قَضى وَطَراً منك الحَبيبُ المُوَدِّع

وَحَلَّ الَّذي لا يُستَطاع فَيَدفَعُ

The beloved bid farewell as he departed

The departing beloved has fulfilled his purpose and left, and the irresistible decree has descended.

And what cannot be repelled came to pass

I have come to a state where I know not, now that my companion is gone and I am left alone, what I should do.

وَأَصبحت لا أَدري إِذا بانَ صاحِبي

وَغودرتُ فَردا بعده كَيفَ أَصنَع

I know not anymore if my friend will return

Shall I spend my life in restraint and endurance while in health, or shall I succumb to weakness and wail in panic?

Bereft of him, how can I now act?

Indeed, I have milked the udder of Time in all its turns, and have witnessed from it both what harms and what benefits.

أَأَفني الحَياةَ عِفَّةً وَتجلدا

بِعافيَة أَم أَستَكين فَأَهلَع

Shall I live in chastity and fortitude

So I became certain that the living must surely die, and that a youth is not granted eternal enjoyment among his kin.

In good health or violently despair?

They said, "Will you not weep for Khareem bin Amir?" I replied, "Does the submissive camel, scarred by the saddle, weep?"

بَلى قَد حلبت الدَهرَ أَشطرَ دَرّه

فَأَبصرت منه ما يضرّ وَيَنفَع

Indeed I have milked fate half its harm

The calamities have battered me so severely that I no longer watch for any new disaster to befall.

Thus seeing what hurts and what profits

I endured, for patience bears the better fruit; and would wailing avail me anything, that I should wail?

فَأَيقنت أَن الحيّ لا بُدَّ مَيّت

وَأَنَّ الفَتى في أَهلِهِ لا يُمَتَّع

I knew the living must die

I mastered the tears of my eyes, forcing them back, even as the eyes of my heart were weeping.

And the youth enjoys not his family forever

The tribulations of Time have hardened a resolute soul; against the calamities that befall it, it does not crumble.

وَقالوا أَلا تَبكي خَريم بن عامِر

فَقُلتُ وَهَل تَبكي الذلول المُوَقَّع

They said, does not Khariym Bin Amer weep?

Did you not see me build the Lion's house over him, and cast dust upon him without breaking down?

I said, do the humiliated and defeated weep?

I folded the edges of his shroud over a gleaming face, wherein I imagined the light of the full moon shining.

لَقَد وَقَذَتني الحادِثات فَما أَرى

لنازلة من ريبها أَتَوَقَّع

Misfortunes have afflicted me, so I see

It was as if I were burying a warrior in the pit, covered in dust, struggling to rise yet sinking down.

No expected calamity make me waver

One might imagine a remnant of spirit lingers in him due to how recently he lived, yet he is dead and veiled.

صبَرت وَكانَ الصبر خَيراً مغبةً

وَهَل جَزعٌ مُجدٍ عليّ فأَجزَع

I was patient and patience was best in trial

Khareem was the true successor of his father, whenever a day of hideous evil or war struck.

Should I despair, would that benefit me?

I sought to appease Time, hoping for his survival, while his soul was slipping away to the hereafter like a scattered beam.

ملكت دُموع العَين حَتّى رَدَدتها

إِلى ناظِري إِذ أَعيُن القَلب تَدمَع

I controlled the tears of my eyes until I returned them

The morning sun reminds me of the light of his face, so I steal glances at it whenever it rises.

To my inner sights as the heart weeps

I had prepared him as a treasure against every misfortune, but the arrows of death are fond of targeting our treasures.

أَعزت خُطوب الدهر نَفساً صَليبَةً

لما نابها مِن حادث لا تَضعضع

I strengthened my soul against the blows of fate

He was the remnant of noble moons; were they to vanish, the tribe of Ma'add would be left wandering in darkness.

So no incident shakes its tranquility

Whenever one moon among them set or faded, another moon would appear shining on the horizon.

أَلَم تَرَني أَبني عَلى اللَيث بَيته

وأَحثو عليه الترب لا أَتخشّع

Have you not seen me build upon the lion his den

If I wished to weep blood, I would have wept it for you, but the expanse of patience is wider and more noble.

And heap upon him soil, not cringing?

And though I display patience and composure, keeping a brave face before my enemies, I am inwardly in agony over you.

أرُدّ حَواشي بُرده فَوقَ سنّة

إخال بِها ضوءاً مِن البَدر يَسطَع

I line his furs upon an old coat

Letting through it the moonlight shine

كَأَنّيَ أَبني في الحَفيرة باسِلاً

عَفيراً يَنوء لِلقيام وَيَضرع

As if I build in the pit a hero

Bent to rise and plead

تُخال بَقايا الروح فيه لِقُربِهِ

بعهد الحَياة وَهوَ ميت مقنع

The remnants of the soul in it from its nearness

Recall the days of life though it is dead, masked

وَكانَ خَريم مِن أَبيهِ خَليفة

إِذا ما دَها يَوما مِن الشَرِّ أَشنَع

Khariym was to his father Khalif

A shelter from the worst of days

أصانع عِندَ الدهر أَرجو بَقاءه

وَنفس من الأُخرى شُعاعاً تطلع

I make believe with fate he remains

A ray of light from him still emerges

تذكرني شَمس الضُحى نور وَجهه

فَلي لَحظات نَحوَها حينَ تطلع

The morning sun recalls his face's light

I have moments with it when it rises

وَأعددتُه ذُخراً لِكُلِّ ملمّة

وَسَهمُ المَنايا بِالذَخائر مولع

I stored him as treasure for every affliction

Yet the arrow of death burns what is treasured

بَقيةُ أَقمار من الغرّ لَو خبت

لَظَلَّت معدّ في الدُجى تَتَسَكَّعُ

Remaining moons would wander veiled

If one moon sets or wanes

إِذا قَمَرٌ مِنها تَغوَّر أَو خَبا

بَدا قمر في جانِب الأُفق يَلمَع

When a moon disappears or dims

Another moon shines from the horizon

فَلَو شئت أَن أَبكي دَماً لبكيته

عليك وَلَكِن ساحةُ الصَبر أَوسَع

Had I wanted to weep blood, I'd weep it for you

But the field of patience is more expansive

وَإِنّي وان أَظهرت صَبراً وَحِسبةً

وَصانعت أَعدائي عليك لموجع

If I show patience and composure

And treat my enemies gently when you are hurt