يا مَن مَواطر فَضلِهِ
تَربى عَلى وَكَف الديم
O you, the excellences of whose bounty
surpass the steady downpour of rain clouds,
وَيَمينهُ نَشأى البُرو
ق إِذا اِمتطت طَرف القَلَم
and whose right hand gives rise to lightning
whenever it rides the pen’s tip;
يا سَيِداً عِق الوَفا
فَلا أَقول قَد التزم
O master to whom fidelity itself clings—
I will not merely say, “He embraced it.”
يا طاهر الأَوطار وَال
أَطوار مَرضيّ الشيم
O you, pure in purpose and in
every disposition, pleasing in character;
أَدنى مَناقبك الفت
وَّة وَالمُروَّة وَالكَرَم
the least of your virtues is chivalry,
nobility of spirit, and generosity.
روحي وَرُوحك أَعطيا
سرّ التَصافي في القدم
My soul and yours were granted
the secret of pure accord in pre-eternity;
وَتَعارَفا مِن قَبل أَن
يَبدو الوُجود مِن العَدَم
they knew one another before
existence emerged from nonexistence.
كاتَبتَني بِأَرَقَّ مِن
دَمع المُحب إِذا اِنسَجَم
You wrote to me in characters drawn from
a lover’s tears when they stream,
وَاحب مِن وَجه الحَبي
ب إِلى المُحب إِذا اِبتَسَم
characters dearer than the beloved’s face
is to the lover when it smiles.
وَافى كِتابك مُقبِلاً
وَدجى الخُطوب قَد أَدلهم
Your letter arrived, coming toward me,
when the gloom of calamities had grown pitch-black,
وَالدَهر يَحرق نابُهُ
غَيظاً عَليَّ وَلا حكم
and Time was grinding its fang
in rage against me, with no arbiter.
فَأَزالَ تَعبيس الخُطو
ب كَما جَلا صبغ الظلم
It dispelled calamity’s scowl,
as it cleared away the stain of darkness.
لا زِلتَ تَرفل في جَلا
بيب الكَرامة وَالنعم
May you ever sweep along in robes
of dignity and blessings.
مَن لي بِصَفو العَيش بَع
دكَ وَهُوَ صَيد في حَرم
Who can give me life’s serenity after
you, when it is quarry within a sacred precinct?
يا بُؤس ما فَعل الفرا
ق وَوَيحَهُ ماذا ظَلم
What misery separation has wrought—
woe to it! How unjustly it treated
بنّا فَلا وَاللَه ما
زَحزَحت عَن حفظ الذِمَم
us! Yet no—by God, I was not
shaken from keeping our covenants.
ما صاحِبي بَعدَ الفِرا
ق سِوى التَوجع وَالنَدَم
After separation I have no companion
but anguish and regret.
فَسَقى الحَيا عَصراً تَسا
مح بِاللُقا ثُمَ اِنصَرَم
May life-giving rain water an age that was
generous with reunion, then passed away.
فَكَأَنَّنا لَم نَلتَقي
لَولا التَذَكُر وَالأَلَم
It is as though we had never met,
but for remembrance and pain.
