كُرِّي المَلامَ فَباغِي اللَّوْمِ مَخْصُومُ

والدَّهْرُ مُذْ كانَ مَحْمُودٌ وَمَذْمُومٌ

Blame me, for I am to blame for distress,

And fate has always praised and blamed.

بِسُرَّ مَنْ رَى بِلادِ المُلْكِ طابَ لَنا

مُعَرَّسٌ عَيشُهُ بِالَّلهْوِ مَنْظُومُ

In the kingdom we saw good days,

A life adorned with pleasures.

أَرْضٌ مَتى اخْتُلِسَتْ أَلْحاظُها نَظَراً

اهْتاجَ ذُو طَرَبٍ وارتاح مَهْمُومُ

A land whose glances were stolen

Made the troubled heart delighted and relieved.

وَالْحَيْرُ والْقَصْرُ والفاطُولُ جَنَّتُها

والْجَعْفَرِيُّ بِكَفِّ الدَّهْرِ مَزْمُومُ

Al-Hair, Al-Qasr, Fatoul, its gardens,

And Al-Ja’fari tyrannized by time.

مَنازلٌ آنَسَتْ دَهْراً فَأَوْحَشَها

ظُلْمُ الزمَّانِ فَمَثْلُوم ومَهْدُومُ

Homes time made intimate but darkened

By cruel years, destroyed, in ruins.

عَفَتْ وغَيَّرَها وَصْلُ الرِّياحِ لَها

والوَصْلُ مِنْهَا بِحَبْلِ الهَجْرِ مَحْتُومُ

Winds blowing made it strange

And meeting it was destined to separation.

أَنَّى أَرَى رَجْعَةً لِلدَّهْرِ يَلْحَظُها

غَنِمْتُها إِنْ وَفَتْ والْعَيْشُ مَغْنُومُ

When will I see time turn around

And gain it if it comes, though life is gained by force?

وَسَوْفَ يَنْزِعُ بِي ذِكْرٌ يُشَوِّقُنِي

إِلَى ذُراكِ فَيَبْدُو مِنْهُ مَكْتُومُ

Memory will take me away, arousing longing

For your presence, revealing the hidden.

وَإنْ أَحُلُّكِ لا آسى عَلَى بَلَدٍ

وَحَبْلُهُ مِنْ حِبالِي فِيكِ مَصْرُومُ

If I make my home with you, I won’t regret any land,

Its rope from my ropes is firmly tied to you.

أَرَجْعَةَ الدَّهْرِ هَلْ وَعْدٌ فَامُلُهُ

أَمْ عَطْفُ عَدْلِكِ مَفْقُودٌ وَمُعْدُومُ

Is the turn of fate a promise to hope for

Or a sign of your justice, lost and nonexistent?

وَما شَجانِي كَذِكْرَى خِلْتُها حُلُماً

كَأَنَّ قَلْبِي لَها بِالذَّكْرِ مَكْلُومُ

Nothing hurts me like memories when we met,

My heart numbed with remembrance, as if laden.

أَيْنَ الزَّمانُ الَّذِي أَسْهَرْتُ عاذِلَتِي

فِيهِ وغُودِرَ خَصْمِي وَهُوَ مَخْصُومُ

Where is the time I stayed up arguing

And my opponent was sued and convicted?

بَيْنَ الصَّراةِ وكَرْخايا تَمَرُّدُهُ

وَالْعَيْشُ مِنْ نَكباتِ الدَّهْرِ مَعْصُومُ

On Saraya and Carcasia its youth roams,

While life is safe from the blows of fate.

والغَضْبُ دِينٌ وَشُرْبُ الرّاحِ مُفْتَرضٌ

وَالْهَتْكُ مُسْتَعْمَلٌ والصَّوْنُ مَثْلُومُ

Rage is duty, drinking wine obligatory,

Violation the norm, chastity condemned.