لهوى النفوس سريرة لا تعلم — Al Mutanabbi

The passion of souls has a secret unknown;

by chance I looked, and thought I would be safe.

O sister of him who embraces horsemen in battle,

your brother there is surely more tender and merciful than you.

He gazes at you chastely, yet believes

that the Magians are right in what they decree.

The startling whiteness in my side-whiskers frightened you;

and had it come first, jet-black would have frightened you.

If I could, I would unveil my youth;

for gray hair before its time is a face-veil.

And I have indeed seen calamities, so I see no

whiteness that kills, nor blackness that protects.

And worry wastes the stout man to death,

and grays the child's forelock and makes him old.

The man of reason suffers amid bliss through his reason,

and the ignorant man finds bliss amid misery.

And people have cast off loyalty: one set free

forgets the favor bestowed, and one who pardons regrets it.

Do not let an enemy's tears deceive you,

and spare your youth from an enemy you pity.

Lofty honor is not safe from harm

until blood is spilled along its sides.

The petty man among the base, by nature, harms

one who is not petty and base as he is.

Wrongdoing is among the traits of souls; if you find

one with restraint, some cause keeps him from wrongdoing.

Ibn Kayghalagh guards the road, while his wife—

what lies between her legs is the greatest highway.

Set guard-posts above Sukayna's vulvar lip;

indeed, semen in her two openings is a vast sea.

And be gentle with yourself: your constitution is deficient;

and hide your father, for your lineage is dark.

And your wealth is begging, and your rashness a puff of wind;

and your pleasure is a penis-head, and your lord a dirham.

And beware of opposing men, for only

against slaves' penis-heads are you strong and daring.

And one affliction is rebuking someone who will not desist

from his error, and addressing someone who does not understand.

He walks on all fours upon his heels,

beneath the foreign brutes, and is bridled from behind.

And his eyelids never rest, as though they were

struck, or unripe grapes had been crushed in them.

And when he gestures while speaking, he is like

a guffawing monkey, or an old woman slapping her face.

The back of his head hates parting from palms,

until he almost wraps his turban over a hand.

And he seems smallest when you see him speaking,

and he is most deceitful when he swears.

And abasement displays affection in the abased,

and a speckled serpent is more loving than he toward one he loves.

And some enmity brings you benefit,

and some friendship harms and pains you.

You foolishly sent asking me for praise;

Safra is tighter than you—what am I to claim?

Do you think pimping in others is a livelihood,

O son of the little ass, while in you it is generosity?

So how far you have climbed above your station,

and how close the stars have come to you!

And you sought what belongs exclusively to Abu al-Asha'ir;

praise is for the man who is visited and gives generously,

and for him at whose door you stayed in humiliation:

you draw near, then are struck on both sides of the neck and shouted at.

And for one who holds wealth cheap, while he himself is honored,

and for one who leads a vast, teeming army,

and for one who, when armored warriors meet on a battlefield,

has as his share their armored warrior marked with insignia.

And often he bent his lance against a horseman,

and struck again, straightening it against another of them.

And his face is radiant, and his heart courageous,

and his spear is brown, and his keen sword cuts straight through.

The deeds of one born to the noble are noble,

and the deeds of one born to non-Arabs are barbarous.