سَكِّن فُؤادكَ لا تَذهَب بِهِ الفِكَرُ
ماذا يُعيد عَلَيكَ البَثُّ وَالحذرُ
Calm your heart, let not thoughts take it away
What will lamenting and caution do to you?
وَازجُر جفونك لا تَرضَ البُكاءَ لَها
وَاِصبر فَقَد كُنتَ الخطب تَصطَبِرُ
And restrain your eyes, do not let them weep
Be patient, for you have endured calamities before
وَإِن يَكُن قَدرٌ قد عاق عَن وَطَرٍ
فَلا مَرَدّ لما يأتي بِهِ القدرُ
If fate has turned against your desire
There is no reversing what destiny brings
وَإِن تَكُن خيبَةٌ في الدَهرِ واحِدَةٌ
فَكَم غَدَوتَ وَمن أشياعك الظَفرُ
And if you have faced one disappointment in life
How often have you been victorious, with your supporters around you
إِن كُنتَ في حيرَةٍ مِن جُرمِ مُجتَرِمٍ
فَإِنَّ عُذرك في ظَلمائِها قَمَرُ
If you are confused by the crime of a criminal
Your innocence amidst the darkness is like the moon
كَم زَفرَةٍ مِن شِغافِ القَلبِ صاعِدَة
وعَبرة مِن شؤون العين تَنحَدِرُ
How many sighs rise from the chambers of the heart
And tears of grief flow down from the eyes
فَوِّض إِلى اللَه فيما أَنتَ خائِفُه
وَتِقْ بِمُعتَضِدٍ بِاللَهِ يَغتَفِرُ
Entrust to God what you fear
And seek His support, He is forgiving
وَلا تَرُعكَ خُطوبٌ إِن عَدا زَمَنٌ
فاللَه يَدفَع وَالمَنصور يَنتَصِرُ
Do not let misfortunes alarm you if times get difficult
God will defend, and the victorious will triumph
وَاِصبر فَإِنَّكَ مِن قومٍ أَولي جلَدٍ
إِذا أَصابَتهم مَكروهَةٌ صَبَروا
Be patient, for you are from a people of resilience
When adversity strikes them, they endure
مَن مِثل قَومك وَالمَلك الهُمام أَبو
عمرو أَبوك لَه مجدٌ وَمُفتَخَرُ
Who is like your people, and the brave King Abu
Amr, your father, his glory and pride are renowned
سَمَيدَعٌ يَهَب الآلافَ مُقتَدراً
وَيَستَقِلُّ عَطاياه وَيَحتَقِرُ
Sameda is mighty, bestowing thousands bountifully
Yet sees his gifts as trivial, taking pride in them
لَهُ يَدٌ كُلُّ جَبّارٍ يُقَبِّلها
لَولا نَداها لَقُلنا إِنَّها الحَجَرُ
He has a hand, each tyrant kisses it
If not for his benevolence, we'd think it was stone
يا ضَيغَماً يَقتُلُ الأَبطال مُفتَرِساً
لا توهنَنّي فَإِنّي الناب وَالظُفرُ
O courageous warrior, killing champions voraciously
Do not weaken me, for I am fierce and triumphant
وَفارِساً تَحذَر الأقرانُ صَولَتَهُ
صُن عبدَك القِنّ فَهوَ الصارِم الذكرُ
A horseman feared by his peers for his charge
Protect your obedient slave, his mention is sword
هُوَ الَّذي لَم تَشِم يُمناك صَفحَتَهُ
إِلّا تَأتّى مُرادٌ وَاِنقَضى وَطَرُ
He whose right hand has never been polluted
Except to fulfill a purpose and conclude a matter
قَد أَخلَقتَني صُروف أَنتَ تعلمها
وَقالَ موردها ما لي بِها صدرُ
You created me, turns of fate you know
And their course said, I cannot bear them
فالنَفسُ جازِعَةٌ وَالعَينُ دامِعَةٌ
وَالصَوتُ مُرتَفِعٌ وَالسِرُّ منتشِرُ
My soul quakes, my eyes weep
My voice raised, my secret exposed
وَزادَ هَمّيَ وما بالجسم مِن سَقَمٍ
وشِبتُ رأسا وَلَم يبلُغني الكِبَرُ
My worries increased, sickness in my body
I grew old in hair, but not in age
وَذُبتُ إِلّا ذَماءً فيَّ يُمسكني
أَنّي عَهدتُكَ تَعفو حينَ تَقتَدِرُ
I wasted away to only skin and bones
You I knew would pardon when able
لَم يأت عبدُك دَنبا يَستَحِقُ به
عُتبى وَها هُوَ ناداكَ يَعتَذِرُ
Your slave came with no sin deserving rebuke
No sin except upon hostile traitorous people
ما الذَنبُ إِلّا عَلى قَومٍ ذَوي دَغلٍ
وَفى لَهُم عهدُك المعهود إِذ غدروا
Your promised covenant with them was sufficient, when they betrayed
A people whose loyalty is deceit, truth betrayal
قَومٌ نَصيحتُهُم غِشٌّ وصدقهمُ
مَينٌ وَنَفعهم إِن صُرّفوا ضَرَرُ
Their benefit, if schemed, is harm
Hatred discerned in their words, if they speak
يُمَيَّزُ البُغض في الأَلفاظِ إِن نَطَقوا
وَيُعرَفُ الحِقدُ في الأَلحاظ إِن نَظَروا
Malice recognized, if their eyes look
Their breath burns the heart like sparks of flame
إِن يَحرِقِ القَلب نَفثٌ مِن مَقالهمُ
فَإِنَّما ذاكَ مِن نارِ القِلى شَرَرُ
My Master, a slave thirsty for your grace prays
In your mercy are unfettered vines, evergreen
مَولاي دعوةَ مَملوكٍ بِهِ ظمأٌ
بَرح وَفي راحَتَيكَ السَلسَلُ الخضرُ
Answer the call of a brother, heart possessed by grief
Sleepless nights have brought him ruin
أَجِب نِداءَ أَخي قَلبٍ تملَّكَهُ
أَسى وَذي مُقلَة أودى بِها السَهَرُ
I was not given in my time, things to secretly delight in
So I am unaccustomed to wine or lute
لَم أُوتَ مِن زَمَني شَيئا أُسِرُّ بِهِ
فلست أَعهَدُ ما كأس وَلا وترُ
I was mastered by neither cupbearer nor singer
No houri adorned my palace, nor maiden fair
وَلا تَمَلَّكَني دَلٌّ وَلا خَفَرٌ
وَلا سَبى خَلَدي غُنج وَلا حَوَرُ
Your approval is repose for my soul, without it
I am distressed, so it is the custom I hoard for fate
رَضاكَ راحَةُ نَفسي لا فُجِعتُ بِهِ
فَهوَ العَتادُ الَّذي لِلدهر أَدّخِرُ
It is the wine I sip to forget my sorrows, so when
I lack it, thoughts wander lost inside me
وَهوَ المُدامُ الَّتي أَسلو بِها فَإِذا
عَدَمتُها عَبَثَت في قَلبيَ الفِكَرُ
Wine I did not leave for asceticism or piety
For since my youth, it never left me
ما تركيَ الخَمرَ مِن زُهد وَلا وَرَعٍ
فَلَم يُفارِق لَعَمري سِنّيَ الصغَرُ
Rather I strive for your approval, so if
I fail in it, life will not expand for me
وَإِنَّما أَنا ساعٍ في رِضاك فَإِن
أَخفَقتُ فيه فَلا يُفسَح ليَ العُمُرُ
I was not delighted, evading your bounty
The day helmet and armor clanked and scattered
ما سَرّني وَأحاشي عَصر عَطفِكمُ
يَومَ أَخَلّ في القَنا وَالهامُ نَنتَثِرُ
Yes, I have another comfort I clung to
Poems flow when helmet and armor scatter
أَجَل وَلي راحَةٌ أُخرى عَلِقتُ بِها
نَظم الكُلى في القَنا وَالهامُ تَنتَثِرُ
How many clear battle victories I had
Nights pass, but their tales do not fade
كَم وقعة لي في الأَعداء واضِحَة
تَفنى اللَيالي وَما يَفنى لَها الخبرُ
The travellers carried them throughout the lands, so they
Spread, and in every neighborhood their gossip stirred
سارَت بِها العيسُ في الآفاقِ فاِنتَشَرَت
فَلَيسَ في كُلِّ حَيٍّ غَيرها سَمَرُ
You remain with imposing eternal glory
Neither thoughts can reach its depths, nor eyes make out
لازلتَ ذا عِزّة قَعساء شامِخَة
لا يَبلُغ الوَهمُ أَدناها وَلا البَصَرُ
And your excellent counsel is a burden I still
Take refuge in - what an excellent cave and burden!
وَلا يَزالُ وَزَرٌ مِن حُسنِ رأيك لي
آوي إِلَيهِ فَنِعمَ الكَهفُ وَالوَزَرُ
To you my soul's garden flowed, sprouting
With the blessing of your right hand, no rising or rain
إِلَيكَ رَوضَةُ فِكري جادَ مَنبتها
نَدى يَمينك لا طَلّ ولا مَطَرُ
I made your remembrance throughout it into trees
So in all its times, fruit is plentiful for the picker
جَعَلتُ ذكركَ في أَرجائِها شَجَراً
فَكُلُّ أَوقاتِها لِلمُجتَني ثَمَرُ
