أَيا مَن نَعاهُ لِسانُ القَريض

وَكالنَدِّ يَنشُرُ مِن عرفِهِ

O he who was elegized by the tongue of poetry

And who spreads like anemones from his meadow

وَمَن كالثُريّا لَهُ هِمَّة

وَقَد عُدَّ ذَلك مِن سُخفِهِ

And whose ambition is like a throne for him

And that was counted as part of his foolishness

يَعِزُّ عَلى الدَهرِ ما أَنتَ فيهِ

وَإِن جل ذَلِكَ مِن صِرفِهِ

The days seem hard on you while you’re in them

And though most of that is due to their fickleness

فَلا تقنَطنَّ فَإِنَّ الخِناقَ

يَقطِّعه الضيق من حَرفِهِ

So do not despair, for strangulation

Its tightness is cut by its own coarseness

فَقَد يَقشَع الغَيمُ بَعدَ الهُطولِ

وَإِن طبَّقَ الأَرض من وَكفه

For the cloud may break after the downpour

Though the earth was flooded by its burden

وَباري العِبادِ لَطيفٌ بِهِم

فَلا تؤيس النَفسَ من لُطفِهِ

And the Lord of servants is gentle with them

So let not the self despair of His gentleness

تَبارَكَ من عَزَّ في مُلكِهِ

وَجَلَّ المُهَيمِنُ عَن وَصفِهِ

Blessed is He who is Mighty in His dominion

And Sublime is the Overseer beyond description

تَوَسَّل إِلَيهِ إِذا اللَيلُ جَنَّ

فيما دَهاكَ وَفي كَشفِهِ

Beseech Him when night falls

In what troubles you and in its relief

يريحك من سجن دار البنود

وَيَكفيك ما أَنتَ مُستَكفِهِ

He will give you rest from the prison of the world’s abode

And suffice you from what you find yourself lacking

من القَيدِ وَالغِلِّ في أَدهَمٍ

أَليمٌ عَذابُكَ من عُنفِهِ

Of shackles and darkness in sorrowful Adham

Painful is your torment in its violence

يفك وثاقك من أَسرِها

وَراحة قلبك من لَهفِهِ

He releases your ties from their captivity

And comfort for your heart from its agony

وَإِمّا بِشُربِ حياضِ المُنونِ

فَقَد سَئِمَ العيش من خَسفِهِ

Or with a drink from the goblets of death

For living has tired him of its ugliness

وَضاعفَ وَجدي لما سُجنت

مَقالَة من غابَ مِن طَرفِهِ

And redoubled is the passion of one who’s imprisoned

The words of one absent from his side

يَقول وَبَعضُ كَلام السَفيه

يُقتِّل إِن هوَ لم يُخفِهِ

Who says, and some sayings of the foolish

Kill if they are not hidden

أَهَذا التِهامِيُّ من مَكَّةٍ

بِرِجلَيهِ يَسعى إِلى حَتفِهِ

Is this the ambition of one from Mecca

Who runs by his feet to his demise?

أَلَم يَكفِهِ أَنَّ ثوب الحَياةِ

ضاق عَلَيهِ أَلَم يَكفِهِ

Does it not suffice him that the garb of life

Is tight upon him? Does it not suffice him?

أَراد يَطير مَطار المُلوكِ

وَظَنَّ الأَسِنَّة من زَفِّهِ

He wanted to fly the flight of kings

And thought hearsay was his equipment

وَكانَ كَقائِدٍ جيش الضَلالِ

عاين جَبريلُ في صَفِّهِ

And he was like the leader of the army of misguidance

Gabriel saw him in its ranks

أُصيفر يرعفُ مِن نَحرِهِ

إِذا رَعف المرء مِن أَنفِهِ

Yellow, trembling from his throat

When a man trembles from his nose

وَأَحسَبُ سَيفَ ابنَ بنتِ النَبيِّ

يُخَضِّبُ حدَّيهِ من عُرفِهِ

And I reckon the sword of the Prophet's grandson

Will redden its sharpness with his blood

أَرى مَلَكُ المَوتِ يَدنو إِلَيهِ

وَهوَ يَعَضُّ عَلى كَفِّهِ

I see the angel of death drawing near him

While he bites on his palm

أَبا الشِعرِ وَيحك تَبغي العُلى

وَأَنتَ تُقَصِّرُ عَن وَصفِهِ

O master poet, you wish for highness

While you fall short in describing it

وَلَم تَكُ أَهلاً بأن تستقرَّ

عَلى منبر المُلكِ أَو طَرفِهِ

You were not qualified to settle

Upon the seat of kingdom or its edge

لأَنَّكَ أَبور من شاعِرٍ

عَلى خِسَّةِ الشِعر مَع ضَعفِهِ

Because you are more skillful than a poet

In the meanness of poetry despite its weakness

أَرقتَ دَماً بَعدَما صُنتَهُ

وَأَشعَلتَ جَمراً وَلَم تُطفِهِ

You shed blood after you protected it

And ignited embers without extinguishing them

وَأَشفَيتَ مُنتَظِراً لِلبَوارِ

وَصَدرُكَ حَرّانُ لَم تُشفِهِ

And you quenched a smoldering fire

While your chest blazed without cooling it

لعمرُك إِنّي لَبيبُ الرِجال

من كَفَّ أَو غَضَّ من طَرفِهِ

By your life, I am clever among men

Whoever restrains or casts down his gaze

إِذا ما إِمام الفَتى راقَهُ

فاسبيه وانظر إِلى خَلفِهِ

When the role model of a lad pleases him

Captivate him and look to his behind

إِلى اللَهِ أَشكو أُموراً جَرَت

عَلى غير قَصدٍ واستَفعِهِ

To God I complain of matters that occurred

Without intent and make them rise

وَكَم قائِلٍ سَجَنوهُ عَلى

تطلُّبِهِ الملك مِن لَهفِهِ

And how many speakers they imprisoned

For seeking the kingdom out of passion

أَيطَّلِبُ المُلكَ مَن لَيسَ مِنهُ

وَلا من بنيه وَلا صِنفِهِ

Does one seek the kingdom who is not of it

Nor of its children or genre?

وَمَن كانَ ذا حِنكَةٍ بِالعُلومِ

قار بِهِ البؤس مِن حَرفِهِ

And one who had wisdom in sciences

Detention makes him deny its roughness

إِذا نشفَ العود مِن مائِهِ

فَذَلِكَ أَدعى إِلى قَصفِهِ

When the stick dries of its wetness

That is more conducive to snapping it

وَذو الفَضل يَنظرُ في أَمرِهِ

كَذي النَقصِ يَنظُرُ في عَطفِهِ

And the virtuous looks into his matter

Like the deficient looks into his weakness

فَإِنَّ مُصارِعَ بغي الرِجالِ

يَختَرِمُ الأُلفَ مِن إِلفِهِ

For the death of the ambitious causes

Separation of companionship from its intimacy

فَلا تَغبِطَنَّ أَمرأً في غَدٍ

سيقسِمُهُ السَيف مِن نِصفِهِ

So do not congratulate a man tomorrow

Who will be divided in half by the sword

مِنَ النائِباتِ فَقَد طُفنَ بي

طَواف الغَريمِ يمن يَحفِهِ

I have been encircled by tribulations

Like an enemy circumambulating what borders him

وَكُلٌّ بِما قالَهُ آثِمٌ

سيقرا الَّذي قالَ في صُحفِهِ

And all are sinful for what they say

What one has said will be read in his scripture

وَلَيسَ سِوى نَكَباتِ الزَمانِ

وَرأيٌ يُضلُّكَ في ضَعفِهِ

And there is nothing but the pitfalls of time

And an opinion that misguides in its weakness

عَلى أَهل مَكَّةَ مني السَلامُ

ومن ثًفني الودَّ أَو أَصفِهِ

From me is greetings upon the people of Mecca

And love for whoever befriended or aligned with me

حَياتي وَبَعدَ وَفاتي إِذا

أَريتُ من اللَحدِ في لُحفِهِ

My life and after my death when

I am seen in the grave inside its enclosure