مُفارَقَةٌ وَاللَهُ عَزَّ نَظيرُها
أَسيرُ غَداً عَنها وَقَلبي أَسيرُها
A paradox indeed, by Allah unmatched
I leave tomorrow though my heart remains ensnared
تَخَلَّيتُ عَن قَلبي لَها غَيرَ مُكرَهٍ
وَلَكِنَّ نَفسَ الحُرِّ تَغلو مُهورُها
Willingly I gave my heart without compulsion
But the spirit of the free spreads its wings far and wide
رَهَنَت فُؤادي في هَواها لِمُدَّةٍ
فَلَم يُغنِ عَنهُ عِندَ نَفسي مُرورُها
My heart was held captive by its passion for some time
Yet my soul gained nothing when time passed it by
فَلَيسَت تَرى لِلعَلَقِ عِندي عَلاقَةً
وَعِندي يَدٌ لَم توفِ عَنّي نُذورُها
So do not think that to passion I'm inclined
Or that my hand's not kept its promises and vows
وَإِن كانَ نَفلاً ما سَمَحَت فَإِنَّها
صَنائِعٌ في رَأيي تَزادُ أُجورُها
And if it grants freely then surely its gifts
Are in my view merits that increase its reward
فَأَنّي رَأَيتُ الفَضلَ فَضلَ زِيادَةٍ
عَلى حَقِّهِ يُمسي خَطيراً نَزيرُها
For excess virtue, I've found, becomes nearly a vice
When beyond rightful due its zeal is inspired
وَأَنَّ المَزايا مِن قَليلٍ وَرُبَّما
لَعَمري قَليلُ المَكرُماتِ كَثيرُها
Favors oft slight, though great when tallied in full
By my life, little kindness is much when required
فَإِن كُنتُ لَم أوثِر عَلى النَفسِ مَجدَها
فَلا أَحمَدَ الآثارَ عَنّي أَثيرُها
If I did not for glory's sake favor myself
No remarkable feats from me will transpire
وَما الفَرقُ ما بَينَ الكَريمِ وَضِدُّهُ
إِذا لَم يُحَمِّل نَفسَهُ ما يُضيرُها
What differs a noble man from his counterpart?
If he bears no burden that brings him to harm
وَما الحُرُّ مَن يَلوى لِضُرٍّ يَمَسُّهُ
إِذا لَفَحَتهُ في اللَيالي حُرورُها
No man is free who recoils from hurt come his way
When anguish by night kindles flames in his soul
وَلَكِنَّ مَن يَقوى وَلِلرَوعِ نَصلَةٌ
يُطيرُ فُؤادَ الفَحلِ إِذا يَستَطيرُها
But he who stands fast though dread hacks at his bones
His spirit, when stirred, is too proud for its bridle
وَلَكِنَّ مَن يَطوي عَلى المُرِّ مُرَّةً
تَظَلُّ عَلَيهِ مُستَمِرّاً مَريرُها
He who stoically suffers each bitter sting
Will have sorrow inflict constant grim lashes
وَلَكِنَّ مَن يَغدو وَتَغدو عَزيمَةً
لَهُ مِثلَ حَدِّ السَيفِ وَهوَ شَهيرُها
While he who sets out as resolve guides each dawn
Owns a will keen as polished and bared scimitar
وَلَكِنَّ مَن يَفري السُتورَ إِذا عُدَّت
عَلَيهِ خُطوبٌ لا تُزاحُ سُتورُها
He who tears aside veils when disasters descend
With no veil strong enough to ward off their fury
وَلَكِنَّ مَن يَغشى صُدورَ مَجالِسٍ
وَتَغشاهُ مَن جَرَّدَ المَذاكي صُدورُها
He who attends gatherings with breasts all exposed
While breasts all around tightly shroud what's inside
وَلَكِن فَتىً عِندَ الرَزايا صَبورُها
وَفي وَسَطِ أَجوالِ المَنايا ضُبورُها
A man, long enduring amid calamities,
Right in the midst of death's crushing onslaughts
أَلا في سَبيلِ المَجدِ أَن شَكيمَةٌ
أُجيشَ بِها لَم يَخَب يَوماً سَعيرُها
Indeed, on the path to glory, stoicism
Once stirred, knows no defeat in its ferocious campaign
وَأَنّي حَلَبتُ الدَهرَ أَشطُرُهُ وَقَد
مَضَت لي كَأَعوامِ الرِجالِ شُهورُها
Half of time have I milked, as men do in their years
Were it not for my wellspring of valor's draught
إِذا لَم يَكُن ماءَ الشَهامَةِ مَنهَلي
وَلَم يَهدِني نَحوَ الحَفيظَةِ نورُها
If the water of glory was not my oasis
Or its light lead me to noble horizons
فَلا وافَقَت لِلمَكرُماتِ عَقيلَةُ
أَخاها وَلا صاغَ القَوافي أَميرَها
Then no congenial company would inspire a brother
Or prince fit to compose verses' empire
يُفَجِّرُ فيها لِلقَريحَةِ أَنهُراً
غِزاراً فَلا تَخشى المَغاضِ بُحورُها
Unleashing within it rivers of creativity
With no fear provisions will leave its streams dry
وَما ذاكَ إِلّا أَنَّهُ مُتَخَرِّجٌ
عَلى ذاتِ فَضلٍ لا يَخيبُ سَميرُها
This because it is born of exceeding merit
Whose lofty wisdom no shameful act could inspire
مُمَنَّعَةٌ أَركانَها فَوقَ حِكمَةٍ
مُرَفَّعَةٍ تَعلو السِماكَ قُصورُها
Its edifice is protected by wisdom sublime
With towers that the highest heavens admire
تَميلُ بِأَعطافِ النَجاحِ خُصورُها
وَتَضحَكُ عَن مِثلِ الأَقاحِ ثُغورُها
Its breasts incline with good fortune's gestures
While wretchedness cannot touch its rooms
وَتَزهو وَلا زَهوَ الكَواكِبِ في الدُجى
إِذا في لَيالي الجَهلِ تَمَّ سُفورُها
It glows, outshining celestial bodies in darkness
When nights of ignorance reach their uttermost
يُقِرُّ لَها مِن كُلِّ بَدرٍ تَمامُهُ
وَيَحسُدُها مِن كُلِّ شَمسٍ ذُرورُها
The full moon concedes its totality to it
While each sun envies its illuminating fire
فَقَد خَوَّلَتني نِعمَةٌ فَوقَ نِعمَةٍ
وَكُلٌّ إِذا عُدَّت فَإِنّي شُكورُها
For excellence granted me favor on favor
Each counted, for it I give thanks and admire
فَأَلبَسَني نَسجَ الحُبورِ حَبيرُها
وَأَوطَأَني مَهدَ السُرورِ سَريرُها
It clothed me in bliss' robe and settled me
On joy's cushions as honored desired
لَقَد رَشَّحَت حِلمي فَجاءَت خَلائِقي
مِنَ الطَبعِ أَولاها وَلا أَستَعيرُها
It adorned my forbearance, untainted by nature
Acquired virtues - none borrowed, none hired
لَيالي هاتيكَ المَهارِقَ حَولَنا
يَدورُ بِنا دَورَ الأَساوِرِ دورُها
Those nights of vigil spun round us
Like bracelets, without cease, in their gyre
لِذاكَ غَدَت تَحكي بَياضَ طُروسِها
وَإِن أَشبَهَتها بِالظَلامِ سُطورُها
Thus they tell, despite darkness, their dawns' motifs
Though shadows obscure their lines, these memoirs
مَجَرَّ وَمَجرى سُمرِ أَقلامِنا الَّتي
يَهينُ صَليلُ المَشرِفي صَريرُها
Time flowed, and our pens flowed in its dimness
Whose drips humble clangs from refined sabers
أَلا حَبَّذا تِلكَ اللَيالي فَإِنَّها
هِيَ الغُرُّ لَكِن لَيسَ يَدري غُرورُها
Oh, to have those nights back, deceitful as they were
Unbeknownst to all the deception their guise bore
قَضَيتُ بِها أُنساً كَأَن لَم أَفُز بِهِ
وَرَشفُ كُؤوسٍ لَم تَحرِم خُمورُها
I found in them joy as though I'd never attained
And drank from cups whose wine was not barred
فَما أَنسَ لا أَنسَ الرِياضَ الَّتي جَرى
وَأَورَدَني ماءَ النَعيمِ غَديرُها
No joy like the gardens where streams wandered about
And gave me to drink from bliss' rivers procured
وَلا أَنسَ أَوقاتاً قَضَيتُ بِرَبعِها
وَلا صُحبَةً مِنّي كَريمٌ عَشيرُها
No joy like moments with a kindred soul shared
Or company whose nobility was assured
فَإِن يَقضِ بِالبُعدِ القَضاءُ فَإِنَّهُ
عَذيري مِنها وَهوَ مِنّي عَذيرُها
If decreed we must part, that's excuse for us both
And for me, from it, no rancor endured
مَضَت فَأَمَضَّت مُهجَتي وَكَأَنَّها
نَضيرُ كَرى عَينَيَّ كانَ كُرورُها
It left, and left my love smoldering, as though
It were the beloved whose loss I bemoaned
فَلا تُنكِرَن مِنّي الَّذي قَد شَهِدتُهُ
وُجوماً بِنَفسٍ قَد تَسامى زَفيرُها
So do not deny what I have witnessed
As one whose spirit has climbed to heights still not breathed
فَبي مِن جَوى الأَحشاءِ ما لَو جَعَلتُهُ
عَلى قَنَنِ الأَجبالِ دَكَّت صُخورُها
For my heart bore a longing - had I heaved it atop mountains
It would have shaken their rocks right down to the core
تَصَعَّدَ مِنّي زَفرَةً فَتُثيرُني
وَأَجهَدَ في أَرجاعِها فَأَثيرُها
It wrenched from me a sigh that unsettled me
As I struggled desperately to hold it in
فَإِن كُنتَ أَظهَرتَ الفُتورَ بِلَوعَتي
فَرُبَّ عُيونٍ شَبَّ ناراً فُتورُها
If indifference you detected, know that many eyes
Conceal fires their composure obscures
أَودَعَ مَغنى قَد قَضَيتُ بِهِ الصَبا
وَأَرضَيتُ نَفساً كَالنَهارِ ضَميرُها
I stored away a yearning whose stretch filled my prime
And contented a soul like the sun in its sphere
وَمارَستُ أَعلاماً وَدارَستُ عِليَةً
وَآنَستُ أَنواراً تَماماً بِدورِها
I undertook milestones and studied the eminent
And conversed with beacons complete in their orbits
عَلَيَّ لَهُم فَضلٌ بِجيدي دَرُّهُ
وَكَم فِتيَةٌ مِنهُم تَحَلَّت نُحورُها
To them I owe so much - when counted, each parcel
And what splendid youth spent in their shadow
تَحاشَيتُ نَفسي مِن سُلوِ عُهودِهِم
فَإِنَّ نَجارى المُنذِرِيَّ نَذيرُها
I've distanced myself from violating their bond
For the Nizaris' carpenter could only warn me
فَما قَصُرَت إِلّا وَقامَت مَآثِرُ
مِنَ الأَصلِ لا يُدري لَعَمري قُصورُها
Never did they fall short; only achievements arose
Whose excellence, by my life, failures do not mar
فَذِكرُها عَهدُ الخَوَرنَقِ شَأنُها
وَإِن سَدَرَت ما غابَ عَنها سَديرُها
To recall them is to recall Kharanah's realm
Even if the centuries have obscured its sphere
مَآثَرَ أَجدادٍ جَديدِ فِخارِها
يُذَرّى وَإِن طالَت خُلُوّاً عُصورُها
The great deeds of ancestors - enduring their pride
Though ages have passed since their time drew near
عَلى أَنَّهُ ما تَمَّ فَضلٌ لِأَوَّلِ
بِعُصبَتِهِم حَتّى أَجادَ أَخيرُها
Still, no feat was complete until the first of them
United their people, down to the last pioneer
