رأى اللوم من كل الجهات فراعه

فلا تنكروا اعراضه وامتناعه

He saw blame from all sides, so it alarmed him,

So do not deny his indifference and refusal,

ولا تسألوني عن فؤادي فإنني

علمت بقينا انه قد اضاعه

And do not ask me about my heart, for I

Have realized with certainty that he has lost it,

له اللّه ظبيا كل شيء بروعه

وباليت لي شيئا يزيل ارتياعه

May Allah protect him, so gentle in his manner,

Would that I had something to dispel his anxiety,

وبالبته لو كان من أول الهوى

اطاع عذولي واكتفينا نزاعه

And certainly if he had, from the start of love,

Obeyed my madness, we would have limited our conflict,

فما رادنا بالسوء الا لسانه

وما خرب الدنيا سوى ما اشاعه

For we only wished him ill out of his tongue’s doings,

And nothing ruined the world but what he spread,

اشاع الذي اغرى بنا السن العدا

وطير عن وجه التغالي قناعه

He spread what incited against us the old age of separation,

And a bird flew off with the veil of pretense from his face,

واصبح من أهوى على فيه قفلة

يكتم خوف الشامتين انفجاعه

And he woke up among those he loved with a locked heart,

Concealing for fear of the envious his torrent within,

وإلى على ان لا اقيم بارضه

وأحرمني يوم الفراق وداعه

And he forbade me on the day we parted from living in his land,

And deprived me of bidding him farewell,

فرحت وسيري خطوة والتفاتة

إلى فائت منه ارجى ارتجاعه

I was happy for an instant, as I walked away,

Glancing back hoping he would call me back,

ذرعت الفلا شرقا وغرباً لاجله

وصبرت اخفاف المطيّ ذراعه

I roamed the horizons far and wide because of him,

And endured the galloping pace of a racing camel,

فلم يبق بر ما طويت بساطه

ولم يبق بحر ما رفعت شراعه

Until no land remained whose expanse I did not traverse,

No sea remained whose waves I did not sail,

كأني ضمير كنت في خاطر النوى

احس به وأشي السرى فأذاعه

As if I were a conscience, residing in the heart of my beloved,

Feeling him and revealing his innermost thoughts,

اخلاي من دار الهوى زارها الحيا

ومد إليها صالح الغيث باعه

My friends deserted me from the abode of passion,

When separation moved in with its goods and took up residence,

بعيشكم عوجوا على من أضاعني

وحيوه عني ثم حبوا رباعه

With your life, you turned against the one who lost me,

And greeted him while shunning my square,

وقولوا فلان أوحشتنا نكاته

وما كان أحلى شعره وابتداعه

And say: "So-and-so, we miss your jokes,"

"And nothing was sweeter than your poetry and creativity,"

فتى كان كالبنيان حولك واقفا

فليتك بالحسنى طلبت اندفاعه

A lad who once stood steadfast around you,

If only you had sought goodness when he drifted away,

أبحت العدا سمعا فلا كانت العدا

متى وجدوا خرقا احبوا اتساعه

The enemies listened in, but even if the enemies,

Whenever they found a tear, loved to widen it,

فكنت كذي عبد هو الرجل والعصا

تجنى بلا ذنب عليه فباعه

So I was like a slave, the man and his stick,

Who picks fruit without sin yet sells him,

لكل هوى واش فإن ضعضع الهوى

فلا تلم الواشي ولم من أطاعه

For every passion there is a slanderer, so if passion

Is shaken, do not blame the slanderer or the one who obeyed,

إذا كنت تسقى الشهد ممن تحبه

فدع كل ذي عذل يبيع فقاعه

If you water your loved one with honey

Let those with a grudge sell their empty bubbles,

وقولوا رأينا من حمدت افتراقه

ولم ترنا من لم تذم اجتماعه

And say: "We saw the one whose parting we praised,

And we did not see anyone whose company we did not criticize,"

وأين الذي كالسيف حدا وجوهرا

لمن رام يبلو ضره وانتفاعه

"And where is the one who was sharp as a sword in edge and essence,

For anyone who sought to touch his harm or gain his benefit?"

وما كنتما الا براعا وكاتبا

فمل والقى في التراب براعه

You two were but a paper and a writer,

So dictate and cast the paper to the dust,

فإن اطرق الغضبان او خط في الثرى

فقولوا فقد القى اليكم سماعه

If the angry one falls silent or draws lines in the sand,

Then say: He has cast his hearing aside to you,

عسى يذكر المشتاق في طي رقعة

فحسب الأماني ان تروني رقاعه

Perhaps the longing one will remember on a piece of paper,

So hopes are enough if you just envision me as scribbles,

قرب كتاب كان اشهى من اللقا

إذا ضمه المهجور أطفى التياعه

A book was closer to me than seeing him,

When the abandoned one held it, it calmed his agony,

وباللّه كفوا ان تمادى فإنه

رقيق حواشي الطبع أخشى انصداعه

For God’s sake, refrain, for he continues, and he

Is sensitive, I fear his mind will shatter,

وإياكم تعصوا هواه إذا قسا

فما حبه من كان يأبى اتباعه

And beware disobeying his passion if it hardens,

For none who loved refused to follow it,

وباللّه كفوا عن حديثي فإنه

ملول وأخشى ان تثير واصداعه

For God’s sake, stop discussing me, for

I am weary, and I fear it will stir up a headache in him,

ولا تجلبوا ذكري له بحياتكم

فإن حبيبي لا أحب صداعه

And do not bring up my memory when he is alive,

For I do not want my beloved to suffer pain,

وان نصب الشكوى علي فسابقوا

وقولوا نعم نشكو إليك طاعه

If he complains of me, be quick to say:

“Yes, we complain to you of obeying him,”

وان تنظروا في وجهه شاهد الفلا

فخلوا اتباعي واستنخير واتباعه

If you look upon the face that witnessed the horizons,

Abandon following me, take omens, and follow him,

وان رام سبي فاحدثوا لي معائباً

وسباً بليغاً تحسنون اختراعه

If he tries to criticize me, make up faults about me,

And criticize me eloquently in ways you invent,

ولا تختشوا إثماً فإني اجزتكم

إذا كان من أهواه يهوى استماعه

Do not fear sin, for I permit you,

If it comes from one whose love he enjoys hearing,

وميلوا إلىم ا مال لو كان واشيا

وخلوا له اوضاعه واختراعه

Incline toward one who, if he were a slanderer,

Would leave him to his own devices and inventions,

وهنوا رقيبي بالرقاد فطالما

جعلت على جمر السهاد اضطجاعه

And cheer my spy with sleep, for long

Have I left him lying awake on fiery coal,

ولا تحسدوا ود ابن يومين عنده

فإن حبيبي تعلمون خداعه

Do not envy the affection of a two-day lad,

For you know, my beloved is prone to deception,

ودوروا على حكم الغرام فإنه

قضى لظياء ان تهين سباعه

Seek the rules of passion, for it has decreed

That its rays be disgraced by its predators,

ضعيف الهوى من باتي شكو زمانه

واضعف منه من يرجى اصطناعه

The weak of passion are those who spend the night complaining of fate,

But weaker than them is he who hopes for its reformation,

ولو علم المشتاق عقبي اتصاله

لآثر بين العاشقين انقطاعه

If the longing one knew my state after our union,

He would prefer separation between lovers,

ومن طلب الاحباب حرصا على البقا

فما رام بين الناس الا ضياعه

He who seeks loved ones eagerly to endure,

Does not intend through people but to lose himself,

وكل اتحاد للهوى فيه سورة

ولم يكسب المخمور الا صداعه

Every joining of love contains a rift,

And the intoxicated earns nothing but a headache,