كَيفَ أَضاءَ البَرقُ إِذ أَومَضا
مَنابِتَ الرِمثِ بِوادي الغَضا
How the lightning blazed when it flashed,
Illuminating the sand dunes in the valley of Ghada.
عَهدُ الحِمى لا أَينَ عَهدُ الحِمى
قَضى عَلى الصَبِّ جَوىً وَاِنقَضى
The abode of love - where is the abode of love?
It scorched my patience and vanished.
وَنازِلٍ بِالقَلبِ أَوطانُهُ
بَينَ حِمى الرَملِ وَبَينَ الأَضا
With an abode in my heart are its dwellings,
Between the sanctuary of the sands and Al-Ada.
لا نالَهُ الداءُ الَّذي نالَني
مِنهُ وَإِن شَفَّ وَإِن أَمرَضا
The malady that afflicted me did not touch him,
Though he was cured while I still ailed.
وَلا يُكابِد لَيلَ ذي غُلَّةٍ
لَو طَلَعَ البَدرُ بِهِ ما أَضا
Nor does he endure a pitch-black night,
Even if the full moon rose within it, it would illuminate.
هانَ عَلى الواجِدِ طَعمُ الكَرى
إِنَّ الفَتى الساهِرَ ما غَمَّضا
To the contented one, the taste of sorrow seems trivial.
Indeed, the watchful youth's eyes have not closed in sleep.
ما آنَ لِلمَمطولِ أَن يَقتَضي
وَلا لِذا الماطِلِ أَن يُقتَضى
It is not for the dilatory one to seek payment,
Nor for the procrastinator to pay his debts.
إِنَّ غَريمي بِدُيونِ الهَوى
أَدانَ قَلبي وَأَساءَ القَضا
Indeed, my creditor in the debts of passion,
Has burdened my heart and made the payment evil.
يا راكِباً تَحمِلُهُ جَسرَةٌ
كَالهِقلِ ناش البَلَدَ الأَعرَضا
O rider whom boldness carries
Like the slender ostrich traversing the flatlands.
أَنحَلَهُ الخَوفُ وَخَوفُ الفَتى
سَيفٌ عَلى مَفرِقِهِ مُنتَضى
Fear loosened its knot, and the fear of the young man
Is a sword at the nape, bared and ready to slay.
قُل لِبَهاءِ المُلكِ إِن جِئتَهُ
سَوَّدَ دَهري بِكَ ما بَيَّضا
Say to the beauty of the kingdom, if you come to him,
"You have darkened my life while it was still bright."
سُخطٌ لَوَ أَنَّ الطودَ يُرمى بِهِ
ساخَ عَنِ الأَطوادِ أَو خَفَّضا
Wrath, that if a mountain were pelted with it,
Would slide from the mountains or diminish them.
وَمُرُّ قَولٍ ذَلَّ عِزّي لَهُ
لَو مُزِجَ الماءُ بِهِ عَرمَضا
And speech so bitter it degraded my honor,
If it were mixed with water it would become bitter.
أَعوذُ بِالعَفوِ وَهَل آمِنٌ
نَذيرَةَ الصِلِّ إِذا نَضنَضا
I seek refuge in pardoning - but does one feel safe
From the hissing of the serpent when it hisses?
أَيا غِياثَ الخَلقِ إِن أَجدَبوا
وَيا قِوامَ الدينِ إِن قُوِّضا
O savior of mankind, if they are stricken with drought,
And O pillar of the faith, if it shakes and totters.
وَيا ضِياءً إِن نَأى نورُهُ
لَم نَرَ يَوماً بَعدَهُ أَبيَضا
O light, that if its brightness grows distant
We will never see a day brighter afterward.
ما لِيَ مَطوِيّاً عَلى غُلَّةٍ
أَرمَضَني وَجدُكَ ما أَرمَضا
Why am I twisted in anguish? It has made me sick.
While your favor has not made me sick.
قَد قَلِقَ الجَنبُ وَطالَ الكَرى
وَأَظلَمَ الجَوُّ وَضاقَ الفَضا
Restlessness has worried my soul, and sorrow stretched long.
The sky darkened, and the horizon narrowed.
لا تُعطِشِ الزَهرَ الَّذي نَبتُهُ
بِصَوبِ إِنعامِكَ قَد رَوَّضا
Do not let the blossoms whose growth
Was in the direction of your grace become thirsty.
إِن كانَ لي ذَنبٌ وَلا ذَنبَ لي
فَاِستَأنِفِ العَفوَ وَهَب ما مَضى
If I have sinned - and I have no sin -
Resume your pardon, and forgive what has passed.
لا تَبرِ عوداً أَنتَ رَيشَتَهُ
حاشا لِباني المَجدِ أَن يَنقُضا
Do not destroy a branch that you have feathered.
Never would the builder of glory undo what he constructed.
وَاِرعَ لِغَرسٍ أَنتَ أَنهَضتَهُ
لَولاكَ ما قارَبَ أَن يَنهَضا
And protect a sapling that you made grow.
Had it not been for you, it would not have reached up to grow.
لَو عَوِّضَ الدُنيا عَلى عِزِّها
مِنكَ لَما سُرَّ بِما عُوِّضا
If the world were recompensed for its honor
With you, it would not rejoice in what it gained in exchange.
وَلا يَكُن عَهدُكَ بَعدَ الهَوى
غَيماً تَجَلّى وَخِضاباً نَضا
Nor after passion, let your covenant
Be clouds that gathered and color that faded.
يارامِياً لادِرعَ مِن سَهمِهِ
أَقصَدَني مِن قَبلِ أَن يُنتَضى
O archer whose arrows, when released from his bow,
Targeted me before they were even unleashed.
قَضى عَلى قَلبي بِإِقلاقِهِ
ما أَنا بِالجَلدِ عَلى ما قَضى
It decreed destruction upon my heart with its turmoil,
And I cannot bear what was decreed with fortitude.
وَكَيفَ لا أَبكي لِأَعرادِ مَن
يُعرِضُ عَنّي الدَهرُ إِن أَعرَضا
How can I not weep for the intimacy of one
Whom fate turns away from me if it turns?
قَد كُنتُ أَرجوهُ لِنَيلِ المُنى
فَاليَومَ لا أَطلُبُ غَيرَ الرِضا
I used to hope to attain the wished-for end through him.
But today I seek nothing but contentment.
