سقى العقيقَ فالديّارَ فاللّوى

سحائبٌ تضحكُ مِنهنّ الرُّبى

He watered the sand dunes, then the dwellings, then the winding paths

Clouds smile down, dripping with blessings

وجادَها هامي الغمام رائحاً

على رُباها غادياً كما تشَا

And the moaning clouds bestowed upon it a gift

Passing by, pouring down upon its people

ولا خلَتْ عن أهْلها طول المدى

ولا تَخطّى نحوها صرفُ القضا

Never deserting its people over the ages

Nor did the course of fate bypass it

فكم بها مِن أغيدٍ مُهَفْهَفٍ

تَخْجَل من أَلْحاظِه بيضُ الظُّبىَ

How many songs glorify it

Whose glances would shame the radiance of lightning

له على رغمي كما شاء الهوى

مِني صَفا الودِّ ولي مِنه القِلَى

He has my devotion though desire protested

My affection is true yet receives little affection in return

ساجي الرَّنا يَمشي بقَدٍّ أَهْيفٍ

يهزؤُ بالغُصْنِ الرطيب إنْ مَشا

The slender, gently swaying branch

Mocks the pliant bough when it stirs

يكاد غصنُ البانِ يحكي لينه

وقدّه يقولُ مَهْلاً لا سَوَا

The pliant bough can nearly tell of its softness

And its suppleness says gently, no more!

أظَلّ مِن غرّتِه وفرعِهِ

مولَّهاً بين الصَّباح والمسَا

It shaded me from its rattling and its branches

Turning slowly between dawn and dusk

يسومني العاذل فيه سلوةً

ولي فؤادٌ عن هواه ما سلا

The critic wounds me though it consoles me

And I have a heart that does not forget its love

يا عاذلي واللهِ لو رأيتَهُ

لقيتَ مِنه ما لقيتُ من عَنَا

O critic, by God if you but saw it

You would receive from it what I have received

كم ذا أقضّي زمني في حُبّهِ

مُعَلَّلاً ما بينَ يأسٍ ورَجَا

How long will I spend my days loving it

Suspended between despair and hope?

وكم بوعْدِ وصله أَطْمَعَني

حتّى إذا اسْتَنْجَزْتهُ الوعْد لَوى

And how often has the promise of union enticed me

Only, when I sought to claim it, for the promise to be broken

وحالتِ الأيّامُ دونَ وصلهِ

كأنما تحسدني على الّلقا

And time prevented the attainment of union

As though envying me the meeting

ما لي وللدّهر الخؤون لم يزلْ

عليّ لِلأَعداء سيفاً مُنْتَضَى

Why should I and the cruel days quarrel? They have not ceased

To be a sword wielded against me by enemies

كَمْ ذا أغضّ مُقلتي على الأذى

منه وكم أَحْمِلُ ما يُوهي القوى

How long shall I close my eyes to harm from it

And bear what saps my strength?

وهكذا كلّ جوادٍ سابقٍ

مِن الورى تعيده إلى الورا

And so does every noble steed

Find itself returned by fate to the stables

يا طالما علّلتُ نفسي بالمنى

وما عسى تُجدي لَعَلّ وعَسى

Long have I consoled myself with wishes

But what can ‘perhaps’ and ‘if only’ avail?

لأَجْعَلَنّ الصبر لي خُلْقاً ومَنْ

يَصبرْ ينَلْ بصبرهِ أقصى المنَى

I shall make patience my nature, for he who is patient

Attains all he desires through his patience

فربّ هَمٍّ قد عَرا ثم انْجلَى

وربّ يُسرٍ بعد عُسْرٍ قد أتى

For many a care has passed and cleared up

And many ease has come after hardship

كم فرجٍ قد جاء بعدَ شدّةٍ

حالَةٍ حوّلها الله إلى

How much relief has come after severity!

God transformed one condition into another

أَمَا ومَنْ حجّ ولَبّى ودعا

وجاء بالدّين الحنيف المرتضى

But whoever performs pilgrimage, seeks union, and prays

And follows the beloved, chosen religion

لَو لَمْ يكن عليَّ دينٌ جائرٌ

ولم تكنْ عندي حقوقُ للورى

If I were not beholden to an unjust religion

And did not have obligations to people

لأَرفضنَّ هذه الدنْيا إلى الأخرى

وحَسْبي بدلاً وحبّذا

I would spurn this world for the next

And be content with little, desiring no more

وألْزم النّفس العفَافَ قائلاً

لِلْعُمُرِ المقبل كنْ كما مَضَى

I would make chastity the rule for my soul saying

For the life to come, be as the past has been

ولم أُعاتبْ سيفَ حظّي إنْ نَبَا

ولم أَقلْ لِزَمني حتّى مَتى

And would not complain of the sword of my fate if it struck

Nor say to time, how long will this go on?

لكن حقوق قد ثناني الفقر عَنْ

قَضَائها والحقّ دينٌ يُقتَضَى

But duties ensnare me; poverty prevents me

From fulfilling them, though duty must be discharged

وثقل دينٍ قد أذابَ جسدي

وترك الطَّرفَ سميراً لِلسُّهَى

And heavy debt has wasted my body

And left my eyes susceptible to drowsiness

عَسَى وعلّ فرجٌ مُعَجّلٌ

مِن خالقي يكشف همّاً قد عَرَى

Perhaps, God will soon show relief

And remove the care that afflicts me

ثم الصَّلاةُ والسلام ما بدا

نورٌ وما غاب الظلام واختفى

Then blessings and peace whenever light appears

And darkness disappears and fades away

على النبيّ المصطفى أكرم مَنْ

أرسلَه ربُّ السمواتِ العُلى

Upon the chosen Prophet, the noblest of those

Sent by the Lord of the Highest Heaven

وصنوه حيدرة الكرّار مَنْ

باهَى به الرحمنُ أملاكَ السَّما

And his kinsman the oft-visiting one whom

The All-Merciful revealed to the angels in heaven

والآل أَرباب التّقى أمانُ أَهْلِ الأرض

أعلام الهدى سُفن النّجا

And his family, lords of piety, the shelter for people of earth

The guiding lights, the ships of salvation