عَلّل حَشاي بِذكر ذاكَ المَنزِلِ
وَأَعِد أَحاديثَ الزَمانِ الأَوَّلِ
Tell of my passion with memories of that house,
And recall conversations from days of old.
وَأعذُر إِذا اِبتَدَرَت سَوابقُ أَدمُعِي
طَرَباً وَحَلَّ الوَجدُ عَقدَ تَجَمُّلي
Forgive me if tears flow ahead of me -
Unsettled am I, and longing has gripped my being.
زَمَنٌ بِهِ خَلّفتُ أَيَّام الصِّبى
وَتَرَكتُ طيبَ لَذاذَتي وَتَغَزُّلي
A time when I left behind the carefree days of youth
And forsook the sweetness of my delight and love poems -
أَيامَ تَخدُمنا المُنى مَنقادةً
وَأَخو الهَوى في الرَّبعِ يَمرَحُ كَالخَلِي
Days when dreams served us full of joy,
And the lover frolicked freely in open spaces.
يَجري عَلى مَتنِ الأَغرِّ وَكَم لَهُ
في الحَيِّ مِن يَومٍ أَغَرَّ محجَّلِ
He raced on the back of a lively steed, and how often
Was he brightly dressed in the neighborhood!
في عُصبةٍ تَخِذُوا الصَبابةَ مَذهَباً
لَهُمُ وَعافوا مَذهَبَ المتَبَذِّلِ
With a band who took frivolity as their creed,
avoiding the way of the pretentious.
وَرَدُوا الكُؤوسَ فَأَرْيَحِيٌّ لِلنَدى
مِنهُم وَمُهتَزٌّ لَذكرِ القَسطَلِ
They passed goblets around, some sighed with longing,
Others shook with memories of past trysts.
يَفتَنُّ مُنشِدُهُم فَتَحسَبُ لَفطَهُ
مِن كَأسِهِ وَبَيانِهِ السحرَ الجَلِي
Their singer enchants - you’d think his words
Were magic and his goblet an obvious sorcerer.
وَكَأَنَّما يُملي السَليم قَصيدةً
فَالقَومُ بَينَ مكبِّرٍ وَمُهَلِّلِ
As if the esteemed Salim were dictating a poem
While the people sat rapt between praiser and glorifier.
النائم المَعنى الدَقيق كَأَنَّهُ
أَسلاك دُرٍّ بِالجُمانِ مفصَّلِ
Meanings subtle as sleep described precisely, as if
Strands of pearls threaded skillfully together.
ماضي الجَنان إِذا أَفاضَ حَسِبتَهُ
يَتلو عَلَيكَ صَحيفةَ المُتَرَسِّلِ
When my companion waxes eloquent, I think
He's reciting to me messages from afar.
وَإِذا جَرى فَوقَ الطُّروسِ يَراعَهُ
فَوَميضُ بَرقٍ في سَحابٍ مُسبَلِ
When he flows over obstacles, I watch him
Like flashes of lightening through pouring rain.
مُتَوَقِّدُ الأفكارِ لَو بَرَزَتْ لَنا
في اللَيل أَغنَت عَن ضياءِ المَشعلِ
The spark of ideas, if exposed in the night,
Would outshine the glow of any torch.
قَلبٌ مِن الأَشياخِ يَحمِلُهُ فَتىً
غَضُّ الشَبيبةِ مِثل حَدِّ المَنصلِ
A heart of old carried by one with the freshness
Of supple youth, like the edge of a sharp blade.
وَلَرَبَّ قادِمَةٍ عَليَّ بِلُطفِها
أَحيَتْ فُؤادي حينَ مَسَّت أَنمُلِي
And many a gentle visitor revived me
When her soft fingers grazed my own.
غَيداءُ مُرسَلةُ النِقابِ وَراءَهُ
وَأَمامَهُ نَفَحاتُ عُرفِ المَندَلِي
A beauty who lifted her veil as she passed by,
Leaving traces of sweet perfume behind.
وافَت بِآثارِ الحَبيبِ وَطالَما
وافى إِليَّ بِها نَسيمُ الشَمأَلِ
She followed the tracks of her beloved, and often
The northern breeze carried those signs to me.
حَسناءُ ناحِلَةُ القوامِ لقيتُه
مِن عَطف عاشِقِها السَقيمِ بِأَنحلِ
A slender darling I met being helped
By her ailing lover, bent over his cane.
قابَلتُها فَرَدَدَتُ طَرفي بَعدَما
طَفَحَت عَليّ شُؤون دَمعي المُرسَلِ
I glanced at her after tears welled up in me
Like messages sent, wave after wave.
شَكَتِ الفِراقَ فَهَيَّجَت عِندي شَجاً
أَمسى عَنِ الشكوى وَعَنها مُذهلي
She complained of our separation - it reopened
A wound in me, leaving us both distraught.
يا مَن نَأى عَنِّي وَباتَ خَيالُهُ
في طَيِّ قَلبٍ عَنهُ لَم يَتَرَحّلِ
O you who shunned me, though your phantom
Still wanders unresting in the folds of my heart!
بَيني وَبَينَكَ لِلمَوَدّة ذمةٌ
قَطَعَت مِن الغَمَرات كُلَّ مُؤمَّلِ
Between us is a pact of affection
That cuts through the darkest gloom.
فَصَلَت مَنازِلنا البِحار وَقَطرةٌ
مِنهُنَّ بَينَ قُلوبَنا لَم تَدخُلِ
Though oceans lie between our homes, not one drop
Has entered the space between our hearts.
وَلَقَد وَقَفتُ عَلى وَدادِكِ مُهجَتي
وَتَصُرُّفي في الوَقفِ غَير مَحَلَّلِ
I pledged my passion though I have no rights to you,
Unable to break this improper bequest.
وَعَذَرتُ نَفسي في هَواكِ لِأَنَّني
أَورَدتُها في الحُبِّ أَعذَبَ مَنهَلِ
I forgave myself for loving you
For you led me to the sweetest spring.
وَأَنا الَّذي أَلِف الهَوى وَأَذاعَهُ
مِن حَيثُ باتَ عَن المَلامِ بِمَعزَلِ
And I who embraced love and spread it
Where it was safe from all blame -
أَسَأَلتَ ما قَد مَرَّ مِن أَيامُنا
عَما يَكونُ مِن الزَمانِ المُقبِلِ
You asked what has passed of our days gone by
And what the future days might bring.
اللَهُ أَكبَرُ كُلّ حالٍ دونَها
أَجَلٌ وَصَرفُ الدَهرِ غَيرَ مُؤجَّلِ
God is Greatest! All things fall under His glory.
Every state has an ordained, unrelenting end.
فَأَعَزُّ ما صادَفَتَ يَومَ مَسَرةٍ
وَاللَهُ يَعلَم بَعدَ ذَلِكَ مايَلي
The most precious thing I encountered one day of joy -
And God knows what will come after that!
