أَظُنُّكَ خِلتَ الشَوقَ وَالنَأيَ أَبكاني
فَأقبَلتَ نَحوي يابِسَ الدَمعِ تَلحاني
I thought you were devoid of longing and separation that made me weep
So you came to me with dry tears reproaching me
فَقُم فَاِلتَمِس خِلّاً سِوايَ فَما أَرى
صَحابَةَ مَن لَم يتَّبِع شَأنُهُ شاني
So get up and seek another friend than me, for I don’t see
The companionship of one whose way of life doesn’t resemble mine
كَأَنَّكَ ما شاهَدتَ ما قَد أَصابَني
بِهِ الدَهرُ مِن صُيّابِ قَومي وَإِخواني
It’s as if you never witnessed what fate has inflicted upon me
From the slander of my people and brothers
رُزِئتُ مُلوكاً لَو بَكَيتُ لِفَقدِهِم
دَماً ما كَفاني عُمرُ نُوحٍ وَلُقمانِ
I was mocked as if I were kings, and if I wept for their loss
The life of Noah and Luqman wouldn’t suffice my weeping
بِهِم كُنتُ أَرمي مَن رَماني وَأَتَّقي
بِهِم نائِباتِ الدَهرِ مِن حَيثُ تَلقاني
With them I would retaliate against whoever attacked me and be wary
Of the vicissitudes of fate from wherever they come upon me
بِأَسيافِهِم ذاقُوا الرَدى وَتَجَرَّعُوا
حَسا المَوتِ لا أَسيافِ قَيسٍ وَغَيلانِ
With their swords they tasted destruction and gulped down
The bitterness of death, not the swords of Qais and Ghailan
وَلَيسَ عُقوقاً مِنهُمُ بَل تَعالِياً
إِلى خَيرِ غاياتٍ وَأَشرَفِ بُنيانِ
It’s not their disloyalty, but their ascendance
To the best of goals and most noble edifices
لَعَمري لَقَد سُرَّ العَدُوُّ وَأظهِرَت
دَفاناتُ أَحقادٍ سُتِرنَ وَأَضغانِ
By my life, the enemy rejoiced and hidden
Grudges emerged and covered rancors surfaced
وَمَدَّت عَضاريطُ الرِجالِ أَكُفَّها
لِتَلمَسَ عِزّاً بَعدَ ذُلٍّ وَإِذعانِ
And the palms of men stretched out
To grasp glory after humiliation and coercion
وَأَطمَعَ فِينا فَقدُهُم كُلَّ مُسبَعٍ
وَشاوِيِّ أَغنامٍ وَعامِلِ فَدّانِ
And their loss made every ravenous beast covetous
And every shepherd of sheep and worker of treachery hopeful
فَيا بارِدَ الأَنفاسِ دَعني فَإِنَّهُ
قَليلٌ لَهُم مِن مَعشَرٍ فَيضُ أَجفانِ
So leave me be O cold-breathed one, for they have few
From a people whose eyelids overflow with tears
فَلَو جاءَكَ الناعِي بِما جاءَني بِهِ
لَما عِشتَ إِلّا لابِساً ثَوبَ أَسفانِ
If the bearer of news came to you with what came to me
You wouldn’t live except wearing the garb of misery
لَطابَ لَدَيكَ النَوحُ وَاستُسمِجَ العَزا
وَأَصبَحتَ في شَأنِ البُكا بَعضَ أَعواني
Mourning would be sweet to you and you would persist in condolences
And join me in the state of weeping
أَتَلحى عَلى فَيضِ الدُموعِ وَقَد ثَوى
أَخي وَشَقيقي وَاِبنُ عَمّي وَخُلصاني
Do you reproach me for overflowing with tears when
My brother, cousin, and loyal nephew have passed away
أَمِن بَعدِ مَذكُورٍ أَصُونُ مُدامعاً
تَقِلُّ لَهُ لَو أَنَّها مِن دَمٍ قانِ
After the deceased should I withhold my tears
That would diminish for his sake if they were blood
أَلا عَمِيَت عَينُ اِمرِئٍ لَم تَجُد لَهُ
بِدَمعٍ وَأَضحى رَبُّها رَبَّ عميانِ
Indeed the eye of a man who doesn’t shed a tear for him is blind
And his Lord is the Lord of the blind
وَأَيُّ اِبنِ عَمٍّ إِن دَعَوتُ لِنازِلٍ
أَجابَ بِعَزمٍ صادِقٍ غَيرِ خَوّانِ
And which cousin, if I called upon him in adversity,
Would respond with sincere resolve, not betraying
أَقُولُ لِناعيهِ وَقَد كَظَّنِي البُكا
وَقَد أَضَّ مِن صَدري تَأَجُّجُ نِيرانِ
I say to the bearer of news, as crying has overwhelmed me
And the blazing fires have intensified in my chest
وَقَد أَشرَفَ الرَكبُ العِراقيُّ قَاصِداً
إِلى الخَطِّ أَعلا ذِي الشَقِيقَةِ فُرقانِ
“Do not despair, for all proceed to decay
And neither human nor Jinn live forever
أَحَقّاً ثَوى في اللَحدِ وَاِستَوطَنَ الثَرى
وَجاوَرَ فِيهِ كُلَّ ذِي نازِحٍ دانِ
If he didn’t die by killing, he would’ve died of illness
And the head of a warrior isn’t safe from fate’s havoc
فَقالَ نَعَم لَم آتِ حَتّى تَناوَحَت
عَلى يَومِهِ بِيضُ الخُدورِ بِأَلحانِ
His killing isn’t something shameful for a man
When counted one day between elder and youth
وَحَتّى رَأَيتُ القَومَ حَولَ سَريرِهِ
حُفاةً يَنادونَ العَويلَ بِإِعلانِ
For Sattam died by Assim’s stab
And Murra was hoped for among the sons of Adnan
فَقُلتُ وَلَم أَملِك عَزائِي وَعَبرَتي
أُرَدِّدُها في صَحنِ خَدّي بِأَرداني
And Hamza the Prophet’s uncle met his doom
By the stab of a slave from the progeny of Abdan
أَلا شَقِيَت قَومي لَقَد غالَها الرَدى
بِمقدامِ غاراتٍ وَفَلّالِ أَقرانِ
So too the son of the Prince’s confidant Muhammad
Fate came to him from the hand of a shepherd of sheep
بِماذَا أُصِيبَت وَيلَها يَومَ سَدَّدَت
إِلَيهِ المَنايا سَهمَ صَفراءَ مِرنانِ
He would face a thousand alone and rout them
Like birds pelted from the sky with pebbles
لَقَد كانَ غَيظاً لِلأَعادي وَباذِخاً
يَلُوذُ بِهِ جانٍ وَيَأمَلُهُ عانِ
The calamity of the brave is nothing but their scorn
Of men, and how many hawks are hunted by the weak
فَمن بَعده مَن لِلرِماحِ يُعِلُّها
وَيُنهِلُها مِن كُلِّ أَشوَسَ مِطعانِ
You, by my life, are not singled out by his loss
For in it, the near and far are equal
وَمَن لِتَوالي المُرهَقِينَ إِذا غَدَت
تَعاطى وَأَبدى الشَرُّ صَفحَة عُريانِ
Every passerby waters the decaying corpse with tears
Whether from al-Muzain or Ghād, wiping with a cloth
وَمَن لِجَلِيلِ الخَطبِ يَوماً إِذا أَتَت
هَوازِنُ تُردي بَينَ بَيضٍ وَأَبدانِ
The angels of heaven greeted him in a garden
And shade between bliss and meadows
وَمَن لِمضيمٍ مَضَّهُ الضَيمُ وَاِلتَوى
بِهِ ذُو ظُلاماتٍ تُعَدُّ وَعُدوانِ
And you, get up to severely avenge, not like
A father who is neither Harun nor Wan
وَمَن لِأَسيرٍ غارِمٍ قَلَّ مالُهُ
وَآبَ مِنَ المَولى الشَقيقِ بِحِرمانِ
For you have for stabbing thoroughbred steeds
And for striking white swords that know no sleep
فَيا آلَ إِبراهِيمَ بَكّوا لِيَومِهِ
دَماً وَأَقيمُوا سُوقَ نَوحٍ وَإِرنانِ
That tell of the days of Murra and his son
Your father, and the days of Dhuhl son of Shayban
وَقُومُوا لِأَخذِ الثَأرِ جِدّاً وَلا تَنوا
قِيامَ أَبيٍّ لا حَرونٍ وَلا وانِ
With them your fathers and grandfathers struck
The skulls of the treacherous people before the Sassanids
فَعِندَكُمُ للطَّعنِ سُمرٌ عَواسِلٌ
وَلِلضَربِ بِيضٌ لا تَقِرُّ بِأَجفانِ
If only the passionate youth could avenge him
I would wish myself safe from it in comfort
يُخَبِّرنَ عَن أَيّامِ مُرَّةً واِبنهِ
أَبيكُم وَعَن أَيّامِ ذُهلِ بنِ شَيبانِ
Even if none of their blood is shed for his blood
And a victim, even if he filled Rabi’ Alhan
بِها ضَرَبَت آباؤُكُم وَجُدُودُكُم
جَماجِمَ أَهلِ البَغيِ مِن قَبلِ ساسانِ
But he died by a people, if asked who they are, it is said
They are the clan of Hayy ibn Ubayy ibn Bayyan
فَلَو أَنَّ في الحَيِّ الشِبانِيّ ثارَهُ
لَكُنتُ أُمنّي النَفسَ عَنهُ بِسُلوانِ
If his killer came to him from the front
He would depart torn between eagle and wolf
وَإِن كانَ لا يُوفى بِهِ مِن دِمائِهِم
قَتيلٌ وَلَو أَوفى عَلى رَبِّ عَلهانِ
Or turn tail and flee, fearing the long-armed wrathful one
So who will convey from me to his father a burning message
ولَكِنَّهُ أَمسى قَتيلاً لِمَعشَرٍ
إِذا قِيلَ مَن هُم قِيل هَيُّ بنُ بيّانِ
From the anguish of a grieving heart
O uncle, do not despair, for all go towards decay
وَلَو جاءَهُ مُغتالُهُ مِن أَمامِهِ
لَراحَ أَكيلاً بَينَ نَسرٍ وَسِرحانِ
And neither human nor Jinn have immortality
If he didn’t die by killing, he would’ve died of illness
أَوِ اِنصاعَ عَدواً يَقتَفي إِثرَ غَيرِهِ
مَخافَةَ مَشبُوحِ الذِراعَينِ غَضبانِ
And the head of a warrior isn’t safe from fate’s havoc
His killing isn’t something shameful for a man
فَمَن مُبلِغٍ عَنّي أَباهُ رِسالَةً
مُغَلغَلَةً عَن مُوجَعِ القَلبِ حَرّانِ
When counted one day between elder and youth
For Sattam died by Assim’s stab
أَيا عَمُّ لا تَجزَع فَكُلٌّ إِلى البِلى
يَصيرُ وَلا خُلدٌ لِإِنسٍ وَلا جانِ
And Murra was hoped for among the sons of Adnan
And Hamza the Prophet's uncle met his doom
فَلَو لَم يَمُت قَتلاً لَماتَ بِعِلَّةٍ
وَلَيسَ بِمنجٍ مِن رَدىً رَأسُ غُمدانِ
By the stab of a slave from the progeny of Abdan
So too the son of the Prince's confidant Muhammad
وَما قَتلُهُ مِمّا يُعابُ بِهِ الفَتى
إِذا عُدَّ يوماً بَينَ شِيبٍ وَشُبّانِ
Fate came to him from the hand of a shepherd of sheep
He would face a thousand alone and rout them
فَقَد ماتَ بِسطامٌ بِطَعنَةِ عاصِمٍ
وَكانَ المُرَجّى في مَعَدّ بنِ عَدنانِ
Like birds pelted from the sky with pebbles
The calamity of the brave is nothing but their scorn
وَحَمزَةُ عَمُّ المصطَفى ذاقَ حَتفَهُ
بِطَعنَةِ عَبدٍ مِن سُلالَةِ عبدانِ
Of men, and how many hawks are hunted by the weak!
You, by my life, are not singled out by his loss
كَذا اِبنُ حوارِيِّ الأَميرِ مُحَمَّدٍ
أَتاهُ الرَدى مِن كَفِّ راعٍ لِرِعيانِ
For in it, the near and far are equal
Every passerby waters the decaying corpse with tears
وَقَد كانَ يَلقى الأَلفَ فَرداً فَيَنثَني
كَطَيرٍ رَمَت فِيها السَماءُ بِحُسبانِ
Whether from al-Muzain or Ghād, wiping with a cloth
The angels of heaven greeted him in a garden
وَما آفَةُ الشُجعانِ إِلّا اِحتِقارُها
رِجالاً وَكَم صِيدَت صُقُورٌ بِخربانِ
And shade between bliss and meadows
وَأَنتَ لَعَمرِي ما خُصِصتَ بِفَقدِهِ
وَإِنَّكَ فيهِ وَالبَعيدَ لَسِيّانِ
سَقى الجَدَثَ الثاوِي بِهِ كُلُّ رائِحٍ
مِنَ المُزنِ أَو غادٍ مُسِحٍّ بِتَهتانِ
وَحَيَّتهُ أَملاكُ السَماءِ بِجَنَّةٍ
وَظِلٍّ بَينَ رَوحٍ وَرَيحانِ
