لَقَد هَجَرَت سُعدى وَطالَ صُدودُها
وَعاوَدَ عَيني دَمعُها وَسُهودُها
Her absence has lasted long, and her aloofness persists,
My tears have returned to me, and so has their pouring.
وَقَد أُصفيَت سُعدى طَريفَ موَدَّتي
وَدامَ عَلى العَهدِ الكَريمِ تَليدُها
Although she has purified my love for her,
Her covenant remains steadfast and binding.
نَظَرتُ إِليها نَظرَةً وَهيَ عاتقٍ
على حين أن شبّت وبان نهودها
I looked at her once when she was still a child,
As she grew into a young woman, her breasts appeared.
وقد درّعوها وهيَ ذات مؤصد
مَجوبٍ وَلَما يَلبَسِ الدِرعَ ريدُها
They dressed her in chainmail when she was blossoming,
Though it does not suit her graceful figure.
نَظَرتُ إِليها نَظرةً ما يَسُرُّني
بِها حُمرُ أَنعامِ البِلادِ وَسودُها
Another look I stole, but found no joy in it,
Among the red camels and black sheep of this land.
وَكُنتُ إِذا ما زُرتُ سُعدى بِأَرضِها
أَرى الأَرضَ تُطوى لي وَيَدنو بَعيدُها
Whenever I visited her town in the past,
The land would shrink before me, and the horizon drew near.
مِنَ الخَفراتِ البيضِ وَدَّ جَليسُها
إِذا ما اِنقَضَت أُحدوثَةٌ لَو تُعيدُها
With robes white as chalk, her companions would come,
Renewing their youth, had they but means to restore it.
مُنَعَّمَةٌ لم تَلقَ بُؤسَ مَعيشَةٍ
هي الخُلدُ في الدُنيا لِمَن يَستفيدُها
Blessed with comfort, knowing no misery in life,
For one who enjoys it, such is immortality on earth.
هيَ الخُلدُ ما دامَت لِأهلِكَ جارَةً
وَهل دامَ في الدُنيا لِنَفسٍ خُلودها
Immortal he remains, so long as for your people,
He proves a neighbor, but does any soul last forever?
فَتِلكَ الَّتي أَصفيتُهابِمَوَدَّتي
وَليدًا وَلمّا يَستَبِن لي نُهودُها
The one I gave my love to since she was a child,
Before her breasts made themselves known.
وَقَد قَتَلَت نَفسًا بِغيرِ جَريرَةٍ
وَليسَ لها عَقلٌ وَلا مَن يُقيدُها
Yet she has slain a soul though free of guilt,
For she is mindless, with none to restrain her.
تُحَلِّلُ أَحقادي إِذا ما لَقِيتُها
وَتَبقى بِلا ذَنبٍ عَليَّ حُقودُها
She absolves my deep grudges when we meet,
While hers remain unjustly harbored against me.
وَيَعذُبُ لي مِن غَيرِها فَأَعافُها
مَشارِبُ فيها مَقنَعٌ لو أُريدُها
When others torment me, I pardon them,
Though that would quench her burning thirst for revenge.
وَأَمنَحُها أَقصى هَوَايَ وَإِنَّني
عَلى ثِقَةٍ مِن أَنَّ حَظّي صُدودُها
I give her my deepest passion, though I know,
Rejection is my destined fate from her hands.
أَلا لَيتَ شِعري بَعدَنا هَل تَغَيَّرَت
عَنِ العَهدِ أَم أَمسَت كَعَهدي عُهودُها
Ah, would that I knew, after us, if she will remain
True to her covenant, or break her vows like mine!
إِذا ذَكَرَتها النَفسُ جُنَّت بِذِكرِها
وَريعَت وَحَنَّت وَاِستَخَفَّ جَليدُها
When my soul recalls her, it shakes and softens,
Melting away everything solid within me.
فَلو كانَ ما بي بِالجِبالِ لَهَدَّها
وَإِن كانَ في الدُّنيا شَديداً هُدودُها
If what lies in me were mountains, it would crumble them,
However unyielding her harshness is in this world.
وَلَستُ وَإِن أُوعِدتُ فيها بِمُنتَهٍ
وَإِن أُقِدَت نارٌ فَشُبَّ وَقودُها
Even if she threatens utter destruction,
Or lights a fire whose fuel is my corpse,
أَبيتُ نَجِيًّا لِلهُمومِ مُسَهَّداً
إِذا أُوقِدَت نَحوي بِليلٍ وُقودُها
I refuse escape from my sorrows, remaining
Sleepless throughout the night, as the flames rise toward me.
فَأَصبَحتُ ذا نفسينِ نَفسٍ مَريضَةٍ
مِن اليأسِ ما يَنفَكُّ هَمٌّ يَعودُها
Thus I greet the dawn torn in two,
One soul sick with despair from which no respite comes,
وَنَفسٍ تُرجّى وَصلَها بَعدَ صَرمِها
تَجَمَّلُ كي يَزدادَ غَيظًا حَسودُها
One still hoping for reunion after our estrangement,
So it beautifies itself to further enrage her envious rivals.
وَنَفسي إِذا ما كُنتُ وَحدي تَقَطَّعِت
كَما اِنسَلَّ مِن ذاتِ النِظامِ فَريدُها
When alone, my soul falls to pieces,
Like a string of pearls scattering, each one cut off.
فَلَم تُبدِ لي يأساً فَفي اليَأسِ راحَةٌ
وَلَم تُبدِ لي جوداً فَينفَعَ جودُها
Her despair never grieved me, so comfort comes with despair,
Her kindness never helped me, so kindness is useless.
كَذاكَ أُذوذُ النَفسَ يا عَزَّ عَنكُمُ
وَقَد أعوَرَت أَسرارُ مَن لا يَذودُها
Thus I subdue my soul - oh, you are beyond reach!
While the secrets of one untouched remain obscured.
