم هَدَّ رُكن أَبانِ

Ask Time if, on the morning of his death, it extinguished

The brilliance of Jupiter or tore down the pillar of Mount Aban.

كَأَنَّ ذِراعي جُذَّ مِن عَضدي بِهِ

كَأَنَّ حُسامي فُلُّ وَهوَ لِساني

It is as if my forearm were severed from my upper arm because of him;

It is as if my sword were blunted, and that sword is my tongue.

فَمن لِبَني الدُنيا مَقولي إِذا نَبا

بِحكمَةِ أَشعاري وَسحر بَياني

So who will speak for the children of the world if my speech fails,

With the wisdom of my verses and the magic of my eloquence?

بِعَبد الغنيّ اِستَغنتِ العَينُ أَن تَرى

مَحاسِنَ طُرزٍ في الرِياضِ حسانِ

In Abd al-Ghani, the eye found richness enough to forgo seeing

The beauties of embroidered patterns in fair gardens.

فَما الدُرُّ إِلّا ما يُنَثَّرُ مِن فَم

وَما الزَهرُ إِلّا ما نَشى بِبَنانِ

For pearls are nothing but what is scattered from a mouth,

And flowers are nothing but what blooms from fingertips.

رَبيعُ رُبوعي كانَ صَوبَ صَوابِهِ

يُنَوِّرُ مِنهُ الطَرفَ كُلَّ أَوانِ

The spring of my dwellings was the downpour of his correctness,

Illuminating the gaze with it at every moment.

زَكا فَأَتاني يَغلِبُ الجَمعَ وَحدَهُ

وَعَن رَأيِهِ يصّالحُ الفتيانِ

He grew in virtue, coming to me surpassing the multitude alone,

And upon his judgment, young men would reconcile.

فَلَو كانَ في صفّين إِذ هُوَ يافِع

تَراضى بِهِ الخَصمانِ وَالحَكَمانِ

Had he been present at Siffin when he was but a youth,

The two adversaries and the two arbitrators would have accepted him.

وَلَو كانَت النيرانُ مِثل ذكائِهِ

تَلَظَّت لِموريها بِغَيرِ دُخانِ

And if fires were like his keen intelligence,

They would blaze for their kindler without any smoke.

وَلَو أَطلَعَ اللَهُ الهِلالَ طُلوعَهُ

لَقالوا لِسَبعٍ تَمَّ أَو لثمانِ

And if God had made the crescent moon rise with his rising,

They would have said, "It became full in seven nights or eight."

وَلَو أَنبَتَ اللَهُ الغُصونَ نَباتَهُ

دَنا مِن جَناها ما تَخَيَّرَ جانِ

And if God had made branches grow with his growth,

What the picker chose of their fruit would be close at hand.

وَلَو طابَتِ الأَيّامُ بَعدَ مَذاقهُ

لَما شَرِبَت لِلحرِّ بَعد ليانِ

And if the days were sweet after tasting his loss,

One would not have drunk bitterness after softness.

أَحينَ شَأى مِن فَضلِهِ كُلّ سابِق

وَغَنّى شَآمٌ بِاِسمِهِ وَيَمانِ

Is it now, when he has outstripped every predecessor in virtue,

And the Levantine and the Yemeni have sung his name?

وَجَرَّ قَناةَ النَصرِ لِلظَّعنِ في العِدى

وَراشَ جَناح العِزِّ لِلطَيَرانِ

And he trailed the spear of victory to strike at the enemy,

And feathered the wing of glory for flight?

رَمَتهُ فَأَصَمتهُ السِهامُ وَإِنَّهُ

لَفي زردٍ مِن دَعوَتي وَكنانِ

The arrows struck him and silenced him, even though he was

Clad in the mail of my prayers and protection.

كَأَنَّ الرَدى يَومَ العُروبَةِ إِذ مَضى

أَراني جِبال الأَرضِ فَوقَ أَرانِ

It is as if Death, on the Friday when he passed,

Showed me the mountains of the earth placed upon a bier.

كَأَنَّ السَماءَ اِنشَقَّتِ اليَومَ لِلَّذي

دَعاني فَكانَت وَردَةً كَدِهانِ

It is as if the heavens split asunder today for the one who called me,

And became rose-colored like burning oil.

أَلا إِنّ قُضباً مِسنَ في دَوحَةِ العُلا

لِدانٍ نأى أَصبَحنَ غَير لِدانِ

Truly, branches that once swayed in the grove of nobility,

For a near one who has departed, have become unbending.

سألتُ حَبيبَ النَفسِ أَينَ مَكانهُ

إِذا نُشِرَ المَوتى وَأَينَ مَكاني

I asked the beloved of my soul where his place shall be

When the dead are resurrected, and where my place shall be.

فَقالَ مَكاني حَيثُ جِئتَ بِجَنَّةٍ

مُذلَّلَةٍ مِنها القُطوفُ دَواني

He said, "My place is where you find a Garden,

With branches lowered and clusters hanging near."

وَلا عِلمَ لي إِلّا بِنَقسي وَجَدتُها

فَيا أَبَتِ اِعمَل صالِحاً لِتَراني

"I have no knowledge save what I have found within myself;

So, O my father, do good deeds that you may see me."

وَيا أَبَتِ اِحذَر فِتنَةَ القَبرِ إِنَّها

مَخافَةُ مَن لَم يَجتَهِد لِأَمانِ

"O my father, beware the trial of the grave, for it is

The dread of one who has not striven for safety."

وَيا أَبَتِ اِعمَل لَستَ عَنّي جازِياً

وَلا عَنكَ أَجزي غَيرُ شَأنكَ شاني

"O my father, work! You cannot answer for me,

Nor can I answer for you; your state is distinct from mine."

وَيا أَبَتِ اِتلُ الذِكرَ حَسبُكَ واعِظاً

تَدَبُّرُ آىٍ فُصِّلت وَمَثانِ

"O my father, recite the Remembrance; it suffices you as a preacher

To ponder verses detailed and oft-repeated."

وَيا أَبَتِ اِستَيقِظ فَإِنَّكَ نائِمٌ

وَيا أَبَتِ اِستَعجِل فَإِنَّكَ وانِ

"O my father, wake up, for you are sleeping!

O my father, make haste, for you are lagging!"

وَيا أَبَتِ اِستَشفِع نَبِيَّكَ واثِقاً

بِوَعدٍ يُوَفّيهِ غَداً وَضَمانِ

"O my father, seek the intercession of your Prophet, trusting

In a promise and guarantee he will fulfill tomorrow."

نَجا اِبنُكَ فَاِنظُر في نَجاتِك وَاِعتَمِد

عَلى عَمَلٍ يَبقى فَإِنَّكَ فانِ

"Your son is saved, so look to your own salvation and rely

Upon a deed that endures, for you are mortal."

عَلى البِرِّ وَالتَقوى وَحُبِّ مُحَمَّدٍ

وَمُستَوزريهِ حَبَّذا العُمَرانِ

"Upon righteousness, piety, and the love of Muhammad

And his viziers—how excellent are the two 'Umars!"

وَسائِرِ أَصحابٍ كَفَوهُ كَأَنَّهُم

بَنانٌ وَدينُ اللَهِ وَهوَ يدانِ

"And all the Companions who aided him, as if they were

Fingers, while the religion of God and he were two hands."

عَلَيهِم صَلاةُ اللَهِ ثُمَّ عَلى الَّذي

تَوَفّاهُ بَرّاً في أَعَقِّ زَمانِ

"Upon them be the peace of God, and then upon the one

Whom He took as a righteous soul in a most ungrateful age."

كَشَفتَ إِلَيَّ الغَيبَ يا اِبني وَلَم تَخب

وَلكِنَّ عَقلي دَلَّني فَهَداني

You have unveiled the Unseen to me, O my son, and did not mislead,

Though my own intellect had pointed me and guided me.

تُتَرجمُ عَن أَهلِ القُبورِ قُبورهُم

فَيفهَمُ مِن دونِ الكَلامِ مَعانِ

The graves translate on behalf of their inhabitants,

So meanings are understood without spoken words.

وَمَن خَذَلتَهُ عبرَةٌ عِندَ عبرَةٍ

فَذاكَ جَمادٌ عُدَّ في الحَيَوانِ

And he whom a lesson fails to move when tears are shed

Is but a stone counted among the living.

إذا اِعتَبَرَ المُستَبصِرونَ كَفاهُمُ

حَديثُ الصّبا وَالشَيبِ وَالحَدَثانِ

If the insightful take heed, they are sufficed by

The tale of youth, hoary age, and the shifting of days.

أَكافورُ شَيبٍ بَعدَ مِسكِ شَبيبَةٍ

وَسُمُّ مَنونٍ بَعدَ شَهدِ أَمانِ

Is it the camphor of white hair after the musk of youth?

And the poison of death after the honey of safety?

وَقُبحُ شَتاتٍ بَعدَ حُسنِ تَأَلُّفٍ

وَوَحشَةُ قَبرٍ بَعدَ أُنسِ مَغانِ

And the ugliness of dispersion after the beauty of union?

And the desolation of a grave after the comfort of home?

فَيَأتي الهَوى حَتّى يَسُدَّ مَسامِعي

بُكاءُ حَمامٍ عَن غِناءِ قيانِ

Then passion comes until the weeping of doves

Blocks my ears from the singing of songstresses.

نَسيتُ ذُنوبي أَو تَناسَيتُ بِالهَوى

وَأَحصى عَلَيَّ اللَهُ وَالمَلَكانِ

I forgot my sins, or feigned forgetfulness in my passion,

Yet God and the two angels have recorded them against me.

فَإِن حُرِمَ العاصي أَبوكَ شَفاعَةً

تَكونُ لَهُ عِزّاً هَوى لِهَوانِ

So if your sinful father is denied intercession,

Which would be glory for him who has fallen into shame...

عَسى اللَهُ يُنجيهِ فَلَيسَ وَإِن عَصى

بِمُستَيئِسٍ مِن رَحمَةٍ وَجنانِ

Perhaps God will save him, for even if he disobeyed,

He does not despair of Mercy and Paradise.

لِيَهنكَ يا اِبني أَنَّ شُربَكَ بارِدٌ

وَشُربي إن لَم يَعفُ رَبّي آنِ

Let it gladden you, my son, that your drink is cool,

While my drink, if my Lord does not forgive, is scalding hot.

كَأَنّ حَماماتِ الأَراكِ تَرَنَّمَت

عَلى نَشَواتي وَالشُؤونُ دِناني

It is as if the doves of the arak tree crooned

Over my delirium, while my tear-ducts were the wine jars.

أَزورُكَ غِبّاً وَالمَسافَةُ بَينَنا

قَريبٌ وَلكِن لا سَبيلَ لِعانِ

I visit you at intervals, and though the distance between us

Is near, there is no path for the captive.

بِوَجهي أَقيكَ التُربَ حَيثُ تُطيبُهُ

بِعرفِ ثَناءٍ وَهوَ مِنّي دانِ

With my own face I would shield you from the dust, where you perfume it

With the scent of praise, while it lies close to me.

حَلَلتَ غَريباً فيهِ وَالثكلُ حَولَهُ

يُرَوّي الحَصا مِن دَمعِ كُلِّ حصانِ

You settled there as a stranger, while bereavement around it

Waters the pebbles with the tears of every chaste woman.

وَلا بَصَرٌ يَرعاكَ إِلّا بَصيرَتي

وَلا جُنَنٌ تَحويكَ غَير جِناني

No eye watches over you except my inner vision,

And no shrouds embrace you except my heart.

بَلى كُلُّ قلبٍ أَنتَ فيهِ مُمثّل

وَإِن كُنتَ لا تَشفي الوَرى بِعَيانِ

Indeed, in every heart your image is enshrined,

Even if you no longer heal mankind by your presence.

فَمَعناكَ مَعنى لَيلَةِ القَدرِ إِنَّها

عَلى الناسِ تَخفى وَهيَ في رَمَضانِ

Your significance is like the Night of Power:

It is hidden from men, though it lies within Ramadan.

طَوى مِن شَبابي الدَهرُ ما أَنا ناشِرٌ

وَهَدَّمَ فيكَ المَوتُ ما أَنا بانِ

Time has folded away the youth I can never unfold again,

And Death has destroyed in you what I was building.

وَلَمّا دَهاني الدَهرُ وَاِبني وَأُمّه

بِحَربَينِ بِكرٍ مرَّةٍ وَعَوانِ

And when Time struck me—my son and his mother—

With two wars, one new and one returning,

صَدَدتُ عَنِ البيضِ الرَعابيبِ سَلوَةٍ

وَأقسَمتُ جهداً لا مَلَكنَ عَناني

I turned away from fair, soft maidens in renunciation,

And swore a solemn oath they would never hold my reins.

فَمِن أَينَ لي نَجلٌ أَقولُ إِذا زَكا

تَشابَهَ في مَعناهُما الأَخَوانِ

So whence shall I get a son of whom I might say, if he thrives,

"The two brothers are alike in their essence"?

وَأَنتَ الَّذي تَزهى عَلى الشُهبِ قائِلاً

ذُكاء وَبَدرُ التمِّ لي أَبَوانِ

You are the one who boasts above the stars, saying:

"The Sun and the full Moon are my parents."

وَلَو متَّ قَبلَ البَينِ يا واحِد العُلا

رَجَوتُ لِفهرٍ أَن تَرى لَكَ ثاني

If you had died before the separation, O unique one of nobility,

I might have hoped for your line to see a second like you.

وَلكِنَّ من وَفَّيتُ خانَت وَقَلَّما

رَأَيتُ الهَوى وَالغَدرَ يَتَّفِقانِ

But she whom I treated faithfully betrayed me; and rarely

Have I seen love and treachery agreed.

وَعِندَ الغَواني حَلَّ حلُّ عُقودُها

وَجازى جَزاءَ الوُدِّ بِالشَنآنِ

With fair women, the undoing of bonds is commonplace,

And she repaid the reward of affection with hatred.

وَهَبها جَفَت مَن أحصنت بِلبانَة

قَضاها أَتَجفو مَن غَذَت بِلبانِ

Grant that she shunned the one she once embraced with desire;

Would she shun the one she nourished with her own milk?

أَرى المَرءَ أَدنى ما يَكونُ مِنَ التُقى

إِذا عَفَّ خلواً مِن غنى وَغَواني

I see that a man is closest to true piety

When he abstains, free from wealth and women.

عَرَفتُ فَرابَتني صَواحِبُ يوسُف

قَديماً وَلكِن زَلَّتِ القَدَمانِ

I knew, and the companions of Joseph made me suspicious

Long ago, yet still my feet slipped.

أَلا في جِوارِ اللَهِ مَن أَذكُرُ اِسمَهُ

فَتَصدع قَلبي شِدَّةُ الخَفَقانِ

In the care of God is he whose name I mention,

And the violence of my heart's beating cracks my chest.

رَقيتُ وَداوَيتُ السقامَ الَّذي شَكا

فَأَعيَت مَعاني البرء كُلَّ مَعانِ

I recited spells and treated the sickness he complained of,

But the means of cure baffled every helper.

وَكَفكَفتُ جهدي عبرَتي وَرعافَهُ

فَلَم أَستَطِع أَن يَرقَأ الدَمَيانِ

I strove to hold back my tears and his bleeding,

But I could not staunch the flow of the two bloods.

نَذَرتُ دَمَ الأَعداءِ لَمّا نَظَرتهُ

كَأَنَّ عَدُوّاً شَجَّهُ فَشَجاني

I vowed to shed the blood of enemies when I looked at him,

As if a foe had struck him, and thus struck me with grief.

فَلَمّا بَدا لي أَنَّهُ قَدر الرَدى

تَداوَيتُ بِالذِكرى مِنَ الهَذَيانِ

But when it became clear to me that it was the decree of Death,

I sought cure from delirium in the Remembrance.

وَلَم أَدرِ كَيفَ الصَبرُ حينَ تَقَلَّصَت

لَهُ شَفَتانِ طالَما شَفَتاني

And I knew not how to be patient when lips withered for him—

Lips that had, for so long, been my healing.

تُرى علَّتيهِ غارَتا فَأَغارَتا

عَلى واحِدٍ لَو عاشَ لي لَكَفاني

Do you think his two ailments grew jealous, and so attacked

A single soul who, had he lived for me, would have sufficed me?

حَبيبٌ كَأَنّي كُنتُ أضربُ بِالظُبى

إِذا بثَّ ما يَشكو مِنَ الضَرَبانِ

A beloved: it was as if I were being struck by swords

Whenever he spoke of the throbbing pain he suffered.

أَبَينَ اِحمِرارٍ وَاِصفِرارٍ وَزُرقَةٍ

تَقَسَّمَ خَدٌّ كانَ أحمَر قانِ

Between redness, pallor, and the blue of bruising,

A cheek was divided that once was rosy bright.

ثَلاثُ يَواقيتٍ عَلى صَحنِ فِضَّةٍ

نُظِمنَ وَفي خَدَّيَّ نَثرُ جُمانِ

Three rubies arranged upon a plate of silver,

While on my own cheeks lay scattered pearls.

وَكَيفَ حَواني مَنزِلي بَعدَ فَرقَد

عَلَيهِ الشُموس النَيِّرات حَواني

How could my home contain me after the loss of a star

Over whom the shining suns once bent in care?

سَأَسفحُ ما أَسأَرتُ مِن بَحرِ أَدمُعي

وَحَسبي بُكاءُ العَينِ بِالهَمَلانِ

I will pour out the remainder of my sea of tears;

It suffices me that the eye weeps in flowing streams.

وَأَصفح عَن دَهري عَلى أَنَّ صَرفَهُ

رَزاني بِفَقدِ اِبنٍ وَغَدرِ رَزانِ

And I pardon my Fate, even though its vicissitudes

Afflicted me with the loss of a son and the treachery of a dignified wife.

وَأَرجو مِن اِبني عَونَهُ بِشَفاعَةٍ

فَرُبَّ مُعانٍ لِلنَّجاةِ مُعانِ

And I hope for my son's aid through his intercession;

For often one aided toward salvation is truly aided.

أَتاني رَدى عَبد الغَنِيِّ فَهَدَّني

عَلى اِبنِ لَباةٍ خانَهُ اِبنُ أَتانِ

The death of Abd al-Ghani came to me and crushed me;

A lion's cub betrayed by the foal of a wild ass.

سَماني بِزُهدٍ وَالقَناعَة أنَّني

أَكولُ عِجافٍ لا أَكولُ سمانِ

He marked me with asceticism and contentment, such that I

Am an eater of lean scraps, not of rich feasts.

جَفاني اِمرِؤٌ طافَت عَلَيهِ وَلائِدي

بِزهرِ أَباريقي وَغُرِّ جِفانِ

A man shunned me, though my handmaidens once circled him

With my shining pitchers and my white bowls.

زَواني عَمى عَينَيَّ عَن آفَةِ الهَوى

لَعَلَّ عُيونَ الناظِرينَ زَواني

The blindness of my eyes hid me from the plague of passion;

Perhaps the eyes of the beholders pushed me aside.

وَلَو تَنطِقُ الآدابُ قُلتُ حَقيقَةً

رَواني بِأَفكارٍ إِلَيَّ رَواني

If Literature could speak, I would say in truth:

He quenched my thirst with thoughts; he truly quenched me.

وَلَو عِشتَ يا عَبدَ الغنيّ خَلفتَني

وَلكِن عَناني ما بَكَتهُ عَناني

Had you lived, O Abd al-Ghani, you would have been my successor;

But I am curbed by that for which my own reins have wept.