قُلْتُ وَقَد أَقْصَرَ جَهْل الأَصْوَرِ

لَيْتَ الشَبابَ يُشْتَرَى فَنَشْتَرِي

I wish youth could be bought so we may buy

Our first youth with the last. Nor should the days

شَبابَنا الأَوَّل بِالمُؤَخَّرِ

لا يَبْعدَنْ عَهْدُ الشَباب الأَنْضَرِ

Of green youthfulness and its wantonness in its hiding places,

Be far removed, nor old age which I

وَالخَبْطُ فِي غَيْسانِهِ الغَمَيْدَرِ

وَالشَيْبُ عِنْدِي بَيْعُهُ بِمِقْصَرِ

Consider selling for less. And were old age

To be sold in the slave market, it would be

وَالشَيْبُ لَوْ يُبَاعُ فِي التَسَمْسُرِ

لِلتاجِرِ المُبْتاعِ شَرُّ مَتْجَرِ

A losing bargain for the buyer.

You have enough disgrace, o censured one,

حَسْبُكَ مِنْ عارِ امْرِىءٍ مُعَيَّرِ

رُدَّ إِلَى أَرْذَلِ عُمْر العُمَّرِ

Reduced to the meanest part of life.

Nay, longing drove me, though forbidden the haunts

بَلْ هاجَ لِي شَوْقاً بِنَهْيِ المَحْضَرِ

وَلَسْتُ مِنْ تِلْكَ الغُواةِ الزُجَّرِ

Of pleasure, nor am I of those brutes restrained.

In the house caws the one-eyed raven,

فِي الدارِ تَحْجالُ الغُراب الأَعْوَرِ

وَمُوقَدٌ ضَابٍ وَباقِي مِشْوَرِ

A glowing bonfire and some remains of talk;

I contended with it against all pouring rain,

أَلْوَى بِها مِنْ كُلِّ غَيْثٍ مِهْمَرِ

عَواصِفٌ طَحْطَحْنَ كُل أَيْصَرِ

Tempests that crushed every firm-standing thing,

Scattering pebbles, wildly scattering them,

ذَرْواً بِرَيْعانِ الحَصَى المُصْعَنْفَرِ

وَكُلُّ رَجّافٍ لَهَا مُقَرْقِرِ

And every shaking thing bombarding them.

The winds puff at them, the lightning in torrents

تَنْفَحُه الأَرْواحُ وَالبَرْقُ الشَرِي

مُرْتَجِسٍ فِي راجِسٍ كَنَهْوَرِ

From rushing to rushing like a startled wild beast.

The valleys echoing, resounding with rushing,

جَوْنِ الرَوَايا هَمِعٍ مُسْتَوْقِرِ

سَحّاً يَمُدُّ السَيْلَ ذا التَفَجُّرِ

Spreading, the torrents opening, unleashing.

The torrent an unruly rider of the pathways

فَالسَيْلُ عَجَّاجٌ رَكُوبُ المَنْجَرِ

إِذَا انْتَحَى إِضْرارُهُ بِالأَضْرَرِ

When its harm passes on to others.

It joins a position with deluging rain

زاحَمَ رُكْناً بِدِلاظٍ مِقْعَرِ

كَأَنَّمَا لَم يُلْقِهِ فِي المِحْدَرِ

As though it had not met it on the slope -

The bodies of Sajisi fleeces, yellow,

أَجْرامُ صُوفِ الساجِسيِّ الأَصْفَرِ

مِنْ رَمْيَةٍ بِالشَتِّ بَعْدَ الإِذْخِرِ

After being mashed by hail, scattered about

Like the discarded clothes of a squandering player.

طَرْحاً كَطَرْحِ اللاعِبِ المُبَذِّرِ

يا ضالَ قَدْ خَيَّلْتِ إِنْ لَمْ تَسْحَرِ

O lost one, you must have imagined, if you have not bewitched me,

And added to my confused perplexity,

وَزِدْتِ بِالتَأْفِيكِ حار الأَحْيَرِ

حاراً وَخَبْطاً فِي الضَلال الأَدْجَرِ

Perplexed and bewildered in gloomy misguidance.

O lost one, you have been determined to go too far,

يا ضالَ قَدْ أُزِّرْتِ بِالمُؤَزَّرِ

أَرْؤُلَ مِن أَنْقاءِ رَمْلٍ مَرْمَرِ

More twisting than the twist of a twisting serpent,

Would that you were bleary-eyed in a desolate valley,

لَيْتَكِ عَيْناءَ بِوادٍ مُقْفِرِ

لَمْ تَعْقِدِي عِقْداً وَلَمْ تَسَوَّرِ

Having neither adorned yourself nor put on necklaces,

Then you would not have acted so scornfully

أَصْبَحْتِ لا أَصْبَحْتِ مِمَّنْ يَزْدَرِي

أَمْرَ المُعَافَى وَالقَوَارِي تَقْتَرِي

In your circumstances, begging crumbs.

So blame Umm Salama or leave me be!

فَأُمَّ سَلّامَةَ لُومِي أَوْ ذَرِي

نِضْواً كَنِضْوِ السَمْهَرِيِّ الأَسْمَرِ

With a coming and going like that of a brown snake.

I feared your ignorance would lead you astray.

قَدْ خِفْتُ مِنْ جَهْلِك أَنْ تَنَصَّرِي

ماذا ترِيدِينَ إِذَا لَمْ تَصْبِري

What do you want if you will not be patient

Or fear God or feel some shame

إِنْ لَمْ تَخافِي اللَّهَ أَوْ تَسْتَحْسِرِي

مِمَّا تَقُولِينَ وَقَوْلُ المُهْجِرِ

For what you say - and the words of an estranged one

Are sinful and frightful. So beware frightening me,

إِثْمٌ وَذُعْرٌ فَاتَّقِي أَنْ تُذْعَرِي

وَمَنْ يَكُنْ فَانْسَيْهِ أَوْ تَخْفَّرِي

And whoever is inwardly blind, let him forget me

Or keep his distance lest he see me change.

فِي قَلْبِهِ داءُ العَمَى لا يُبْصِرِ

فَدَاوِمِي عَهْدَكِ أَوْ تَغَيَّرِي

You cast glances at me like an eyelid that wipes,

O free woman with saliva in the corners of her mouth,

تَرْمِي المَرَامِيَ بَعَيْنَيْ جُؤْذُرِ

يَا حُرَّةَ الخَدِّ بَرِيقَ المَحْجَرِ

You who resemble the sun when it breaks through.

When you see an eagle that journeys worn by the seasons,

يَا تُشْبِهِينَ الشَمْسَ ما لَمْ تُسْفِرِي

فَإِنْ تَرَيْ نَسْراً كَلِيلَ الأَنْسُرِ

And he whom destiny has decreed will grow old,

And the lengthening nights repeat themselves

قَدْ كادَ يُفْنِيهِ اخْتِلاف الأَعْصُرِ

وَمَنْ تَخاطاهُ المَنَاياَ يَكْبرِ

In their cycles, destroying with their going and return,

The life of a youth as though it were not lived,

وَطُولُ أَيَّامِ اللَيالِي المُرُّرِ

إِذَا اسْتَدَارَتْ بِاللَيالِي الدُوَّرِ

And you see him in his prime, green,

Eyes uplifted, polished sword,

أَفْنَيْنَ فِي الإِدْبارِ وَالتَكَرُّرِ

عُمْرَ الفَتَى كَأَنْ لَمْ يُعْمَرِ

Before whom the birds from every crag recoil

Offering their necks in the valley’s meadow and trees,

وَقَدْ تَراهُ فِي الشَبابِ الأَسْدَرِ

مُرْتَفِعَ الطَرْفِ حدِيدَ المِخْدَرِ

Having tasted his spilling that cascades,

With the impact of a fall that has for them forgiveness,

تَحْجُرُ مِنْهُ الطَيْرُ كَلَّ مِحجَرِ

يُولِجْن أَعْناقاً كَسُوق الهَيْشَرِ

With claws of smooth sharpness unsheathed

He lunges and plummets from afar

فِي عَوْسَجِ الوادِي وَرَضْمِ الحَزْوَرِ

قَدْ ذُقْنَ مِنْ إِفْرائِهِ المُفَرْفَرِ

Harmful like the sparks from a hurled firebrand

When they scatter in flight from the mighty.

بِوَقْعِ وَقّاعٍ لَهُنَّ مِغْفَرِ

بِمِخْلَبَيْ ذِي نَحْمَةٍ مُصَرْصِرِ

He stands over them after having harried them,

A yellow tyrant whose petitions are grants.

يَرْمِي فَيَهْوِي مِنْ بَعِيدِ المَنْظَرِ

ضارٍ كَجُلْمُودِ القِذافِ المِخْطَرِ

You see the blades of his claws in the hair

Following the lead of a butcher, shedding blood.

إِذَا تَفَرَّقْنَ فِرارَ الفُرَّرِ

مِنْ مُطْرِق أَوْ طائِرٍ فِي الطُيَّرِ

Say to that wary asker over there,

I am the piercer, then the rending witness;

عَلَيْهِ دَانَاهُنَّ بَعْدَ العِثْيَرِ

أَكْلَفُ صَعْصاعٌ بِذاتِ الغضورِ

The puller of the far-thrown bow,

The pull of a man whose arrow grants no lease;

يَكسُو الصُوى مِن ريشِها المُبَذَّر

نَجلاً وإِذراءٍ كَلَطمِ الأَعسرِ

He shoots where all is vulnerable and wounds strike.

My left hand steady, fiercely brandishing,

تَراهُ مِنْ تَعْلِيقِها بِالمِنْسَرِ

وَوَشْقِه الأَجْوازَ بَعْدَ القُبَّرِ

Breaking forth from the coverts’ every burst

As the interiors boil with the blond torrent.

يَقْلِبُ خَوّانَ الجَنَاح الأَغْبَرِ

قَلْبَ الخُرَاسانِيِّ فَرْوَ المُفْتَرِي

I am but a man who humbles the proudest.

So be generous and show me favor.

أَلْقَاهُ مِنْ نَضْحِ النَدَى بِالقَرْقَرِ

حَتَّى إِذَا رَجَعَ نَفْض الزِئْبِرِ

And you will not see - though the words pile clear -

Among people one whose tongue is more butchering

وَاصْفَرَّ مِنْهَا فِي دَمٍ كَالزَّعْفَرِ

كَالنَصْبِ رَشُّوا رَأْسَهُ بِالعُصْفُرِ

Or lion terrifying in roar

Fearing a crushing strike, breaking bones,

يَنْزُو وَمَثْنَى قَيْدِهِ في الخِنْصِرِ

عَلْهانَ يُدْعَى بِالصِياحِ المِنْهَرِ

Galloping to them in a single leap.

Neck swollen, large-cheeked, gazelles fleeing;

وَشاعِرٍ لَمْ يَدْرِ فِي التَشَعُّرِ

وَالمَوْتُ ما يَخْتِلُ خَتْل المُدَّرِي

A leader exulting over all leaders,

As though the bosses of his mighty head

حَتَّى تَجَلَّى عَنْ هِزَبْرٍ هِزْبَرِ

ذِي لِبَدٍ فِي جَلَدٍ مُنَمَّرِ

Were split from the root of all root-tangled lairs,

Columns in a strongly-knit pair atop the knoll

كَأَنَّ عَيْنَيْهِ شِهابَا مِجْمَرِ

مِنْ أُسْدِ ذِي الخَبْتَيْنِ أَوْ بِعَثَّرِ

Before which the heads of mighty beasts bow down,

When they crash between fervor and the throat

أَوْ بِلِوَى خَفَّانَ أَوْ بِالثَرْثَرِ

يُلْقِي ذِراعَيْ شَرْمَحٍ مُضَبَّرِ

In a mantle, broad-sleeved and broad-forearmed

Severing the flesh with a flint-like fang

تَرَى حِمَى أَظْفَارِهِ فِي الأَشْعُرِ

يَقْتَدُّ قَدَّ الجازِرِ المُشَرْشِرِ

That you see on a red winter day

Studded with hail, undefeated;

فَقُلْ لِذَاكَ الحائِنِ المُسْتَخْبِرِ

إِنِّي أَنَا القاضِبُ ثُمَّ المُبْتَرِي

He walks the walk of one trying to squat -

As though the shoulders of his mighty chest

وَالعاقِبُ الرِيش بِنَصْلٍ حَشْوَرِ

وَالجاذِبُ القَوْس الطَرُوح المِيطَرِ

Were a pair of solidified granite rocks -

All those about him shook from his tusks.

جَذْبَ امْرِىءٍ ما سَهْمُهُ بِأَجْوَرِ

يَرْمِي إِذَا أَوْفَقَ كُلَّ مِنْتَرِ

Leave off this and return to what an elevated one, an enchanter said:

For my streaming upon you and my face averted,

ثَبْتُ اليَدِ اليُسْرَى حَثِيثُ المِسْعَرِ

يَمْرُقُ مِنْ جَوْفِ الحِجابِ المُجْفَرِ

In clear advice and deep disaffection,

Like the blade in the inflamed eye of an one- eyed man

وَالجَوْفُ يَغْلِي بِالنَجِيعِ الأَشْقَرِ

إِنِّي امْرُؤٌ أَحْقِرُ أَمْرَ الأَحْقَرِ

Where its lasting trace has traced,

I compose with cultivated skill and embellishment.

حِلْماً وَأُكْرُوماً بِهَا تَقَدُّرِي

وَلا تَرَى وَالقَوْلُ ماضُّ المِسْبَرِ

How do you see me move into the record

On the staff of the disappearing doves,

فِي الناسِ أَبْقَى مِنْ لِسانٍ مِجْزَرِ

بَلْ إِنْ رَآنِي هادِرٌ لَمْ يَهْدِرِ

Nor does the grammarian look upon it - my looking -

And if he frowns his face with discontent

أَوْ أَسَدٌ زَأَّارَةٌ لَمْ يَزْئَرِ

يَحْذَرُ مِنْ نَطَّاحَةٍ مُكَسِّرِ

And he is the ignorant one, the expressionist,

Until I set them straight though the rugged way

يَعْدُو عَلَيْهِنَّ بِهادٍ مِجْسَرِ

وَعُنُقٍ ضَخْم الذَفَارَى أَذْفَرِ

And should the path cover them in deep darkness

I humbled them on a pillow I prepared

قَسْوَرَةٍ يَعْتَزُّ كُلَّ قَسْوَرِ

كَأَنَّ حَيْدَي رَأْسِهِ المُذَكَّرِ

And bared them in the burnishing file.

So hear the words of an eloquent apologizer

تَشَعَّبَا مِنْ مَجْمَعِ المُذَمَّرِ

صَمْدَانِ فِي ضَمْزَيْنِ فَوْقَ الضَمْزَرِ

Had not grave affairs preoccupied him, he would not have avoided Your door, staying away though you anticipated his company.

Qasim, you have perceived in your wisdom

تَهْوِي رُؤُوسُ القاحِراتِ القُحَّرِ

إِذَا هَوَتْ بَيْنَ اللُهَى وَالحَنْجَرِ

An opinion with which you stroked your innermost thoughts

When you asked God to choose for you,

فِي فِي ضُباثِيٍّ عَرِيض الأَبْهَرِ

ضَخْمِ الصَبِيَّيْنِ عَرِيضِ المِشْجَرِ

I see that you will dig the best dig

A deep well in the bottom-most bottom of the basin

يَقْتَصِلُ العَضَّ بِنَابٍ مِهْصَرِ

تَراهُ فِي يَوْمِ الشِتاءِ الأَحْمَرِ

Whose floods pour in torrents into the purse,

Filling the bucket’s round receptacle

ذا حِبَبٍ دِلْهاثَةً لَمْ يَخْصَرِ

أَبْلَخَ يَمْشِي مِشْيَةَ التَبَخْتُرِ

When its pulley sings in the wheel,

It thuds the ground with the dusty sound of a laborer

كَأَنَّ رُكْنَيْ صَدْرِهِ المُصَدَّرِ

رُكْنا جِمادَيْ إِضَمَ المُصَمْصَرِ

Hauling it on planed wood fungus-covered.

Quickly bringing up draws near the breast

قَدْ ضَجَّ مِنْ نابَيْهِ كُلُّ قَهْقَرِ

دَعْ ذا وَراجِعْ قَوْلَ عالٍ مُصْحِرِ

He turns it in something round, a churner,

Its posts asses mocked for their height -

إِنِّي عَلَى ما كانَ مِنْ تَقَطُّرِي

عَنْكَ وَنَأْيِي عَنْكَ مِنْ تَأَسُّرِ

Supplicating for you the prayer of one who fasts

To give us the Hajj before the day of sacrifice.

فِي ظَاهِرِ النُصْحِ وَلا فِي المسْرَرِ

كَالنَّصْلِ فِي جَفْنِ اليَمانِي الأَدْثَرِ

Then you marched out fluid with the departing group

Always doing good, advising, gently warning,

قَدْ دَبَّ فِي مَتْنَيْهِ أَثْرُ المَأْثَرِ

وَقُلْتُ وَالأَقْوالُ مِمَّا يَنْبَرِي

Until the evil of a reprehensible era showed itself

To us and easy Sahl, bright-faced,

مَا أَنَا بِالْفانِي وَلا المُغَمَّرِ

أَنْسِجُ نَسْجَ الصَنَعِ المُحَبِّرِ

A proud head of a great tribe

In a house of wealth, noble and good,

كَيْفَ تَرَانِي أَنْتَحِي في الدَفْتَرِ

عَلَى قَضِيبِ الذَاهِباتِ الشُبَّرِ

Not domineering in his rule

Though he climbed to the place of the vainglorious.

لايَنْظُرُ النَحْوِيُّ فِيهَا نَظَرِي

وَإِنْ لَوَى لَحْيَيْهِ بِالتَحَكُّرِ

Radiant, pure of brow, beaming,

You see him above the pulpit

وَهوَ دَهِيُّ العِلْمِ وَالتَعَبُّرِ

حَتَّى اسْتَقَامَتْ بِي عَلَى التَيَسُّرِ

Like the full moon, moon of auspiciousness revealed,

Making way the dark green shadows.

وَإِنْ تَوَعَّرْها نِقَاب الأَوْعَرِ

ذَلَّتْ وَإِنْ شَازَرْتُها بِالْمِشْزَرِ

O great in clemency, loud in roar,

When close associates take too little,

عَرَّيْتُها فِي مَرَسٍ مُحَتَّرِ

فَاسْمَعْ لِقَوْلٍ مِنْ بَلِيغٍ مُعْذِرِ

You snatch a mouthful with ample hand,

So if the domination of a thing resisted

لَولَا شَجَا أَشْغَالِهِ لَمْ يَهْجُرِ

بابَكَ مِنْ راحٍ لَكُمْ مُسْتَبْشِرِ

Prevails over the glory of one never dominated

He grows taller at the sale and stall

قاسِمُ قَدْ أَبْصَرْتَ فِي التَبَصُّرِ

رَأْياً بِهِ ناجَيْتَ نَفْسَ المُضْمَرِ

The taller, when the short fall short.

And if he stakes himself against his allotted fortune

لَمَّا اسْتَخَرْتَ اللَّهَ فِي التَخيُّرِ

أَراكَ أَنْ تَحْفِرَ خَيْرَ مَحْفِرِ

And frequents with persistence the raced course,

There passes him a mare swift as an idea flashes,

حَفِيرَةً بِالقَاعِ قَاعِ المَحْجِرِ

يَهْوى تَرامِي سَيْلِها فِي المِطْهَرِ

Shaking off the gathered beads of sweat,

When the standing pool of the slow one warms.

تَمْلأُ فَرْغَ دَلْوِها المُبَرْبِرِ

إِذَا جَرَتْ بَكرَتُها فِي المِحْوَرِ

Qasim of goodness and son of the best!

We have not had the like of you, o excellent one,

حَطَّتْ حِطاطَ البَرْبَرِيِّ الأَغْبَرِ

يَجْذِبُها فِي الخَشَبِ المُشَجَّرِ

To help us in what troubles us.

Your judgment splits the dawning light of the discerning.

جَذْباً كَخُذْرُوفِ الغُلامِ المِحْضَرِ

عاجِلَةَ الوِرْدِ دَرُوجَ المِصْدَرِ

Brave, even when you do not forgive,

And if you forgive a sin to one who seeks forgiveness,

يُحِيلُ في ذِي حَدَبٍ مُكَرْكِرِ

مَلْمُومَة أَعْضادُهُ مُقَيَّرِ

You save him from all things harbored;

You will see his rescue in the passage

يَدْعُو لَكَ اللَّه دُعاءَ المُفْطِرِ

لَنَا بِحَجٍّ قَبْلَ يَوْمِ المَنْحَرِ

And a stumbling one you reached from the stumbling,

With a cord that holds fast, not a slippery one.

ثُمَّتَ أَمْسَى نافِراً فِي النُفَّرِ

مازِلْتَ بِالإِحْسانِ وَالتَفَكُّرِ

For some of them were in the pits of testing -

Laid by a mother who did not clean herself -

وَالرِفْقِ وَالتَحْذِيرِ وَالتَحَذُّرِ

حَتَّى تَجَلَّى شَرُّ دَهْرٍ مُنْكَرِ

Degraded, content with the work of the completely degraded;

To you I complain of the torment of a tormenting era

عَنَّا وَعَنْ سَهْلِ المُحَيَّا مُسْفِرِ

مَعَتِّبِيٍّ فِي العَدِيدِ الأَكْثَرِ

Leaving cheeks like ember flames;

Evil was unleashed with a reprehensible thing

فِي بَيْتِ أَمْلاكٍ كَرِيمِ العُنْصُرِ

لا يَأْخُذُ الإِمْرَةَ بِالتَجَبُّرِ

That coils and roils before resurrection day,

Casting about in its scattering the scattered,

وَإِنْ تَعالَى كانَ أَهْلَ المَفْخَرِ

أَبْيَضَ وَضَّاحَ الجَبَيْنِ الأَزْهَرِ

The dying and the living, venerable humanity,

Complaining of poverty, but not being impoverished,

تَرَاهُ فِي القَوْمِ وَفَوْقَ المِنْبَرِ

كَالبَدْرِ بَدْرِ السَعْدَةِ المُشَهَّرِ

In tatters, after durable coats turned dusty,

Like the tatters on desiccate dead bodies;

صَدَّرَ قُدَّامَ الظَلامِ الأَخْضَرِ

يا واسِعَ الحِلْمِ جَهِيرَ الأَجْهَرِ

Many crashed down from thriving and fruitful life

After chicks like red partridges,

إِذَا الأَدِقّاءُ اسْتَقَوَا بِالأَصْغَرِ

ناهَبْتَ غَرْفاً بِالرَغِيبِ الأَوْفَرِ

They came to evening having roamed perplexed

In the darkness of night after a shining night,

فَإِنْ بَدَتْ أَجْلالُ أَمْرٍ مُعْتَرِ

قَاهَرْت عَنْ مَجْدِ امْرِئٍ لَمْ يُقْهَرِ

Flung down unable to contend with deprivation;

Free woman who never bowed has bowed to necessity.

يَزْدادُ فِي الباعِ وَعِنْدَ المَشْبَرِ

طُولاً إِذَا قَصَّرَ باع الأَقْصَرِ

وَإِنْ جَدَى مِنْ مائِهِ المُقَدَّرِ

وَابْتَذَلَ المِضْمارَ كُلُّ مُضْمِرِ

مَرَّ بِهِ ضَبْعَا جَوَادٍ مِهْمَرِ

يَنْفُضُ ماءَ العَرَقِ المُسْتَقْطَرِ

إِذَا كَبَا ماءُ البَطِيءِ المِجْمَرِ

قاسِمُ قَدْ هَيَّجْتُ ذِكْراً فَاذْكُرِ

ما فِي غَدٍ إِنِّي امْرُؤٌ مِنْ مَعْشَرِ

يَغْدُونَ أَنْصَارَكَ يَوْمَ النُصَّرِ

وَهُمْ عَلَى رَغْمِ العُدَاةِ الزُفَّرِ

أَخوالُ آبائِكَ فِي المَجْدِ الثَرِي

سَعْدُ بْنُ زَيْدٍ فِي الصَمِيمِ الدَوْسَرِ

فِي ثَرْوَةٍ ما جَدُّها بِجَيْدَرِ

أَثْرَى حَصَاهُمْ فِي العَدِيد الأَغْضَرِ

وَأَنْتَ مِنْ سَعْدٍ مَكانَ المِغْفَرِ

وَمِنْ ثَقِيفٍ لَكَ خَيْرُ الجَوْهَرِ

تَمَّ إِلَى عادِيِّ عِزٍّ بَهْزَرِ

مُؤْكِلِ آكالٍ قُدامٍ شَهْبَرِ

فِي غَيْضَةٍ شَجْراءَ لَمْ تَمعَّرِ

مِنْ شَجَرٍ عاسٍ وَغابٍ مُثْمِرِ

آزَرَ هَضْبَ القافِزاتِ الفُدَّرِ

يا قاسِمَ الخَيْراتِ وَابْن الأَخْيَرِ

ما سَاسَنَا مِثْلُكَ مِنْ مُؤَمَّرِ

أَحْسَنَ إِحْسانِكَ فِيمَا يَعْتَرِي

تَصْدَعُ بِالحُكْمِ طَرِيقَ المُبْصِرِ

شَقَّ السَنَا أَخْدارَ لَيْلٍ مُخْدِرِ

ثِنْيَيْهِ أَوْ تَعْلُوهُ بِالتَشَوُّرِ

وَفِيكَ إِضْرَارٌ لِذاك الأَضْرَرِ

وَقَدْ يُقِيمُ اللَهْزُ مَيْل الأَصْعَرِ

أَشْجَعُ مِجْذَامٌ إِذَا لَمْ تَغْفرِ

وَإِنْ غَفَرْتَ الذَنْبَ لِلْمُسْتَغْفِرِ

نَجَّيْتَهُ مِنْ كُل أَمْرٍ مُبْطِر

حَتَّى تُرى مَنجاتهُ بِمِعبَرِ

وَعاثِرٍ أَدرَكتَهُ مِن مَعثَرِ

بِحَبْلِ وافٍ لا بِحَبْل الأَغْدَرِ

إِذْ بَعْضُهُمْ فِي وَرَطاتِ المَثْبَرِ

لاَقَتْ بِوُضْعٍ أُمُّهُ لَمْ تَطْهُرِ

مُخَسَّرٍ يَرْضَى بِسَعْي الأَخْسَرِ

إِلَيْكَ أَشْكُو عَضَّ دَهْرٍ مِكْسَرِ

أَبْقَى خُدُوداً كَالَحرِيقِ المِشْرَرِ

أُرْسِلَ فَاسْتَمْدَى بِأَمْرٍ مُنْكَرِ

يَلْوي وَحَشْراً قَبْلَ يَوْمِ المَحْشَرِ

طَرَّحَ مِنْ تَفْرِيقِهِ المُبَذَّرِ

مَوْتَى وَأَحْياءً بَشَرٍّ مُوقَرِ

يَشْكُونَ فَقْراً لَيْسَ بِالتَفَقُّرِ

فِي خِرَقٍ بَعْدَ الدُقاع الأَغْبَرِ

كَخِرَقِ المَوْتَى عِجافُ القِشْبِرِ

كَمْ سَاقَطُوا مِنْ ناشِىءٍ وَمُعْصِرِ

بَعْدَ رَذَايا كَفِراخ الحُمَّرِ

أَمْسَوْا كَمَنْ زاوَلَ فِي التَحَيُّرِ

ظَلْماءَ لَيْلٍ بَعْدَ لَيْلٍ مُقْمِرِ

مُلْقَيْنَ لا يَرْمُونَ أُمَّ الهِنْبِرِ

عَنْ جَرِّ هَزْلَى أَسْلَمَتْ لَمْ تُقْبَرِ