بِوَدِّ الرَذايا أَنَّها في السَوابِقِ
وَكَم لِلعُلى مِن طالِبٍ غَيرِ لاحِقِ
By the bliss of memories, they belong to the past
Yet how many seekers of glory do not keep up
وَفي شِدَّةِ الدَهرِ اِعتِبارٌ لِعاقِلٍ
وَفي لَذَّةِ الدُنيا غُرورٌ لِواثِقِ
And in hardship's grip, the wise take heed
While in life's pleasures, the confident are misled
أَرى العَيشَ أَيّاماً تَمُرُّ وَلَيتَنا
نُباعِدُ مِن أَحداثِها وَالبَوائِقِ
I see life passing day by day, if only
We were distant from its woes and calamities
شَهِيٌّ إِلى الناسِ النَجاءُ مِنَ الرَدى
وَلا عُنقَ إِلّا وَهيَ في فِترِ خانِقِ
Yearning for people is to be saved from perdition
Yet every neck is caught in death's noose
وَأَكثَرُ مَن شاوَرتَهُ غَيرُ حازِمٍ
وَأَكثَرُ مَن صاحَبتَ غَيرُ المُوافِقِ
Most whom you consult are not resolute
And most whom accompany you do not agree
إِذا أَنتَ فَتَّشتَ القُلوبَ وَجَدتَها
قُلوبَ الأَعادي في جُسومِ الأَصادِقِ
If you examine hearts, you find enemies’ hearts
In the bodies of those claimed to be loyal
وَعِندي مِنَ الوُدِّ الَّذي لا يَشوبُهُ
لَحاظُ المُرائي أَو كَلامُ المُنافِقِ
I have a love untainted by hypocrisy
Or words of pretense from a dissembler
أُغالِطُ نَفسي بَعدَ مَرأى وَمَسمَعٍ
وَلا أَنظُرُ الدُنيا بِعَينِ الحَقائِقِ
I fool myself beyond insight and hearing
Not looking at life through the lens of truth
عَلى أَنَّني أَدري إِذا كانَ قائِدي
بَقائي فَإِنَّ المَوتَ لا شَكَّ سائِقي
Yet I know if the guide is my survival
Then death will no doubt be my escort
وَما جَمعِيَ الأَموالَ إِلّا غَنيمَةً
لِمَن عاشَ بَعدي وَاِتِّهاماً لِرازِقي
And I have gathered wealth only as spoils
For those who outlive me, and as blame for my Sustainer
تَنَفَّسَ في رَأسي بَياضٌ كَأَنَّهُ
صِقالُ تَراقٍ في النُصولِ الرَوانِقِ
Greyness breathed through my head as if
It were the sheen of a polished sword in its scabbard
وَما جَزَعي إِن حالَ لَونٌ وَإِنَّما
أَرى الشَيبَ عَضباً قاطِعاً حَبلَ عاتِقي
I'm not distraught that a color changed, rather
I see old age as a severing rope round my neck
فَما لي أَذُمُّ الغادِرينَ وَإِنَّما
شَبابِيَ أَدنى غادِرٍ بي وَماذِقِ
So why do I blame the treacherous days
When my youth betrayed me without a taste
تُعَيُّرُني شَيبي كَأَنّي اِبتَدَعتُهُ
وَمَن لِيَ أَن يَبقى بَياضُ المَفارِقِ
My greyness reproaches me as if I originated it
Who can make the whiteness of separation remain?
وَإِنَّ وَراءَ الشَيبِ ما لا أَجوزُهُ
بِعائِقَةٍ تُنسي جَميعَ العَوائِقِ
And behind this greyness is what I cannot transcend
With a barrier that makes me forget all barriers
وَلَيسَ نَهارُ الشَيبِ عِندي بِمُزمِعٍ
رُجوعاً إِلى لَيلِ الشَبابِ الغُرانِقِ
The daytime of greyness to me does not portend
A return to youth's bright intoxicated night
وَما العِزُّ إِلّا غَزوُكَ الحَيَّ بِالقَنا
وَرَبطُ المَذاكي في خُدورِ العَواتِقِ
Glory is only to invade the living with spears
And tethering the torrents in the valleys of mountains
وَإِغمادُكَ الأَسيافَ في كُلِّ هامَةٍ
وَرَكزُكَ أَطرافَ القَنا في الحَمالِقِ
It is sheathing your swords in every lofty minaret
And planting your spear-ends in the summits
وَلا تَرتَضي أَن تُدنِسَ العِرضَ ساعَةً
وَمَشيُكَ في ثَوبٍ مِنَ الزَينِ رائِقِ
You do not accept sullying honor for an instant
Walking in brilliant garb of decoration
فَلِلعِزِّ ما أَدنى لِياني مِنَ القَنا
وَأَكرَهَ رُمحي في صُدورِ الفَيالِقِ
So for glory what brings me nearer to spears
And makes my spear detest chests of warriors?
سَقى اللَهُ نَفساً ما أَضَرَّ بَقاؤُها
بِجِسمي وَأَغراها بِما كانَ عارِقي
May God water a soul whose survival
Harms my body, tempting it with what had flowed
تُكَلِّفُني سَيراً إِلى غَيرِ غايَةٍ
مُضِرّاً بِأَبناءِ الجَديلِ وَلاحِقِ
It tasks me with a journey to no destination
Harming the sons of my lineage and future kin
وَلَيلٍ كَعَينِ الظَبيِ إِلّا نُجومَهُ
قَطَعتُ وَلي مِن صُبحِهِ كَفُّ سارِقِ
A night like the eye of a gazelle but for its stars
I traversed, grasping from its dawn like a thief
جَريّاً عَلى الظَلماءِ حَتّى كَأَنَّني
أَراها بِأَلحاظِ الرَزايا الطَوارِقِ
Running in the dark as if I saw it
With vision piercing calamities like lightning
وَرَكبٍ أَناخوا ساعَةً فَتَناهَبوا
ثَرى البيدِ في أَعضادِهِم وَالمَرافِقِ
A riding band who halted briefly there
Scraped the earth with their hands and mounts
وَساروا بِأَيدي العيسِ عَجلى كَأَنَّها
خَراطِمُ أَقلامٍ جَرَت في المَهارِقِ
Then rode off quickly with Jesus' hands that seemed
Like the trunks of reeds flowing in the wastes
وَما أَنا مِمَّن يُضجِرُ السَيرُ قَلبَهُ
وَتُذكِرُهُ الأَمواهُ حَرَّ الوَدائِقِ
I'm not one vexed in heart by travel
Or reminded of loved ones by ruins
وَلَكِن شَريكُ الوَحشِ في كُلِّ مَهمَهٍ
وَرِدفُ اللَيالي في الرُبى وَالأَبارِقِ
Rather, companion of the beast in all its aims
And rider through nights of steppe and lightning
رَعى اللَهُ مَن فارَقتُ مِن غَيرِ رَغبَةٍ
عَلى الوَجدِ مِنّي وَالسِقامِ المُطابِقِ
May God tend to those I left not out of choice
Matching my joy to my illness and weakness
يُباعِدُ عَنّي مَن غَرامي لِأَجلِهِ
وَيَقرُبُ مِن قَلبي لَهُ غَيرُ وامِقِ
Taking from my heart one I loved dearly
And making love in it for another undeserved
إِذا شِئتَ أَن لا تَهجُرَ الهَمَّ فَاِغتَرِب
وَإِن شِئتَ أَن يَأتي الحِمامُ فَفارِقِ
If you wish the worries not to abandon you then be a stranger
And if you wish the dove to come then be gone
فَكُلُّ غَريبٍ يَألَفُ الهَمُّ قَلبَهُ
وَلا سيَّما قَلبُ الغَريبِ المُفارِقِ
Every stranger, worries make his heart their home
Especially the heart of a longing emigrant
فَكَيفَ بِطَرفٍ لَحظُهُ لَحظُ مُدنَفٍ
سَقيمٍ وَجِسمٍ قَلبُهُ قَلبُ عاشِقِ
How about a glance of one whose glance is that
Of a sickly, body with a lover's heart?
إِذا كُنتُ مِمَّن يَجحَدُ الشَوقَ في النَوى
فَكَم فاضَ دَمعي مِن حَنينِ الأَيانِقِ
If I'm one who denies longing in secret
Then how often my tears flowed from yearning doe-eyes
وَكَم أَنا وَقّافٌ عَلى كُلِّ مَنزِلٍ
وَكَم أَنا مُرتاحٌ إِلى كُلِّ بارِقِ
And how often I stop at every halt
And find rest in every lightning flash
أَحِنُّ إِلى مَن لا يَحِنُّ صَبابَةً
وَما واجِدٌ قَلبا مَشوقٍ وَشائِقِ
I yearn for one who does not reciprocate
No ardent desiring heart can be found
وَعِندي مِنَ الأَحبابِ كُلُّ عَظيمَةٍ
تُزَهَّدُ في قُربِ الضَجيعِ المُعانِقِ
I have dear ones loftier than seeking
The embrace of a companion in bed
تَعَطَّلَتِ الأَحشاءُ مِن كُلِّ أَنَّةٍ
فَلا القُربُ يُضنيني وَلا البُعدُ شائِقي
My passions from all intimacy are disabled
Neither closeness gratifies me nor distance allures
وَما في الغَواني مِن سُرورٍ لِناظِرٍ
وَلا في الخُزامى مِن نَسيمٍ لِناشِقِ
In seductions is no joy for one who sees
Nor in wild roses a breeze for one who sniffs
رَمى اللَهُ بي مِن هَذِهِ الأَرضِ غَيرَها
وَقَطَّعَ مِن هَذا الأَنامِ عَلائِقي
May God cast me from this land to another
And cut off from these people my attachments
فَكَم فيهِمُ مِن واعِدٍ غَيرِ مُنجِزٍ
وَكَم فيهِمُ مِن قائِلٍ غَيرِ صادِقِ
Among them are many promise-breakers
And many speakers of pretense, not truth
يَظُنّونَ أَنَّ المَجدَ فيمَن لَهُ الغِنى
وَأَنَّ جَميعَ العِلمِ فَضلُ التَشادُقِ
They think glory belongs to the wealthy
And the sum of knowledge is vying in boasting
وَفاءٌ كَأَنبوبِ اليَراعِ لِصاحِبٍ
وَغَدرٌ كَأَطرافِ الرِماحِ الزَوالِقِ
Loyalty like a water-skin for a friend
And betrayal like spear-ends that swerve
وَلَولا اِبنُ موسى لَم يَكُن في زَمانِنا
مَعاذٌ لِجانٍ أَو مَحَلٌّ لِطارِقِ
If not for the son of Moses, there would not be in our time
A refuge for an afflicted soul or a place for one who knocks
وَلا دَبَّرَت سُمرَ القَنا كَفُّ فارِسٍ
وَلا مُدَّ في رِزقِ المُنى باعُ رازِقِ
Nor would the wrist of a horseman maneuver spears
Nor would the hand of a giver extend provision
تَغَمَّدَنا مِن كُلِّ أَرضٍ بِنَفحَةٍ
وَأَمطَرَنا مِن كُلِّ جَوٍّ بِوادِقِ
He has enveloped us from every land with a breeze
And rained on us from every atmosphere with showers
إِذا هَمَّ لَم يَبعُد بِهِ زَجرُ زاجِرٍ
وَإِن ثارَ لَم يَعطِف بِهِ نَعقُ ناعِقِ
When resolved, no deterring critic can dissuade him
And when provoked, no shrill neigh can calm him
وَإِن رامَ أَملاكَ البِلادِ بِفَتكَةٍ
مَشى الذُلُّ في تيجانِها وَالمَناطِقِ
And if he aims to seize the lands by conquest
Submission walks in their crowns and turbans
لَهُ العِزُّ وَالمَجدُ التَليدُ وِراثَةً
وَأَخذاً عَنِ البيضِ الظُبى وَالسَوابِقِ
For him is heritage glory and honor
Taken from noble white swords and early risers
وَمازالَ يَلقى كُلَّ غَبراءَ فَخمَةٍ
تُغالي بِأَطرافِ القَنا وَالعَقائِقِ
He continues to meet every lofty eminence
Vying with spear-ends and carnelians
وَما بَرِحَت في كُلِّ عَصرٍ سُيوفُهُ
مَواضِعَ تيجانِ الرِجالِ البَطارِقِ
His swords do not cease in every age
To fill the places of men's necks and shoulders
يُجَرِّدُها مِثلَ الأَقاحي عَلى الطُلى
وَيُغمِدُها مُحمَرَّةً كَالشَقائِقِ
He unsheathes them like unripe berries on mud
And sheathes them red like anemones
تُبَلِّغُهُ أَقصى الأَماني رِماحُهُ
وَآرائُهُ وَالرَأيُ أَمضى مُرافِقِ
His spears convey his deepest desires
And his views, the soundest accompanying
وَخَيلٍ كَأَطرافِ العَوالي جَريئَةٍ
عَلى الطَعنِ مُسقاةٍ دِماءَ المَوارِقِ
Horses nimble as hilltops, audacious
In the stab, watering blood with stabs
إِذا عَنَّ طَردٌ أَو طِرادٌ تَبادَرَت
طِرادَ الأَعادي قَبلَ طَردِ الوَسائِقِ
If a herd is routed or routing, they vie
To route the enemy before the fleeing flock
تُديرُ عُيوناً بَدَّدَ الرَوعُ لَحظُها
وَغَطّى مَآقيها غُبارُ السَمالِقِ
They turn eyes that have been startled by fear
And their brows are covered in dust of ordeals
نَواصِبِ آذانٍ إِلى كُلِّ نَبأَةٍ
طَوامِحِ أَلحاظٍ إِلى كُلِّ مارِقِ
Ears pricked to each news and turn of events
Eyes piercing in wait for every deviant
ذَواكِرَ لِلنَجوى بِيَومٍ طِعانُهُ
يُنَسّي رُؤوسَ الخَيلِ جَذبَ العَلائِقِ
They recall the threat whose day
Makes forget the tug of tethering pegs
تَروعُ جَنانَ اللَيثِ إِن لَم تَذُمَّهُ
وَتَطعَنُ في الأَقرانِ إِن لَم تُعانِقِ
They terrify the heart of a lion if undaunted
And rival peers if unrestrained
هَنيئاً لَكَ العيدُ المُضاعَفُ سَعدُهُ
كَما ضاعَفَ الوَسميُّ نَبتَ الحَدائِقِ
Congratulations on an eid whose fortune is double
As Al-Wasmi doubled the yield of gardens
وَكَم مِثلِ هَذا العيدِ قَضّيتَ فَرضَهُ
بِمَكَّةَ في ظِلِّ البُنودِ الخَوافِقِ
And how many like this eid you fulfilled its duty
In Mecca, in the shade of its narrow valleys
وَقُدتَ إِلَيهِ العيسَ عَجلى مَروعَةً
تَناهَزُ في أَنماطِها وَالنَمارِقِ
And you drove the steeds to it in hurried pace
Jostling in their patterns and finery
مُدَفَّعَةً تَحتَ السِياطِ كَأَنَّها
إِذا جَنَّتِ الظَلماءُ أَيدي النَقانِقِ
Goaded under the whips as if they were
When darkness gripped, hands of gleaners
وَيُعنِتُها الحادونَ أَو تُوسِعَ الخُطا
إِلى قُربِ دارِ المَوقِفِ المُتَضائِقِ
The swift-footed trouble them or the road narrows
To the sanctuary precinct, constricted
وَأَيُّ مَقامٍ لِلوَرى تَحتَ ظِلِّهِ
مَهيبٍ يُطاطي مِن عُيونِ الحَدائِقِ
And which site under its shade is revered?
Glorious, trodden by eyes of pilgrims
وَأَكثَرُ ما تَلقى بِهِ العَينُ أَو تَرى
إِفاضَةُ مَخلوقٍ إِلى قُربِ خالِقِ
And most that the eye encounters or sees
Is creation's flow to its Creator's proximity
ثَمانينَ أَعطَيتَ المُنى في مُرورِها
وَلَم تَرمِ عَن مَسراكَ فيها بِعائِقِ
Eighty cycles you gave the rites in their passing
Without being hindered by any barrier
وَأَكبَرُ ظَنّي أَن أَرى مِنكَ عارِضاً
يُؤَمِّمُها في مِثلِ تِلكَ البَوارِقِ
And I think the greatest that I may see you again
Making pilgrimage in the like of those shining moons
أَبا أَحمَدٍ هَذا طِلابي وَهَذِهِ
مُنايَ الَّتي أَمَّتكَ دونَ الخَلائِقِ
Father of Ahmad, this is my request and this
Is my purpose that has set you apart from creatures
وَإِنّي لَأَرجو مِنكَ ما لا أُذيعُهُ
مَخافَةَ واشٍ أَو عَدوٍّ مُماذِقِ
And I do hope from you what I do not proclaim
Fearing a gossip or watching enemy
وَلا بُدَّ مِن يَومٍ حَميدٍ كَأَنَّهُ
مِنَ النَقعِ في أَثناءِ بُردٍ شَبارِقِ
Inevitable is a blessed day like
A flash in the midst of hailstorms
عَظيمِ دَويِّ الصَوتِ في سَمعِ سامِعٍ
بَعيدِ سَماعِ الصَوتِ مِن نُطقِ ناطِقِ
Great of distant roar in the hearing of one who hears
Far from the roar's origin in the speaker's utterance
أَعُدُّ عَنايَ فيهِ رَوحاً وَراحَةً
وَكَم سَعَةٍ لِلمَرءِ غِبَّ المَضائِقِ
I anticipate in it relaxation of spirit
And how much relief for one aggrieved by straits!
وَهَذا مَقالي فيكَ غَيثٌ وَرُبَّما
رَمَيتُ العِدى مِن وَقعِهِ بِالصَواعِقِ
And this is my saying of you, a rain yet maybe
I have deflected enmity with lightning bolts
إِذا أَنتَ يَوماً سِمتَنيهِ فَإِنَّما
تُكَلِّفُني قَطعَ الذُرى وَالشَواهِقِ
If one day you summon me, you task me only
With cutting the lands and the towering heights
وَحَسبُكَ مِنهُ ما رَضيتَ اِستِماعَهُ
وَأَكثَرُ ما في الناسِ لَغوُ المَناطِقِ
It is enough from it what you were pleased to hear
Though most speech of people is prattle
