يا دار لهوِي بالنُّجَيل مَن قطَنْ

جنَّتَكِ الفيحاءَ بعدَ مَن ظعنْ

O abode of my love with the date palms, who has ever settled

In your fragrant oasis after being pierced

أصامتٌ بناطقِ ونافرٌ

بآنسٍ وذو خلاً بذي شجنْ

Silent yet articulate, estranged

Yet intimate, and bitter yet full of yearning

سِرْنا وعهدي بكِ مغنَى غِبطةٍ

أمسِ وعدنا اليومَ في مغنَى حَزَنْ

We walked together, and my pledge to you was a source of bliss

Yesterday we promised, today in a place of grief

تشبَّهتْ حورُ الظباءِ بهمُ

أن سكنتْ فيكِ ولا مثل سكنْ

The gazelles resembled houris when they dwelt in you

No other dwelling can compare to this dwelling

مشتبِهٌ أعرفُه وإنما

مغالطا قلت لصحبي دارُ مَنْ

I know it though I pretended

To my companions that it was another's abode

يا صاحبي عونا وإن أشفني

مع جلدي قولي لخوّارٍ أعِنْ

O my friend, help me, and if I am healed

Along with my skin, tell the semi-healer to assist

قف باكيا فيها وإن كنت أخاً

مواسياً فبكِّها عنك وعنْ

Stand crying in it, and if you are a brother

Console it for your sake and for mine

لم يبق لي يوم الفراق فضلة

من دمعة أبكي بها يوم الدمَنْ

On the day we departed I had no tears left

To cry with on the day the buckets creaked

يازمناً مرَّ كما اقترحته

بالنعف إن عاد الصبا فعد إذنْ

O time that passed as you intended

With the bier, if youth returns then return

والعيش في كف المراح ذاهب

برأسه يقتاده بلا رسنْ

And life is in the palm of the pitcher, going

With its head, led without any bridle

وصاحبي كل فتىً مساعد

ما فطن الدهر له وقد فطنْ

And my friend, every young man offering aid

Before fate apprehended him, he apprehended

معي إلى ما سَرَّه أو ضَرَّه

حبّاً لأن يقال خِلٌّ مؤتمنْ

With me, to what brought him joy or harm

Out of love, so it could be said a sincere friend

ما فِيَّ من صالحةٍ أذاعَها

بجهدهِ أوتكُ عوراءُ دفَنْ

There is no good in me that he broadcast

Through his efforts, but blemishes he buried

وحاملٍ على الشرور حاملٍ

في طرفه وكفّه سيفَ الفتنْ

And he carried the burdens of sins, carrying

In his glance and palm the sword of trials

قد كتبَ الشعْر على عارضِه

ما أقبح الإعراضَ بالوجه الحسنْ

He wrote poetry on his cheek though

How ugly turning away is for a beautiful face

يدير مما اختار عسجديةً

ما قُطِعتْ عن مثلها هامةُ دَنّْ

He fashions from what he chooses a place of worship

The like of which no chieftain ever attained

صيغت وسحرَ عينه من طينةٍ

واحدةٍ وبابلٌ أمُّ المدنْ

Molded and enchanted by his eyes with a clay

Of one essence, and Babylon is the mother of cities

تفترُّ عن فأرةِ مسكٍ كأسُها

إذا انتشى وثغره إذا أذِنْ

Her goblet gives off the fragrance of musk

When she drinks, and her mouth when it recites

كأنما أعداهما بخُلقِه

محمدُ بنُ جعفرٍ أبو الحسَنْ

As if Muhammad ibn Ja'far Abu Al-Hasan crafted them both

They said it was time to depart, so I wiped a tear

قالوا الرحيلُ فمسحتُ عَبرةً

زادت على بلِّ الرداء والرُّدُنْ

That exceeded the extent of my raiment and saddlebags

Every day an intention that informs me

في كلّ يوم عزمةٌ يُعلمني

شقاؤها أن النعيمَ في الوطنْ

Of its misery, that bliss lies in the homeland

O my journey, where does fate desire me to go

يا رِحلتي أين يُريد الدهرُ بي

ومَن من الناس تُرى قالت تَمَنّْ

And who of the people, I wonder, has wished

I said, he who has been generous to me in my fate

قلت الذي جاد لي دهريَ به

فما أبالي بسواه كيف ضنّْ

So I care not for another, no matter how tight-fisted

One who excels in glory due to his determination

من بان بالمجد على اتّحاده

كم من كثيرٍ جمعُه ولم يَبِنْ

How many a numerous group gathered but did not excel

A hand that hits its target wherever it turns

يدٌ تُصيب حيثُ سَالَ صَوبُها

قصدا وكم قد أخطأتْ به المُزُنْ

Intentionally, while many an archer missed the mark

It combines lethal force and munificence, attributed

تَجمَعُ بين الفتك والجودِ له

وقلّما يبخلُ إلا من جَبُنْ

Rarely to any but the fainthearted

He eased booty and spoils, and his

خَفَّ نوالا ونِزالا وله

حِلمٌ إذا وازنَ ثهلانَ وزَنْ

Wisdom, if weighed, would outweigh a mammoth

O soul, good tidings, he is Muhammad

يا نفس بشرَى إنه محمدٌ

والمشرَبُ السائغُ والمغنَى الأغَنّْ

The sweetly flowing drink, and most melodious fulfillment

I have no right with a miserly deficient

لا حقَّ لي عند بخيلٍ ناقِص ال

فضل وإن جمَّع مالاً واختزنْ

Man, even if he amasses wealth and hoards

He is ignorant of me intuitively, and his

يجهلني بديهةً وإنه

يزداد جهلا بِيَ كُلَّما امتَحَنْ

Ignorance of me only increases as he is tested

I do not envy the wealthy what he possesses

لا أحسدُ المثري على ما عنده

من خيره وعِرضُه فيما وهَنْ

Of goodness, though his honor fades

I do not think little of fate to appear

ولا أحطُّ الدهرَ كعبا أن أُرَى

وهو سواءً إن صفِرتُ واحتجَنْ

The same whether I prosper or struggle

I have my chastity from it, and what it granted him,

لي عفَّتي عنه وما نال له

وخيرُنا مَن عارك العيشَ الخشِنْ

And the best of us leaves the hard life

And money is sweet, and what makes

والمالُ حلو والذي يُحيلُه

عندِيَ مرّاً أنه يتلوه منّْ

It bitter for me is that worries follow it

Contentment protected my countenance's waters

قَناعةٌ صانت لوجهي ماءَه

كم من حريصٍ لم يجُدْ ولم يصنْ

How many a desirous one did not find or store

Fate tricks me with its procrastinations

يخدعُني دهري بتسويفاته

عنها وهل يُخدَعُ جفنٌ عن وسَنْ

Against them - but can an eyelid be tricked against drowsiness?

How numerous are those complaining of their life in the world

ما أكثرَ الشاكين من دنياهُمُ

فليت شعري هذه الدنيا لمَنْ

I wonder, for whom is this life?

And I have examined people in their states

وقد قلَبتُ الناسَ في حالاتهم

فما وجدتُ راضيا عن الزمنْ

But did not find anyone pleased with fate

They made complaining a way for their stinginess

قد جعلوا الشكوى طريقَ بُخلهم

يعتذرون في النعيم بالمِحَنْ

Apologizing in luxury for ordeals

Therefore I never glimpsed amongst them a flash

لذاك ما صبَّحتُ منهم بَرقةً

تخطِف بالشام ويوما باليمنْ

That makes off with Damascus, or a day with Yemen

My slightest fear is that I will lose my way amongst them

أقلُّ خوفي أن أضلّ بينهم

والماءُ إن أزمن في الحوض أجَنْ

And water, if rare, even a cistern will protect

Were it not for you, no longing would have spurred my hopes

لولاك ما حثَّ رجائي طمَعٌ

في مطلبٍ محا اليقينُ كلَّ ظنّْ

For any request the conviction of which doubt erased

I came to you to gift it though I was stingy toward it

جئتك أُهديها على ضنِّي بها

عذراءَ لا تُفتضُّ إلا بالفطنْ

A maiden whose veils are not removed except by the astute

A resistance who before you agreed no man

ناشزة لم ترضَ لولاك فتىً

بعَلاً ولم أَرض لها قطُّ خَتَنْ

As a spouse, nor did I agree to any matchmakers for her

Of what I invented none were bought

مما ابتكرتُ لم تكن مجلوبةً

بغارةٍ أضحت على الشعرِ تُشَنّْ

By banditry, though they rode poetry roughshod

When a man told her reciters to repeat

إذا امرؤ قال لراويها أعدْ

أطرَبه كأنما قال تَغَنّْ

It would enchant him as if he said “sing”

So take what you wish of it and divide glory

فخلّها ما شئتَ واقسِمْ شرفَاً

أذخَرُ منه لهزالي ما سَمِنْ

That I gain from it to fatten my leanness

Kind deeds made incumbent by your love for me

مكارمٌ أوجبَها حبُّك لي

وسنَّها والحرُّ يمضي حيثُ سَنّْ

Its principles enacted, as the noble proceeds as is befitting

Since among people it is between one who made

فإنها في الناس بين مؤْثرٍ

لم يجتهِد وذي اجتهاد لم يُعَنْ

No effort, and one whose effort gained no yield

They took great pains over it after they had aged

تكلَّفوها بعد ما قد هرِموا

وإنما رضعتها مع اللّبنْ

While I suckled it along with milk