لَنِمنا وَصَرفُ الدَهرِ لَيسَ بِنائِمٍ
خُزِمنا لَهُ قَسراً بِغَيرِ خَزائِمِ
Though the turns of fate are not asleep
We are forced to endure them without choice
أَلَستَ تَرى ساعاتِهِ وَاِقتِسامَها
نُفوسَ بَني الدُنيا اِقتِسامَ الغَنائِمِ
Do you not see how it divides up the hours
And souls vie for the spoils of this life
لَيالٍ إِذا أَنحَت عَلَيكَ عُيونَها
أَرَتكَ اِعتِباراً في عُيونِ الأَراقِمِ
When nights incline their eyes towards you
You see lessons in the eyes of the sleepless
شَرِقنا بِذَمِّ الدَهرِ يا سَلمُ إِنَّهُ
يُسيءُ فَما يَألو وَلَيسَ بِظالِمِ
Dawn with dispraise of fate, O my friend, for it
Does evil though not with evil intent
إِذا فُقِدَ المَفقودُ مِن آلِ مالِكٍ
تَقَطَّعَ قَلبي رَحمَةً لِلمَكارِمِ
When the lost ones of Malik's clan are gone
My heart is rent with pity for the virtuous
خَليلَيَّ مِن بَعدِ الأَسى وَالجَوى قِفا
وَلا تَقِفا فَيضَ الدُموعِ السَواجِمِ
My two friends, stop your tears now and your grief
Let not a flood of tears wash away restraint
أَلِمّا فَهَذا مَصرَعُ البَأسِ وَالنَدى
وَحَسبُ البُكا إِن قُلتُ مَصرَعُ هاشِمِ
Alas, here lies valour and awe laid low
And it suffices for tears if I say, Hashim's end
أَلَم تَرَيا الأَيّامَ كَيفَ فَجَعَننا
بِهِ ثُمَّ قَد شارَكنَنا في المَآتِمِ
Do you not see how the days have left us aggrieved
By him, though we shared in his tragedy
خَطَونَ إِلَيهِ مِن نَداهُ وَبَأسِهِ
خَلائِقَ أَوقى مِن سُتورِ التَمائِمِ
Beings girded themselves against his might and valor
More resolute than the belts of amulets
خَلائِقَ كَالزَغفِ المُضاعَفِ لَم تَكُن
لِتَنفُذَها يَوماً شَباةُ اللَّوائِمِ
Beings like a dense, heavy downpour
That the lances of warriors never penetrated
وَلَو عاشَ فينا بَعدَ عَيشِ فَعالِهِ
لَأَخلَقَ أَعمارَ النُسورِ القَشاعِمِ
Had he lived after the deeds of his prime
He would have made the eagles' lives seem brief
رَأى الدَهرُ مِنهُ عَثرَةً ما أَقالَها
وَهَل حازِمٌ يَأوي لِعَثرَةِ حازِمِ
Fate witnessed a stumble that did not make him fall
Does the steadfast stumble save the steadfast?
لَئِن كانَ سَيفُ المَوتِ أَسوَدَ صارِماً
لَقَد فَلَّ مِنهُ حَدَّ أَبيَضَ صارِمِ
If the sword of death is a ruthless black blade
A most piercing white blade has surely failed against it
أَصابَ اِمرِءاً كانَت كَرائِمُ مالِهِ
عَلَيهِ إِذا ما سيلَ غَيرَ كَرائِمِ
He was a man whose noble traits were his wealth
Not like one whose wealth is his only claim to nobility
جَرى المَجدُ مَجرى النَومِ مِنهُ فَلَم يَكُن
بِغَيرِ طِعانٍ أَو سَماحٍ بِحالِمِ
Glory flowed from him in his sleep, and he was not
One to refuse generosity or pardon when wakeful
تَبَيَّنُ في إِشراقِهِ وَهوَ نائِمٌ
بِأَنَّ النَدى في روحِهِ غَيرُ نائِمِ
It shows in the light of his being, even as he sleeps
That awe is awake in his soul, and has not slept
فَإِن توهِ في الدُنيا دَعائِمُ عُمرِهِ
فَما جودُهُ فيها بِواهي الدَعائِمِ
If the pillars of his life crumble in this world
His munificence was no frail pillar in it
إِذا المَرءُ لَم تَهدِم عُلاهُ حَياتُهُ
فَلَيسَ لَها المَوتُ الجَليلُ بِهادِمِ
When a man's glory does not destroy him during life
Death has no power to destroy the sublime
أَهاشِمُ صارَ الدَمعُ ضَربَةَ لازِمٍ
وَما كانَ لَولا أَنتَ ضَربَةَ لازِمِ
O Hashim! Tears have become my constant scourge
And would not be, but for you as their constant cause
أَهائِمُ لِلحَيَّينِ فيكَ مَصائِبٌ
حَوائِمُ مِنها في قُلوبٍ حَوائِمِ
O protector of the living! In you are calamities
Whose measure in hearts is still being measured
مَساعٍ تَشَظَّت في المَواسِمِ كُلِّها
وَلَو جُمِعَت كانَت كَبَعضِ المَواسِمِ
Misfortunes that all the seasons, if combined
Would equal only some of the seasons
لَيَومُكَ عِندَ الأَزدِ يَومٌ تَخَزَّعَت
خُزاعَةُ مِنها في بُطونِ التَهائِمِ
The day you visited your tomb, to Azd
Khuza'a in the bellies of the pregnant shuddered
وَما يَومُ زُرتَ اللَحدَ يَومُكَ وَحدَهُ
عَلَينا وَلَكِن يَومُ عَمرٍو وَحاتِمِ
The day you visited your tomb was not just ours
But the day of 'Amr and Hatim as well
فَكَم مُلحَدٍ في يَومِ ذَلِكَ غانِمٍ
وَكَم مِنبَرٍ في يَومِ ذَلِكَ غارِمِ
So many debaters won on that day
And so many platforms lost on that day
لَئِن عَمَّ ثُكلاً كُلَّ شَيءٍ مُصابُهُ
لَقَد خَصَّ أَطرافَ السُيوفِ الصَوارِمِ
Though the affliction was universal
It particularly pierced the edges of the keen swords
تَسَلَّبَتِ الدُنيا عَلَيهِ فَأَصبَحَت
خَلائِقُها مِثلَ الفِجاجِ القَواتِمِ
The world was stripped of its raiment and became
Like the scattered gobbets from a burst-open corpse
وَما نَكبَةٌ فاتَت بِهِ بِعَظيمَةٍ
وَلَكِنَّها مِن أُمَّهاتِ العَظائِمِ
No catastrophe befell you but it was immense
Though it came from the greatest of catastrophes
بَني مالِكٍ قَد نَبَّهَت خامِلَ الثَرى
قُبورٌ لَكُم مُستَشرِفاتُ المَعالِمِ
O clan of Malik! Your graves have awakened
The dormant land, anticipating its waymarks
رَواكِدُ قيسُ الكَفِّ مِن مُتَناوِلٍ
وَفيها عُلىً لا تُرتَقى بِالسَلالِمِ
Encampments of Qays where palms defy climbing
And rising above them cannot be scaled by ladders
قَضَيتُم حُقوقَ الأَرضِ مِنكُم بِأَعظُمٍ
عِظامٍ قَضَت دَهراً حُقوقَ المَقاوِمِ
You fulfilled your duty to the land magnificently
As none in ages past fulfilled the duty of warriors
خُدِعتُ لَئِن صَدَّقتُ أَنَّ غُيابَةً
تَكَشَّفُ إِلّا عَن وُجوهِ الهَياثِمِ
I would be deceived if I believed an absence
Could be lifted save to reveal grim faces
رَأَيتُهُمُ ريشَ الجَناحِ إِذا ذَوَت
قَوادِمُ مِنها أُيِّدَت بِقَوادِمِ
I saw them the feathers of wings when ruffled
Newcomers aided by more newcomers
إِذا اِختَلَّ ثَغرُ المَجدِ أَضحى جِلادُهُم
وَنائِلُهُم مِن حَولِهِ كَالعَواصِمِ
When the battle for glory was joined, they made its attacker
And its obtainer around it like encircling fortresses
فَلا تَطلُبوا أَسيافَهُم في جُفونِها
فَقَد أُسكِنَت بَينَ الطُلى وَالجَماجِمِ
Do not seek their swords in their scabbards
For they have been lodged between enamel and skulls
إِذا ما رِماحُ القَومِ في الرَوعِ أُكرِمَت
مَشارِبُها عاشوا كِرامَ المَطاعِمِ
When the lances of the tribe pierce in onslaught
Those who survive live honored as the honored guests
