على أيّ أخلاقِ الزمان أعاتبُهْ

وما هو إلا صَرفه ونوائبُهْ

On what morals should I reproach time,

When it is just its changes and tribulations?

تَفرَّى أديمي وهو بُتْرٌ شِفارُهُ

وجافت جروحي وهو صُمٌّ مخَالبُهْ

My skin is torn though its edge is sharp,

And my wounds are dry though its claws are deaf.

نُدوبٌ تُقفِّي هذهِ عَقْبَ هذهِ

وداءٌ إذا ما باخ أَوقدَ صاحبُهْ

Scars, one covers the other,

And an illness, when it erupts, its owner flares up.

شغَلتُ يدي حيناً بعدّ ذنوبهِ

وزِدن فقد تاركتهُ لا أحاسبُهْ

I busied my hands for a while counting its sins,

But when neglected, I do not hold it accountable.

طرحتُ سلاحي وانتزعتُ تمائمي

وضاربهُ يُنحِي عليَّ وسالبُهْ

I dropped my weapons and took off my charms,

Yet it attacks me and strips me of them.

ببيضٍ من الأيام هنّ سيوفهُ

وسودٍ من الليلاتِ هنّ عقاربُهْ

With white days it softens its swords,

And with black nights it sharpens its scorpions.

أُدامِجه حتّى يرانيَ راضياً

مِراراً وأعصِي مرةً فأغاضبُهْ

I play with it until it sees me satisfied,

Though I disobey it once, provoking it.

فلا هو إن أطريتُه قابضٌ يداً

ولا خائفٌ عاراً بما أنا عائبُهْ

If I obey it, it does not stop giving,

Nor is it ashamed of what I blame it for.

نصحتُك لا تُخدَعْ بسنَّةِ وجهِهِ

فشاهده حُسْنٌ تَشوَّهَ غائبُهْ

I advise you, do not be fooled by the beauty of its face,

For it is beautiful in appearance, but ugly at heart.

ولا تتمهَّدْ قِعدة فوقَ ظهرهِ

فما هو إلا ضيغمٌ أنت راكبُهْ

Do not settle firmly on its back,

It is but a lame camel, and you its rider.

تَردَّى رجالٌ قبلنا وتقطَّرت

بِهمْ شُبههُ دون المَدِيِّ وشاهبُهْ

Men before us have fallen,

On them dripped its traits, constant and fleeting.

وصَرَّحَ عمّا ساءهم طولُ مَحضِهِ

خبائثَ جرّتها عليهم أطايبُهْ

They declared what afflicted them during its purecruelties,

Its wickedness brought upon them its kindnesses.

حبائلُ مكتوبٌ لها نصرُ كيدها

من الله لا يُمحَى الذي هو كاتبُهْ

There are intrigues ordained with its victorious plot,

Written by God, none can erase what He has scribed.

فمن مغلَقٍ مستعجَلٍ أو مؤخَّرٍ

مُراخِيهِ يوماً لا مَحالةَ جاذبُهْ

Of what is locked, hasty or delayed,

It will loosen one day, inevitably pulling it.

تصاممتُ عن داعي المنونِ مغالطاً

وإنّي على طول السكوت مُجاوبُهْ

I pretended to argue with death’s caller,

Though I answered his long silence in kind.

وقدَّمتُ غيري جُنَّةً أتَّقي بها

ومن يُوقَ من راميه لابدّ صائبُهْ

I put others forward as my shield,

Whoever takes precautions will inevitably hit his target.

أخلاَّي أيمُ اللهِ أَطلب ثَأْركَم

من الدهر لو قد أَدركَ الثأرَ طالبُهْ

My will and my careful precaution will strike it down,

By its covenant in secret, I admonished it.

أفي كلّ يومٍ لي قَضيبٌ مُخالَسٌ

وذخرٌ نفيسٌ منكم الموتُ غاصبُهْ

And how many of you were like stars, illuminating the darkness for a time,

Only to fade after shining brightly.

وكاسٍ من العلياء والحسنِ يعتدي

سليما على سيفي وسَوطِيَ سالِبُهْ

And another - when fate generously let me have him -

Death melted away his branches and twigs.

تَطيحُ به زندي وجَهدُ تحفُّظي

بميثاقِهِ في الغيب أنّيَ نادبُهْ

His children became a source of pride, and his daughters,

With them, it bares its fangs and extends its claws.

وكم منكُمُ كالنجم رُعتُ به الدُّجَى

زماناًن خبا بعد الإضاءةِ ثاقبُهْ

So his passionate lamentation wounds me,

And his position in my heart’s secret strikes me with calamity.

وآخَرُ لمّا سامَحتْني بأصله ال

منايا ذَوتْ أغصانُهُ وشعائبُهْ

Oh brother, by God, how kind was the world, and how many brothers

Were once close kin to me, now far removed.

وأضحى بنوه غِبطةً وبناتُهُ

تُسَلُّ بهم أنيابُهُ ورواجبُهْ

May God unite matters that have scattered your mind,

And bring together in your heart its scattered thoughts.

فينزو بلبيّ شجوُهُ وتُصيبني

بموضعه من سِرّ قلبي مَصائبُهْ

The days have cast you from an expert archer’s bow,

Which, when drawn, its arrows never miss their mark.

ألا يا أخي للودّ دنيّاً وكم أخٍ

لأمِّي بعيداتٍ عليّ قرائبُهْ

It quenched you with a palm that poured for you a second time,

And when the first recovered, it gave him another drink.

لحا الله خَطباًن شَلَّ سرحَك طردُهُ

وجمَّعَ في إلهابِ قلبك حاطبُهْ

Wound upon wound whose scars could not mend,

And tears upon tears whose flow could not be stopped.

رَمْتك يدُ الأيّام عن قوسِ قارنٍ

إذا هو والى لم تخنه صوائبُهْ

Would that when it doubled over,

Its destinies had clung together or leveled in their positions.

سقتك بكفٍّ أَدهَقتْ لك ثانياً

ولمَّا يُفِق من أوْلٍ بعدُ شارِبُهْ

But it was a palm that fell after a moving finger,

Leaving behind a writhing back, its rider thrown off.

فقَرْحٌ وقَرْحٌ لم تَلاحَمْ نُدُوبهُ

ودمعٌ ودمعٌ ما تعلَّق ساربُهْ

Like two beads of pearl no hand has touched to soil,

Protected by necklaces from its loss and dispersion.

ويا ليته لمّا تثنَّى تعلَّقتْ

مقاديرهُ أو استوين مَراتبُهْ

It is forbidden that the tent rope be lost in the desert,

Scattering its pegs in the air and earth.

ولكنّها كفٌّ هوتْ إثر إصبِع

حارِكُ ظهرٍ بعدَهُ جُبَّ غاربُهْ

It surrounds them however much it can, protecting with its wing’s shade,

Their insignia below the soil and its layers.

حَصاتان من درٍّ حَصانانِ لم تَطِرْ

يدٌ بهما ما دنَّس الدُّرَّ ثاقبُهْ

You’d think it rivals the sun’s brow away from them,

If only fate had not seized the thing when it swooped down.

هما بيضتا كِنٍّ بجانبِ مُلبَسٍ

حماه الطروقَ تيهُهُ وسَباسِبُهْ

It cursed them as two suns, and the darkness of sorrow swore

Never to unveil its gloom upon them.

حرامٌ على الساري تضيعَ على القطا

أفاحيصُهُ في جوّه ومَساربُهْ

They see a tear in the young man as a defect in his structure,

If he cries or yields to sadness in his side.

يحوطهما ما اسطاعَ وحفُ جناحهِ

شِعارُهما دون التراب ترائبُهْ

And how many a noble whose honor was preserved by his dignity,

Who gained honor from what tribulations brought him.

تراه يُصادي حاجبَ الشمسِ عنهما

لو أنّ الردَى ما أحرز الشيءَ هائبُهْ

Some girls degrade noble lineage,

While some people’s sons are defects among the living.

رزِئتَهما شمسْينِ أَقسمَ فيهما

ظلامُ الأسَى ألاَّ تَجَلَّى غياهبُهْ

If not like two drawn swords, they are

Sheathed blades that do not dull the strike.

يعدّون خُرْقاً بالفتى في بنائهِ

إذا ما بكَى أو ذلَّ للحزنِ جانبُهْ

My wise brother, modesty could not reign him in,

Nor did trials in this world prove him a liar.

وكم من كريم عَزَّهُ نجباؤه

فعزَّ بما ساقت إليه نجائبُهْ

When he was born, his feminine traits were remembered

Just as his traits and burdens were reminded.

وبعضُ البناتِ مَن بها يُنتَج العُلا

وبعضُ بني الإنسان في الحيّ عائبُهْ

Take pride in the son of a soul, for death only comes

At an appointed time when the souls board their vessels.

فإلاَّ تكونا صارمين فحِْوَتا

حُسامٍ عتيقٍ لا تُفَلُّ مَضارِبُهْ

And he whose sun was delayed by a day and did not die,

Around him died his loved ones and darlings.

أخي الحلم لم يَمْلِك عليه حياؤه

ولا كذَّبتْهُ في الزمان تجاربُهْ

Most wondrous is one experienced with his time

Yet bewildered by its continuous wonders.

إذا وَلَدَ استَذكرنَ حزماً إناثُهُ

كما ذُكِّرتْ أخلاقُهُ وضرائبُهْ

We were created for a matter that burdened our chests,

I wonder, what will its consequences yield?

تعزَّ ابنَ رَوحٍ إنما الموتُ مُدلجٌ

إلى أمدٍ فيه النفوسُ مَراكبُهْ

A stubborn enemy who does not tire, demanding

Without respite, his demands do not sleep.

ومن أخَّرتْه شمسُ يومٍ فلم يمت

يمتْ حولَه أحبابُهُ وحبائبُهْ

Trials have tested you, so be not

Of feeble strength, easily drawn into its pulling.

وأعجبُ من ذي خُبرةٍ بزمانه

تنكَّر منه أن تَوالَى عجائبُهْ

Others are defeated in patience’s merit,

But no one wins over it with patience but you.

خُلِقنا لأمرٍ أرهقتنا صدورُهُ

فيا ليت شعري ما تجرّ عواقبُهْ

I despise that a torrent of sorrow flows to you

While my troops offered no victory.

غريمٌ مُلِطٌّ لا يَمَلُّ وطالبٌ

بغير تِراتٍ لا تنامُ مَطالبُهْ

If he is an enemy, neither my tongue provokes him

Nor do my gloomy words strike him.

وقد جربتْك الحادثاتُ فلا تكن

ضعيفَ القُوَى رِخواً لهنّ مَجاذِبُهْ

How I would defend you if he were harsh,

Greet him if he were a lion, and leap towards him.

وغيرُك مغلوبٌ على حُسنِ صبرِهِ

ولا خَطبَ إلا أنتَ بالصبرِ غالبُهْ

Who do I have, if grief herds my wings,

I sacrifice myself if it would please the one who hurts me.

برغميَ أن يَسرِي غزِيٌّ من الأسَى

إليك ولم تُفلَلْ بنصري كتائبُهْ

My core is an offering to you, half of me,

And the life I have gifted while you live, its giver.

وإن كان خصماً لا لساني ينوشه

ولا كلماتي الغاسقاتُ تواقبُهْ

If tears quench the burning anguish you feel,

I am at your service, it is inevitable I tend to it.

ويا لِدفاعي عنك إن كان صارماً

أصافحه أو كان ليثاً أواثبُهْ

My weeping for you flows and remains suspended,

While my frozen tears remain, melting for you.

ومَن لي لو أنّ الحزنَ يرعَى جوانحي

فدىً لك لو يرضَى بقلبِيَ ناصبُهْ

I blame my fate, so it justifies itself

By the fact that you remain, bringing its like.

فما هي إلا مهجةٌ لك شطرُها

وموهوبُ عيشٍ أنت ما عشتَ واهبُهْ

When the full moon is safe, it is easy

For the night to diminish the stars in its realm.

وإن كان يُطفي حرَّ لوعتِك البكا

علي أنّه جاريه لا بدّ ناضبُهْ

فدونك دمعي سائلاً ومعلَّقاً

فجامدُهُ باقٍ عليك وذائبُهْ

عتبتُ على دهري فسهَّلَ عذرُهُ

بأنّك باقٍ كلَّ ما هو جالبُهْ

إذا سلِم البدرُ التمامُ فهيِّنٌ

على الليل أن تَهوِي صِغاراً كواكبُهْ