شَوقٌ يُعَرِّضُ لا إِلى الآرامِ

وَجَوىً يُخادِعُني عَنِ الأَحلامِ

Longing exposes me neither to tranquility

Nor a whisper that deceives me about dreams

وَمُقيلُ صَبرٍ شَذَّبَتهُ يَدُ الهَوى

في غَيرِ ما طَرَبٍ وَلا اِستِغرامِ

And the eve of patience whose hand desire has mutilated

Neither in a passion nor in admiration

بَل في اِنتِزاعِ المَجدِ مِن سَكَناتِهِ

بِمَطالِبٍ تَسطو عَلى الأَيّامِ

But in wresting glory from its dwellings

With demands that prevail over days

وَمَناقِبٍ تَبقى وَيَفنى أَهلُها

إِذ كُلُّ عَيشٍ فُرصَةٌ لِحِمامِ

And virtues that remain while their people perish

For all life is an opportunity for doves

لَعَذَرتُ مَن في المَجدِ يَمرَضُ فِكرُهُ

وَتَكُنُّ فيهِ بَواطِنُ الآلامِ

I would pardon one whose intellect sickens with glory

And sorrows nestle within him

يا راكِباً تَخدي بِهِ عَيرانَةٌ

سُرُحٌ تَشُقُّ جَلابِبَ الآكامِ

O rider whom a she-camel carries

Whose saddlebags cleave through thickets

خَوصاءُ تَحسَبُ عَينَها ماوِيَّةً

نَظَرَت بِها الفَلَواتُ شَخصَ غَمامِ

A brown she-camel who thinks her eye is clouded

When the wilderness looked upon her like a raincloud

جارٍ كَأَنَّ رَبابَهُ مُتَعَلِّمٌ

شِيَمَ الرِياحِ الهوجِ في الإِقدامِ

Traveling as though her mount were an apprentice

Who learned the disposition of violent winds in attacking

أَقرِ السَلامَ فَتىً تَخاوَصُ هَيبَةً

عَنهُ عُيونُ تَحِيَّتي وَسَلامي

Greet in peace, O youth from whom

My eyes conceal awe with their glance and greeting

سَيفٌ صَقيلٌ أَغمَدَتهُ عُداتُهُ

فَاِستُلَّ وَهوَ مِنَ الأَعادي دامِ

A polished sword its scabbard has sheathed

Unsheathe it, it remains wet from foes

ما ضَرَّهُ مِن أَن يُشامَ وَما اِقتَنى

صَدَأً يُشَبَّهُ نَصلُهُ بِكَهامِ

It harms him not to be drawn, nor has it gained

Rust to liken its blade to gravel

إِن غِبتَ عَنّا فَالقُلوبُ حَواضِرٌ

في حَيثُ أَنتَ نَوازِعُ الأَوهامِ

If you are absent from us then hearts are present

Wherever you are, the caprices of illusions

وَنُفوسُنا مَرضى تَشَبَّثُ مِنكُمُ

بِثناً يُطَهِّرُها مِنَ الأَسقامِ

And our souls are sick clinging through you

To a means to purify them of illnesses

يا أَيُّها ذا النَدبُ دِعوَةَ مُدنِفٍ

عَلِقَت ضَمائِرُهُ بِكُلِّ غَرامِ

O you who possess the attribute of one offering consolation

Whose conscience is attached to every passion

لَمّا ذَكَرتُكَ عادَ قَلبي شَوقُهُ

فَبَكَينَ عَنهُ مَدامِعَ الأَقلامِ

When I remembered you, my heart returned to its longing

So I wept about it with the tears of pens

خَلَّفتَني زَرعاً فَطُلتُ وَإِنَّما

ذاكَ الغِرارُ نُمِي إِلى الصَمصامِ

You left me a crop so I looked but

That deceit grew to the sky

كَم مَدحَةٍ لي في عُلاكَ كَأَنَّما

تَفتَرُّ عَن خُلقِ الغَمامِ الهامي

How much praise is mine in your exaltation as though

It invents from the nature of the gathering cloud

أَكدَت عَلَيَّ الأَرضُ مِن أَطرافِها

وَتَدَرَّعَت بِمَدارِعِ الإِظلامِ

The land has insisted to me from its edges

And adorned itself with the garments of darkness

وَعَهِدتُها خَضراءَ كَيفَ لَقيتُها

أَبصَرتُ فيها مَسرَحاً لِسَوامي

And I knew it as green, how did I find it

I saw in it a theater for thorn-bushes

أَشكو وَأَكتُمُ بَعضَ ما أَنا واجِدٌ

فَأَعافُ أَن أَشكو مِنَ الإِعدامِ

I complain and conceal some of what I possess

So I refrain from complaining about annihilation

وَإِذا ظَفِرتُ مِنَ المَناقِبِ بِالمُنى

أَهوَنتُ بِالأَرزاقِ وَالأَقسامِ

And if I obtain the wished-for virtues

I consider sustenance and allotments trivial

جاءَتكَ تَحدوها يَدا ذي فاقَةٍ

وَهيَ السَفينُ لَهُ إِلى الإِنعامِ

To you came a hand of one in need reciting poetry

And it is the ship to him for benefaction

فَاِعرِف لَهُ ما مَتَّ مِن شِعري بِهِ

فَلَقَد أَتاكَ بِحُرمَةٍ وَذِمامِ

So recognize for him what of my poetry has died by it

For he has come to you with sanctity and resolve