إِنَّكَ وَالاِحتِفالَ في عَذَلي
غَيرُ مُقيمٍ زَيغي وَلا مَيلي
You, with all your zeal in reproaching me,
cannot straighten my waywardness or my bent.
بَلى إِنِ اِسطَعتَ أَو قَدَرتَ فَخُذ
مِن خابِلٍ سَلوَةً لِمُختَبِلِ
Yet, if you can or have the power, take
from one who maddens, relief for one driven mad.
إِنَّ الغَواني رَدَدنَ خائِبَةً
رَسائِلي وَاِعتَذَرنَ مِن رُسُلي
The beauties have returned, fruitless,
my messages, and offered excuses to my messengers,
لِنَبوَةٍ بي عَنِ الصِبا ثَلَمَت
جاهِيَ أَو كَبرَةٍ عَنِ الغَزَلِ
for my estrangement from youth, which has diminished
my standing, or an age too advanced for courtship.
مِن خَيرِ ما أَسعَفَ الزَمانُ بِهِ
وَنَحنُ مِن مَنعِهِ على وَجَلِ
Among the best things Time has granted,
while we fear its withholding,
يَومٌ بِغُمّى تُجلى بِطَلعَتِهِ ال
غَمّاءُ أَو لَيلَةٌ بِقُطرُبُلِ
is a day at Ghumma, at whose dawning the
gloom is dispelled, or a night at Qutrubul.
يَصفَرُّ صِبغُ الكُؤوسِ لِلسُكرِ أَو
يَحمَرُّ صِبغُ الخُدودِ لِلخَجَلِ
The cups' hue turns yellow to intoxicate, or
the cheeks' hue turns red with bashfulness.
لِيَذهَبَ الغَيُّ حَيثُ طَيَّتُهُ
ما سُبُلُ الغِيِّ بَعدُ مِن سُبُلي
Let folly go wherever it is bound;
the paths of folly are no longer mine.
آسى عَلى فائِتِ الشَبابِ وَما
أَنفَقتُ مِنهُ في الأَعصُرِ الأُوَلِ
I grieve for youth gone by, and what
I spent of it in earlier times.
وَمُختَشِنٌ لِلهَجاءِ قُلتُ لَهُ
وَخافَ عِندي جَريرَةَ البُخَلِ
And I said to one wary of satire,
who feared the consequences of stinginess at my hands:
وُدّي لَو قَد كُفيتُ ما قِبَلَ ال
دَهرِ كَما قَد كُفيتُ ما قِبَلي
I wish I were spared what comes from
Time, as I have been spared what comes from me.
حَسبُكَ أَن تُحرَمَ المَديحَ وَما
تُؤثِرُ مِن شاهِدٍ وَمِن مَثَلِ
It is enough for you to be denied praise, and what
you prize in testimony and proverbial sayings.
أَغنانِيَ اللَهُ بِالكَثيرِ وَما
أَغنى عَن الأَدنِياءِ وَالسِفَلِ
God has enriched me with abundance, and with what
has freed me of need for the lowly and the base.
يَكفيكَ مِن ثَروَةٍ مَبيتُكَ مِن
سَيبِ أَبي عامِرٍ عَلى أَمَلِ
For wealth, it is enough that you pass the night
in hope of Abu Amir's bounty.
تَسهُلُ أَخلاقُهُ وَنَحنُ عَلى
حالٍ مِنَ الدَهرِ وَعرَةِ الحيلِ
His disposition is gentle, while we are in
a plight from Time that is hard to remedy.
تَحتَلُّ مَرفوعَةً أَرومَتُهُ
مِن وائِلٍ في الرَعانِ وَالقُلَلِ
His lineage holds an exalted station,
from Wa'il, amid mountain spurs and summits.
إِن تُعطَ مَرضاتَهُ وَتُحرَم رَذا
ذَ الغَيثِ أَو وَبلَهِ فَلا تُبلِ
If you gain his favor and are denied the drizzle
of rain, or its downpour, take no heed.
أَجلى لَنا العَسكَرانِ عَن قَمَرٍ
مُلتَبِسٍ بِالسُعودِ مُتَّصِلِ
The two camps have revealed to us a moon,
enwrapped in auspicious stars and joined to them.
أَشوَسَ لا يَلبَسُ الخَليلَ عَلى
عَمدِ التَكَفّي وَكَثرَةِ الزَلَلِ
Fierce-eyed, he will not tolerate a friend's
deliberate wavering and repeated missteps.
لا يَخلِطُ الغَدرَ بِالوَفاءِ وَلا
وَبيعُ إِلفُ الخُلّانِ بِالمَلَل
He does not mingle treachery with fidelity, nor
sell the affection of friends for boredom.
يَشغَلُني وَصفُ ما يَبينُ بِهِ
فَكُلَّ يَومٍ يَزيدُ في شُغُلي
Describing what sets him apart occupies me;
so every day he adds to my task.
حانَ وَداعٌ مِنّا تَشيدُ بِهِ
نُعمى مُقيمٍ وَحَمدُ مُرتَحِلِ
The time has come for our farewell, proclaimed by
the bounty of one who stays and the praise of one who leaves.
فَاِسلَم مُوَقّىً مِنَ الحَوادِثِ في
سِترٍ مُغَطّىً عَلَيكَ مُنسَدِلِ
So remain safe, shielded from calamities, within
a veil drawn over you and hanging down.
وَلا تَزَل تَغمُرُ الوَرى بِنَدىً
مُؤتَنَفٍ مِن يَدَيكَ مُقتَبَلِ
And may you never cease to flood humankind with bounty,
renewed from your hands, ever fresh.
Sol 6.1