لكِ الغرامُ وللواشي بكِ التعبُ

وكلُّ عذلٍ إذا جَدَّ الهوى لَعِبُ

You are burdened with passion, while the slanderers burden me with blame,

And all the reproach, when passion took hold, turned into play.

أما كفاه انصرافُ العين مُعرِضةً

عنه وسمعٌ بوقْر الشوق محتجِبُ

Is it not enough that eyes turn away, indifferent,

While my hearing is veiled by the dignity of yearning?

وأنقلباً وأحشاء مُدغدَغةً

إذا استقامتْ حُمول الحيّ تضطربُ

My inner feelings are tickled, stirred,

When the days of life stand straight, they tremble.

لاموا عليكِ فما حلُّوا وما عَقدوا

عندي وعابوا فما شقُّوا ولا شعَبوا

Blame me as much as you wish - you did not tie knots or untie them.

You found fault, but did not split or crack anything.

فكلُّ نارِ هوىً في الصدر كامنةٍ

فاللَّوم يُسعرها والعذلُ يحتطبُ

For every dormant fire of passion in the chest

Blame will kindle it, and reproach will provide its fuel.

آهاً لوحشةِ ما بيني وبينَكُمُ

إذا خَلتْ من دِلاءِ الجيرةِ القُلُبُ

Oh how lonesome between me and you all,

When the heart is empty of the company of neighbors!

وعَطَّت القُورَ والأجراعَ نوقُكُمُ

طُروحَ عيني وحالت بيننا الكثُبُ

Your camels went far away, beyond my sight,

Cutting off my eyes, with the sands separating us.

مَن أشتكي الشوقَ إذ هَزَّت وسادتَهُ

مدامعٌ تَنتَحي أو أضلعٌ تَجِبُ

Who can I complain of passion to, when it shook my pillow,

With tears flowing, or ribs that ache?

فما أسفتُ لشيءٍ فائتٍ أسفي

من أن أعيشَ وجيرانُ الغضا غَيَبُ

I have never regretted anything lost as much as living

While the neighbors of youth have been absent.

قد كنتُ أسرِقُ دمعي في محاجره

تطيُّراً بالبكى فاليومَ أنتحبُ

I used to steal my tears within my eyelids

Fearing to weep, but today I wail loudly.

لا يُبعدِ اللّهُ قلباً ظلَّ عندكُمُ

لم يُغنِني عنه نِشدانٌ ولا طلبُ

May God not banish a heart that remained loyal to you,

Neighing and yearning did not avail me.

سلبتموهُ فلم تُفتُوا برجعتهِ

وربّما بعدَ الغارةِ السَلبُ

You took it unjustly, without returning it,

Maybe the plunder comes after the raid.

فأين إذمامُكم قبلَ الفراق له

أَلاَّ يضامَ ولا تمشي له الرِّيبُ

Where is your guarantee, before parting,

That no harm will reach it, and no doubts overcome it?

أسِيرَةٌ لكُمُ في الغدرِ حادثةٌ

تَخُصُّ أم رَجعتْ عن دينها العَربُ

Taken prisoner by your betrayal - was it partial

Or did she revert from her faith, like the Arabs?

يا أهل ودِّي وما أهلاً دعوتُكُمُ

بالحقِّ لكنها العاداتُ والدُّرَبُ

O people of my love - though I did not rightfully call you that,

These are just habits and paths we used to roam.

كُنَّا بها نَتَسمَّى قبلَ غدركُمُ

فاليومَ كلُّ اسمِ ودً بيننا لقبُ

With them we used to scent ourselves, before your betrayal.

Today, every name of love between us is a stigma.

أشبهتم الدهر في تلوين صِبغتهِ

فكلُّكم حائلُ الألوان منقلبُ

You resembled time in the changing of its coloration.

Each one of you is the ever-changing, fleeting colors.

كنتم عليَّ مع الأيّام إخوتَها

وليس إلا عُقوقي بينكم نسبُ

You used to be, with the days, like their brothers.

But injustice towards me is the only blood tie between you!

صبراً وإن كان ملبوساً على جَزعٍ

ظُلمتُ والصابرُ المظلومُ محتسِبُ

Patience - even if worn over anguish.

I was wronged, but the patient victim hopes for reward.

لعلَّ عازبَ هذا الحظِّ يرجِعُ لي

يوماً وقاعدَ هذا الجَدِّ بي يثبُ

Perhaps the absence of this luck will end for me one day,

And the firmness of purpose will bounce back.

ولَيتَ أنَّ كمالَ المُلكِ خالصةٌ

آراؤه لي ورأيُ الناسِ مؤتَشبُ

Would that the perfection of the kingdom were impartiality,

Its opinions agreeing with mine, and the people's views probed thoroughly.

بل ليتَ أنَّ قضاياه مواهبُهُ

فكان إنصافُه في عَرضِ ما يَهَبُ

Rather, would that its judgments were its favors,

So its fairness in what it grants would be verified.

فتىً قَنِعتُ به من بين مَنْ حَمَلتْ

خُوصُ الركابِ فسارت تُنقَلُ الرُّكُبُ

A noble youth whom I accepted from among those

Whose travels were difficult, and processions wandered.

أحببتهُ حُبَّ عيني أختَها ويدي

يدي ولي في مَزيدٍ منهما أربُ

I loved him with the love of my eye for its sister, and my hand for my hand,

And I had, beyond these two, still more love for him.

وكان لي حيثُ لا جفنٌ لناظرِهِ

حفظاً وصَوناً ولا تحمِي الظُّبا القُرُبُ

He protected me where I had no eyelid to watch over me,

Keeping and guarding me, when relatives do not guard against closeness.

عَطفاً لحقيِّ وإسبالاً على ذممي

كأنّه وهو مولىً في الحنوّ أبُ

He was gentle to my rights, covering over my faults,

As if he, in his affection, was my father.

يرعَى شواردَ فيه لم تَسِرْ معَهَا

ريحٌ ولا طمعتْ في شأوها السُحبُ

He tended to my confused state, when no wind went along with it,

Nor did the clouds aspire to help it.

فغالبتني على ذاك المكان يدٌ

للدهر كان لها مذ ملَّني الغَلبُ

But a hand of fate overcame me in that position,

Which had long overwhelmed me with defeat.

مَلالةٌ لم تَطِرْ فيها مُطاوَلةٌ

وبِغضةٌ كالتجنِّي ما لها سببُ

An aversion that no conciliation occurred in it,

And a hatred like recoiling, though with no cause.

قَسَا فأصبحَ للواشين بي أُذُناً

تَليقُ ما اختلقوا عنِّي وما اجتلبوا

It hardened, so for the slanderers my ear was ready

To accept whatever they fabricated and claimed about me.

لو قيل إنِّي سرقتُ السمعَ أو صرفوا

إليَّ تبديلَ دينِ اللهِ أو نَسَبوا

If they said I had stolen the hearing, or they directed

To me the changing of God's religion, or they attributed

لَمَا امتَرَى أنَّ رُسْلَ اللّه بي جُبِهوا

بالردِّ أو حُرِّفَتْ عن أمرِيَ الكتُبُ

That God's messengers were faced with disbelief from me,

Or that the books were distorted from my affair,

فقل له طيَّب اللّهُ الوفاءَ له

والحقُّ يَسفِرُ والبهتانُ يَنتقِبُ

Then say to him may God beautify his loyalty,

While the truth surfaces, and the lies slink around furtively.

يا ناقدَ الناس كشْفاً عن جواهرهم

متى تَغيَّرَ عن أعراقِهِ الذهبُ

O you who criticize people, revealing their essence,

When did gold change its origin?

وكيف أَفسدَ سوءُ الحظِّ خُبرَك بي

حتّى بدا لك أنّ الدرّ يلتهبُ

How did ill fate corrupt your news about me

Until it seemed to you that pearls were burning?

أبعد أن رضتني عشرينَ أو صَعِدتْ

لا الجريُ تُنكره منّي ولا الجَنَبُ

After you approved of me for twenty years or lifted me up,

Will you now deny my racing or my leaping?

يُروَى لك الخُرْقُ عن حزمِي فتقبلهُ

صفحاً ويَجذبُك الواشي فتنجذبُ

The breach of my resolve is described to you, so accept it

With forgiveness, while the slanderer pulls you and you are pulled.

حاشاكُمُ أن تكونوا عَونَ حادثةٍ

أو ترتميني على أيديكم النُّوَبُ

You all are too far above supporting an incident

Or unleashing your claws against me.

أذنبيَ الحبُّ والإخلاصُ عندكُمُ

فإنّ ذنبي إلى أيّامِيَ الأدبُ

My sin toward you was love and sincerity,

For manners were always my sin toward my days.

أَمَأ وقَومِكَ والمجدُ التليدُ لهم

إذا حلفتُ بهم والدينُ والحسبُ

By your protector and the established glory to them,

If I swore by them, and the religion and lineage!

ما خلتُ والدهر لا تَفنَى عجائبُهُ

أنّ العلا نافقٌ في سُوقها الكذبُ

I have never - and time's wonders do not disappear -

Thought the eminent were hypocritical in its market.

ولا عجبت لدهري كيف يظلمني

وإنما ظلمكم أنتم هو العجبُ

I was not surprised by my fate's injustice to me,

But your injustice is what is truly surprising.

يا مَن به صحَّ سُقمُ العيشِ واجتمعتْ

على توحدهِ الأحزابُ والشُّعَبُ

O you through whom the life was set right, and around his uniqueness

The factions and nations united.

ومَن كَفَى المُلكَ ما لم يَكفِ صارمُهُ

ورَدَّ عنه الذي ما ردَّه اليَلبُ

And who sufficed the kingdom what his blade did not,

And warded off from it what the armor did not repel.

ومَن توسَّط أفقَ المجد فاعتدلتْ

به البدورُ ولبَّت أمرَهُ الشهُبُ

And who frequented the horizon of glory, so the stars

Aligned with him, and meteors submitted to his command.

على بساطِكَ تُقضىَ كلُّ مُبْهِمةٍ

يعنو بها الخطْبُ او تعيا بها الخطَبُ

Upon your carpet every ambiguity is solved,

Which the prominent are preoccupied with, or the orators speak of.

وهالةُ البدرِ دَستٌ أنت راكبه

وتارةً هو غابُ الضيغم الأشِبُ

And the halo of the moon is a hand you ride,

While at times it is the darkness of overlapping tails.

بِشْرٌ وَقورٌ وجَدٌّ ضاحكٌ ورضاً

لولا الطلاقةُ خِلْنا أنه غضبُ

A cheerful, dignified, humorous and satisfied seriousness -

Were it not for the fluency, we would think him angry.

جَرَى بك الخُلُقُ الفضفاضُ وانقبضتْ

بك المهابةُ فالسَّلسالُ واللهبُ

Morals flowed through you freely then coalesced,

And awe contracted around you, so chains and flames.

وأفقرتك العطايا والثناءُ غنىً

وأنصبتك العلا والراحةُ النَّصَبُ

Gifts and praise have enriched you,

And positions of prominence and rest have tasked you.

مَن عندَهُ نَشبٌ لا مجدَ يعضُدُهُ

فإنّ عندك مجداً ما له نشبُ

Who lacks glory to support him

Will find through you glory without props.

حَلَلْتُ باسمك عَقْدَ الرزق فاندفعتْ

عُراه تُفصَمُ لي عفواً وتَنقضبُ

I gained access, by your name, to the knot of sustenance, so it flowed,

Split open generously and burst for me.

وكنتَ واسطةَ العِقد الذي انتظمتْ

عنه السلوكُ ولم تُخدَشْ به الثُّقَبُ

And you were the means to the knot which manners

Were derived from, and holes were not pierced in.

أنتم رفادةُ ظهرِي إن وَهَى جَلَدِي

ودَرَّةُ العيشِ لي والضَّرعُ معتصَبُ

You are the proud back's saddle, if my skin weakens,

And the pearl of life for me, with the well-rope grasped.

ومَشربي العِدُّ والغدرانُ غائرةٌ

منكم لِيَ الحوضُ أو منكم لِيَ القَرَبُ

My number and betrayers are covered over,

For me, by you, the basin or the drinking place.

قدَّمتموني فلي رهنُ السباقِ ومَن

يلِزُّني بعدُ مجنوبٌ ومعتقِبُ

You brought me forward, so for me is the merit of precedence, and whoever

Drags behind after me is bent over and following.

عِزِّي بنفسي ولكن زادني شرفاً

أني إليكم إذا باهلتُ أنتسبُ

My honor is in myself, but you increased my nobility

By my affiliation to you when I consort with others.

والناسُ غيرَكُمُ من لا يجاوزني

ابياته عَمَدٌ تُبنَى ولا طُنُبُ

And people other than you, those whose poetry to insult me

Has pillars built up but no clay bricks.

إذا صفوتم فلا وِرْدي ولا صَدَري

منهم وإن أملَحوا يوماً وإن عذُبوا

If you are pure, I have no flowers or breast

From them, even if they hint one day or hurt me.

لي منكم الجبهةُ الغرّاء والعنُقُ ال

تلْعاءُ والناس بعدُ الرُّسغُ والذنَبُ

From you is the radiant brow for me, the smooth neck,

While people are the forearm and tail.

فلا تَنلْني الليالي فيكُمُ بيدٍ

إلا التَّبابُ لها والشلُّ والعطبُ

So do not let nights among you give me, by any hand,

Anything but affection, intimacy and tenderness.

ولا تُصبْكم عيونُ الدهر إنّ لها

إلى الكمال لحاظاً سهمُها غَرَبُ

And may the eyes of fate not strike you, for to perfection

Their glance aims, and their arrow misses.

وإن أتَى رائدُ النيروزِ مجتدياً

أَيْمانَكم فالروابي الخُضْرُ والعُشُبُ

And if the herald of Nawruz comes seeking oaths

By you, then the green pastures and plants.

فمن جباهكُمُ نَورُ الربيع لنا

ومن أكفِّكمُ الأنواءُ تنسكبُ

For from your brows comes the light of spring for us,

And from your palms come the rains pouring down.

يومٌ يكُرُّ به إقبالُ جَدّكُمُ

غداً على ملككم ما كرّت الحِقَبُ

One day, the ascent of your glory

Will curve back tomorrow upon your kingdom, uncurved by eras.

تَجلُونَ من حسنه حظَّ العيونِ فلل

أشعار فيكم حظوظُ السمعِ والطربُ

You appear, from its beauty the eyes' good fortune, so for poetry

In you are the fortunes of hearing and enchantment.

فما بقيتم فأيّامي بعزّكُمُ

كما أُحبُّ وأحوالي كما تجبُ

As long as you remain, my days in your glory

Are as I love, and my states as they should be.