يَهون عندكُمُ أنّي بكم أَرِقُ

وأنّ دمعاً على الخدّين يستبقُ

It seems trivial to you that I stay awake because of you,

That tears flow down my cheeks,

وأنّ دَيْناً عليكمْ لا قضاءَ له

وأنّ رَهْناً عليكمْ تائِهٌ غَلِقُ

That I have a debt to you that will never be paid,

That I have a pledge to you that wanders aimlessly.

وكيف ينفعنا صدقُ الحديثِ وقد

قبلتُمُ قول أقوامٍ وما صدقوا

How can truthful talk benefit us when you have

Accepted the words of others though they do not speak the truth?

وهلْ دنُوُّكُمُ مُسلٍ ونحن إذا

كنّا جميعاً بطولِ الصَّدِّ نفترقُ

Does your coming closer to us soothe the estranged

When we are all separated by lifelong enmity?

كلُّ المودّةِ زورٌ غيرَ وُدِّكُمُ

وكلُّ حبٍّ سوى حبّي لكمْ مَلَقُ

All affection is false except your affection,

And all love apart from my love for you is disavowed.

يا صاحِبَيَّ اِمتِحاني من عيونكما

فأنّ لِي مُقْلَةً إنسانُها غَرِقُ

O my two companions, test me with your eyes

For my eyes hold a human who is drowning.

واِستَوضحا هل حمولُ الحيِّ زائلةٌ

والرَّكْبُ عن جَنَباتِ الحيِّ منطلقُ

Make clear whether the burdens of the living pass away

And the caravan moves on from the flanks of the living.

وفي الحدوج الّتي حفّ القَطينُ بها

ظبْيٌ بما شاء من أَلبابنا عَلِقُ

In the bosoms that the two cats have surrounded

A gazelle hangs by whichever of our robes it can grab.

ودِدْتُ منه وَقد حَفّ الوشاةُ بنا

أنّا بعِلّةِ قرْبِ البينِ نعتنِقُ

I wished, though the slanderers have surrounded us,

That through the nearness of our souls we would embrace.

قُل للّذي بات محروماً يُثبّطُهُ

عن مطمحِ العزِّ منه الرُّعْبُ والشَّفَقُ

Say to him who spends the night discouraged, frightened

By fear and dread from aspiring to glory,

يرعى الهشيمَ مُلِظّاً قعرَ أوديةٍ

غرثَى المسالكِ لا ماءٌ ولا ورقُ

Herding the stubble, penetrating the depths of valleys,

Rugged roads with no water or vegetation,

إنّي علقتُ بفخر الملكِ في زمنٍ

ما كان لِي منه في الأقوامِ مُعتَلِقُ

I have clung to the pride of the king in a time

When I had no one among the tribes to cling to.

مردّدٌ كلَّ يومٍ في مواهبِهِ

متوَّجٌ منه بالنعماءِ مُنْتَطِقُ

Repeating each day his gifts,

Crowned by his favors, speaking fluently.

يا صَفْونا في زمانٍ كلُّهُ كَدَرٌ

وفجرَنا في زمانٍ كلُّه غَسَقُ

O our sword in a time that is all discord,

And our dawn in a time that is all darkness.

وحامِلَ العِبْء كلّتْ دونه مُنَنٌ

وقائدَ الجيشِ ضاقتْ دونه الطُّرُقُ

The burden-bearer - gifts diminished around him,

The army leader - the roads narrowed around him

ورابطَ الجأْشِ والأبطالُ هائبةٌ

والهامُ بين أنابيب القنا فَلِقُ

The brave heroes terrified and confused,

The resolve broken between the shafts of the spears.

في موقفٍ حَرِجٍ يُلقَى السّلاحُ به

والقِرْنُ من ضيقه بالقرن معتنقُ

In a precarious situation the weapons are flung down,

Spear locked to spear in the crush.

قد كان قبلك قومٌ لا جميل لهمْ

كأنّهمْ من خمول الذّكرِ ما خُلِقوا

Before you there were people without merit,

As if from the coma of memory they were not created.

فوتُ الأمانِيَ ما شادوا ولا كرموا

نُكْدُ السّحائبِ ما اِنهلّوا ولا بَرِقوا

They missed opportunities - they did not achieve or be generous.

Clouds that do not rain - they did not flash or thunder.

فَما نَفَقنا عَليهم من غَباوَتهمْ

وما علينا بشيءٍ منهُمُ نفقوا

We have not wasted anything on their foolishness,

Nor do we owe them anything they spent.

وأين قبلك يا فخرَ الملوك فتىً

مُستَجْمَعٌ فيه هذا الخَلْقُ والخُلُقُ

O pride of kings, who before you was there,

With this nature and ethics combined?

ومَنْ إذا دخل الجبّارُ حضرتَهُ

يزداد عزّاً إذا ذَلّتْ له العُنُقُ

Who, when the Almighty enters his presence,

Gains more honor as necks bow down before him?

وأيُّ مُخْتَرِقٍ يُضحِي وَلَيس بهِ

إلى الفضيلةِ منك النَّصُّ والعَنَقُ

Who makes sacrifices yet needs from you

Support and determination to be virtuous?

وأيُّ مُقصىً عن المعروف ليس له

مُصْطَبحٌ بين ما تُولِي ومُغْتَبَقُ

Who is denied kindness yet has no

Shelter between your aversions and favors?

شِعْبٌ به لذوي الأنضاء مُرتَبَعُ

وجانبٌ فيه للمحروم مُرتَزَقُ

A creek where the highborn are seated,

And a side where the deprived are fed.

مُستَمْطَرُ الجود لا فقرٌ ولا جَهَدٌ

ومُستجارٌ فلا خوفٌ ولا فَرَقُ

Raining generosity - no poverty or strain,

And a refuge - no fear or panic.

ومشهدٌ ليس فيه من هوىً جَنَفٌ

ولا يُطاشُ به طيشٌ ولا خُرُقُ

A scene with no deviation or madness,

And no destructive chaos or breach.

لا يألف الحِقْدُ مَغْنىً من مساكنِهِ

ولا يُلَبِّثُ في أبياتِهِ الحَنَقُ

Malice finds no joy in its dwellings,

No buried grudge lingers in its quarters.

قد قلتُ للقومِ لم يخشوا صَريمَتَهُ

وربّما خاب بغياً بعضُ مَنْ يَثِقُ

I told the people - they did not fear his roar,

And sometimes the ambitious stumble in their confidence.

حذارِ من غَفَلاتِ اللّيث يَخْدَرُ في

رأي العيونِ وفي تاموره النَّزَقُ

Beware of the lion's inattention - it slumbers

Deceiving the eyes, though its interior seethes.

يُغضِي كأنَّ عليه من كرىً سِنَةً

وإنّما حشُوه التّسهيدُ والأَرَقُ

He pretends as if the affliction of old age weighs upon him,

Yet he is stuffed with rest and comfort.

ولا تراه وإنْ طال المِطالُ به

إلّا مُكِبّاً على الأوصال يعترِقُ

You will not see him, though expectations are long,

Except hunched over, writhing in pain,

أوْ مِن ضئيلٍ كجُثمانِ الفظيعِ له

في كلّ ما ذَرَّ نجمٌ أوْ هوى صَعِقُ

Or like the body of a hideous weakling -

For everything the stars rose or lightning struck!

أُرَيْقِطٌ غيرَ أرفاغٍ نَجَوْنَ كما

مسّ الفتى من نواحي جلده البَهَقُ

Patchy, not sleek, shriveled, as if

His skin is touched by scabs everywhere.

تراه في القيظِ مُلتفّاً بسَخْبَرَةٍ

كأنّما هو في تدويره طبَقُ

You see him in summer wrapped in a cloak,

As if he is spinning in his circles like a top.

فاِفخَرْ فما الفخرُ إِلّا ما خُصصتَ به

وفخرُ غَيرك مكذوبٌ ومُختَلَقُ

So boast! For boasting is only what you are distinguished by,

While others' boasting is fabricated and contrived.

فالمجدُ وَقْفٌ على دارٍ حللتَ بها

وما عداك فشيءٌ منك مُستَرَقُ

Glory is endowed upon the house you have inhabited,

Anything apart from you is something stolen from you.

وَاِسعَدْ بِذا العيد والتّحويلِ إنّهما

توافقا والسّعودُ الغُرُّ تتَّفقُ

Rejoice in this feast and celebration - they coincide

With good fortune - pure joy matches.

عيدانِ هذا به فِطْرُ الصّيامِ وذا

زار البسيطةَ فيه الوابلُ الغَدَقُ

This feast with which we break the fast,

And that feast the downpour visited bountifully.

وقتٌ به السّعدُ مقرونٌ ومُلتبسٌ

وطالعٌ وَسْطَه التوفيقُ مُرتِفقُ

A time when fortune is joined and intermingled,

A rising moment when success cooperates.

وليلةٌ صقل التحويلُ صبغتَها

فإنّما هي للسَّاري بها فَلَقُ

A night the celebration colored

For it belongs only to the exalted one it suits.

ومن رأى قبل أنْ ضوّأتَ ظُلمَتَهُ

ليلاً له في الدّآدي منظرٌ يَقَقُ

He who saw before you illuminated its darkness

Saw a detestable sight in the abysses at night.

ضاقَ القَريضُ عن اِستيفاء فضلك يا

ربَّ القريض وعَيَّتْ ألسُنٌ ذُلُقُ

Expression falls short of enumerating your merit,

O master of expression - tongues falter.

وإنّما نشكر النُّعمى وإِنْ عظمتْ

فكم أُناسٍ بما أُولُوهُ ما نطقوا

We only thank favors, however great,

For how many people did not speak of what they were given!

فَاِسلَمْ ودُمْ فزِنادُ الملك وارِيةٌ

وكلُّ مختلفٍ في الخلقِ مُتّسِقُ

Stay safe - the provisions of the kingdom are abundant,

And everything in creation agrees.

وعشْ كما شئتَ عمراً ما لنائبةٍ

به محالٌ ولا فيه لها طُرُقُ

Live as long as you wish, impervious to misfortune -

It has no means to reach you, no way to access you.