خَليلَيَّ مُرّا بي عَلى الدارِ وَاِربَعا

لِنَشعَبَ قَلباً بِالفِراقِ تَصَدَّعا

My two friends, pass by my abode and stop awhile,

O my two friends, pass by the abode with me and halt, / To mend a heart that separation has cracked.

That a heart shattered by parting may mend itself anew,

And if you will not aid me in my sorrow, / Do not deny me a moment to pause and grieve.

وَإِن أَنتُما لَم تُسعِداني عَلى الأَسى

فلا تُعدِماني وَقفَةً وَتَوَجُّعا

And if you two fail to bring me solace for my grief,

In a desolate ruin where only white antelopes remain, / And fierce winds blow through it, to and fro.

Then do not deprive me of a pause, or further torment.

By God, had you seen the day at Jar'a Malik, / The morning we met—one departing, one seeing off—

بِمُستَوحشٍ من شبهِ آرامِ عينهِ

تَناوَحُ فيه الهوجُ بداءاً وَرُجّعا

With one whose eyes resemble a gazelle's, I pine

You would have seen an eye pouring out its tears, / And a veiled one signaling with a glance and a finger.

As the winds of desolation moan within me, to and fro,

You would have excused my passion and said: / "He is strong, yet he found no defense against this."

أَما إِنَّهُ لَو يَومَ جَرعاءِ مالكٍ

غَداةَ التَقَينا ظاعِناً وَمُشَيِّعا

On the morrow of our meeting, like Malik's fatal day,

And a dark-eyed gazelle with slender waist visited me, / Despite the watch of slanderers at night, bringing delight.

We parted, me lamenting, him bidding adieu.

One of those who rob the prudent man of his dignity / When they trail their embroidered, striped robes.

تَبَيَّنتُما عَيناً تَجودُ بِمائِها

وَمَحجوبةً تومي بِطَرفٍ وَأُصبُعا

You would see eyes shedding copious tears,

If they sway, they shame the soft branches with their grace, / And if they appear, they mimic the rising moons.

And others veiled, peeking between lids, askance.

My passion refused aught but turning towards them, / And my soul refused aught but gazing upon them.

لَحَسَّنتُما لي صَبوَتي وَلَقُلتُما

جَليدٌ وَلكِن لم يَجِد عنهُ مَدفَعا

You would think my youth fair, were it not

I beguiled my soul with hopes to distract it, / While the white warnings of age shone upon my temples.

For misfortunes, against which I found no defense.

When a man keeps company with the Day and Night, / They hold lessons that grieve his sight and hearing.

وَأحورَ مَهضومِ الوِشاحينِ زارَني

عَلى رَقبَةِ الواشينَ لَيلاً فَأَمتَعا

The slender-waisted visited me by night

Their fair days meet him with peace, / And extend him joy, only to signal farewell.

With necklaces round their throats to my delight.

So do not be one who enters houses complaining / To their people, even if you swallow soaked poison.

مِنَ الّاءِ يَسلُبنَ الحَليمَ وَقارَهُ

إِذا ما سَحَبنَ الأَتحمِيَّ المُوَشّعا

The least thing robs the forbearing of dignity

For most you meet will gloat over you, / And if you stumble, they say to you: "May you not rise."

If it comes from one who is over-bold, impudent.

Their wish is the severing of your nose, even if their own neighbor / Is facing a violent, shaking calamity.

وَإن مِسنَ أَخجَلنَ الغُصونَ نَواعِماً

وَإن لُحنَ فَالأَقمارَ حاكَينَ طُلَّعا

If he frowns, it shames the delicate branches,

I speak of a people whose names make pulpits tremble, / And wherever they settle, the land becomes fertile.

If he sings, the full moons echo his anthems.

Providers of food when the hills are dusty with drought, / Dispelers of gloom when events turn terrifying.

أَبَت صَبوَتي إِلّا لَهُنَّ تَلَفُّتاً

وَنَفسِيَ إِلّا نَحوَهُنَّ تَطَلُّعا

My youth desired only their company,

Possessors of the clear lineage from the root of Wa'il, / In whom and towards whom all pride converges.

And my soul aspired only towards their ascent.

They granted sanctuary against Chosroes, son of Sasan, in defiance— / A protection that endowed the Arabs with widespread glory.

وَخادَعتُ نَفسي بِالأَماني مُعَلِّلاً

وَكانَت عَاديهِنَّ في الفَودِ نُصّعا

I duped myself with wishes, justifying

They stripped the haughty Persians of their kingdom, / And imposed upon them the ugliest form of abasement.

My lingering at their abodes without consent.

And the day Sa'id bin Sultan came at them, / Leading a vast army, resolved upon war,

إِذا صَحِبَ المَرءُ الجَديدَينِ أَحدَها

لهُ عِبراً تُشجيهِ مَرأى وَمَسمَعا

When a man befriends two newcomers, with one

Leading ships like a tangled forest, / To a watering-place of death from which he found no escape.

He shares sorrows seen and heard, head bent.

Lions of the Khalifa clan leaped upon him before he could land, / Finding death as sweet as a cool drink.

صَفوُها لاقي إِلَيهِ مُسَلِّماً

وَأَوسَعَهُ بِشراً أَشارَ مُوَدِّعا

With the other he meets politely, resigned,

They made him drink a cup bitter to the taste, a clot of blood, / Which he was forced to swallow against his will.

Bidding him farewell with a smile, no rancor felt.

He turned and fled, not looking back for any kinsman, / And remained terrified at heart, panic-stricken.

فَلا تَكُ وَلّاجَ البُيوتِ مُشاكِياً

بَنيها وَلَو تَلقى سِماماً مُنَقَّعا

So be not like a dog guarding empty homes,

He was not a coward nor a dullard, / But those he met were fiercer and braver.

Even if you find them collapsing and ferment.

فَأَكثَرتُ مَن تَلقى مِنَ الناسِ شامِتٌ

عَلَيكَ وَإن تَعثُر يَقُل لكَ لا لَعا

For I have known many who watch your stumbling

And say "No, no," even if you cry for help.

مُناهُم بِجَدعِ الأَنفِ لَو أَن جارَهم

يلاقي من الأرزاءِ نَكباءَ زَعزَعا

Cursed are those whose mouths twist in sneers

If a neighbor meets disaster and loss.

مِنَ القَومِ تَهتَزُّ المَنابِرُ بِاِسمِهِم

وَيُصبِحُ ما حَلّوا مِنَ الأَرضِ مُمرِعا

With their names, platforms shake and tremble,

And the fruits they reap make the land barren.

مَطاعيمُ حَيثُ الأَرضُ مُغبَرَّةُ الرُبى

مَكاشيفُ لِلغُمّى إِذا الأَمرُ أَفزَعا

Ruthless where dust smothers the plains,

Bold when matters turn grave and intense.

ذَوو النَسبِ الوَضّاح مِن جذمِ وائِلٍ

بِهِم وَإِلَيهِم يَنتَهي الفَخرُ مُجمَعا

Of pure lineage, from Judham and Wael,

Through them flows honor, all comprehend.

أَجاروا عَلى كِسرى بنِ ساسانَ رغاِماً

جِواراً أَفادَ العُربَ فَخراً مُشَيَّعا

They gave sanctuary to Persia's Kisra in defiance

An act that brought glory Arabs defend.

وَهُم سَلَبوا شوسَ الأَعاجِمِ مُلكَهُم

وَساموهُمُ خَسفاً مِن الذُلِّ أَشنَعا

They ripped rule from the Persians by force

And subdued them with abasement immense.

وَيَومَ أَتاهُم بِاللُهامِ يَقودُهُ

سَعيدُ بنُ سُلطانٍ عَلى الحَربِ مُجمِعا

The day Sa'eed led them, by God ordained,

United for battle, each man and horse.

سَفينٌ كَمُلتَفِّ الإِشاءِ يَقودهُ

لِمَورِدِ حَتفٍ لَم يَجِد عَنهُ مَدفَعا

A ship, its ropes entwined, he steered

To a fate which no defense could dispense

فَثاوَرَهُ قَبلَ الوُصولِ ضَراغِمٌ

خَليفِيَّةٌ تَستَعذِبُ المَوتَ مَشرَعا

They thwarted him before he arrived,

With Caliphs seeking death's deliverance.

وَساقَوهُ كَأساً مُرَّةَ الطَعمِ عَلقَةً

عَلى كُرهِهِ أَضحى لَها مُتَجَرِّعا

They gave him a cup of bitterest taste

He drank it down, though it caused him immense pain

فَأَدبَرَ لا يَلوي عَلى ذي قَرابَةٍ

وَما زالَ مَزؤودَ الفُؤادِ مُرَوَّعا

Turning away, caring not for kith or kin,

His heart still quaking with fear and disdain.

وَما كانَ خَوّاراً وَلا مُتَبَلِّداً

وَلكِنَّ مَن لاقى أَشدَّ وَأَشجَعا

He was not cowardly or spineless,

But one who faced the harshest with courage insane.