أَتاني وَرَحلي بِالعُذَيبِ عَشِيَّةً

وَأَيدي المَطايا قَد قَطَعنَ بِنا نَجدا

My mounts arrived at dusk, at al-Udhayb,

And the riding-beasts had traversed the Najd wilderness with us.

نَعِيٌّ أَطارَ القَلبَ عَن مُستَقَرِّهِ

وَكُنتُ عَلى قَصدٍ فَأَغلَطَني القَصدا

Tidings that made my heart fly from its place;

I had resolved, but my resolve led me astray.

فَلَيتَ نَعى الرَكبُ العِراقيُّ غَيرُهُ

فَما كُلُّ مَفقودٍ وَجِعتَ لَهُ فَقدا

Would that the messenger from Iraq had brought news of another;

Not all who are missed cause such pain when lost.

وَيا ناعِيَيهِ اليَومَ غُضّا عَلى قَذىً

فَقَد زِدتُما قَلبي عَلى وَجدِهِ وَجدا

You who lament him today, be gentle with my wounds;

You have increased the anguish of my heart.

فَبِئسَ عَلى بُعدِ اللِقاءِ تَحِيَّةٌ

أُحَيّا بِها تُذكي عَلى كَبِدي وَقدا

How wretched is a greeting from afar

With which I am greeted, kindling sorrow in my breast.

بِرُغمِيَ أَن أورِدتَ قَبلي بِمَورِدٍ

تَبَرَّضتَ مِنهُ لا زُلالاً وَلا بَردا

Despite me, you have arrived at a place

From which you have turned back, finding neither fresh water nor cold.

جَزَتكَ الجَوازي عَن عِمادٍ أَقَمتَها

وَعَن عُقَدٍ لِلدينِ أَحكَمتَها شَدّا

May you be rewarded for the pillars of religion you erected

And the treaties to strengthen religion you concluded.

وَذي جَدَلٍ أَلجَمتَ فاهُ بِغُصَّةٍ

تَلَجلَجُ فيهِ لا مَساغاً وَلا رَدّا

And for silencing with an argument a controversialist

Whose mouth choked on lumps, with no escape or rebuttal.

قَعَستُ لَهُ حَتّى التَقيتَ سِهامَهُ

وَأَثبَتَّ في تامورِهِ الحُجَجَ اللُدّا

I waited in ambush until I encountered his arrows,

And in his quiver he fixed the sharpest arrows.

وَمَزلَقَةٍ لِلقَولِ ما شِئتَ دَحضَها

وَقَد زَلَّ عَنها مَن أَعادَ وَمَن أَبدى

And a slippery argument—however you wished to refute it,

Those who reiterated it and those who fabricated it have slipped.

وَإِنّي لَأَستَسقي لَكَ اللَهَ عَفوَهُ

وَيا لَكَ غَيثاً ما أَعَمَّ وَما أَندى

I pray God grant you His pardon,

O, may abundant rain come to you, far-reaching and fertilizing!

وَإِنّي لَأَستَسقي لَكَ اللَهَ عَفوَهُ

مُحامينَ عَنهُ أَن يَفوزَ وَلا يَردى

I pray God grant you His pardon,

Defending you, that you may succeed and not regress.

بَكَيتُكَ حَتّى اِستَنفَدَ الدَمعَ ناظِري

وَلَو مَدَّني دَمعي عَليكَ لَما أَجدى

I wept for you until my watcher's tears were exhausted,

If my tears for you had continued, they would not have helped.