لِمَن طَلَلٌ عاري المَحَلَّ دَفينُ

عَفا آيُهُ إِلّا خَوالِدُ جونُ

For whom is an abandoned, dilapidated abode

Whose are these ruins, their grounds laid bare and buried deep?

Its traces obliterated, save those of Khawlid's tribe

Its signs are wiped away, save for the dark, enduring traces.

كَما اِقتَرَنَت عِندَ المَبيتِ حَمائِمٌ

غَريباتُ مُمسىً ما لَهُنَّ وُكونُ

As doves gathered together for the night

Huddled like doves paired close when roosting time draws near,

Strangers at dusk, having no permanent nest

Strangers at evenfall, for whom no nesting place remains.

دِيارُ الَّتي أَمّا جَنى رَشَفاتِها

فَيَحلو وَأَمّا مَسُّها فَيَلينُ

The abode whose surroundings once yielded pleasure

The dwelling of her whose harvest of kisses is sweet to taste,

Now touching it is soft, tasting it sweet

Growing ever sweeter, and whose touch is soft and tender.

وَما أَنصَفَت أَمّا الشُحوبُ فَبَيِّنٌ

بِوَجهي وَأَمّا وَجهُها فَمَصونُ

While pallor has not favored my complexion

She was not just; for while the pallor is plain upon my face,

Hers remains flawless and unblemished

Her lovely face remains preserved, untouched by misery.

وَدَوِّيَّةٍ لِلريحِ بَينَ فُروجِها

فُنونُ لُغاتٍ مُشكِلٌ وَمُبينُ

With a resonance for the wind among its rooms

And many a barren waste, where the wind through every crevice

Its languages have ambiguous and explicit subtleties

Speaks in a myriad of tongues, some cryptic, some distinct.

رَمَيتُ بِها العيدِيِّ حَتّى تَحَجَّلَت

نَواظِرُ مِنها وَانطَوَينَ بُطونُ

I pelted her with pebbles until she unveiled

I cast my noble camels into its depths until their legs grew hollow,

Her gazing eyes and hidden forms withdrew

Their eyes sunk deep, and their bellies folded in from hunger.

وَذي حِلِفٍ بِالراحِ قُلتُ لَهُ اصطَبِح

فَلَيسَ عَلى أَمثالِ تِلكَ يَمينُ

And one who swore by the winds, I bid good morning

And to one bound by solemn oath against the wine, I said, "Drink at dawn!

For oaths like those are without substance

For against a vintage such as this, no oath can validly stand."

شُمولاً تَخَطَّتها المَنونُ فَقَد أَتَت

سِنونٌ لَها في دَنِّها وَسِنونُ

It encompassed decrepitude, so time has brought

A chilled vintage bypassed by the hand of Fate; indeed,

Years of lowliness and years of loftiness

Long years upon long years have passed it by within its jar.

تُراثُ أُناسٍ عَن أُناسٍ تُخَرَّموا

تَوارَثَها بَعدَ البَنينِ بَنونُ

Inherited from people by people who decayed

The heritage of folk passed down from those now cut away,

Then inherited by their children's children

Inherited by sons who followed sons in long succession.

فَأَدرَكَ مِنها الغابِرونَ حُشاشَةً

لَها هَيَجانٌ مَرَّةً وَسُكونُ

Those who passed attained from it excitement

So those who remain have seized from it a lingering spark of life,

Agitation at times, and tranquility at others

Possessing a spirit that stirs to frenzy, then settles into calm.

كَأَنَّ سُطوراً فَوقَها فارِسِيَّةً

تَكادُ وَإِن طالَ الزَمانُ تَبينُ

As if lines above in Persian

As if inscriptions of Persian script were traced upon its surface,

Nearly legible, though ages have elapsed

Which well-nigh become legible, though the span of time be long.

لَدى نَرجِسٍ غَضِّ القِطافِ كَأَنَّهُ

إِذا ما مَنَحناهُ العُيونَ عُيونُ

Near a narcissus blossom plucked early

Beside fresh-gathered narcissus flowers, which appear—

As if, when eyes look upon it, it has eyes

When we bestow our gaze upon them—to be living eyes themselves,

مُخالِفَةٍ في شَكلِهِنَّ فَصَفرَةٌ

مَكانُ سَوادٍ وَالبَياضُ جُفونُ

Differing in their hues – yellowness

Divergent in their forms: for there is yellow in the center

In place of black, while the whites are petals

Where black should be, while white petals serve as eyelids.

فَلَمّا رَأى نَعتي ارعَوى وَاستَعادَني

فَقُلتُ خَليلٌ عَزَّ ثُمَّ يَهونُ

When she saw my portrayal, she shuddered and recalled me

And when he heard my description, he relented and sought me out,

I said, “An intimate friend is rare, then common”

And I said: "A friend who acted harsh, but now grows soft and mild."

فَصَدَّقَ ظَنّي صَدَّقَ اللَهُ ظَنُّهُ

إِذا ظَنَّ خَيراً وَالظُنونُ فُنونُ

She confirmed my opinion – may Allah confirm hers

He proved my conjecture true—may God prove his conjecture true,

When she expects good, for expectations are diverse skills

If he thinks well of us; for thoughts, indeed, are of many kinds.