أَرِقتُ لِهَمٍّ ضافَني بَعدَ هَجعَةٍ

عَلى خالِدٍ فَالعَينُ دائِمَةُ السَجمِ

I was sleepless with grief that assaulted me after slumber

Over Khalid, so my eyes are ever tearful.

إِذا ذَكَرَتهُ العَينُ أَغرَقَها البُكى

وَتَشَرَقَ مِن تَهمالِها العَينُ بِالدَمِّ

Whenever my eyes remember him, weeping drowns them,

And they overflow with blood from their sadness.

فَباتَت تُراعي النَجمَ عَينٌ مَريضَةٌ

لِما عالَها وَاِعتادَها الحُزنُ بِالسُقمِ

So they passed the night watching the stars, sickened eyes,

For what had exalted them and accustomed them to sorrow and illness.

وَما بَعدَ أَن قَد هَدَّني الدَهرُ هَدَّةً

تَضالَ لَها جِسمي وَرَقَّ لَها عَظمي

And after fortune had cast me down with a casting down

That made my body stray and my bones tremble,

وَما قَد أَصابَ العَظمَ مِنّي مُخامِرٌ

مِنَ الداءِ داءٌ مُستَكِنٌّ عَلى كَلمِ

And after my bones were penetrated by disease,

A malady settled on my body,

وَأَن قَد بَدا مِنّي لِما قَد أَصابَني

مِنَ الحُزنِ أَنّي ساهِمُ الوَجهِ ذو هَمِّ

And it became clear from me, because of the grief that had smitten me,

That I was wan of face, laden with cares,

شَديدُ الأَسى بادي الشُحوبِ كَأَنَّني

أَخو جِنَّةٍ يَعتادَهُ الخَبلُ في الجِسمِ

Intensely sorrowful, revealing pallor, as if I were

A brother to demons whom madness possesses in body,

بِفَقدِ اِمرىءٍ لا يَجتَوي الجارُ قُربَهُ

وَلَم يَكُ يُشكى بِالقَطيعَةِ وَالظُلمِ

For lack of a man in whose neighborhood no neighbor would settle

And who was not complained of for estrangement and injustice.

يَعودُ عَلى ذي الجَهلِ بِالحِلمِ وَالنُهى

وَلَم يَكُ فَحّاشاً عَلى الجارِ ذا عَذمِ

He would requite the ignorant with forbearance and reproof

And was never abusive to a neighbor, however faulty.

وَلَم يَكُ فَظّاً قاطِعاً لِقَرابَةٍ

وَلكِن وُصولاً لِلقَرابَةِ ذا رُحمِ

He was not harsh, severing kinship,

But kept kinship joined, merciful and compassionate.

وَكُنتَ إِذا ساجَرتَ مِنهُم مُساجِراً

صَفَحتَ بِفَضلٍ في المُروءِ وَالعِلمِ

When you reproached others, you forgave

With superior virtue and knowledge.

وَكُنتَ إِذا ما قُلتَ شَيئاً فَعَلتَهُ

وَفُتَّ بِذاكَ الناسَ مُجتَمِعَ الحَزمِ

When you said something, you did it,

Closing men's mouths, resolute and decisive.

فَإِن تَكُ غالَتكَ المَنايا وَصَرفُها

فَقَد عِشتَ مَحمودَ الخَلائِقِ وَالحِلمِ

If you have met your death and its changes,

You lived praised for your character and forbearance,

كَريمَ سَجِيّاتِ الأُمورِ مُحَبَّباً

كَثيرَ فُضولِ الكَفِّ لَيسَ بِذي وَصمِ

Noble in your splendid deeds, beloved

For your copious generosity, faultless.

أَشَمَّ كَنَصلِ السَيفِ يَرتاحُ لِلنَّدى

بَعيداً مِنَ الآفاتِ وَالخُلُقِ الوَخمِ

You enjoyed the scent of the sword flash like a mid-morning breeze,

Far from corruption and sour temperament.

جَمَعتَ أَموراً يُنفِذُ المَرَّ بَعضُها

مِنَ الحِلمِ وَالمَعروفِ وَالحَسَبِ الضَخمِ

You gathered such deeds that some of them suffice

For great forbearance, kindness, and bounty.

أَتَتهُ المَنايا وَهوَ غَضٌّ شَبابُهُ

وَما لِلمَنايا عَن حِمى النَفسِ مِن عَزمِ

Death came to you while your youth still flourished,

For death has no regard for guarding the soul.

وَكُلُّ اِمرىءٍ يَوماً إِلى المَوتِ صائِرُ

قَضاءً إِذا ما حانَ يُؤخَذُ بِالكَظمِ

Every man one day surely travels to death,

By a decree, when the promised time has come, decisively executed.

وَما أَحَدٌ حَيٌّ تَأَخَّرَ يَومُهُ

بِأَخلَدَ مِمَّن صارَ قَبلُ إِلى الرَجمِ

No living being has delayed his day

Beyond those who went before to the grave.

سَيَأتي عَلى الباقينَ يَومٌ كَما أَتى

عَلى مَن مَضى حَتمٌ عَلَيهِ مِنَ الحَتمِ

There will come to those who remain a day like the one

That came to those who passed away under the compulsion of Fate.

فَلَستُ بِناسيهِ وَإِن طالَ عَهدُهُ

وَما بَعدَهُ لِلعَيشِ عِندي مِن طَعمِ

I will not forget him, though long his absence,

For after him, life no longer has any taste for me.