لا يُحزِنُ اللَهُ الأَميرَ فَإِنَّني
سَآخُذُ مِن حالاتِهِ بِنَصيبِ
May God not grieve the Prince, for verily I
Shall bear a portion of his sorrow's burden.
وَمَن سَرَّ أَهلَ الأَرضِ ثُمَّ بَكى أَسىً
بَكى بِعُيونٍ سَرَّها وَقُلوبِ
He who brought joy to the earth, then wept in pain,
Weeps now through eyes and hearts he once made glad.
وَإِنّي وَإِن كانَ الدَفينُ حَبيبَهُ
حَبيبٌ إِلى قَلبي حَبيبُ حَبيبي
Though the buried one was dear to him alone,
The beloved of my beloved is beloved to my soul.
وَقَد فارَقَ الناسُ الأَحِبَّةَ قَبلَنا
وَأَعيا دَواءُ المَوتِ كُلَّ طَبيبِ
Before us, men have parted from those they held dear,
And the cure for death has baffled every physician.
سُبِقنا إِلى الدُنيا فَلَو عاشَ أَهلُها
مُنِعنا بِها مِن جَيأَةٍ وَذُهوبِ
We were preceded in this world; had its ancients remained,
We would have found no space to come or go.
تَمَلَّكَها الآتي تَمَلُّكَ سالِبٍ
وَفارَقَها الماضي فِراقَ سَليبِ
The successor seizes it with a plunderer's grasp,
While the predecessor departs like one despoiled.
وَلا فَضلَ فيها لِلشَجاعَةِ وَالنَدى
وَصَبرِ الفَتى لَولا لِقاءُ شَعوبِ
There would be no virtue in courage, grace, or patience,
Were it not for the inevitable meeting with Death.
وَأَوفى حَياةِ الغابِرينَ لِصاحِبٍ
حَياةُ اِمرِئٍ خانَتهُ بَعدَ مَشيبِ
The most faithful life among those gone by
Is the one that betrayed its owner only after old age.
لَأَبقى يَماكٌ في حَشايَ صَبابَةً
إِلى كُلِّ تُركِيِّ النِجارِ جَليبِ
Yamak has left within my breast a lingering fondness
For every imported soul of Turkic lineage.
وَما كُلُّ وَجهٍ أَبيَضٍ بِمُبارَكٍ
وَلا كُلُّ جَفنٍ ضَيِّقٍ بِنَجيبِ
Yet not every fair face brings a blessing,
Nor is every narrowed eye a sign of nobility.
لَئِن ظَهَرَت فينا عَلَيهِ كَآبَةٌ
لَقَد ظَهَرَت في حَدِّ كُلِّ قَضيبِ
If sorrow for him has appeared amongst us,
It has surely appeared on the edge of every sword,
وَفي كُلِّ قَوسٍ كُلَّ يَومِ تَناضُلٍ
وَفي كُلِّ طِرفٍ كُلَّ يَومِ رُكوبِ
And in every bow on the day of the duel,
And in every steed on the day of the charge.
يَعِزُّ عَلَيهِ أَن يُخِلَّ بِعادَةٍ
وَتَدعو لِأَمرٍ وَهوَ غَيرُ مُجيبِ
It grieves him to break his custom,
That you should call to a task and he not answer.
وَكُنتُ إِذا أَبصَرتُهُ لَكَ قائِماً
نَظَرتُ إِلى ذي لِبدَتَينِ أَديبِ
Whenever I saw him standing in your presence,
I beheld a lion disciplined in courtesy.
فَإِن يَكُنِ العِلقَ النَفيسَ فَقَدتَهُ
فَمِن كَفِّ مِتلافٍ أَغَرَّ وَهوبِ
If you have lost a gem of priceless worth,
It slipped from a hand that gives freely and destroys wealth.
كَأَنَّ الرَدى عادٍ عَلى كُلِّ ماجِدٍ
إِذا لَم يُعَوِّذ مَجدَهُ بِعُيوبِ
It is as though Death is an enemy to all who are noble,
Unless they shield their glory with flaws.
وَلَولا أَيادي الدَهرِ في الجَمعِ بَينَنا
غَفَلنا فَلَم نَشعُر لَهُ بِذُنوبِ
Were it not for Time's favor in uniting us,
We would have been heedless, sensing no sin in its passing.
وَلِلتَركُ لِلإِحسانِ خَيرٌ لِمُحسِنٍ
إِذا جَعَلَ الإِحسانَ غَيرَ رَبيبِ
To abandon benevolence is better for the benefactor
Than to grant a favor he does not nurture.
وَإِنَّ الَّذي أَمسَت نِزارٌ عَبيدَهُ
غَنِيٌّ عَنِ اِستِعبادِهِ لِغَريبِ
Yet he, whom the tribes of Nizar serve as thralls,
Has little need to enslave a stranger.
كَفى بِصَفاءِ الوَدِّ رِقّاً لِمِثلِهِ
وَبِالقُربِ مِنهُ مَفخَراً لِلَبيبِ
Pure affection suffices as bondage to one like him,
And proximity to him is pride enough for the wise.
فَعُوِّضَ سَيفُ الدَولَةِ الأَجرُ إِنَّهُ
أَجَلُّ مُثابٍ مِن أَجَلِّ مُثيبِ
May Sayf al-Dawla be compensated with divine reward,
The noblest recipient from the Noblest Giver.
فَتى الخَيلِ قَد بَلَّ النَجيعُ نَحورَها
يُطاعِنُ في ضَنكِ المُقامِ عَصيبِ
A master of steeds, whose throats are drenched in gore,
Thrusting his lance in the crush of a desperate stand.
يَعافُ خِيامَ الرَيطِ في غَزَواتِهِ
فَما خَيمُهُ إِلّا غُبارُ حُروبِ
He disdains tents of fine linen in his campaigns;
His only pavilion is the dust of war.
عَلَينا لَكَ الإِسعادُ إِن كانَ نافِعاً
بِشَقِّ قُلوبٍ لا بِشَقِّ جُيوبِ
We owe you consolation, if it could avail,
By the rending of hearts, not the tearing of robes.
فَرُبَّ كَئيبٍ لَيسَ تَندى جُفونُهُ
وَرُبَّ كَثيرِ الدَمعِ غَيرُ كَئيبِ
For many are sorrowful though their eyelids are dry,
And many shed copious tears who feel no grief.
تَسَلَّ بِفِكرٍ في أَبيكَ فَإِنَّما
بَكَيتَ فَكانَ الضِحكُ بَعدَ قَريبِ
Seek solace in the thought of your father;
You wept for him, yet laughter followed soon after.
إِذا اِستَقبَلَت نَفسُ الكَريمِ مُصابَها
بِخُبثٍ ثَنَت فَاِستَدبَرَتهُ بِطيبِ
If the noble soul first greets calamity with anguish,
It turns again to leave it behind with grace.
وَلِلواجِدِ المَكروبِ مِن زَفَراتِهِ
سُكونُ عَزاءٍ أَو سُكونُ لُغوبِ
For the anguish of the griever, amidst his sighs,
Comes the quiet of solace, or the quiet of fatigue.
وَكَم لَكَ جَدّاً لَم تَرَ العَينُ وَجهَهُ
فَلَم تَجرِ في آثارِهِ بِغُروبِ
How many ancestors of yours whose faces no eye has seen,
For whom no tears flowed in the wake of their passing?
فَدَتكَ نُفوسُ الحاسِدينَ فَإِنَّها
مُعَذَّبَةٌ في حَضرَةٍ وَمَغيبِ
May the souls of the envious be your ransom,
For they are tormented in your presence and your absence alike.
وَفي تَعَبٍ مَن يَحسُدُ الشَمسَ نورَها
وَيَجهَدُ أَن يَأتي لَها بِضَريبِ
And weary is he who envies the sun its light,
And strives in vain to bring forth its equal.
