الحزنُ حُزني والضلوع ضلوعي
والجَفنُ جفني والدُّموع دموعي
Grief is my grief, and the ribs are my ribs;
The eyelid is mine, and the tears are my tears.
فعلامَ يعِذلُني على بَرحِ الهوى
مَن لا يقومُ نِزاعه بنُزوعي
Why, then, does he reproach me for love’s torment—
He whose yearning cannot rise to the pitch of mine?
ولَعَ الفراقُ بشملنا وَلَعَ الهوىَ
بقلوبنا وبمَن أُحبُّ ولَوعي
Separation clung to our union as passion clung
To our hearts—and my ardor to the one I love.
ولقد أراني للعواذِلِ عاصيا
أبداً لنَهي نُهايَ غيرَ مُطيعِ
I have always found myself defying the reproachers,
Never obeying my forbidders’ prohibition.
أودعتُهم بالكُرهِ إذ ودّعتُهم
حُسنَ العزاءِ عشيّةَ التوديعِ
Against my will, when I bade them farewell, I left with them
All graceful consolation on the evening of parting.
ووجدتُ حزنَ الحُزن سَهلا بعدهم
ومنيعَ فيضِ الدّمع غيرَ منيعِ
After them, I found grief’s very harshness easy,
And the barrier against the flood of tears no barrier at all.
وأذبتُ يومَ الجِزع مدامعي
جَزَعا ولم أكُ قبله بجَزُوعِ
On the day at the valley-bend, I poured out my tears
In anguish, though never before was I prone to anguish.
سار الجميعُ فسار بعضي إثرَهُ
وودِدَتُ أن لو كان سار جميعي
The whole company departed, and part of me went after it;
I wished that all of me had gone as well.
يابانَ هل بانَ الصباحُ فإنّني
مُذ بانَ بِتُّ بليلة الملسوع
O bān tree, has the dawn appeared? For I,
Since he departed, have passed the night like one bitten.
زُمّا الَمطيّ عن الطلول فإنّها
بخلت بردِّ جوابِها المسموعِ
Rein the mounts away from the deserted dwellings: they
Have withheld the audible answer they might return.
لسَفهَتُ نفَسي إذ سألتُ ربوعهَا
عن ظاعنٍ مغناه بين ضلوعي
I would only make a fool of myself by asking their ruins
About a traveler whose dwelling lies between my ribs.
ما أنصفتكَ بذي الأراك حمامة
أبدَت سرائرَ قلبِكَ المفجوعِ
The dove at Dhū al-Arāk has not dealt fairly with you:
It has laid bare the secrets of your stricken heart.
أبكي دما وبكِنّها مكنونةٌ
لكنّها تبكي بغير دمُوعِ
I weep blood, while she lies hidden in her shelter;
Yet she does her weeping without tears.
هيهاتَ لست من البكاءِ وإنّما
هذا الغناءُ لشملِك الَمجموعِ
Far from it—you are not one of those who weep;
This song is because your company is whole.
ولكيفَ يُنصفكَ الحمام وربّما
جارَ الحَميم عليكَ بالتقريعِ
And how could the doves deal fairly with you, when perhaps
An intimate friend assails you with reproach?
لا ذنبَ عندي للزمان فإنّه
ما حالَ عن حالٍ يُرَوِّعُ روُعي
In my eyes, Time bears no blame, for it
Has never swerved from a state that strikes terror into my heart.
هو طبعُه ولضلَّ رأي معاتبٍ
يرجو انتقالَ طبيعةِ المطبوعِ
Such is its nature; misguided indeed is the reproacher
Who hopes that what is formed by nature will change its nature.
