أَرَواحٌ مُوَدَّعٌ أَم بُكُورُ

لَكَ فاعلَم لأَيِّ حالٍ تَصيرُ

Farewell souls, or morning mourners,

Learn which state awaits you,

إنَّ شُغلَ الصَّابياتِ مِنَ الأَس

تارِ طَرفٌ يُصبي وفيه فُتورُ

The occupation of young women is an adornment,

with languid eyes and listlessness,

زانَهُنَّ الشُّفوفُ يَنهَزنَ بال

صُّبحِ وعَيشٌ مُفانِقٌ وحَريرُ

Their slender waists sway at dawn,

with delicate living and silk,

كَدُمَى العاجِ في الَمحاريبِ أَو كَا

لبيضِ في الرَّوضِ زَهرُهُ مُستَنيرُ

Like the reddish sandalwood in shrines,

or like white flowers shining in the garden,

لا تُؤاتيكَ إن صَحوتَ وإن أَش

رَقَ في العارِضَينِ منكِ القَتيرُ

They will not come to you if you wake up,

or if sleep in your lids flows from you,

وَأبيضاضُ السَّوادِ مِن نُذُرِ الشَّ

رِّ وهَل بَعدَهُ لأُنسٍ نذيرُ

And the whiteness of darkness are omens of evil,

is there after it a herald of intimacy?

وَسطهُهُ كاَليرَاعِ أَو سُرُجِ المِج

دَلِ حيناً يَخبُو وحيناً ينُيرُ

Its middle like lightning one moment hidden another moment flashes,

Like the fire of bellows the sparks fly for whoever smells it when it rises,

مِثلُ نارِ الَحرَّاضِ يَجلُو ذُرَى الُمز

نِ لِمنَ شامَهُ إذا يَستَطيرُ

The tambour answers the turncoat and the lute of the treacherous,

Then the bends of the pasture where the caravan descended,

زَجِلٌ عَجزهُ يُجاوبُهُ دَفٌّ

لخُونٍ مَأدُوبَةٍ وزَميرُ

It quenched the stomach, so Basitha, so Hirna,

Guiding its face and bewildered,

فَثَنايا بالرَّيِّ بَعدُ وفي الحِن

وَينِ حَطَّت بهِ هُنالِكَ عِيرُ

The south turned it towards Hirna

So its torrent flowed confined,

فَسقَى البَطنَ فَالبَسِيطَةَ فَالحِر

نَينِ يَهدي لِوجهِهِ ويَحُورُ

I did not wink at it and my business with it,

That is not what pleases me,

فاستَدَرَّت بهِ الَجنُوبُ على الحِر

نَّةِ فَالحنوِ سَيلُهُ مَقصورُ

Rather my rein is the saying of a man about whom,

No right was seen or ordained,

لَم أُغَمِّض بهِ وشَأيِي بهِ ما

ذاكَ أَنِّي بِصَوبِه مَسرورُ

And a beloved after being guided a left,

Sways him like the broken one is swayed,

بَل عَنَاني قَولُ امرئٍ لَم يُقَل فيه

هِ صَوابٌ بَدا ولا تَقديرُ

Play and nonsense sweeping the torrents of water,

As if it is pouring down,

وَحَبيٍّ بعدَ الهُدُوِّ تُزَجِّي

هِ شَمَالٌ كما يُزَجَّى الكَسيرُ

I wish I knew how you are when camphor,

Is sprinkled on your hot face,

مَرحٌ وبُلهٌ يَسُحُّ سُيولَ ال

ماءِ سَحّاً كأَنَّهُ مَنحورُ

May God have mercy on whoever wept for sins,

Every weeping one, his sin is forgiven

لَيتَ شِعري كيفَ أَنتَ إذا ما

ذُرَّ في حُرِّ وَجهِكَ الكافورُ

O you who blames fate, purified and exonerated!

Are you the innocent and pardoned one?

رَحِمَ اللهُ مَن بَكَى للخَطايا

كُلُّ باكٍ فذَنبُهُ مَغفورُ

Or do you have a solemn promise from the days?

Rather you are an ignorant fool,

أَيُّها الشَّامِتُ الُمعَيِّرُ بال

دَّهرِ أَأَنتَ الُمبرَّأُ الَموفورُ

Who have you seen death makes eternal?

Or is anything missing from it?

أَم لَدَيكَ العَهدُ الوَثيقُ مِنَ ال

أَيَّامِ بَل أَنتَ جاهِلٌ مَغرورُ

Where is Chosroes, where is Sapor?

And the yellow king of the Romans,

مَن رَأَيتَ الَمنُونَ خَلَّدنَ أَم مضن

ذا عليهِ مِن أَن يُضامَ خَفيرُ

Not one of them is remembered,

The brother of Khosrow when he built and,

أَينَ كسرَى كِسرَى الُملوك أَنُ

شُروانَ أَم أَينَ قَبلَهُ سابورُ

The taxes were collected for him, and the chamberlain,

He built it of marble and decorated it with clay,

وَبنثو الأَصفرِ الُملوكِ مُلوكُ ال

رُّومِ لَم يَبقَ مِنهُمُ مَذكورُ

So for the birds in its rooms there are nests,

The specter of death did not spare him so his kingdom vanished,

وأَخُو الَحضرِ إذ بَنَاهُ وإذ دِج

لَةُ تُجبَى إليهِ والخابورُ

And his door became abandoned,

And consider the Lord of the Arch, when one day,

شادَهُ مَرمَراً وخَلَّلَهُ كِل

ساً فِللطَّيرِ في ذُراهُ وُكورُ

He was noble and turned to the right guidance,

His wealth made him happy and what he owned,

لَم يَهَبهُ رَيبُ الَمنُونِ فَبادَ ال

مُلكُ مِنهُ فبابُهُ مَهجُورُ

And the sea compliant and the plains,

So his heart was arrogant and said: What is the sin,

وتَأَمَّل رَبَّ الَخَورنَقِ إذ أَش

رَفَ يَوماً وللهُدَى تَفكيرُ

Of the living ending in death?

Then after success, kingship and authority, they were overtaken by graves,

سَرَّهُ مالُهُ وكَثرَةث ما يَم

لكُ والبحَرُ مُعرضاً والسَّديرُ

Then they became as if they were torn pages taken away by the winds and time.

If I am afflicted with some hardship, there is no weakness,

فارعَوَى قَلبُهُ وقالَ وما غِب

طَةُ حَيٍّ إلى الَمماتِ يَصيرُ

Nor great stumbling,

Except that days can betray a man,

ثُمَّ بعدَ الفَلاحِ والُملكِ وال

إمَّةِ وارَتهُمُ هُناكَ القُبورُ

In them there is ease and hardship,

So be patient with adversity, for time,

ثُمَّ أَضحَوا كَأَنَّهُم وَرَقٌ جَ

فَّ فأَلوَت بهِ الصَّبا والدَّبورُ

Sometimes is dark and sometimes bright,

And I am the true victorious one, when a day oppresses,

إن يُصِبني بَعضُ الأَذاةِ فَلاَ وا

نٍ ضَعيفٌ ولا أَكَبُّ عَثورُ

In which hearts are constricted,

A day in which intricacies are useless,

غيرَ أنَّ الأَيَّامَ يَغدُرنَ بالَمر

ءِ وفيها الَميسورُ والَمعسورُ

And none benefits but the sincere friend,

And I have bought beauty with praise, indeed,

فاصبِرِ النَّفسَ للخُطُوبِ فأنَّ

الدَّهرَ يَدجُو حيناً وحيناً يُنيرُ

In it exertion and ordainment,

Good fortune escorted me because,

وأَنَا النَّاصِرُ الَحقيقَةَ إذ أَظلَ

مَ يَومٌ تَضِيقُ فيهِ الصُّدورُ

I entrusted my Lord, truly the righteous is grateful,

Like a short man who found none but,

يَومَ لا يَنفَعُ الرَّواغُ ولا

يَنفَعُ إلاَّ الُمشَيَّعُ النِّحريرُ

To call the nobles for meager gratitude,

You from what you faced the ignorant rebuke you,

واشَترَيتُ الَجمَالَ بالَحمدِ إنَّ

السَّعيَ فيهِ الإِمضاءُ والتَّقديرُ

With recklessness, an arrogant fool,

And you waited a little, and attained honor,

شَيَّعَتني نُعمَى علَيَّ لِمَا وا

ثَقتُ رَبِّي إنَّ التَّقيَّ شَكورُ

Many witnesses of blame and praise,

If you had endured the like, matters would have distressed you,

كَقَصيرٍ إذ لَم يَجِد غيرَ أَن جَدَّ

عَ أَشرافَهُ لِشُكرٍ قَصيرُ

And the affairs would have been confusing,

And the enemies say: An enemy destroyed him,

أَنتَ ممَّا لاَقَيتَ يُبِطرُكَ الأَغ

ابُ بالطَّيشِ مُعجَبٌ مَحبورُ

With the wrath of an angry Lord, captive,

Not with the wrath of the King, the servant was escorted,

وتَمَهَّلتَ فَوزَةً أَحرَزَت عِر

ضي مِنَ الشَّتمِ والشُّهُودُ كَثيرُ

Nor in his punishment, coercion,

It is an assumption, the mind took it,

لَو تَحَمَّلتَ مثلَها كَظَّكَ الأَم

مرُ وحارَت بهِ لَدَيكَ الأُمورُ

So it counted him while the Expert is Expert,

And we both are righteous, righteousness aids righteousness,

وتقولُ العُداةُ أَودَى عَدِيٌّ

وعدَِديٌّ بِسُخطِ رَبٍّ أَسيرُ

And my Lord for what came is excused,

Indeed, if not for my Lord's care of him,

لا بِسُخطِ الَمليكِ ما شَيَّعَ العَب

دُ ولا في عِقابِه تَنكيرُ

With the people of Iraq, the excuse would have been poor,

God chose him and approved him for what

ظُنَّهٌ شُبِّهَت فأَملَكَها القَس

مُ فعَدَّاهُ والَخبيرُ خَبيرُ

A king who distributes treasures and favors,

He has restored them though almost ruined,

وكِلاَنَا بَرٌّ يُساعِدُهُ بَرٌّ

ورَبِّي لِمَا أَتَى مَعذورُ

A knower of what he wants, pure of heart,

Pardoning over his corpse, slaughtered,

إنَّ رَبِّي لَو لاَ تَدارُكَهُ الُمل

كَ بأَهِل العِراقِ ساءَ العَذيرُ

خَصَّهُ اللهُ وارتَضاهُ لِمَا قَد

مَلِكٌ يَقسِمُ الَخزائِنَ والذِّمَّ

ةَ قَد رَدَّها وكادَت تَبورُ

عالِمٌ بالَّذي يُريدُ نَقِيُّ الصَّ

درِ عَفٌّ عَلَى جُثَاهُ نَحورُ