تَعفّى العَقيق وَكُثبانُهُ

وَأَوحَشَ إِذ بانَ سُكّانُهُ

The agate grew pale, and its dunes

Became desolate when its dwellers departed.

تَنَكَّرَ للعينِ مَعروفُهُ

وَلَم يَفُت القَلبَ عِرفانُهُ

What was familiar became unrecognizable to the eye,

Though the heart did not fail to know it.

وَجارَت عَلَيهِ صُروف الزَما

نِ حينَ تَرَحَّلَ جِيرانُهُ

The turns of fate revolved around it

When its neighbors traveled away.

رَمَيتُ العَقيق بِطَرفٍ تَجو

دُ بِهِ المَنازلِ أَجفانُهُ

I glanced at the agate with a departing eye

With which it would bid farewell to its dwellings.

فَما زِلتُ أَبكي بِهِ الظاعِني

نَ حَتّى اِرتَوى مِنهُ حَرّانه

So I did not cease weeping for the two beloveds

Until my burning tears were quenched.

وَغازرت بِالدَمع وَكَف الغَما

مِ فَلَم يَغلب الدَمع هتانه

And I shed copious tears and restrained my grief,

But my tears did not overcome its fatigue.

وَمِما شَجا لي بَعدَ الفُرا

ق وَقَد تَقتل الصَب أَشجانِهِ

And of the things that hurt me after our separation,

When absence kills an ardent lover,

حَمامٌ يَنوح فَيَبكي العُيو

ن وَيَشدو فَيَهنو بِهِ بِأَنَّهُ

Is a pigeon that laments, so the eyes weep,

And it sings, so the branches sway,

يَبين عَن الشَوق أَعجامُهُ

فَتُعرب بِاللَحن أَلحانُهُ

Because it conveys its passion in a foreign tongue,

So its melodies become Arabic.

تَكادُ مِن الشَوقِ نَفسي تَفي

ض إِذا ما تَرنم مرنانه

My soul nearly fades from yearning

When its chanting musician sings.

بَليل تَسل عَلى مُهجَتي

صَفاحاً مِن البَرق أَجفانه

At night, its eyelids flash lightning

Across my heart from its sleeplessness.

وَقَفر تغني بِهِ جَنهُ

وَتَرقص بِالآل قيعانُهُ

The desert sings it when the wolf howls,

Terrifying its darkness.

إِذا ما عَوى الذئب مِن جيدِهِ

بِهِ ذعرت مِنهُ ظلمانه

The wildcats go astray in it,

And none can guide them in their bewilderment.

تَضل القطاة بِهِ وَردَها

وَلا نَهتَدي قَصدَها جانه

When the winds blow into it,

Its devils crumble from the lightning.

إِذا راحَ يَنفُخ فيهِ الهَجي

ر خَرَّ مِن الصَعق شَيطانِهِ

Its stubborn rocks melt in it,

And it is hard for the winds to move them.

وَذابَت بِهِ صُمُّ أَحجارِهِ

فَعَزّ عَلى الريح إِيطانِهِ

It raises its tall banners,

And its pinnacles touch the comets.

تَرفع شاهق أَعلامِهِ

فَجاوَرَت الشُهب أَركانِهِ

It nears the sky until it converses

Privately with the soaring eagle.

وَدانى السَماءَ إِلى أَن غَدا

يُناجي بِها النسر سرحانه

My eyes saw a flock in it,

Whose riders swooned from exhaustion.

تَرَآى لِعَينيَّ رَكبٌ بِهِ

تَهاوى مِن الجُهد رُكبانُهُ

I wondered at the birds in flight over them

Like frightened ostriches.

تَعجب مِن طَيران المطي

بِهم كَالأجادل عقيانُهُ

So I asked them, where is the rest of the company and what was its business?

They said: A crew set out at daybreak bearing their burdens.

فَرحت أَسائلهم أَينَ حَ

ل ذاكَ الفَريق وَما شأته

Their riders penetrate the night,

And their horsemen are clad in armor.

فَقَللوا نعم قَدراً بِالغدا

ة فَريقاً تَحمل أَظعانُهُ

They call out at dawn to their lions

Who snarl and roar at their fawns.

تَخوض حَشا اللَيل رُكبانُهُ

وَتَدرع النَقع فُرسانَهُ

With them is the protected honor of maidens;

All who doubt it are deprived.

تُنادي مَع الصُبح آسادُهُ

فَتَزأى وَتبغم غُزلانه

Their breath fragrances those near them,

And their lances are perfumed with musk.

وَفي الظَعن كُل مَصون الحَماء

ل حط مَعنّاه حرمانه

Full are the jingling of their stirrups,

And thirsty the rhymes of their composer.

تَعطر أَنفاسُهُ ما لِخافِقين

وَتَنفج بالمسك أَردانُهُ

Their swords tremble when passions are aroused

If thoughts of death grow tranquil.

مليءَ المخلخل رنانه

هَضيم المُوشح ظَمآنه

And I doubt the wiles of fate,

So destiny cannot deceive them.

يَهز وَشيك القَضا بِسَيفِهِ

إِذا ما تَنمو غيرانه

And I suffer agony from remembering him

While my heart cannot forget him.

وَيَرتاب مِن خَطرات النَسي

م فَلا يُمكن الريح غشيانهُ

I lie awake at night, longing for him,

While my sorrows tear up my heart.

وَبي مِن يُعَذِبُني ذِكرَهُ

وَلا يُمكن القَلب نِسيانُهُ

And the night of worries appears at dawn

And its fires burn in my chest.

أَبيت عَلى الجَمر شَوقاً إِلَيهِ

تُمزق قَلبيَ أَحزانُهُ

How long will I attempt to hide my love

While my tears cannot conceal it?

وَيبدو مَع الصُبح لَيلُ الهُموم

وَتَسحر في الصَدر نِيرانَهُ

If love overwhelms the heart of a youth,

Hiding it only reveals it.

إِلى كَم أُحاول كَتم الهَوى

وَلا يُمكن الدَمع كِتمانُهُ

And I have no stratagem for love,

For its authority wrongs my soul.

إِذا غَلَبَ الشَووا قَلب الفَتى

فَكِتمانُهُ الحُب إِعلانه

And all my limbs, especially my heart,

Rise against me.

وَما حِيلَتي في الهَوى وَالهَوى

يَجور عَلى النَفس سُلطانُهُ

And my supporters, like me, are ruled

By what love decreed for them.

وَكُل الجَوارح مني عَليَّ

وَلا سِيَما القَلبُ أَعوانَهُ

If only my heart would heed advice,

For its disobedience ruined me!

وَأَعوانُ مثلي عَلى مثلِهِ

بِما حَكَمَ الحُب خوّانه

The earth seems narrow because of my worries,

While my chest is their field.

أَلا لَيتَ قَلبي يُطيع الرَشا

د فَقَد أَتلَفَ النَفس عِصيانه

Travel removed the intoxication of youth from me,

So bid farewell to my prime.

تَضيق بِهِ الأَرض مِن همهِ

عَلى أَن صَدريَ ميدانَهُ

And when the beloved traveled, his scent remained

Diffusing on the distance between us.

أَزالَ التَغرب سكر الشَبا

ب عَني فَوُدع ريعانَهُ

And time deceives me while pretending

To believe it, then kills that belief.

وَلَما أَراقَ النَوى راحُهُ

عَلى البين صَوح ريحانه

An age whose heat never ends

Continues to kindle its embers against me.

وَدَهرٌ يُخادع مُستَلئِماً

لَهُ قَتل الشَك إِيقانَهُ

It is filled with intoxication to its brim

But does not know to awake from drunkenness.

زَمانٌ لا حَراره لَم يَزَل

عَدوّاً تَوَقَد أَضغانه

And I have an ambition that continues

To seek the glory of what is possible.

تَملأ مِن سُكرهِ صَرفهُ

فَلا يَعرف يَصحو سكرانه

And a heart that leaves my body

When humiliation spares my body.

وَلي همة لا تَزال تتو

ق إِلى مَطلب عز إِمكانه

And a soul that spurns the humiliation of seeking help

Even if its betrayals have overwhelmed me.

وَقَلبٌ يُفارق جُثمانَهُ

إِذا سَلَمهُ الذُل جُثمانَهُ

Finery does not increase its beauty,

However pleasing its exterior may appear.

وَنَفسٌ تَعاف دَني الورو

ر وَإِن أَفعمت مِنهُ غَدراته

What is false will inevitably

Transform and erase its falsehood.

وَلا يَزدَهيها بِهِ زُخرُفٌ

وَإِن راقَت الطَرف عُنوانه

So do not lament, as long as you are above the ground,

Losing anything whose loss grieves you,

وَما كانَ زوراً فلا بَدَّ أَن

يَحول وَيَمحوهُ بُطلانه

Except where is 'Aad, and where is its structure?

Where is Mudar, and where is Numan?

فَلا تَهوَ ما دُمتَ فَوقَ التُرا

ب شَيئاً بِسؤك فُقدانَهُ

Indeed, where is Qarun, and where is all

That his treasuries contained? Where are his keepers?

إِلا أَينَ عاد وَبُنيانهُ

وَأَينَ المُدير وَنعمانه

And where is he who built the palace to reach

The sky with its pillars?

أَلا أَينَ قارون وَما حَوَت

خَزائِنُهُ أَينَ خزّانه

And where is Solomon's flying carpet

That would carry him and his entourage?

وَأَينَ الَّذي شَيَدَ الصَرح كَي

يَنالُ السَماءَ وَهاماته

And where are Thamud and the giants?

Rather, where are Choesroe and his palace?

وَأَينَ البِساط مُتون الرِيا

ح تَحمِلُهُ وَسليمانه

And where are al-Walid, and where is Yazid?

And where are the modes of song and their melodies?

وَأَينَ ثَمود وَأَينَ الجُنو

د بَل أَينَ كِسرى وَإِيوانه

And where are al-Rashid and his Isaac?

And where are al-Amin and his regrets?

وَأَينَ الوَليد وَأَينَ يَزي

د وَأَينَ الفَريض وَأَلحانُهُ

They passed away, and we will pass away after them,

And existence and its times will pass away.

وَأَينَ الرَشيد وَإِسحاقُهُ

وَاَينَ الأَمين وَندمانه

And we will be returned on the Day of Return,

When the Examiner tests our innermost secrets.

مَضوا وَسَنفنى عَلى أَثرهم

وَيُفنى الوُجود وَأَزمانه

So man will not benefit from what he amassed,

But rather man will benefit from his good deeds.

وَسَوفَ نعاد لِيَوم المعاد

وَيَبلو السَرائر ديّانه

فَلا يَنفَعَ المَرءَ ما حازَهُ

بَلى يَنفَع المَرءَ إِحسانَهُ