لَقَد كُنتُ أَرجو أَن تَعودَ وَتَغنَما

وَتَنسى عَناءً قَد مَضى وَتَصَرَّما

I had hoped you would return and be rewarded,

And forget the past hardship and become dignified,

وَتَعتَذِرُ الأَيّامُ عَمّا تَحامَلَت

عَلَيكَ وَيَمحو اليَومُ ما الأَمسُ قَدُما

And the days would apologize for what they put you through,

And today would erase what yesterday established.

فَما راعَني إِلّا مُصابَكَ تارِكاً

لَيالِيَّ أَيّاماً وَيَومِيَ مُظلِما

But I was not preoccupied except by your tragedy, leaving

My nights as days, and my days gloomy,

وَسَهمٌ تَلقاهُ فُؤادي وَإِنَّهُ

لِآلَمٍ ما لاقى نِبالاً وَأَسهُما

And my heart was struck by an arrow, and it

Was painful unlike any arrows and spears.

أَجَل لَم تَزَل حَتّى أُصِبتَ بِمُلحِمٍ

فَتَفَتَّأَ حَتّى المَوتُ تَذكُرُ مُلحِما

Indeed, you did not stop until you were struck by adversity,

So much so that even death recalls adversity.

مَصابٌ تَشاطَرناهُ طَراً فَكُلُّنا

يَبكي عَلى مَفقودِكَ الدَمعُ وَالدِما

A tragedy we shared, so all of us

Cry over your loss, with tears and blood.

رَأَينا عَظيماً قَبلَهُ حادِثُ النَوى

لَعَمري فَجاءَ البَينَ أَدهى وَأَعظَما

We saw you great before the incident of An-Nawā,

By my life, then separation came, more painful and greater.

وَكُنّا نُرَجّي فَرحَةً بِزَفافِهِ

فَوا حَسرتاً اِعتَضنا مِنَ العُرسِ مَأتَما

And we were hoping for joy in his wedding,

But alas, instead of a wedding we were struck by bereavement.

وَصارَت بِهِ تِلكَ التَهاني مَراثِياً

وَناحَ الَّذ قَد شاءَ أَن يَتَرَنَّما

And with it those congratulations became elegies,

And he wept who had wanted to chant.

فَتىً لَم يَكُن إِلّا بِأَعوامِهِ فَتى

فَقَد كانَ في عَقلِ الرِجالِ وَأَحلَما

A young man not but in his years,

Yet he was a man in reason and forbearance.

تَقَبَّلَ بِالصَبرِ الجَميلِ بَلاءَهُ

وَحَلى بِشُهدِ الطَبعِ ما كانَ عَلقَما

He faced his affliction with beautiful patience,

And sweetened what was bitter with his good nature.

تَحَمَّل مِن بِلواهُ وَهوَ مُراهِقٌ

لَعَمري ما لَو حَلَّ طَوداً تَهَدَّما

He endured his tribulation while still a teenager,

By my life, were it to befall a mountain it would crumble.

كَأَنَّ الَّذي فيهِ مِنَ العَقلِ قَد أَتى

لِنَزدادَ فيهِ حَسرَةً وَتَأَلُّما

It is as if the reason in him had come

Only to increase our anguish and pain.

فَأَيَّ فُؤادٍ لا يَذوبُ لِمِثلِهِ

وَأَيُّ سُرورٍ لا يَكونَ مُحرِما

So which heart would not melt for one like him?

And which joy would not become prohibited?

أَتَوفيقٌ ثِق ما أَنتَ في الخَطبِ واحِداً

وَلَكِنَّهُ حَزَنٌ عَلَينا تَقَسَّما

O Tawfiq, trust that you are peerless in calamity,

Yet it is a sadness upon us all.

وَإِن كُنتَ مَجروحَ الفُؤادِ فَكُلُّنا

غَدا لَكَ مَجروحُ الفُؤادِ مِكلَما

And if your heart is wounded, then all of us

Tomorrow will be wounded in heart, together.

تَناثَرَ دَمعي فَوقَ طَرسَ أَخطَهُ

لِذاكَ غَدا نَثري وَنَظمي تَوأَما

My tears scattered above the soil of his grave,

So my scattering and composing became twins.

يَخَيَّلُ لي مَبكاكَ عِندَ وَداعَهُ

خَيلاً عَلى بُعدِ الدِيارِ مِجسَما

I imagine your crying when bidding him farewell

Like a vision from afar fully embodied.

مَضى وَبَقيتُ العُمرَ تَذكُرُ فَقدَهُ

فَيا لَيتَ شِعري مَن تَرَوَّحَ مِنكُما

He left, and I remain remembering his loss,

So I wish I knew which one of you found relief.

مَضى وَلَو الماضي يُهنا عَلى الرَدى

لَقُلتُ لَهُ اِضحَك ضاحِكاً مُتَبَسِّما

He left, and if only the departed could be swayed from demise,

I would say to him, “Smile with a smiling face.”

فَما هَذِهِ الدارُ العَزيزَةُ عِندَنا

بِأَهلٍ لَعَمري أَن تُعَزَّ وَتُكرِما

For by my life, this dear house is not one

With people, if you want it honored and cherished.

إِذا سَبَرَ الناسُ الأُمورَ بَدَت لَهُم

حَقائِقَ لا تُبقى فُؤاداً مُتَيَّما

When people examine matters, realities appear to them

That leave no heart desolate.

فَكَم فَرِحٍ فيها بِخَيرٍ أَصابَهُ

يَعودُ عَلَيهِ حَسرَةً وَتَنَدُّما

How much joy in it from good that befell him

Returns as regret and remorse.

وَكَم نِعمَةٍ تَبدو فَتَرجِعُ نَقمَةً

وَمَغنَمَ قَومِ عادٍ مِن بَعدُ مُغرِما

And how much blessing appears then returns a curse,

And gains like Aad’s that became losses.

عَزاءَكَ يا اِبنَ العَمِّ هَل ثَمَّ حيلَةٌ

تَصُدُّ بِها ذاكَ القَضاءَ المُحتَما

Is there a way, O nephew, to repel

That decreed fate?

وَمِثلِكُ مَن قَد غَلَّبَ العَقلَ وَالحَجى

عَلى حِسِّهِ عِندَ المَصابِ وَحَكَّما

And one like you who reason and wisdom

Have overcome feeling in calamity and empowered.

رَجَوتُ إِلَهي في بَنيكَ الأُلى بَقوا

بِأَن يَسلَموا في جانِبَيكَ وَتَسَلَّما

I hoped, my God, that your excellent children remain

To be safe in Your care and prosper,

وَيَملَأُ مَرآهُم عُيونَكَ قُرَّةً

وَيَغدوا بُدوراً في البِلادِ وَأَنجُما

And their mirrors fill with joy in Your eyes,

And they become full moons in the land and stars.