لم يُشْفَ بالدَّمْعِ عليلُ الفِراقُ

إذ شَيَّعَ الظَّعْنِ بِدَمْعٍ مُراقْ

The lovesick is not cured by tears shed over separation

When he bade farewell with tearful grief

سِيقَتْ لِوَشْكِ البَيْنِ أظعانُهُم

والنَّفْسُ من بينِهمُ في السِّياقْ

Their sighs were led to the pangs of parting

While their souls were still connected

صَبابَةٌ ضاقَ بها صَدْرُه

وأَدمُعٌ ضاقَتْ بهِنَّ المَآقْ

An agony that squeezed his chest

And tears that constricted the waterways

أما اشتفى الواشونَ من عاشِقٍ

يَلقَى من البَيْنِ الذي أنتَ لاقْ

Did the passionate ever recover from a lover

Who suffers from this separation you have inflicted?

رَمَتْهُ باللَّحْظِ عيونُ العِدا

من قبلِ أن يَحْظَى بطيبِ العِناقْ

The eyes of foes assailed him

Before he could enjoy the sweetness of an embrace

فجالَ ماءُ الشَّوقِ في جَفْنِه

واحتبَسَت أنفاسُه في التَّراقْ

The waters of yearning flooded his eyelids

And his breath was trapped in his throat

وزائِرٍ أسعَفَني بالمُنى

زُوراً وقد هَوَّمَ حادي الرِّفاقْ

A visitor who came to me unexpectedly

On a chance visit when the caravan leader wandered

أعَلَّني شَوْقاً إلى حُسْنِه

إذ زارَ في النَّوْمِ عَليلَ اشتياقْ

Informed me of his beauty

When he visited, in a dream, the one aching with longing

للهِ ما أَوثَقَ عَهْدَ الهَوى

منه وما أضعَفَ عِقْدَ النِّطاقْ

By Allah, none has made the pact of love

Stronger than him, nor weaker the bond of chastity

يَنْشُرُ لي ذِكْراه نَشْرَ الصَّبا

وبارقٌ لاحَ بأعلى البُراقْ

He unleashes memories of him like the morning breeze

And lightning flashed at the summit of the Miraj

في عارِضٍ أذهَبَ أعلامَه

بالبَرْقِ حتى خِلْتَهُ في احتِراقْ

In a cheek whose beauty-marks

Were wiped out by the lightning until it was set ablaze

لو أَنصَفَ الأعداءُ لم يَصْرِموا

لمَّا تقضَّى الودُّ حبلَ النِّفاقْ

Had the enemies been fair, they would not have turned away

When affection expired and the rope of hypocrisy snapped

كأنَّني بالشِّعرِ ألقاهُمُ

بمثلِ وَقْعِ المُرهَفاتِ الرِّقَاقْ

It was as if with my poetry I had assaulted them

With the impact of fragile glassware

في وَقْعَةٍ ليسَ لها كاشفٌ

وصَيْحَةٍ ليسَ لها من فَواقْ

In a calamity with no discoverer

And a scream with no responsive echo

جَرى ابنُ فَهْدٍ سابقاً في العُلى

أكفاءَه والسَّبْقُ حَظُّ العِتاقْ

Ibn Fahd raced ahead of his peers to the summit

As the outstanding one whose lead is the share of the unique

فعاشَ في عَيْشِ منيعِ الحِمى

منتشرِ الظِّلِّ فَسيحِ الرِّواقْ

He lived enjoying protected glory

With extensive shade and a spacious porch

وإنْ جَفا عَبْداً له واصلاً

مُعتَلِقاً بالوُدِّ أيَّ اعتِلاق

If he shunned a loyal devotee

Clinging to affection, what sort of rejection!

لا يترجَّى فَكَّ رقٍّ ولا

يُخشى عليه مُوبِقاتُ الإباق

Neither the loosening of a firm bond is hoped for

Nor is perdition by betrayers feared for him

وكم أردتُ الهجرَ لكَّنني

وجدتُه مُرّاً كريهَ المَذاق

And how much I wanted estrangement but found it

Bitter and offensive to taste

عرابدُ عندَك أُرْمَى بها

بينَ صَبوحٍ دائمٍ واغتباق

My well-aimed arrows at you

Strike true between endless dawns and sunsets

وتهمةٌ في الشِّعْرِ من جاهلٍ

ما زالَ فيه عاجزاً عن لَحاق

The ignorant’s slander of my poetry

Still fails to achieve parity

لقد أتاحَ الدَّهرُ لي شَقوَةً

إذ خصَّني منك بهذا الشِّقاق

Fate did destine misery for me

By singling me out from you for this schism

وكلُّ أخلاقِكَ مَرضِيةٌ

فما لِخُلٍّ ذَمَّها من خَلاَقْ

Yet your manners are all so agreeable

That no faultfinder blames your merit