أَفي كُلِّ عامٍ مَصْرَعٌ لعَظِيم

أَصابَ المَنَايا حادِثِي وقَدِيمي

Does the death of a great man come every year?

My new and old companions have met their fate.

هَوَى قَمَرا قَيْسِ بْن عَيْلانَ آنِفاً

وأَوْحَشَ مِن كَلْبٍ مَكَان زَعِيمِ

The bright moon of Qays ibn Aylan has just set -

And the place of a leader seems empty as a howling desert dog.

فَكَيْفَ لِقَائِي الحادِثَاتِ إِذا سَطَتْ

وقد فُلَّ سَيْفِي منهُمُ وعَزِيمِي

So how can I meet misfortunes if they spread?

My sword is blunted, and my resolve weakened against them.

وكَيْفَ اهْتِدائي في الخُطُوبِ إِذا دَجَت

وقد فَقَدَتْ عَيْنَايَ ضَوْءَ نُجُومِي

And how can I find my way if darkness falls?

When my eyes have lost the light of my guiding stars.

مَضَى السَّلَفُ الوَضَّاحُ إِلا بَقِيّةً

كغُرّةِ مُسْوَدِّ القَمِيصِ بَهيمِ

The worthy ancestors have passed away, leaving only

A few like the patch on a worn out black shirt.

رَمَيت بها الآفاقَ عَنِّى غَرِيبَةً

نَتِيجةَ خَفَّاقِ الضُّلُوعِ كَظِيمِ

I have cast them away from me into the horizons, strange,

Because of the pounding of my grieving heart.

لأُبْدِي إِلى أَهْلِ الحِجَا مِن بَواطِنِي

وأُدْلِي بعذْرٍ في ظَوَاهِرِ لُومِ

I confess my inner secrets to the people of virtue,

And offer excuses for my outward flaws.

أَنا السيْف لم تَتْعَبْ به كَف ضارِبٍ

صَرومٌ إِذا صادَفْت كَفَّ صَرومِ

I am the sword - no wielder's hand grew tired of me,

I am deadly when I meet the hand of one who is deadly.

سَعَيْتُ بأَحْرَارِ الرِّجَالِ فخانَنِي

رِجَالٌ ولم أُنْجَدْ بجَدّ عَظِيمِ

I sought the free men, but they betrayed me,

Men - I was not helped by the resolve of the great ones.

وضيَّعَنِي الأَمْلاكُ بَدْءاً وعَوْدةً

فضِعْت بدارٍ منهُم وحَرِيمِ

The kings neglected me from the start and return,

So I was disgraced among them and their women.

فإِنْ رَكِبَتْ منِّي اللَّيَالِي هَضِيمةً

فقَبْلِيَ مَا كانَ اهْتِضَام تَمِيمِ

If the nights ride me roughly,

I rode before them the collapse of Tamim.

أَما وأَبِي الأَيَّام لَوْلا اعْتِدَاؤهَا

لَظَاهَرْت في ساداتِهَا بقُرومِ

By my father's life, if not for their transgression,

I would have appeared among their leaders with eminence.

وقَارَعْت مَن يَبْغِي قِرَاعِي منهم

بأَحْلامِ بَطْشٍ أَوْ بِطَيْش حلُومِ

And I would have opposed those who sought to oppose me,

With dreams of heroism or the madness of the brave.

أَحَلُّوا مَلامِي لا أَبَا لأَبِيهِم

وإِنِّي ورَبِّ المَجْدِ غَيْر مَلُومِ

They heaped blame on me, no, their fathers are not to blame,

And by the Lord of Glory, I am not to blame.

فَلا تَعْذُلُونِي إِنْ وَلِهْت فإِنَّهَا

علاقةُ حَبْرٍ لا علاقةُ رِيمِ

So do not rebuke me if I have strayed, for it is

The relationship of ink, not the relationship of sand.

أَبا عَبْدةٍ إِنَّا عَذَرْناك عِنْدَمَا

رَجَعْنَا وغَادَرْنَاك غَيْرَ ذَمِيمِ

Abu Abdillah, we have excused you, when we returned

And left you, not slighted.

أَنَخْذُل مَن كُنَّا نَرود بأَرْضِهِ

ونَكْرَع منه في إِناءِ علُومِ

Shall we abandon one whose land we inhabited

And from his vessel drank the water of knowledge?

ويَجْلُو العَمَى عنَّا بأَنْوارِ رأيهِ

إِذا أَظْلَمَت ظَلْمَاءُ ذات غُيومِ

And the blindness is lifted from us by the light of his wisdom

When the gloom of clouds overwhelmed us.

كأَنَّكَ لم تُلْقِحْ برِيحٍ مِن الحِجَا

عَقَائِمَ أَوْكَارٍ بغَيْرِ عَقِيمِ

It is as if you did not inseminate with a scent of virtue

The wombs of dens with anything but fruitful seed.

ولم نَعْتَمِدْ مَغْنَاكَ غَدْواً ولم نزَلْ

نَؤُمُّ لفَصْلِ الحُكْمِ دارَ حَكِيمِ

We did not rely on your abundance morning and night,

But always headed to the abode of the wise judge.