فِداً لَكَ مَن يُقَصِّرُ عَن مَداكا

فَلا مَلِكٌ إِذَن إِلّا فَداكا

May he who falls short of your stride be your ransom,

For then no king exists but as your sacrifice.

وَلَو قُلنا فِداً لَكَ مَن يُساوي

دَعَونا بِالبَقاءِ لِمَن قَلاكا

If we said, "May he who equals you be your ransom,"

We would be praying for the survival of he who hates you.

وَآمَنّا فِداءَكَ كُلَّ نَفسٍ

وَإِن كانَت لِمَملَكَةٍ مِلاكا

We have sanctioned every soul to be your ransom,

Even if it be the anchor of a mighty kingdom.

وَمَن يَظَنُّ نَثرَ الحَبِّ جوداً

وَيَنصِبُ تَحتَ ما نَثَرَ الشِباكا

He who mistakes the scattering of grain for generosity,

While setting up snares beneath what he scatters,

وَمَن بَلَغَ التُرابَ بِهِ كَراهُ

وَقَد بَلَغَت بِهِ الحالُ السُكاكا

And he whose slumber has brought him down to the dust,

While his condition has reached the choking point.

فَلَو كانَت قُلوبُهُمُ صَديقاً

لَقَد كانَت خَلائِقُهُم عِداكا

For even if their hearts were like a friend to you,

Their very natures would remain your enemies.

لِأَنَّكَ مُبغِضٌ حَسَباً نَحيفا

إِذا أَبصَرتَ دُنياهُ ضِناكا

Because you detest a lineage that is meager,

Which, when you see its world, is sheer distress.

أَروحُ وَقَد خَتَمتَ عَلى فُؤادي

بِحُبِّكَ أَن يَحِلَّ بِهِ سِواكا

I depart, though you have set a seal upon my heart

With your love, that none but you may dwell therein.

وَقَد حَمَّلتَني شُكراً طَويلاً

ثَقيلاً لا أُطيقُ بِهِ حَراكا

You have burdened me with a gratitude so long,

So heavy, that I cannot move beneath its weight.

أُحاذِرُ أَن يَشُقَّ عَلى المَطايا

فَلا تَمشي بِنا إِلّا سِواكا

I fear it will prove too hard for the riding beasts,

So that they walk with us at but a crawling pace.

لَعَلَّ اللَهُ يَجعَلُهُ رَحيلاً

يُعينُ عَلى الإِقامَةِ في ذَراكا

Perhaps Allah will make this a departure

That helps me to eventually reside within your shelter.

وَلَو أَنّي اِستَطَعتُ خَفَضتُ طَرفي

فَلَم أُبصِر بِهِ حَتّى أَراكا

If I were able, I would lower my gaze,

And not see with it until I see you again.

وَكَيفَ الصَبرُ عَنكَ وَقَد كَفاني

نَداكَ المُستَفيضُ وَما كَفاكا

How can I bear patience away from you, when

Your flooding bounty sufficed me—yet did not suffice you?

أَتَترُكُني وَعَينُ الشَمسِ نَعلي

فَتَقطَعُ مِشيَتي فيها الشِراكا

Do you leave me when the sun’s eye is my sandal,

So that my stride snaps its straps upon that height?

أَرى أَسَفي وَما سِرنا شَديداً

فَكَيفَ إِذا غَدا السَيرُ اِبتِراكا

I see my sorrow is intense while we have not yet moved;

So how will it be when the journey speeds along?

وَهَذا الشَوقُ قَبلَ البَينِ سَيفٌ

فَها أَنا ما ضُرِبتُ وَقَد أَحاكا

This longing, before the parting, is a sword;

Here I am: not yet struck, yet it has cut deep.

إِذا التَوديعُ أَعرَضَ قالَ قَلبي

عَلَيكَ الصَمتُ لا صاحَبتَ فاكا

When the moment of farewell appeared, my heart said:

"Silence upon you! Do not accompany your mouth."

وَلَولا أَنَّ أَكثَرَ ما تَمَنّى

مُعاوَدَةٌ لَقُلتُ وَلا مُناكا

And were it not that the most of what I wish

Is a return, I would have said: "Nor may you have your wish."

قَدِ اِستَشفَيتَ مِن داءٍ بِداءٍ

وَأَقتَلُ ما أَعَلَّكَ ما شَفاكا

You have sought a cure for sickness with a sickness;

And the deadliest thing that made you ill is what has healed you.

فَأَستُرُ مِنكَ نَجوانا وَأَخفي

هُموماً قَد أَطَلتُ لَها العِراكا

So I veil our secret whispers from you, and I hide

Sorrows against which I have battled for so long.

إِذا عاصَيتُها كانَت شِداداً

وَإِن طاوَعتُها كانَت رِكاكا

If I resist them, they remain fierce and strong,

But if I yield to them, they become weak and flow.

وَكَم دونَ الثَوِيَّةِ مِن حَزينٍ

يَقولُ لَهُ قُدومي ذا بِذاكا

How many a sad soul, short of the resting place,

Does my arrival tell: "This one is for that"?

وَمِن عَذبِ الرُضابِ إِذا أَنَخنا

يُقَبِّلُ رَحلَ تُروَكَ وَالوِراكا

And one of sweet saliva, when we dismount,

Kisses the camel’s saddle and the rear pad.

يُحَرِّمُ أَن يَمَسَّ الطيبَ بَعدي

وَقَد عَبِقَ العَبيرُ بِهِ وَصاكا

He forbids himself to touch perfume after I am gone,

Though the scent of ambergris still clings to him from me.

وَيَمنَعُ ثَغرَهُ مِن كُلِّ صَبٍّ

وَيَمنَحُهُ البَشامَةَ وَالأَراكا

He guards his mouth from every eager lover,

And grants it only to the Arak bough.

يُحَدِّثُ مُقلَتَيهِ النَومُ عَنّي

فَلَيتَ النَومَ حَدَّثَ عَن نَداكا

Sleep speaks to his eyes concerning me;

Would that sleep spoke to him of your generosity.

وَأَنَّ البُختَ لا يُعرِقنَ إِلّا

وَقَد أَنضى العُذافِرَةَ اللِكاكا

And that the Bukhti camels do not grow lean

Until he has worn out the sturdy, massive mounts.

وَما أَرضى لِمُقلَتِهِ بِحُلمٍ

إِذا اِنتَبَهَت تَوَهَّمَهُ اِبتِشاكا

I am not satisfied for his eye to see a dream,

Which, when it wakes, it deems to be a lie.

وَلا إِلّا بِأَن يُصغي وَأَحكي

فَلَيتَهُ لا يُتَيِّمُهُ هَواكا

Nor unless he listens while I speak...

I wish that your love would not enslave him so.

وَكَم طَرِبِ المَسامِعِ لَيسَ يَدري

أَيَعجَبُ مِن ثَنائي أَم عُلاكا

How many a listener, delighting, does not know

If he marvels at my praise or at your highness?

وَذاكَ النَشرُ عِرضُكَ كانَ مِسكاً

وَذاكَ الشِعرُ فِهري وَالمَداكا

That fragrance—your honor—was the musk itself,

And this poem was the pestle and the stone.

فَلا تَحمَدهُما وَاِحمَد هُماماً

إِذا لَم يُسمِ حامِدُهُ عَناكا

So praise neither of them; praise rather a king

Who compels his praiser to name him in the verse.

أَغَرَّ لَهُ شَمائِلُ مِن أَبيهِ

غَداً يَلقى بَنوكَ بِها أَباكا

A noble one, inheriting traits from his father,

With which your sons shall meet your father tomorrow.

وَفي الأَحبابِ مُختَصٌّ بِوَجدٍ

وَآخَرُ يَدَّعي مَعَهُ اِشتِراكا

Among loved ones, there is one singled out for passion,

And another who merely claims a share in it.

إِذا اِشتَبَهَت دُموعٌ في خُدودٍ

تَبَيَّنَ مَن بَكى مِمَّن تَباكى

When tears look similar upon the cheeks,

It becomes clear who weeps truly and who feigns.

أَذَمَّت مَكرُماتُ أَبي شُجاعٍ

لِعَينِيَ مِن نَوايَ عَلى أُلاكا

The noble deeds of Abu Shuja' have rendered

My eye safe from the pain of distance from those kin.

فَزُل يا بُعدُ عَن أَيدي رِكابٍ

لَها وَقعُ الأَسِنَّةِ في حَشاكا

So vanish, O Distance, from the hooves of mounts

That strike the earth like spear-points in your vitals.

وَأَيّا شِئتِ يا طُرُقي فَكوني

أَذاةً أَو نَجاةً أَو هَلاكا

And be however you wish, O roads of mine:

An obstacle, a salvation, or utter ruin.

فَلَو سِرنا وَفي تَشرينَ خَمسٌ

رَأَوني قَبلَ أَن يَروا السِماكا

If we traveled, and Tishrin had but five days,

They would see me before they see the rising stars.

يُشَرِّدُ يُمنُ فَنّاخُسرَ عَنّي

قَنا الأَعداءِ وَالطَعنِ الدِراكا

The good fortune of Fannakhosrou drives away from me

The spears of enemies and the continuous thrusts.

وَأَلبَسُ مِن رِضاهُ في طَريقي

سِلاحاً يَذعَرُ الأَبطالَ شاكا

And from his favor, I wear upon my path

A weapon, sharp and prickly, that terrifies the brave.

وَمَن أَعتاضُ عَنكَ إِذا اِفتَرَقنا

وَكُلُّ الناسِ زورٌ ما خَلاكا

And whom would I take in exchange for you, if we part,

When all mankind is false but you alone?

وَما أَنا غَيرُ سَهمٍ في هَواءٍ

يَعودُ وَلَم يَجِد فيهِ اِمتِساكا

I am nothing but an arrow in the air,

That returns, having found no place to hold.

حَيِيٌ مِن إِلَهي أَن يَراني

وَقَد فارَقتُ دارَكَ وَاِصطَفاكا

I am ashamed before my God that He sees me

Having left your abode, when He has chosen you.