ما كنت آلف منزلي إلا به

ولقد كرهت الدار بعد مصابه

I was not accustomed to my home except with him,

And I have come to dislike this house after his loss.

وكرهت عيشي بعدما فارقته

ورغبت في الترحال نحو جنابه

I have come to dislike my life after he left me,

And I yearned to wander towards his resting place.

أنف الإقامة عندنا وصبا إلى

ما يرتجيه من بلوغ ثوابه

I disliked staying with us while he inclined

Towards what he hoped to attain of his reward.

ماذا أقل بقاءه ما بيننا

مترحلاً للترب عن أترابه

How brief was his stay between us,

Departing to the dust from his loved ones.

حار الطبيب بما يداوي داءه

لما غدا والموت أكبر دابه

The doctor was baffled by what would cure his illness

When death had become the greatest conqueror.

ما كان في خلدي ولا بتصوري

أن الحمام يحثه بحرابه

It did not occur to me, nor did I imagine

That the dove would spur him with its wings.

قد كنت آمل أن أكون فداءه

أخطأت في أملي وظن حسابه

I had hoped that I would ransom him with my soul,

But I was mistaken in my hopes and calculations.

فارقته والعيش فارق خاطري

وتفكري لم يخل من أسبابه

I parted from him and life parted from my heart,

And my thoughts did not cease from his causes.

أتراك إسماعيل تعلم ما الذي

في القلب من لوعاته وعذابه

Do you see, O Ismael, what is in my heart

Of its burning sorrows and anguish?

وظننت أن النوم باشر مقلة

لم تكتحل غمضاً ولا تحظى به

I thought sleep would soothe my inflamed eyes

That did not sleep a wink or enjoy it.

أتبيت إسماعيل ثاو في الثرى

من بعد قلب كنت من حجابه

Ismael, will you spend the night dusted in the earth

After being the veil of my heart?

ورحلت عن صدري وحجري للبلى

رغماً علي وصرت رهن ترابه

You left my chest and my room to decay

Despite me, and you became subject to dust.

ولقد أمنت عليك نائبة الردى

لم أدر حتى صرت في أنيابه

I had entrusted you to the vicissitudes of fate

Not knowing you would fall into its claws,

مازال يخدعني عليك وإنما

أرداك مخلبه بطول خلابه

It still deceives me about you, though

It has seized you in its long talons.

ضر الحوادث ليس يؤمن خطبه

لكنني من بعض من أغرى به

Misfortunes whose dangers are unavoidable

But I am one of those it lured,

وحسبت خيراً بالزمان وريبه

فغدوت أخسر واثق بحسابه

And I thought well of time and its doubt,

So I became the greater loser, trusting in my calculations.

الموت فرق شملنا وأضامنا

والدهر ساعده على أوصابه

Death separated us and brought us together,

And time assisted it against its adversaries.

لم تسو فرحة مهجتي بولادة

عادت بموتك ترحة بمنابه

My joyful heart was not consoled by your birth,

For it returned to anguish at your death.

وكذاك ماسويت عمارة منزل

وكماله بفنائه وخرابه

Just so, I did not complete building my home,

And its perfection with its loss and destruction.

فلأبكين عليه ما لاح الضيا

أو ما اقتضاني القول حسن جوابه

So I will weep for him as long as the sun rises,

Or as long as the words allow a good answer.