أرَاحَت لِقَلبي عَازِبَ الهَمِّ والهَوَى

رُبُوعٌ بِذَاتش الرِّيعِ شَرقِىِّ ذِى الهُوَى

The solace for my heart from the passion of desire and love,

Are the meadows with your fragrant east wind, O desire.

وألوَت بِصَبرٍ بَعدَ صَبرِى مَنَازِلٌ

بِجَنبَةِ ذَاتِ الدُّخنِ في مُلتَوَى اللِّوىَ

And after my patience, homes yearned

Near the slender one at the winding place of disgrace.

وقَد هَيَّجت آيَاتُ دُورٍ مَحِيلَةٍ

لَدَى مَيسةِ المَرضَى البَلاَبِلَ والجَوَى

And the signs of splendid abodes stirred up

For the sick, anguish and love sickness.

وبِالسِّفحِ مِن بَصَّارَةِ المَيسَةِ التى

تَلِى تِلعَةَ الغُدرَانِ مُرتَبَعٌ قَوَا

And at the foot of the outlook from where the slender one followed

The mound of betrayal, a place wide and open.

وفي جَانبي غَورِ الغَدِيرِ مَرَابِعٌ

دَوَارِسُ هِىَّ الدّاءُ لِى وَهِىَ الدَّوا

And on both sides of the creek’s depression, places

That are my sickness and my cure.

وفي جَلهَتَى ذَاتِ الجِمَالِ ونَعفِهَا

إِلَى مُلتَوَى الوَعسَاءِ مِن حَيثُ مَا التَوَى

And in my dreams of beauty and pleasure

To the winding place of the blamer, wherever it turned.

مَعَاهِدُ إِن رُمتُ إرعَوَاءً عَنِ الصِّبَا

أبَى ذِكرُهَا إِلاَّ ارعوَاءً عَنِ ارعِوَا

Agreements, if I wanted to be diverted from youth,

Refused to be remembered except to be diverted from the young.

مَنَازِلُ مَاهَاجَتهُ مَاهِيجَ قَبلَهَا

فَقلبي عَلَى صَفوِ الوِدَادِ لَهَا انطَوَى

The homes that stirred it before,

So my heart inclined to the purity of love for it.

أقَمتُ بِها دَهراً بِأهَنَأِ غِبطَةٍ

وأعذَبِ وَصلٍ آمِناً صَولَةَ النَّوَى

I stayed with it for a time in the most pleasant felicity

And sweetest union, safe from the evils of time.

دِيَّارٌ بِهَا احلَولَى التَّصَابي وَأينَعَت

غُصُونُ الهَوَى حَتَّى تَأنَّقَ وَاستَوَى

A land in which the vegetation flourished and

The branches of passion elegantly thrived.

فَكَم لَيلَةٍ في هَذِهِ الدُّورِ بِتُّهَا

أُغَازِلُ غَزلاَناً مَعَاصِمُهَا رِوَا

So how many nights in these abodes

I flirted with one whose loins could not be embraced.

إِذَا ابتَسَمَت خِلتَ البُرُوقَ إبتِسَامَهَا

سَناً في هَوَاءٍ مِثلُ آخَرَ في هَوَا

When she smiles, lightning smiles her smile,

A brilliance in the air like another in the air.

وَتَحسَبُهَا مَهمَا تَثَنَّت أو استَوَت

نَضِيرَاتِ بَانٍ في تَثَنٍّ وفي استِوَا

You’d think, no matter how she bending or stood straight,

She’s like the full moons bending or standing straight.

ومَهمَا التَوت فَوقَ اللِّوىَ قُلتَ هَذِهِ

ظِبَاءُ اللِّوَى لَولاَ الشَّوَاكِلُ والشَّوَى

And no matter how she turns above the winding hills, you’d say

She is a gazelle of the hills, were it not for the thorns.

دِيَّارٌ حَنَينَا العِلمَ في جَنَباتِهَا

شَهِيًّا وَأدنَينَاهُ إِذ هُو مُجتَوَى

A land we made knowledge intimate and

Brought it close when it was winding.

وَرُضنَا بِهَا صَعبَ القَوَافي فأَصبَحَت

لَنَا ذُلَلاً فِيهَا ضَوىً ولَهَا قُوَى

And we were pleased with the difficult rhymes, so they became

Submissive to us - force to it and yielding to us.

لَيالِينَا لا تَخشي هَجوَ واغِلٍ

وَإِذ هُو فِينَا مِن حِواٍ إِلَى حِوَا

Our nights do not fear abuse or slander

While it moves among talk from companions to companions.

إِذَا رَاءَ عِرساً مُوذِناً بِوَلِيمَةٍ

ثَوَى وَإِذَا المَأمُولُ مِنهَا انزَوَى انزَوَى

When it sees a wedding announcing a banquet,

It frequents, and when what’s hoped for from it turns away, it turns away.

أيَا ابنَ حَبِيبِ اللهِ لَم تَكُ عِندَنَا

بِمُحتَرَمٍ جَراَّ الأبَاطِيلِ واللُّوَى

Oh son of the Beloved of God, you were not

Honored among us, dragging lies and winding ways.

فَلَسنَا كَمَن يَقتَادُهُ كُلُّ مُدَّعٍ

وَلَسنَا كَمَن يُغوِيهِ غَاوٍ إِذَا اغتَوَى

We are not like one led by every pretentious claimant,

Nor one misled by every misleading turncoat.

أظُنُّ ِإذَا مَا مِتَّ قَادِرٌ

عَلَى أنني أُحيِيكَ بِاللهِ لاَ القُوَى

I think that when the Omnipotent dies,

I will revive you through God, not through power.

أُرَدِّدُ كَأساً عِندَ وَجهِكَ لَذَّةً

وَآتِى بِلَحمٍ مِن قَدِيدٍ وَمُشتَوَى

I bring a cup by your face for pleasure

And meat, grilled and roasted.

فَلاَبُدَّ أَن تَحتَالَ حَتَّى تُحِيلَهَا

وَتفتَرِسَ اللَّحمَ القَدِيدَ أوِ الشِّوَا

You must pretend until you transform it

And eat the grilled meat or what is roasted.

وَفَخرُكَ بِالشَّيخِ الَّذِي قُلتَ ثابِتٌ

فَإِن تَكُ مِثلَ الشَّيخِ فَاستَطِبِ الثَّوَا

Your boasting of the Sheikh whom you said is steadfast -

If you are like the Sheikh, then wish for death.

فَسَعيُكَ نَاءٍ عَن طريقةَ سَعيِهِ

وَمعنَاكَ عَن مَّعنَاتِهِ أعوَجَّ وَالتَوَى

For your effort is bent from the path of his effort

And your purpose is crooked from his purposes and winding.

فَطَرَّدَكَ الحِرمَانُ عَن بَابِ عِلمِهِ

وَحلأكَ الشَّيطَانُ عَن مَائِهِ الرِّوَى

Deprivation barred you from the door of his knowledge,

And Satan diverted you from his flowing spring.

عَلَى أنَّهُ مِن نَبعِنَا وَوَشِيجِنَا

وَقَد كَانَ مِنَّا حَاوِيًّا كُلَّ مَا حَوَى

Yet he was from our source and our stream,

Encompassing all that it contained.

أَبَنَّ بِنَا لاَ يَبتَغِى بَدَلاً بِنَا

وأُشرِبَ مِنَّا العِلمَ واعتَزًّ واقتَوَى

He built through us, not seeking another but us,

And he drank knowledge from us and became mighty and strong.

وَقَد كَان غَضَّافي المَكَارِمِ غُصنُهُ

ولَكِنَّ غُصنَ الشَّيخِ مِن بَعدِهِ ذَوَى

He used to be a twig blooming with generosity,

But the Sheikh's twig after him withered away.

فَأنتَ نَوَاةٌ مِنهُ إِن كَانَ تَمرَةً

وَلَم يَكُ فَضلُ التَّمرِ يَسرِى ِإلَى النَّوَى

So you are a seed if he was a date,

And the excellence of dates does not flow to the pit.

وفي ثَمَرِ البُهمَى لِمِثلِكَ أُسوَةٌ

فَأنتَ وَمَا قَد أَثمَرتَ مِن سفي سَوَا

And in the fruit of the worthless there is an example for the likes of you,

For you and what you produced from baseness are the same.

أتَى وَاغِلٌ يَوماً نَدِيًّا فَشَلَّهُ

وَصَارَ ورَاءَ الدَّارِ يَرنُو مِنَ الكُوَى

A slanderer came one day meekly, but they spurned him,

And he remained behind the house, howling from the curve.

وقَالَ لَهُم إِنِّي مُهَاجٍ لِشَاعِرٍ

وَدَأبِيَ أن أُهجَى دَوَاماً وأهجُوَا

He said to them, “I slander a poet,

And my habit is to always slander.”

وَمأمُولُهُ أن يُّستَرَدَّ إِلَيهُمُ

وَيَقرب مِمَّا قَرَّبُوهُ وَيَدنُوَا

It is hoped that he will be brought back to them

And come closer to what they brought nearer and come.

فَقَالُوا وَمَن تَهجُو فَقَالَ مُحَمَّدٌ

فَقَالُوا ابنُ مَن قَالَ ابنُ ابنُ أخِى النِّوَا

So they said, “Whom do you slander?” He said, “Muhammad.”

They said, “Whose son?” He said, “Son of my uncle's son.”

فَقَالُوا أَتَنقِيصاً تُرِيدُ فَقَالَ

ولَكِنَّهُ في ثَروَةٍ أزمُناً ثَوَى

They said, “Do you mean to insult?” He said,

“But he hoarded wealth for a long time.”

فَقَالُوا عَلَى الإِنفَاقِ في خَيرِ مَصرِفٍ

وإكرَامِ ضِيفَانٍ وإِيوَاءِ مَن أوَى

They said, “To spend in the best cause,

Honoring guests and sheltering whoever sought shelter.”

وَقَالُوا أهَوَّ الشَّاعِرُ الذَّرِبُ الذي

تُنُوذِرَ في الآفَاقِ قَالَ لَهُم هُوَّ

And they said, “Is the poet the audacious fool

Whom you warn everywhere?” He said to them, “Him.”

فَقَالُوا أخُو عَقلٍ يُعَرِّضُ عِرضَهُ

بِدَوٍّ لِرِيحٍ زَعزَعٍ لَهُو الدَّوَى

They said, “A brother of reason who offers his wares

To the winds - empty sound his wares.”

أتسطاع في حَوكِ القَصَائِدِ شَأوَهُ

إذَا أَبيَضَّ مَعنَاهُ المَرُومُ أو أَحوَى

Can you reach in the realm of poems his stature

When his polished meaning whitens or becomes dark?

تَقَاصَر فَمَا شَمسُ الظَّهِيرَةِ كَالسُّهَا

سَنَاءً وَلاَ الشُّمُّ الشَّوَاهِقِ كالصُّوَى

The sun at noon cannot match his brilliance,

Nor the towering clouds his loftiness.

وَلاَ الضَّغَمُ الضَّارِى يُرَجِّعُ زَأرَهُ

بِأَجمَتِه كَالِّذِّيبِ في قَفرَةٍ عَوَى

Nor does the raging gammon turn back its roar

With its bellow like the wolf in a desolate plain howling.

ولَم يَكُنِ البَحرُ الغَطَمطَمُ كَالإِضَا

ولَم تَكُنِ العِيسُ الهَجَائِنُ كالذِّوَى

Neither was the tumultuous sea like fury,

Nor the violent storm like destruction.

بَعَثتَ رَكِيِكَ الشِّعرِ نَحوي وِإنني

لأعلَم مَن أغرَاكَ بي إِذلَكَ انضَوَى

You sent the ineptitude of your poetry to me though

I know who provoked you against me and bent you.

وَغَرَّكَ حَتَّى خِلتَ أَنَّكَ شَاعِرٌ

فَألقَاكَ مِن عَليَاء نِيقٍ ِإلَى الهُوَى

He provoked you until you thought you were a poet,

Then he cast you down from dignified calm to fall.

فَرُمتَ إِرتِقَاءً في الهَوَاءِ وَمَن يَرُم

بِغَيرِ جَنَاحٍ مُرتَقًى في الهَوَى هَوَى

You hoped to ascend in the air, but whoever hopes

To ascend in the air without wings, falls.

سَأسقِيكَ كَأساً مِن هِجَائِكَ مُرَّةً

تَوَدُّ ِإذَا مَا ذُقَتَهَا قَبلَهَا التَّوَى

I will make you drink a cup of your lampoon once,

You will wish when you taste it to spit it out.

فَلاَ تَتَألَّم مِن هِجَائِكَ هِجتَهُ

وَتعلَمُ أني حَامِلٌ فِيهِ لِلتوي

So do not suffer from your lampoon - I carry

Gentleness in it to soften you.

وَلَم يَتَشَكَّ الضَّربَ ضَارِبُ نَفسِهِ

ولَم يَشكُ حَرَّ النَّارِ مُكتَوٍ اكتَوَى

The striker does not hesitate to strike himself,

Nor does one branded with hot irons hesitate to brand himself.

فَخُذهَا عَرُوباً بِنتَ فَكرٍ مُعِيرَةً

لِجِسمِكَ دَاءً لاَ يُتَاحُ لَهُ دَوَا

Take it as eloquent, a daughter of annoying thought,

A disease for your body for which there is no cure.

يُذَلِّكَ في الأَندَاءِ حُسنُ إنسِجَامِهَا

إِذَا طَفِقَ الرَّاوي يُكَرِّرُ وَاء وَوَا

Its excellent arrangement will humiliate you among people

When the narrator repeats "wa" again and again.

فَتَخرَى وتَعيَا بَعدَمَا كُنتَ تَدَّعِى

وتُصبِحَ نَهباً لِلمَرَابِر والدَّوَا

So you will crawl and live in want after you used to pretend

And in the morning be prey for snakes and reptiles.

أجِبهَأ بِأخرَى مِثلِهَا في رَوِّيهَا

وفي بَحرِهَا إِن كُنتَ تَقدِرُ لاَ سِوَى

Respond with another like it in its meter,

And rhyme scheme - if you are able to do so and not otherwise.

وَلاَ تَطوِهَا ِإلاَّ عَلَى أحسَنِ اللُّغَى

وأحسَنِ مَعنًى وَأنوِ لِلمَرءِ مَا نَوَى

Do not wind it except in the most eloquent speech

And most beautiful meaning. Intend for the person what he intends.

وإيَّاكَ مِن مَعنًى رَدِىٍّ أمُجُّهُ

وأكرَهُهُ طَبعاً كَمَا تَكرَهُ الطَّوَى

And beware a despicable meaning I would hate

And naturally detest just as you detest winding ways.