تضاءلَ الدهرُ حتى ضاعَ في هممى
واستفحلَ الهمُّ حتى صار من شيمي
Time diminished until it was lost in my concerns,
And worries grew until they became part of my nature.
ولو يكون سوادُ الشعر في ذممى
ما كان للشيب سلطانٌ على اللمَمِ
Had the blackness of hair depended on my debts,
Grayness would have no power over determination.
فالعيشُ من نِعَمى والموتُ من نقمى
وحكمةُ الفلكِ الدوارِ من حِكمِي
Living is a blessing I have been granted, death a fate I despise,
Yet the circular motion of fickle fortune stems from my own schemes.
والحزم والعزم في الاقوام من خُلقى
كما الفصاحةُ في الاقوالِ من كَلِمَي
Decisiveness and resolve in people are a reflection of my character,
Just as eloquence in words reflects my own speech.
ما يَشبعُ الدهرُ يا هندُ ابنةَ الحكمِ
من غيرِ لحمى ولا يَرويه غيرُ دمي
O Hind, daughter of wisdom, time is never sated
With aught but my flesh, quenched by none but my blood.
ولو أَراقَ دماءَ الناسِ كلهِم
ولم يدع لهم لحماً على وضمِ
Had it spilled the blood of all mankind to the last man,
Leaving them no flesh or bone,
انَّ الليالى والايامَ لو علَقتْ
جرينَ في الخلقِ عن رمحى وعن قلمي
The nights and days, had they conspired against me,
Could not turn the course of fate away from my spear and my destiny.
عن أَسبقِ الناسِ للاقدارِ في مَهَلٍ
منه وأكرمَ في الدنيا من الكَرَمِ
Of all mankind, I strive to reach first for destiny's goals,
With ample time before me, honored in life above all the generous.
أَعلى من النجم بل أَهدى بغرته
للمهتدينَ وأَسرى منه في الظلمِ
Loftier than the stars, my glory gives guidance
To those who seek it. After me, there is only darkness.
لو يعرف الناسُ قدرى في زمانهم
صلوا لوجهيَ أَو باسوا ثَرى قَدَمي
If people recognized my worth in their time,
They would pray in my name or kiss the dust of my feet.
ما زلت اعطف أَيامى فتمنُحني
نيلا أَدقَّ من المعدومِ في العدمِ
I make my days incline to bestow on me
Gains more subtle than utter nothingness.
وأَستكين لها طوراً وارهبها
فلا تزيد مقالاتى على الصممِ
I appease them for a while and hold them in awe
So my words fall not on deaf ears.
حتى تخوف صرفُ الدهرِ بادرتى
فرد كفى وأَما أَنْ يسُدَّ فَمي
Until the shifting of fate startles my vigilance
And forces back my hand, though it cannot seal my mouth.
العمر يمضى وما أَمضيت همتَه
أَأَنتَ منتبهٌ أَم أَنت في الحُلُمِ
My life passes but does not fulfill its purpose.
Are you awake? Or lost in dreams?
فَوّق سهامَكَ وارمِ الناسِ عن عَرضٍ
واركبْ من الامرِ أَدناه الى الأَلَمِ
Set your arrows straight and spare no man,
Scale the heights from the lowest valleys to the peaks of agony.
أَصبحتَ بين رجالٍ كل تجربةٍ
تضل فيهم من المستبصرِ الفَهِمِ
You live among men, each with his own experience,
Yet in their eyes the wisest understanding goes astray.
لا تبقِ منهم على شخصٍ ظفرتَ به
انْ كانَ رأيكَ سَلُّ السيفِ في الاممِ
Leave no one alive if you best him,
If your view is to unsheathe the sword among the peoples.
أَذُمُّ كلَّ خليلٍ باتَ يحمَدُنى
أنا الذي ماله خِلٌّ سِوى النَّدمِ
I spurn every friend who praises me unduly,
I who have no true friend but regret.
وَأتَهَمَتْني المعالى في مودتها
انْ كنتُ أعرف خلقاً غيرَ متهمِ
I am accused of pride by the lofty ideals I pursue,
Though I know of no character more unassuming than my own.
طلبتُ صحةَ وُدِّ الناسِ واعجباً
أَمراً طلبتُ ولا يخلو من السقمِ
I sought the rectitude of men's affection yet strangely
The cure becomes the illness in a matter I thought sound.
وليس سؤلكَ يا قلبى سِوى رَهَجٍ
تجوره من دمِ الفرسانِ بالديمِ
My heart desires nothing but the moaning
Wrung from the lifeblood of cavaliers by the sword.
كَمْ كَمْ تحنُّ الى الارواحِ من ظمأٍ
وكم تَتُوقُ الى الاجسامِ من قَرمِ
How often it yearns for souls amidst thirst
And how it longs for bodies amidst decay!
ااذ منحتُ ثنياتِ اللوى كَتِفى
فابشرْ بألهوبِ نارِ الفتنةِ العرمِ
When the curves of passion clasp my shoulder,
Rejoice in the raging fires of sedition and turmoil.
مَنْ أَحسنَ السعيَ فيما شاءَ فهو لهُ
الرزقُ بالسعي ثم الرزق بالقَسَمِ
Whoever strives best gets what he wills,
Sustenance comes through striving and then portioned by fate.
مالى رضيتُ بقعرِ البيتِ منزلةٍ
وليسَ ترضى سيوف الهندِ عن هِمَمِي
Why did I settle for the bottom of the house as my station
When the swords of India are not content with my ambitions?
حتى أُعيدَ الدُّجى صبحاً برونقها
وأُلبِسَ الشمسَ أَثواباً من القَتَمِ
Until I turn the darkness back to dawn in its freshness
And dress the sun in robes of concealed darkness.
لولاى لم تسكنِ الحياتُ من حَذَرِ
بَطْنَ الترابِ ولا الاسادُ في الأجَمِ
Without me serpents would not keep still in earthly holes for fear
Nor lions in the thickets for terror.
من للرماحِ اذا القيتُ في الرَّجمِ
ومن يُحكمُ بيضَ الهندِ في القِمَمِ
Who rivals my throw when I hurl spears?
Who can rule India's diamonds from its peaks?
ومن تُرَوّعُ قلبَ الليل خيفَتُه
اذا رماه بحدِّ الانيق الرُسَمِ
Who fills the heart of night with fright
When I pierce it with the finely honed head of an arrow?
يحملنَ كلَّ بعيدِ الهمِ مشتَرِقٍ
ينامُ دهرُكَ عنه وهو لم ينمِ
Bearing the distant goal of high ambition
Your time sleeps, oblivious, while you are awake.
يَرمى بعزمِتهِ أَطرافَ هِمَّته
ويأخذَ الامرَ أَخذَ الموتِ بالكَظمِ
With unwavering resolve you stretch your purpose far,
Gripping your aim with the finality of death's stranglehold.
