يا ابْن الوزيرَيْن سمعاً من أَخي طَلَبٍ

بيْنَ الرجاء وبين اليأس مَكْدُودِ

O son of two viziers, lend an ear to a supplicant,

Who stands worn out between hope and despair.

لا تَبْخَلَنَّ على منْ لستَ كافِيَهُ

بأنْ تقولَ تَزحْزَحْ غير مطرودِ

Do not be stingy with one you do not sustain,

By saying "Step back," without being cast away.

فإن خَشِيتَ هجائي فاخْشَ حينئذٍ

من كلِّ شيء مُحَالِ الكَوْنِ مفقودِ

If it is my satire you fear, then fear instead

Things impossible to exist, forever lost and dead.

واللّه لا قلتُ فيكم ما أكيدُ به

نفْسِي وقد كنتُ في سِرْبَال محسودِ

By God, I would never speak of you to plot against

My own soul, when I wore the cloak of the envied one.

ولا أفَضْتُ بحرْفٍ في ملامكُمُ

يا آل وهْبٍ طَوَال البِيضِ والسُّودِ

Nor have I uttered a single letter to assign you blame,

O House of Wahb, through all the turning days and nights.

إنِّي لأعْلَمُ أنِّي لا أفُوتُكُمُ

على مَطَايَا سُليْمان بن داودِ

I know full well that I can never outrun your reach,

Even upon the wind-borne steeds of Solomon, son of David.

ولَوْ أمِنْتُكُمُ أَمْنِي يَدي وفمي

لَمَا نَشَدتُمْ وفائي غيْرَ مَوْجودِ

And even if I trusted you as I trust my hand and mouth,

You would not find my loyalty missing when sought.

لَكُمْ عَلَى منْطقي سلطانُ مُرْتَقبٍ

أضحَى يؤيِّدُهُ سُلطانُ مَوْدُودِ

Over my speech, you hold the power of a vigilant guard,

A power reinforced by the sway of genuine love.

فَمَا وفائي بِمَدْخُولٍ لكم أبداً

لكنَّه كَوَفَاءِ العِرقِ لِلْعُودِ

My loyalty to you is never tainted nor unsound,

But true as the sap that binds the root to the branch.

سَدَّ السَّدَادُ فَمي عَمَّا يُرِيبُكُمُ

لكنْ فَمُ الحالِ مني غيرُ مسدودِ

Propriety has sealed my lips from words that might offend,

Yet the silent mouth of my condition remains unsealed.

وفي ضَميرِيَ نُصحٌ لستُ أغمدُهُ

عنكم وما نصح ذي نصح بمغمودِ

Within my conscience lies counsel I will not sheath away,

For the counsel of a true friend should never be hidden.

حلي تصيح بما أوليْت مُعْلِنَة

وكلُّ ما تدَّعيه غيرُ مَرْدودِ

My very state cries out, proclaiming what you have bestowed,

And all that it testifies cannot be denied.

وقصَّتي معَكُمْ نارٌ على عَلَمٍ

لا فطنةٌ بطَنَتْ في قلْب جُلْمُودِ

My story with you is like a fire atop a mountain peak,

Not some secret wisdom buried in the heart of stone.

فكَيفَ يخْفَى وأُخفي ما جرى لكُمُ

عَلَيَّ من طول ظلمٍ غير معدودِ

How could it be hidden—or how could I hide your deeds—

The long, uncounted injustices falling upon me?

وألسُنُ الناس شتَّى لستُ أمْلكُها

إذا رأَوْا مُحْسناً في حال مَصْفودِ

The tongues of men are many, and I command them not,

When they see a man of merit bound in shackles.

منْ يبْذُلُ العُذْرَ في مثْلي لمثلِكُمُ

أوْ يَذْخَرُ النُّصحَ عن لهْفَانَ مجهودِ

Who would offer an excuse for my plight to ones like you?

Or withhold counsel from a soul weary and distressed?

بَلْ من يرى فضْلَ مسْكين على مَلكٍ

فلا يقولُ مقالاً غيْرَ محمودِ

Indeed, who sees the virtue of a pauper above a king,

And does not speak words of blame and reproach?

كم آنِفٍ لكُمُ من أن تُرَى مِدَحي

مَنْقُودَةً وَجَداكم غيْر مَنْقُودِ

How many disdain, for your sake, that my praises appear

Critiqued like coin, while your generosity remains unpaid?

كُلِّي هجاء وقتْلِي لا يَحلُّ لَكمْ

فما يُداويكُمُ منِّي سوى الجُودِ

My very existence becomes a satire; yet my blood is forbidden to you,

So nothing shall cure you of me but your own generosity.

ورُبَّ ذَمٍّ أتى من غَيْرِ مُجْتَرمٍ

ورُبَّ قذْفٍ جرى من غير محْدُودِ

For often blame arises without malicious intent,

And accusations flow from one who deserves no punishment.

صَدَقْتُكُمْ وجوابُ الصِّدقْ يَلزَمُكُمْ

وما جَوابُ أخي صدقٍ بمردودِ

I have spoken truth to you, and truth demands a reply;

The plea of an honest man should not be turned away.

فأحسنُوا بي كإحْسان الإله بكُمْ

مُلِّيتُمُ حَظَّ مَحْقُوقٍ ومَجْدُودِ

So treat me kindly, as God has been kind to you,

And may you enjoy the fortune of the worthy and the blessed.

أَجدُوا جَداً غيْرَ منكودٍ لأشْكُره

أو صَرِّحُوا لي بيَأسٍ غير منكودِ

Grant a generous gift, unblemished, that I may give thanks,

Or declare a clear refusal, free from lingering misery.

وبَيِّنُوا ليَ أمْرِي إنَّني مَعكُمْ

في سَرْمَدٍ من ظلام الشكِّ ممدودِ

Make my status clear, for truly, regarding you,

I am lost in an endless, stretching night of doubt.

وما انْصِرافيَ عنكم إنْ حُرِمْتُكُمُ

إلا انْصرافُ شقيٍّ غير مَسْعودِ

And if I am denied and must turn away from you,

It is but the departure of a wretch, devoid of luck.

مُدَفَّعٍ حين يغْشَى النَّاسَ مُجْتَنَبٍ

مُخَيَّبٍ حين يَبْغي الخيْرَ محدودِ

Shunned when he approaches men, avoided and cast aside,

Disappointed when seeking good, and barred from grace.

ومَنْ قَبِلتُمْ فَمَقْبُولٌ لكمْ أبداً

ومنْ أبَيْتُمْ فَبِلْوٌ غَيْرُ معهودِ

He whom you accept remains accepted forever,

And he whom you reject faces a trial unknown.

إنْ كان حيّا أباهُ كلُّ مضْطَربٍ

أو كان مَيْتَاً أباهُ كلُّ مَلْحُودِ

If alive, he is spurned by every refuge,

And if dead, rejected by every grave.

لَكنَّ في اليأس لي عَفْواً وعافية

واليأْسُ رفْدٌ لِعافٍ غَيْرُ مَرْفودِ

Yet in despair, I find a pardon and a peace,

For despair is a gift to the seeker who receives no gift.

بَلْ لا أغُرُّكَ منْ خِيمي ولا شيَمي

إنِّي لَجَلْدٌ صبُورٌ غير مهدودِ

But let me not deceive you regarding my nature and my traits;

I am steadfast, patient, and not easily broken.

قُلْ ما تَشَاءُ فإنِّي منهُ مُعْتَصمٌ

بِمُدْمَجٍ من حبال العزِّ ممْسُودِ

Say what you will, for I am fortified against it,

Holding fast to the tightly woven cords of dignity.

لا والذي قَدُمَتْ عنْدي صنَائِعه

لا بِتُّ إلّا على صَبْرٍ ومجلودِ

No, by Him whose favors to me are ancient and vast,

I have never spent a night save in patience and endurance.

ما أنْتَ رزْقي ولا عُمْري وعافيتي

فاجْهَدْ بِصُرْمكَ إني غيْرُ معمودِ

You are not my sustenance, nor my life, nor my health,

So strive to cut me off; I am not heartsick for you.

منْ رَدَّني غير مَصْفُودٍ فإنَّ له

عندي عَفَافاً وعزْماً غيْرَ مَصْفُودِ

Whoever turns me away empty-handed shall find,

Within me a dignity and will that remain unbound.

في رَاحة اليأس لي من بُغْيَتِي عوَضٌ

وحسْبيَ اللَّهُ مَدْعَى كلِّ مَنْجودِ

In the repose of despair lies compensation for my desire,

And God is my sufficiency, the refuge of the distressed.

فلَنْ أرَى اليأس نَعْياً حين يُؤيسُنِي

من سَيْب كفِّك بل بشرى بمولودِ

I will not view despair as a death-knell when it comes,

Denying your hand's bounty; nay, it is the birth of something new.

ولستُ أوَّلَ صادٍ صَدَّهُ قَدَرٌ

فذيد عن رود صافي الماء مورودِ

I am not the first thirsty soul held back by fate,

Driven from the clear, flowing spring he sought to drink.

وقَبْلَ برِّك بي ما بَرَّني مَلكٌ

لا تملِكُونَ عليه حَلَّ معْقُودِ

Before your kindness, a greater King was kind to me,

Whose knotted decree you have no power to untie.

مازال يَضمَنُ رزْقي منذ أَنْشأَني

بفضله وهْو حَيٌّ غير مَأْمودِ

He has guaranteed my sustenance since He formed me,

By His grace—He is the Living, the Everlasting.

هذا على أنَّ سُخْطي لا يُخَلِّفُني

عن مشْهَدٍ من مَآل الخير مشهودِ

Yet for all this, my discontent will not keep me

From witnessing the good that is destined to appear.

وما أَحَارُ على أنِّي تُحَيَّرني

أطْبَاقُ ليل كَثيف السُّد مَنْضُودِ

And though I am not lost, I am left bewildered

By layers of night, dense and piled high like a wall.

أشْيَاء منك تحرَّاني لتُورطَني

والحزُم يعْدل بي عن كل أُخْدُودِ

Actions of yours pursue me, seeking to snare me,

While prudence steers me clear of every pitfall.

مُشكِّكاتٌ تُعَنِّيني وتُتْعبُني

ما زالَ دائيَ منها داءَ مفئودِ

Doubts that torment me and wear me down,

Until my ailment feels like a blow to the very heart.

مَنْعٌ ومَنْحٌ وإصْغارٌ وتكرِمةٌ

وشَدُّ عَقْد وطوْراً نقْضُ مَشْدُودِ

A refusal, a gift; humiliation, then honor;

Tightening a knot, then unraveling what was bound.

فإنَّما أنا في لَبْسٍ وذَبْذَبَةٍ

وخَوْف جانٍ بمُرِّ النَّقْم مَرْصُودِ

I am left in confusion, swinging back and forth,

With the fear of a culprit stalked by bitter vengeance.

حتى كأني وما أسْلَفْتُ سيِّئَةً

مُطَالَبٌ تحْت حقدٍ منْك محقودِ

As if I—though I have committed no past sin—

Am pursued by your malice, deep and unforgiving.