لو كان قلبي يومَ البين طوعَ يدي

لَمَا سرى أثَرَ الغادي عن بلدي

Had my heart obeyed my hand the day we parted

The traces of the departed wouldn't have left my homeland

لو أنّ صاحبةَ الخلخال لي وجدت

وَجْدِي لعشتُ ولكن تلك لم تجد

Had I found the owner of the anklets as my companion

My passion would have lived, but she was not to be found

مالي بكيتُ بِعينٍ مِلؤُهَا حُرَقٌ

وتلك تضحكُ عنْ بَرْدٍ وعن بَرَد

Why did I weep with eyes filled with yearning

While she laughs with indifference and apathy

وَدعتُهَا وبودي لا أُودّعُها

وعدتُ أندبُ مَغْنَاها وَلَمْ تعدِ

I bid her farewell, unwillingly parting with my love for her

I promised to mourn her songs, but she didn't promise to return

وغيّبَ البُعدُ عن ليلى مواصلتي

وإنني لم أدانيها عَلَى البُعَدِ

And absence from Laila destroyed our connection

Though I never blamed her for the distance between us

ليتَ الحُداةَ غَداةَ الجِزع ما زجروا

حُمْرَ النياقِ وليتَ العيسَ لم تخدِ

If only the critics, the day they denounced me, had restrained

The reddish camels, and if only the night had not been pitch-black

كأنّ أيدي مطايَاهُم وَقدْ حُدِيتْ

تطا على حُرِّ وجهي أو على كبدي

As if their riding camels, when they appeared,

Galloped over my free face and heart

وفي الهوادج نورٌ ليس يستره

عنك الحجابُ ووردٌ في الخدودِ ندِي

In the tents there’s a light not hidden from you by any veil

With roses on the cheeks reddened like wine

لم يَصرموا إنما حبلى هموا صرموا

لم يرحلوا إنّما هم رَحَّلوا جلدي

They didn't actually leave, rather they only pretended and schemed to leave

They didn't really depart, but only saddled my body as if it left

كم دار في خلدي مِنْ صَرِف نائبةٍ

إلاّ فراقُهم مَا دَارَ في خلدي

How many nights has the thought of their cunning ways

Whirled round in my mind - but only their parting whirls in my mind!

يا أهلَ تلك المطايا مَا يضرُّكم

أن تبدلوني بطيب النوم بالسَّهدَ

O people of those camels, how could it harm you

To replace my sweet sleep with tossing and turning?

يا عَاشقَ البيدِ قفراً لا أنيسَ بها

وخائضَ اللّيلِ بالعيرانة الوخدِ

O lover of the open desert, empty of companions,

And roamer in the nights with the saddlebags!

هاك احتملْ نفساً مني إلى رمعٍ

كالعنبر الورد أو كالماء والشُّهُدِ

As fragrant as flowers and water sweet as honey

To the beauty of the beautiful words of the ancients

إلى جميلِ جميل القول من قِدَمٍ

إلى ابن أحمد لا تلفت إلى أحدِ

To the son of Ahmad - do not look to anyone else

To Jarir, excellent in rhyme - nay, surpassing al-Farazdaq even

إلى جرير القوافي بل فرزْدقها

وعاقدِ الحلِّ والتفاح للعُقد

Binder of the necklace and the apple into knots

To the son of Taraf, and the tribe of Bahra, who licks his hand,

إلى ابن طرفِ بن بحرٍ والتَثِمء يَدَه

وارو الصحيحَ ولا تنقصْ ولا تزد

Reciter of authentic poems, not decreasing or increasing a thing

That one is the son of my uncle, whose lineage is my lineage

ذاك ابنُ عمي مَنْ انسابَه نسبي

كالجفن للعين أو كالكفِ للعضدِ

Like an eyelid to an eye, or a palm to a forearm

And a gift came to me, in which was blame

وقد أتاني طِرْسٌ فيه مَعْتبةُ

لو ذقتُ مَطْعَمَها في الماءِ لم أرد

Had I tasted its delicacies in water, I would not have turned away

And how could I reject Shaddad, and the many favors

وكيفَ أنكر شداداً وكمْ نعَمٍ

له عليَّ بلا حصرٍ ولا عدد

Upon me from him, beyond limit or number?

And I gained much bounty from his virtues

وكم حويتُ جزيلاً من مكارمه

ورحتُ أرفلُ في أثوَابه الجُدد

And I went about wearing his new clothes

Because my people are the tribe of Tubba

لأنَّ قومي قومُ التبّعيّ وهَلْ

يا قومَ أجدعُ أنْفي عَامداً بِيَديَ

O people, could I have voluntarily severed my own nose?

I kissed your gift when it came to me

قَبّلْتُ طِرْسَكَ إذ وافي وقابَلني

منه السِّنانُ بكَفِّ الفارِس النّجد

And it greeted me through the fingertips of the noble horseman

It made me hear in it a voice that deafened me

أسْمعتني فيه صوتاً ساق لي صَمَماً

ليتَ القصائدَ لم تُولد ولم تلد

Would that poems had never been born or given birth!

An issue that resembled the old story of Joseph

قضيّةٌ شابهَتْ قِدْماً ليوسفَ بلْ

مَحْمُولةٌ بَنِيَتْ سَقْفاً بلاَ عَمد

Carried upon a roof without pillars

You sent it in lines from you, filled

أرْسلْتَها في سطورٍ منك قد مَلئت

صُبْحاً من اللّيل أو ليْلاً من الزرد

With a morning from the night, or a night from murky gloom

It came with a beautiful exterior and a rough texture

جاءت وظاهرُها حسنٌ ومَلْمسَهُا

خُشْنٌ وفي جيدها حَبْل من المسد

With a rope of palm fiber on its side

So I said: Indeed, Husam al-Din wants it

فقلت إنّ حسامَ الدين بغيتها

ولا قرار على زأرٍ مِنْ الأسد

And there is no rest from the roar of the lion

If Husam al-Din were just to shake a finger

ولو يَهزُّ حُسَامُ الدين أنملة

منه على البحر غاض البحرُ بالزبد

At the sea, the sea would surge and foam

Or if Husam al-Din would say "stop!" to the water, it wouldn't flow,

أو لو يقولُ حسامُ الدين ويحك قف

للماء لم يجرِ أوْ للنارِ لم تَقِد

Or say to the fire, "stop!" and it wouldn't blaze

The brethren of Jacob sold Joseph, and so they were laden

اسباطُ يعقوبَ باعوا يوسفا فحووا

عاراً بذاك وعيباً مدة الأبد

With shame and disgrace forevermore!