قِفا تَرَيا وَدقي فَهاتا المَخايِلُ
وَلا تَخشَيا خُلفاً لِما أَنا قائِلُ
Halt, my friends, and witness my tears—these clouds foretell the rain,
And fear no contradiction in the prophecy I plain.
رَماني خِساسُ الناسِ مِن صائِبِ اِستِهِ
وَآخَرُ قُطنٌ مِن يَدَيهِ الجَنادِلُ
The vilest men assailed me with a vulgar, foolish aim,
And weaklings soft as cotton hurled boulders in my name.
وَمِن جاهِلٍ بي وَهوَ يَجهَلُ جَهلَهُ
وَيَجهَلُ عِلمي أَنَّهُ بِيَ جاهِلُ
I suffer a fool who knows me not, yet knows not he is blind,
Unaware that I perceive the darkness of his mind.
وَيَجهَلُ أَنّي مالِكَ الأَرضِ مُعسِرٌ
وَأَنّي عَلى ظَهرِ السَماكَينِ راجِلُ
He knows not that I own the earth, though empty is my hand,
And that I tread upon the stars while walking on the land.
تُحَقِّرُ عِندي هِمَّتي كُلَّ مَطلَبٍ
وَيَقصُرُ في عَيني المَدى المُتَطاوِلُ
My soaring spirit views all quests as trivial and small,
And in my eyes, the vastest horizons shrink and fall.
وَما زِلتُ طَوداً لا تَزولُ مَناكِبي
إِلى أَن بَدَت لِلضَيمِ فيَّ زَلازِلُ
I stood firm as a mountain, my shoulders broad and vast,
Until the tremors of injustice shook my soul at last.
فَقَلقَلتُ بِالهَمِّ الَّذي قَلقَلَ الحَشا
قَلاقِلَ عيسٍ كُلُّهُنَّ قَلاقِلُ
Driven by grief that churned my gut, I spurred my beasts to flight,
On trembling camels, swift and lean, trembling through the night.
إِذا اللَيلُ وارانا أَرَتنا خِفافُها
بِقَدحِ الحَصى مالا تُرينا المَشاعِلُ
When darkness cloaks us, striking hooves unveil the hidden way,
Igniting sparks from flint more bright than torches' dancing sway.
كَأَنّي مِنَ الوَجناءِ في ظَهرِ مَوجَةٍ
رَمَت بي بِحاراً ما لَهُنَّ سَواحِلُ
As if, upon this noble beast, I ride a cresting wave,
That cast me into shoreless seas, perilous and grave.
يُخَيَّلُ لي أَنَّ البِلادَ مَسامِعي
وَأَنِّيَ فيها ما تَقولُ العَواذِلُ
It seems to me the very lands have turned into an ear,
Listening to the slander that my critics spread and smear.
وَمَن يَبغِ ما أَبغي مِنَ المَجدِ وَالعُلا
تَساوى المَحايِي عِندَهُ وَالمَقاتِلُ
Yet he who seeks the glory and the heights that I pursue,
Must weigh the risks of life and death with an equal view.
أَلا لَيسَتِ الحاجاتُ إِلّا نُفوسَكُم
وَلَيسَ لَنا إِلّا السُيوفَ وَسائِلُ
Truly, my only object is to claim your very souls,
And to achieve this end, the sword alone controls.
فَما وَرَدَت روحَ اِمرِئٍ روحُهُ لَهُ
وَلا صَدَرَت عَن باخِلٍ وَهوَ باخِلُ
No warrior's soul drinks deep of fate while clinging to its breath,
No miser's spirit finds escape by hoarding life from death.
غَثاثَةُ عَيشي أَن تَغِثَّ كَرامَتي
وَلَيسَ بِغَثٍّ أَن تَغِثَّ المَآكِلُ
True poverty is but to see my dignity made thin,
And not the lack of banquet meats that fills the plate within.
