كفاك على وجدي دليلاً مدامعي

لقد عبَّرَِتْ عمّا تَجُنُّ أضالِعي

Your tears are enough evidence of my inner turmoil,

For they have expressed what my ribs were hiding.

كتمتُ الهوى حتى تحدَّثَ ناظري

بألْسُنِ أَجفاني الهوامي الهوامعِ

I concealed my love until my eyes spoke out,

With the tongues of my eyelids and passionate glances.

ولو لم تَزُلْ تلكَ القِبابُ عنِ الحِمى

لما أهملتْ عينايَ حِفظِ الودائعِ

Had those dwellings not moved away from the abode,

My eyes would not have neglected preserving secrets.

أيا منزلاَّ حالتْ نضارةً حسنِه

فأضحى مَحَلاَّ بعدَها للخَوامعِ

O dwelling place that once had beautiful vitality,

But is now a place for ruins.

عليكَ سلامٌ مِن مشوقٍ كأَنَّما

يبيتُ على جَمْرٍ مِنَ الشوقِ لاذعٍ

Peace be upon you from a passionate one, who

Lies awake at night, burning with intense yearning.

لقد كانَ قبلَ البينِ فيكَ أحبَّهٌ

عِذابُ الثنايا كالبدورِ الطوالعِ

Before separation, you were the most beloved,

My ribs’ torment climbed like rising stars.

يَميسونَ في ثِنْي البرودِ كماثنتْ

غصونَ النقا مرُّ الرياحِ الزَّعازعِ

They huddled in the folds of coolness, as branches

Of spindly trees bend in persistent winds.

ولما تمادَى البينُ أصبحتُ خاضعاً

وقد كنتُ مِن قبلِ النوى غيرَ خاضعِ

When separation dragged on, I became submissive -

Whereas before, I was not so with loved ones.

وأمسيتُ بالطيفِ الملمِّ وقد سَرَوا

قَنوعاً وكم صاحبتُهمْ غيرَ قانعِ

In the evening I resigned myself to ghosts,

Content, though I was not so with their company.

فباعدتِ الأيامُ بالكُرهِ بيننا

على سُنَنٍ مِن فعلِها التتابعِ

So the days, in their predictable way, distanced us,

With continuity being the way they operate.

فصرتُ إذا ناحَ الحمامُ على الغَضا

أهيُم إلى نوحِ الحمامِ السواجعِ

Thus when the doves coo over the barren valley,

I rush to join the wailing, plaintive doves.

تجاوبُ مِن فوقٍ الغصونِ كأنَّما

خُلِقنَ لها عيدانُها كالصوامعِ

Branches call to each other from above,

As if their twigs were built like minarets.

ويُقلِقني نوحُ الحمامةِ كلَّما

تغنَّتْ على فرعٍ مِنَ البانِ يانعِ

A dove's lament wakes me whenever

She sings from the tip of a supple branch.

تنوحُ ولم تَفقِدْ قريناً ولا رمتْ

يدُ الدهرِ في أُلاّفِها بالروائعِ

She wails without losing a mate or being struck

By the days’ hands with calamities.

ولا فارقتْ ظِلَّ الأراكِ ولا غدتْ

مُحَلأَّةً عن طَيبِّاتِ المشارعِ

She did not leave the shade of places to rest,

Nor did she become disgusted with scenic roads.

فلا يَلْحَينِّي العاذلونَ إذا هَمَتْ

جفوني على بالي الرسومِ البلاقعِ

So let not the critics rebuke me if

My eyelids drew imaginations from my distracted mind.

وقد حالَ ما بيني وبينَ أهيلِها

تَعرُّضُ قفرٍ موحشِ البيدِ واسعِ

What came between me and my loved ones

Is a desolate expanse, devoid of villages or homes.

مررتُ بها فأستوقفتني عِراصُها

وقد أصبحتْ صَفْراً خِلاءَ المرابعِ

I passed by her abode, and its rubble brought me to a standstill,

Now a yellow wasteland without any dwellings.

فخاطبتُها بعدُ الأنيسِ واِنَّه

خِطابٌ على علاّتهِ غيرُ نافعِ

I spoke to it, seeking company, but

My words to the ruins were of no use.

سقى اللّهُ ذاكَ الرسمَ دمعي فانَّهُ

منازلُ آرامِ الظِّباءِ الرَّواتعِ

May God water with my tears the place

That is home to the gazelles’ stopping point.

وحيّا ثرى تلكَ الربوعِ سحائبُ

مِنَ الَودْقِ تُجلَى بالبروقِ اللوامعِ

The clouds rained goodness on the soil of that land,

Clarified by lightning in brilliant flashes.

مرابعُ غيدٍ عهدُهنَّ على الهوى

مصونٌ وكم سِرِّلنا غيرِ ذائعِ

Encampments of beauty whose love

Remains protected - and many of our secrets are not divulged.

أوانسُ يجرحنَ القلوبَ إذا رَنَتْ

لواحظُها كالمرهفاتِ القواطعِ

Familiar faces that wound hearts when they gaze softly,

Like well-honed swords made for slashing.

وِانْ سُتَرِتْ تلكَ الوجوهُ حسبتَها

تَجُنُّ شموساً مِن وراءِ البراقعِ

If those faces are veiled, you’d think

Suns are shining behind the covers.

بدائعٌ حسنٍ مذ رأينا جمالَها

منحناهُ مِن أشعارِنا بالبدائعِ

Marvels of beauty - when we saw their perfection

We bestowed them with the most beautiful of our poems.

ولما تفرَّقنا وودعن خفية

أنامل في حنائها كالأسارعِ

When we parted, fingers bid farewell covertly,

Moving swiftly like unsheathed daggers.

لقد سهرت للبعد منا نواظر

تبرا من رؤيا العيون الهواجع

Eyes stayed awake late into the night because of separation,

Refraining from seeing passionate, amorous visions.

ألا خبر عنهن من بعد ما برى

صدورَ المطايا الهوج شدُّ النسائعِ

No news of them after they disappeared!

Did the racing camels bring their vessels across the arid land?

ومِن بعدِما أزمعنَ عن رملِ عالجٍ

رحيلاً إلى حَزْنِ اللِّوى والأجارع

After they moved from the sands of Al-Ajal,

Heading sadly towards desolation and bare surfaces,

سرتْ رُقَّصاً في البيدِ وهي من الوجا

نُجانبُ أقداحَ الحصى واليرامعِ

They walked gracefully through the expanse,

Avoiding pebbles and small dunes.

فما شاقهاوهي الخوامسُ منهلُ

ولا جَنَحَتْ تبغي بحارَ اليلامعِ

They were not harsh to the fifth one when she lagged behind,

Nor did they head towards the scintillating seas.

جَزَعْنَ بهنَّ الجِزعَ تأتمُّ حاجراً

ولا عُذْرَ لي أن لاأُرى غيرَ جازعِ

I was not justified in lacking anguish,

So I did not fail to remain distressed.

رواقلُ بالأحبابِ في كلَّ مَجهَلٍ

بعيدِ منالِ الخطوِأزورَ شاسعِ

Messages from loved ones in every uncertain,

Far place are beyond reachable roads.

ومَنْ لي بأنْ تأتي الأحاديثُ عنهمُ

معطَّرةً تأوي خروقَ المسامع

If only talks about them would arrive scented,

Nestling into listening faculties,

تُريحُ فؤاداً لا يَقَرُّ وجيبُهُ

على نأيهمْ إلا بِشَدِّ الأصابعِِ

Comforting a heart that knows no rest without them -

Save pressing fingers against each other.

ولا عهدَ لي بالنومِ إلا صبابةً

تَرنَّقُ في جفنٍ مِنَ الشوقِ دامعِ

I am no longer accustomed to sleep except lightly,

With an eye weeping from intense yearning.

فنفَّرَهُ الحادونَ عنّي وأورثوا

قوارصَ ما بيني وبينَ المضاجعِ

Those who came between us scared it away,

And caused separation between me and my bedstead.

فهل ما مضى مِن سالفِ الوصلِ راجعٌ

كما كانَ بالخَلْصاءِ أم غيرُ راجعِ

Can what has passed of the previous connection return

As it was genuinely - or will it not return?

ومَنْ شافعٌ لي أن يعودَ زمانُه

اِذا كانَ لا يرتدُّ إلا بشافعِ

Who can intercede so his era may come back,

Since it will not revert without an intercessor?

لئن حَجَزَتْ دونَ اللقاءِ مفاوزٌ

وصرَّحتِ الأيامُ لي بالموانعِ

If impassable obstacles have hindered meeting,

And days have been candid about preventing it,

لأرتحلنَّ العيسَ بُدْناً توامِكاً

غواربُها تحكي هِضابَ مُتالعِ

I will surely journey, surviving only on dew,

With bare feet telling of traversing elevated planes,

الى حيث كانوا مِن بلادٍ بعيدةٍ

بأيدٍ لها نحوَ الخليطِ نوازعِ

To where they were, from very far lands,

With hands beckoning me towards the lowlands.

اِذا عَرَفَ العيسَ الكلالُ رفضنَهُ

وسِرْنَ كأمثالِ السُّيولِ الدوافعِ

When the barefoot camel litter recognizes rejection,

It walks off like flash flood waters.