دَمعٌ جَرى فَقَضى في الرَبعِ ماوَجَبا
لِأَهلِهِ وَشَفى أَنّى وَلا كَرَبا
Tears flowed, fulfilling the debt owed to the deserted camp,
To its dwellers, bringing cure to grief, though sorrow did not fade.
عُجنا فَأَذهَبَ ما أَبقى الفِراقُ لَنا
مِنَ العُقولِ وَما رَدَّ الَّذي ذَهَبا
We halted there, and the ruins stripped away the wits
That parting had spared, yet brought back nothing that was lost.
سَقَيتُهُ عَبَراتٍ ظَنَّها مَطَراً
سَوائِلاً مِن جُفونٍ ظَنَّها سُحُبا
I watered the earth with tears it deemed to be rain,
Pouring from eyelids it mistook for storm-clouds.
دارُ المُلِمِّ لَها طَيفٌ تَهَدَّدَني
لَيلاً فَما صَدَقَت عَيني وَلا كَذَبا
The home of the nightly visitor sends a phantom to menace me
By night; my eye did not verify it, nor did the vision lie.
ناءَيتُهُ فَدَنا أَدنَيتُهُ فَنَأى
جَمَّشتُهُ فَنَبا قَبَّلتُهُ فَأَبى
I pushed it away and it drew near; I bade it near and it fled;
I courted it, but it recoiled; I sought a kiss, and it refused.
هامَ الفُؤادُ بِأَعرابِيَّةٍ سَكَنَت
بَيتاً مِنَ القَلبِ لَم تَمدُد لَهُ طُنُبا
My heart wanders lost for a Bedouin maid who has made her home
Within my heart, pitching a tent without need of rope or stake.
مَظلومَةُ القَدِّ في تَشبيهِهِ غُصُناً
مَظلومَةُ الريقِ في تَشبيهِهِ ضَرَبا
Her figure is wronged when likened to the willow branch,
And her nectar is wronged when compared to honey’s sweet taste.
بَيضاءُ تُطمِعُ فيما تَحتَ حُلَّتِها
وَعَزَّ ذَلِكَ مَطلوباً إِذا طُلِبا
A fair beauty, provoking desire for what lies beneath her robes,
Yet how mighty a prize, and how impossible to attain!
كَأَنَّها الشَمسُ يُعيِي كَفَّ قابِضِهِ
شُعاعُها وَيَراهُ الطَرفُ مُقتَرِبا
She is like the sun: its rays weary the hand that tries to grasp,
While the eye beholds it seeming near, yet forever far.
مَرَّت بِنا بَينَ تِربَيها فَقُلتُ لَها
مِن أَينَ جانَسَ هَذا الشادِنُ العَرَبا
She passed us between her two companions, and I asked her:
"From where does this wild gazelle claim kinship with the Arabs?"
فَاِستَضحَكَت ثُمَّ قالَت كَالمُغيثِ يُرى
لَيثَ الشَرى وَهوَ مِن عِجلٍ إِذا اِنتَسَبا
She laughed, then replied: "Just as the Savior is seen to be"
"A Lion of the thicket, though he traces his line to 'Ijl."
جاءَت بِأَشجَعَ مَن يُسمى وَأَسمَحَ مَن
أَعطى وَأَبلَغَ مَن أَملى وَمَن كَتَبا
Fate brought forth the bravest man ever named,
The most generous who ever gave, the most eloquent who ever wrote.
لَو حَلَّ خاطِرُهُ في مُقعَدٍ لَمَشى
أَو جاهِلٍ لَصَحا أَو أَخرَسٍ خَطَبا
If his spirit settled in a cripple, he would rise and walk,
Or in a fool, he would grow wise; or in a mute, he would orate.
إِذا بَدا حَجَبَت عَينَيكَ هَيبَتُهُ
وَلَيسَ يَحجُبُهُ سِترٌ إِذا اِحتَجَبا
When he appears, his majesty veils your eyes from seeing him,
Yet no curtain can truly hide him when he chooses to withdraw.
بَياضُ وَجهٍ يُريكَ الشَمسَ حالِكَةً
وَدُرُّ لَفظٍ يُريكَ الدُرَّ مَخشَلَبا
A brightness of face that makes the sun look pitch black,
And pearls of speech that make real pearls seem like cheap glass.
وَسَيفُ عَزمٍ تَرُدُّ السَيفَ هِبَّتُهُ
رَطبَ الغِرارِ مِنَ التَأمورِ مُختَضِبا
His resolve is a blade; its mere brandishing turns back the sword,
Leaving the steel edge wet, dyed red with the heart’s blood.
عُمرُ العَدوِّ إِذا لاقاهُ في رَهَجٍ
أَقَلُّ مِن عُمرِ ما يَحوي إِذا وَهَبا
The life of a foe who meets him in the dust of battle
Is more fleeting than the wealth he holds before giving it away.
تَوَقَّهُ فَمَتى ما شِئتَ تَبلُوَهُ
فَكُن مُعادِيَهُ أَو كُن لَهُ نَشَبا
Beware of him! But if you wish to put him to the test,
Either become his enemy, or be a treasure he possesses.
تَحلو مَذاقَتُهُ حَتّى إِذا غَضِبا
حالَت فَلَو قَطَرَت في الماءِ ما شُرِبا
His taste is sweet and pleasant, but when his anger stirs,
It transforms; if a drop fell in water, none could drink it.
وَتَغبِطُ الأَرضُ مِنها حَيثُ حَلَّ بِهِ
وَتَحسُدُ الخَيلُ مِنها أَيَّها رَكِبا
The earth rejoices in the spot where he alights,
And the horses envy the one among them that he rides.
وَلا يَرُدُّ بِفيهِ كَفَّ سائِلِهِ
عَن نَفسِهِ وَيَرُدُّ الجَحفَلَ اللَجِبا
He never turns away a beggar's hand with a verbal refusal,
Yet he turns back the clamorous army single-handedly.
وَكُلَّما لَقِيَ الدينارُ صاحِبَهُ
في مُلكِهِ اِفتَرَقا مِن قَبلِ يَصطَحِبا
Whenever one gold coin meets another in his palm,
They are parted in charity before they can become companions.
مالٌ كَأَنَّ غُرابَ البَينِ يَرقُبُهُ
فَكُلَّما قيلَ هَذا مُجتَدٍ نَعَبا
It is wealth watched over by the raven of separation:
Whenever a supplicant appears, the raven croaks its doom.
بَحرٌ عَجائِبُهُ لَم تُبقِ في سَمَرٍ
وَلا عَجائِبِ بَحرٍ بَعدَها عَجَبا
He is a sea whose wonders have left no room in night-tales,
Nor in the marvels of the ocean, for any other wonder.
لا يُقنِعُ اِبنَ عَليٍّ نَيلُ مَنزِلَةٍ
يَشكو مُحاوِلُها التَقصيرَ وَالتَعَبا
Ibn Ali is not satisfied by attaining a mere rank
Where the aspirant complains of failure and fatigue.
هَزَّ اللِواءَ بَنو عِجلٍ بِهِ فَغَدا
رَأساً لَهُم وَغَدا كُلٌّ لَهُم ذَنَبا
The Banu 'Ijl raised the banner with him, and he became
A head for them, while all others became their tail.
التارِكينَ مِنَ الأَشياءِ أَهوَنَها
وَالراكِبينَ مِنَ الأَشياءِ ما صَعُبا
Men who leave aside the easiest of things,
And mount the saddle of only the hardest tasks.
مُبَرقِعي خَيلِهِم بِالبيضِ مُتَّخِذي
هامِ الكُماةِ عَلى أَرماحِهِم عَذَبا
They veil their horses’ faces with flashing swords,
And make the heads of warriors tassels for their spears.
إِنَّ المَنِيَّةَ لَو لاقَتهُمُ وَقَفَت
خَرقاءَ تَتَّهِمُ الإِقدامَ وَالهَرَبا
If Death itself were to meet them, it would stand still,
Confused, unsure whether to advance or to flee.
مَراتِبٌ صَعِدَت وَالفِكرُ يَتبَعُها
فَجازَ وَهوَ عَلى آثارِها الشُهُبا
Ranks he ascended while thought trailed behind,
Surpassing the stars even as he followed their tracks.
مَحامِدٌ نَزَفَت شِعري لِيَملَأَها
فَآلَ ما اِمتَلَأَت مِنهُ وَلا نَضَبا
Virtues that drained my poetry to describe them,
Yet they were not filled, nor did my well run dry.
مَكارِمٌ لَكَ فُتَّ العالَمينَ بِها
مَن يَستَطيعُ لِأَمرٍ فائِتٍ طَلَبا
Noble traits by which you have outstripped all worlds;
Who can chase a thing that has already flown beyond reach?
لَمّا أَقَمتَ بِإِنطاكِيَّةَ اِختَلَفَت
إِلَيَّ بِالخَبَرِ الرُكبانُ في حَلَبا
When you took up residence in Antioch, riders
Came back and forth to me in Aleppo with the news.
فَسِرتُ نَحوَكَ لا أَلوي عَلى أَحَدٍ
أَحُثُّ راحِلَتَيَّ الفَقرَ وَالأَدَبا
So I journeyed toward you, turning for no one,
Spurring on my two mounts: Poverty and Poetry.
أَذاقَني زَمَني بَلوى شَرِقتُ بِها
لَو ذاقَها لَبَكى ما عاشَ وَاِنتَحَبا
Fate made me taste a trial that choked my breath;
Had Fate tasted it, it would have wept and wailed forever.
وَإِن عَمَرتُ جَعَلتُ الحَربَ والِدَةً
وَالسَمهَرِيَّ أَخاً وَالمَشرَفِيَّ أَبا
If I live on, I shall make War my mother,
The spear my brother, and the sword my father.
بِكُلِّ أَشعَثَ يَلقى المَوتَ مُبتَسِماً
حَتّى كَأَنَّ لَهُ في قَتلِهِ أَرَبا
Alongside every wild warrior who meets death with a smile,
As if he found some heart’s desire in being slain.
قُحٍّ يَكادُ صَهيلُ الخَيلِ يَقذِفُهُ
عَن سَرجِهِ مَرَحاً بِالغَزوِ أَو طَرَبا
A purebred knight, whom the horses’ neighing almost casts
From his saddle, for sheer joy and delight in the raid.
فَالمَوتُ أَعذَرُ لي وَالصَبرُ أَجمَلُ بي
وَالبَرُّ أَوسَعُ وَالدُنيا لِمَن غَلَبا
Death is a better excuse for me, and patience suits me best,
The wild is vast, and the world belongs to him who conquers.
