وَراءَكَ عَن شاكٍ قَليلِ العَوائِدِ
تُقَلِّبُهُ بِالرَملِ أَيدي الأَباعِدِ
Behind you is one who complains little of returns
The sands turn him over with the hands of those far away
يُراعي نُجومَ اللَيلِ وَالهَمَّ كُلَّما
مَضى صادِرٌ عُنّي بِآخَرَ وارِدِ
He watches the stars of night and worries whenever
One that has left me arrives after another
تَوَزَّعَ بَينَ النَجمِ وَالدَمعِ طَرفُهُ
بِمَطروفَةٍ إِنسانُها غَيرُ راقِدِ
His gaze is divided between a star and a tear
In sleeplessness her human is not resting
وَما يَطَّبيها الغُمضُ إِلّا لِأَنَّهُ
طَريقٌ إِلى طَيفِ الخَيالِ المُعاوِدِ
And nothing would make her sleep except that
It is a path to the returning specter of imagination
ذَكَرتُكُمُ ذِكرَ الصِبا بَعدَ عَهدِهِ
قَضى وَطَراً مِنّي وَليسَ بِعائِدِ
I remembered you as I remember adolescence after its time
Which has passed from me and is not returning
إِذا جانَبوني جانِباً مِن وِصالِهِم
عَلِقتُ بِأَطرافِ المُنى وَالمَواعِدِ
If they kept away from me a side of their company
I held on to the edges of wishes and appointments
فَيا نَظرَةً لا تَنظُرُ العَينُ أُختَها
إِلى الدارِ مِن رَملِ اللَوى المُتَقاوِدِ
Oh, a look that does not look like its sister’s
To the house of sand of reclining longing
هِيَ الدارُ لا شَوقي القَديمُ بِناقِصٍ
إِلَيها وَلا دَمعي عَليها بِجامِدِ
It is the house - my old longing is not deficient towards it
Nor is my tear on it solid
وَلي كَبِدٌ مَقروحَةٌ لَو أَضاعَها
مِنَ السُقمِ غَيري ما بَغاها بِناشِدِ
And I have a wounded liver - if another than me lost it
From illness, he would not have sought it with a petitioner
أَما فارَقَ الأَحبابَ قَبلي مُفارِقٌ
وَلا شَيَّعَ الأَظعانَ مِثلي بِواجِدِ
Has a separater left the loved ones before me
Or a fareweller bid farewell to companions like me
تَأَوَّبَني داءٌ مِنَ الهَمِّ لَم يَزَل
بِقَلبِيَ حَتّى عادَني مِنهُ عائِدي
An illness from worries has continued
In my heart until my recurring condition returned me
تَذَكَّرتُ يَومَ السِبطِ مِن آلِ هاشِمٍ
وَما يومُنا مِن أَلِ حَربٍ بِواحِدِ
I remembered the day of the grandson of Hashim’s family
And our day is not like the day of Harb’s family
وَظامٍ يُريغُ الماءَ قَد حيلَ دونَهُ
سَقوهُ ذُباباتِ الرِقاقِ البَوارِدِ
And thirsty, the water was prevented from reaching him
The flies of pouring bloodletting gave him drink
أَتاحوا لَهُ مُرَّ المَوارِدِ بِالقَنا
عَلى ما أَباحوا مِن عِذابِ المَوارِدِ
They facilitated for him the bitterness of resources with reeds
For what they allowed of the torment of the resources
بَنى لَهُمُ الماضونَ آساسَ هَذِهِ
فَعَلّوا عَلى آساسِ تِلكَ القَواعِدِ
The predecessors built for them the foundation of this
So they acted upon the foundation of those rules
رَمَونا كَما يُرمى الظَماءُ عَنِ الرَوا
يَذودونَنا عَن إِرثِ جَدٍّ وَوالِدِ
They throw us away like the thirsty are denied drink
They drive us away from the inheritance of a grandfather and father
وَيا رُبَّ ساعٍ في اللَيالي لِقاعِدٍ
عَلى ما رَأى بَل كُلَّ ساعٍ لِقاعِدِ
And oh Lord of an hour for a sitter
For what he saw, rather every hour for a sitter
أَضاعوا نُفوساً بِالرِماحِ ضَياعَها
يَعِزُّ عَلى الباغينَ مِنّا النَواشِدِ
They wasted souls by spears - the loss
Is hard on the unjust towards us petitioners
أَأَللَهُ ما تَنفَكُّ في صَفَحاتِها
خُموشٌ لِكَلبٍ مِن أُمَيَّةَ عاقِدِ
Oh God, do its pages continue
Silent for a cur from Umayya, a contracting one?
لَئِن رَقَدَ النُصّارُ عَمّا أَصابَنا
فَما اللَهُ عَمّا نيلُ مِنّا بِراقِدِ
If the Christians sleep from what has afflicted us
Then God does not sleep from what we receive of affliction
لَقَد عَلَّقوها بِالنَبِيِّ خُصومَةً
إِلى اللَهِ تُغني عَن يَمينٍ وَشاهِدِ
They have made it an enmity against the Prophet
To God a testimony or witness does not avail
وَيا رُبَّ أَدنى مِن أُمَيَّةَ لِحمَةً
رَمونا عَلى الشَنآنِ رَميَ الجَلامِدِ
And oh the closest to Umayya in flesh
They have thrown us by enmity, the throw of solid things
طَبَعنا لَهُم سَيفاً فَكُنّا لَحَدِّهِ
ضَرائِبَ عَن أَيمانِهِم وَالسَواعِدِ
We forged against them a sword, so for its sharpness
We were taxes from their oaths and muscles
أَلا لَيسَ فِعلُ الأَوَّلينَ وَإِن عَلا
عَلى قُبحِ فِعلِ الأَخَرينَ بِزائِدِ
Alas, the deed of the latter is no higher
Than the ugliness of the deed of the early ones
يُريدونَ أَن نَرضى وَقَد مَنَعوا الرِضى
لِسَيرِ بَني أَعمامِنا غَيرَ قاصِدِ
They want us to accept but they have denied consent
To follow the path of our paternal uncles without aiming
كَذَبتُكَ إِن نازَعتَني الحَقَّ ظالِماً
إِذا قُلتُ يَوماً إِنَّني غَيرُ واجِدِ
I would be lying to you if I disputed right with you unjustly
If I said one day that I am not finding
