مرضٌ بقلبك ما يعادُ

وقتيلُ حب لا يقادُ

A disease in your heart that will not be cured

And a slain love that will not be revived

يا آخر العشّاق ما

أبصرتَ أوَّلهم يذاد

O you, the last of lovers, did you not see

The first of them being rejected

يقضِى المتيَّم منهمُ

نحبا ولو رُدُّوا لعادوا

The enamored spends his life in grief

Even if they returned, they would repeat

ملكوا النفوسَ فهل لنا

من بعدها ما يسترادُ

They captured souls, so do we have

Anything after them that can be regained

أبداً جناياتُ العيو

ن بحَرِّها يَصلَى الفؤادُ

The sins of the beloveds, their sea

In which the heart kneels down and prays

ما خلتُ غِزلان اللِّوى

كظباءِ مكَّةَ لا تصادُ

I have never left the does of tenderness

Like the she-camels of Mecca that cannot be herded

يقظان تَنصلُ أحبُلى

عنها ويقنِصها الرقادُ

Awake, my ropes slip away

From them, and slumber seizes them

بالعذلِ تُوقَد لوعتى

وبقَدحِه يُوَرى الزنَّادُ

With separation my anguish is ignited

And with its goblet the kindler is illuminated

لم يستطعْ إطفاءَها

دمعٌ كما انخرقَ المَزادُ

No tears could extinguish it

As the auctioneer's voice was torn

لا تنكرا جُرحى فلل

عذَّال ألسنةٌ حِدادُ

Do not deny my wound, for the

Whip has eloquent and mourning tongues

طمعٌ وأنتَ برامةٍ

فيمن تضمَّنه النِّجادُ

A hope while you are aloof

From one veiled with bashfulness

والحىّ قد هَبَطتْ خيا

مُهُمُ وقعقعقت العمادُ

And the loved one has descended, her

Tent gloomy, and the pillars rattled

والوَردُ من زَهر الخدو

د كِمامهُ الكِدَلُ الوِرادُ

The roses from the flowers of cheeks

Are like its veils, the withered buds

لو يسمحون بوقفةٍ

أبتَ المطايا والجيادُ

If they allow a stance, the horses

And steeds have refused

ظعنوا بأقمارٍ علي

ها تُحسدُ الكومُ الجِلادُ

They slandered moons upon

Which the piled corpses are envied

ولأجلها غَبَط الغَبي

طَ حجابُ قلبي والسوادُ

And for their sake the foolish

Envied the veil of my heart and its darkness

فيقول أيّ الحالتي

ن أشدُّ هجرٌ أم بعادُ

So he says which of my two states

Is more intense - estrangement or remoteness?

تعفو المنازلُ إن نأَوا

عنها وتغبرُّ البلادُ

The dwellings forgive if you become

Distant from them, and the lands become desolate

والحىُّ أولَى بالبِلى

شوقا إذا بَلىَ الجمادُ

And the loved one is more deserving of decay

Out of longing, even if the inanimate decays

ما ضرَّهم والحسنُ لا

يبقىَ لو امتنُّوا وجادوا

It did no harm to them, and beauty

Does not last if they are ungrateful and stingy

أتُرى حرامٌ أن يُرَى

في الناس معشوقٌ جوادُ

Does it seem forbidden that

A generous beloved appears among people?

لعبٌ مفاتيحُ الهوى

والحرب أوّلُها طِرادُ

The keys of love are a game

And its first is chase

أوَ ما رأيت فتى قري

شٍ وهو للجُلَّى عَتادُ

Or have you not seen a youth of Quraysh

And he is accustomed to gatherings

وله المعاني المستد

قَّةُ والكلامُ المستفادُ

He has refined meanings and advantageous

Speech adorned as if bejeweled

وأَصالةٌ في الرأى بالسِّ

حر الموشَّى لا تُكادُ

And originality of opinion with magic

Embroidered, cannot be matched

وشواردٌ في القول قد

قُرِنتْ بها السَّبْع الشِّدادُ

And witty words coupled with

Seven strong and sharp swords

كالهرقليَّاتِ النوا

صعِ ليس يَنفيها انتقادُ

Like unbreakable lances

Whose validity cannot be denied

فكأنه قَسٌ وها

شمُ حولَ منطقِهِ إيادُ

As if he is resolute, and the warriors

Encircling his reason are assistance

كيف ارتعَى زَهر الصبا

بةِ والغرامُ له قيادُ

How did he enjoy the flower of youth

And love is his leader after imagining, jest, and grief that tamed him

بعد التخيُّل والمِرا

حِ ونَى وذلّلهُ القيادُ

Graceful, neither rigid in sympathy

Nor coarse in head and appearance

نشوان لا في عطفه

بطرٌ ولا في الرأس صادُ

He is so-and-so, son of so-and-so, not

Sulayma or Sa`dah

فبه فلانٌ أو فلا

نٌ لا سُلَيمى أو سعادُ

He is satisfied with an apparition that

Our conversation and pillows promised

يرضَى بطيفٍ قال مو

عدُنا الحشيَّةُ والوِسادُ

And the knot of his devotion is undone

With something that the censors have twisted

وتُحَلُّ عُقدةُ نُسكهِ

بالشيء لفّفه البِجادُ

O Mus`ab, its misfortunes pulled him

With twisted ropes of calamities

يا مُصعبَا جرّته في

أرسانها اللِّممُ الجِعادُ

And moments targeted him two by two

Or one by one

واستهدفته ال

لحظات مثنىَ أو أُحاد

And supple mounts convinced him

With their dunes, excellent resting places

واستعطفته روادفٌ

كُثبانها نِعمَ المِهادُ

The slashes of swords witness that his saliva

Is testimony, even if the smooth surface blistered

ولَمىً رضابُ النحل يش

هد أنَّ ريقتَه شِهادُ

And the mature opinion sometimes erred

And the intended goal was lost

ولربما خار الجلي

دُ وغُلِّطَ الرأى المرادُ

I have always had holy war in the way of love before you

Until that distress ended and the goal of fire became ashes

قد كان قبلك في سبي

ل الحبّ لي أبدا جِهادُ

And if you see the universe, then know

That corruption will ensue

حتى خبا ذاك الضرا

م وغاية النار الرَّمادُ

And wonder about people in times

Who ruled with foolishness, how they prevailed

وإذا رأيتَ الكون فاع

لمْ أن سيتبعُهُ الفسادُ

They have no profound words that

Excite, nor chaste ones that benefit

واعجب لقومٍ في الزما

ن على السفاهة كيف سادوا

I seek forgiveness from Allah, the Most High

The critics have become like beasts

لا عندهم كَلِمٌ تَغ

رُّ ولا نُضارٌ يستفادُ

أستغفر الله العل

ىَّ لقد تذأَّبت النِّقادُ