أبدى شمائلَ جفوةٍ وبِعادِ

خِلٌّ عهدْناهُ أخا إسعادِ

He showed signs of aloofness and distance,

A friend whom we considered a brother in happiness.

وأطاعَ سُلطانَ الهوى ولطالما

أعيا نُهاهُ مكائدَ الحُسّادِ

And he obeyed the rule of passion, though often

I warned him against the schemes of enviers.

وازورّ منه جانبٌ وتقلّصتْ

تلك الظلالُ وجفّ ذاك الوادي

He turned away from me and those shades shrank,

And that valley dried up.

وتكدرتْ تلك المناهلُ بعدما

صفتِ المياهُ بها على الإيراد

Those springs grew turbid after

Their waters had flowed into them continuously.

عفّى رسومَ مودةٍ قد شادها

قِدْماً برأي نُهًى وفرطِ سَدادِ

He cancelled the features of affection he had built

Long ago with wise advice and overflowing integrity.

وا رحمتاه لواثقٍ بودادكم

خجِلٍ أضلّ مناهجَ الإرشادِ

Oh pity for one confident in your affection

Who lost the ways of guidance out of shyness.

ظنّ الزمانُ بمخلصٍ في ودّه

سمْجاً فضنّ وجاءَ بالمُعتادِ

Time thought he was sincere in his love

So it drew him gently but came with the usual.

عجباً لذاك البشْرِ عادَ تجهّماً

ومن المُحالِ نتائجُ الأضدادِ

How strange is that person who returned with a frown

Though the results of opposites are impossible.

أهملتُ حفظُكمُ مَعيني قانعاً

بتحمّلٍ بين العشيرةِ بادِ

I neglected keeping you as my helper, content

To endure separation among the family.

فجبهتموني بالقبيح مِلالةً

هذا جزاءُ المُكثرِ المتمادي

So you confronted me with ugliness out of boredom;

This is the reward of one who persists and goes too far.

ليستْ بأوّلِ وقفةٍ مذمومةٍ

خابتْ لديها صفقةُ الأمجادِ

It is not the first regrettable stance

At which the bargain of glories failed.

ما كنتُ أولَ من تكلّفَ عِشرةً

تَسْبي برونقها نُهى المرْتادِ

I was not the first to impose friendship

Whose polish the guidance of the rightly-guided diminished.

دعوى التصابي في الأنامِ كثيرةً

لكنّ صدقَ الودّ في آحادِ

Claims of accord among people are many

But the truth of affection is in individuals.

ما كنتُ بالزَيْف الرديّ وإنما

قلّتْ فديتُك خِبرةُ النُقّادِ

I was not of false tinsel but rather

Your insight, my dear, into critics was little.

لا تُكرِهَنّ على المودةِ إنها

ليستْ تجودُ لعاشقٍ بقيادِ

Do not force me into affection, for it

Does not overflow for a lover at the lead.

هي شيمةٌ منه احتوتْ متغرِّباً

وصبَتْ لمؤثرِ هجرةٍ وبِعادِ

It is a quality that contained an estranged one

And poured for one who preferred distance and remoteness.

بدرٌ تجلّى للكُسوفِ وطالما

جلّى دياجي كلِّ خطب عادِ

A full moon that shone during an eclipse and often

Lit up my nights throughout every misfortune.

وسراجُ هَدْيٍ كنتُ آنسُ قربَه

فخَبا سناهُ بعدما إيقادِ

And a lamp of guidance whose proximity I found comfort in

But its light dimmed after being lit.

شِمْتُ اعتزامُك بارقاً ومهنّداً

ذُخْراً ليومِ جَدا ويومِ جِلادِ

I sensed your intention was a lightning bolt and a spark,

A provision for a day of battle and a day of executioner.

فانهلّ ذاك وما ظفِرْتُ ببَلّةٍ

منه لأشهرَ ذا عليّ أعادي

So take it and I gained no bucketful from it

To extinguish this fire in me.

قلبي جَنى يا غادرين فما لكمْ

عذبتُمُ جَفْني بطول سُهادِ

My heart collected, oh betrayers, so why

Did you torture my eyelids with prolonged sleep?

أتنوحُ ورقاءُ الحَمام وإلفُها

يشدو بفرع أراكِها المُنآدِ

Do turtledoves sob with the sigh of pigeons and their

Calling out from the branches of their treetop perch?

يبكي وما يطوي الضلوعَ على جوى

حُرَقٍ تلظّى في صميمِ فؤادي

It cries but cannot wrap the ribs around the burning

That blazes in the core of my heart.

وألوذُ بالصبرِ الجميلِ ولم أفُزْ

من عذْبِ خالصِ ودِّكُم بِبرَادِ

I resorted to beautiful patience but did not succeed

In the torture of your sincere affection’s cure.

لا قرّ طرفي بالوصالِ ولا دَنا

بدُنوّ داركُمُ إليّ مُرادي

My eyes find no rest in union, nor comes near

A desire for your home to come to me.

إن صنتُ دمعَ العينِ بعد عظيم ما

لاقيتُ من فَجْعي بأهلِ وِدادي

If I shielded the tear of my eye after the great

Suffering I faced from losing my loved ones.