وسراء أحشائي لمن أنا مؤتمر

وسرّاء أنبائي لمن أتحبب

The secret confidants of my heart - who are they for me to confide in?

The intimate whispers of my soul - who are they for me to befriend?

فقد يُشرب الصاب الكريه لعلَّةٍ

ويُترك صفو الشُهد وهو مُحببُ

For a dire need, one drinks bitter aloes,

Yet abandons the purest honey though it is so sweet.

وأعدل في أجهاد نفسي في الذي

أريد وراني فيه أشقى وأتعب

I persist in the struggles of my soul for that

Which I want, though they make me most wretched and tired.

هل اللؤلؤ المكنون وأندر كله

رأيت بغير الفوص في بحر يطلبُ

Have you ever seen a hidden pearl, the rarest kind,

Found anywhere but in the sea by one who seeks it?

وأصرف نفسي عن وجود طباعها

إذا في سواحا ضح ما أنا أرغب

I turn my soul away from the nature of its existence,

When at daybreak appears that which I desire.

كما نسخ اللَه الشورائعَ قبلنا

بما هو أدنى للصلاح وأترب

Just as God decreed laws before us

By what is closest to righteousness and purity,

وألقى سجايا كل خلق بمثلها

ونعت سجاياي الصحيح المهذب

And attributed to each being its own qualities,

He ascribed my true, refined qualities to me.

كما صار لون الماء لون إنائه

وفي الأصل لون الماء أبيض مفجب

As water takes the color of its vessel

While its essence is sparkling white.

أقمت ذوي وذي مقام طبائمي

حياتي بها والموت منهن يردب

I have made the qualities of my soul

My life - and death derives from them.

وما أنا ممن تطبيه بشاشة

ولا يقتضي ما في ذميري التجنب

I am not one who is cheered by blitheness,

Nor does what is in my conscience allow avoidance.

أريدُ نفاراً عند ذلك باطناً

وفي ظاهري أهلٌ وسهلٌ ومرحب

I want aloofness in private from that,

While in public I have family, ease and welcome.

فإني رأيت الحزب يعلو اشتعالها

ومبدؤها في أول الأمر ملعب

For I have seen opinions burst into flame,

Though at first they were just a game.

وللحية الرقشاء وشي ولولنها

عجيب وتحت الوشي سم مركب

The hoary beard has magic, though it is but hair,

Wondrous is that magic, and under it lies venom steeped.

وإن فرند السيف أعجب منظراً

وفيه إذا هز الجمام المذرب

The gleam of a sword is most beautiful to behold,

Though when the blades clash, it maims.

وأجعل ذل النفس عزةً أهلها

إذا هي نالت ما بها فيه مذهب

I make the soul's disgrace a pride for its people,

If through it they attain what fulfills them.

فقد يضع الإنسان في الترب وجهه

ليأتي غداً وهو العصون العقرب

For a person may put his face in the dust,

Only to rise tomorrow as one who defiantly stings.

فذل يسوق العز أجود للفتى

من العز يتلوه من الذل مركب

So disgrace leads to the most generous pride for a youth,

More than a pride followed by any portion of disgrace.

وكم مأكلٍ أدرت عواقب غيه

ورب طوى بالخصب آتٍ ومعقب

And how much food have I seen whose consequences were misguided,

While many a barren land later bore fruit.

وما ذاق عز النفس من لا ينلها

ولا التذ طعم الروح من ليس ينصب

No one tastes the pride of the soul who does not attain it,

Nor savors the spirit's bliss who does not strive for it.

ورودك نهل الماء من بمد ظمأةٍ

الذ من العسل المكين وأعذب

Your roses are sweet water for the thirsty drinker,

Whose taste is purer and sweeter than honey.

وفي كل مخلوقٍ تراه تفاضلُ

فرد طيباً إن لم يتح لك أطيب

In everything you see, there is variation -

Choose the singularly good, if the finest is not available to you.

ولا ترض ورد الرتق إلا ضرورة

إذا لم يكن في الأرض حاشاه مشرب

Do not be content with jujube fruit, except out of necessity,

When the land offers you no other drink.

ولا تترين ملح المياه نانها

شجى والصدى بالحر أولى وأوجب

Nor make bitter water your staple,

For brackishness with heat is better and more nutritious.

فخذ من جداها ما تيسر واقتنع

ولا تك مشغولاً بمن هو يغلب

So take from its coarseness what you can get and be content,

And do not be preoccupied with what defeats you.

فما لك شرط عندها لا ولا يد

أن حصلت أم ولا أب

You have no conditions with it - neither rejection nor acceptance,

Whether you attain your wish or not.

ولا تيأسن مما ينال بحيله

وإن بعدت فالأمر ينأى ويصعب

Do not despair of what may be had through stratagem,

Though the matter becomes distant and difficult.

ولا تأمن الإظلام فالنجر طالع

ولا تلتبس بالضوء فالشمس تغرب

Do not feel safe from darkness - for the stars rise,

Nor be deluded by the light - for the sun sets.

ألح فإن النساء يكدح في الصفا

إذا طال مأتي عليه ويذهب

Be importunate, for women labor in obscurity,

If their goal is long delayed and escapes them.

وكثر ولا تفشل وتلل كثير ما

فعلت فسماء المزن جم وينضب

Be abundant, and do not fail and tire, however much

You have acted, for the heavens' downpours are clouds and flow.

فلو يتفذى المرء بالسم قاته

وقام منه غذاء مجرب

If only a person could thrive on worries alone,

And they became his nourishment, tried and true!