أَماويُّ إِنْ كانَ الشبابُ الَّذي اِنقَضَت

لَياليهِ عَنّي شابَ مِنكَ صَفاءا

O Ammawi, if the youth whose nights passed from me

Made one of you youthful in purity,

فَما الذّنبُ لي في فاحمٍ حالَ لَونهُ

بَياضاً وَقَد حالَ الظلامُ ضِياءا

Then it is no sin of mine in a cheek whose color

Turned white when darkness turned to radiance.

وَما إِنْ عَهِدنا زائلاً حانَ فقدُهُ

وَإِنْ كانَ مَوقوفاً أَزال إِخاءا

And if what we knew would pass did pass,

Though permanent it erased compassion.

وَلَو كانَ فيما يُحدثُ الدَّهرُ حيلةٌ

أَبَيْتُ عَلى هَذا المَشيبِ إِباءا

And if the changes of fate had a trick,

I refused this gray hair with refusal.

فَلا تُنكري لَوناً تَبَدّلتُ غَيرَه

كَمُستَبدِلٍ بَعدَ الرّداءِ رِداءا

So do not deny me a color I exchanged

Like one exchanging a cloak for another cloak.

فَإِنّي على العهدِ الّذي تَعهَدينهُ

حفاظاً لما اِستَحفَظتِنِي وَوفاءا

For I keep the pact to which you pledged me

Protecting what you entrusted me in faithfulness.

مَشيبٌ كَفَتقِ اللّيلِ في مُدلهمّةٍ

أَتاك يَقيناً أو أَزال مِراءا

Gray hair like the darkness of night in gloom

Came to you with certainty or erased dispute.

كَأنَّ اللَيالي عنهُ لمّا رَمَينني

جَلَوْنَ صَداءً أو كشَفن غِطاءا

As if the nights when they shot me with arrows

Cast an echo or uncovered a covering.

فَلا تَجعلي ما كانَ منكِ مِنَ الأَذى

عِقاباً لِما لَمْ آتِهِ وَجَزاءا

So do not make what hurt me from you

A punishment for what I did not give as reward.

وَعُدّي بَياضَ الرّأسِ بعدَ سوادهِ

صَباحاً أَتى لَمْ أَجْنِهِ وَمَساءا

And count the whiteness of hair after its blackness

As a morning that came though I did not bring it, or evening.

وَلا تَطلُبي شَيئاً يَكونُ طِلابهُ

وَقَد ضَلَّ عنهُ رائِدوهُ عناءا

And do not seek what seeking it

Its seekers went astray from it in pain.

فَإِنّكِ إِنْ نادَيتِ غِبَّ تلهّفٍ

شَباباً وَقَد وَلّى أَضَعْتِ نِداءا

For if you call, longing ardently,

For lost youth, you wasted a call.