تَجَهَّز طالَ في النَصَبِ الثَواءُ
وَمُنتَظَرُ الثَقيلِ عَلَيَّ داءُ
Preparations prolonged have wearied me,
And waiting for what's hard weighs heavily on me.
تَرَكتُ رِياضَةَ النَوكى قَديماً
فَإِنَّ رِياضَةَ النَوكى عَياءُ
Of being a libertine I long ago grew tired,
For being a libertine is but foolery.
إِذا ما سامَني الخُلَطاءُ خَسفاً
أَبَيتُ وَرُبَّما نَفَعَ الإِباءُ
When ignoble men accuse me of moral corruption,
I refuse, though refusing may sometimes prove vain.
وَإِغضائي عَلى البَزلاءِ وَهنٌ
وَوَجهُ سَبيلِها رَحبٌ فَضاءُ
My overlooking of loose women is a weakness,
With them the path of evil lies open and bare.
قَضَيتُ لُبانَةً وَنَسَأتُ أُخرى
وَلِلحاجاتِ وَردٌ وَاِنقِضاءُ
I fulfilled one wish but formed another,
For desires there is an answering and an end.
عَلى عَينَي أَبي أَيّوبَ مِنّي
غِطاءٌ سَوفَ يَنكَشِفُ الغِطاءُ
For my father Ayyub shall I ever hide
What, when the veil lifts, will be laid all too bare.
جَفاني إِذ نَزَلتُ عَلَيهِ ضَيفاً
وَلِلضَيفِ الكَرامَةُ وَالحِباءُ
When I came to him as a guest he was cold to me,
Yet a guest deserves courtesy, regard and care.
غَداً يَتَعَلَّمُ الفَجفاجُ أَنّي
أَسودُ إِذا غَضِبتُ وَلا أُساءُ
Tomorrow the presumptuous rabble will learn
That I'm fierce when enraged, and suffer no slight.
نَأَت سَلمى وَشَطَّ بِها التَنائي
وَقامَت دونَها حَكَمٌ وَحاءُ
I came to Salma, though others disputed it,
And she was protected by covenant and oath.
وَأَقعَدَني عَنِ الغُرِّ الغَواني
وَقَد نادَيتُ لَو سُمِعَ النِداءُ
And they kept me from the sweet ecstasy of love,
Though I cried out, had my call but been heard.
وَصِيَّةُ مَن أَراهُ عَلَيَّ رَبّاً
وَعَهدٌ لا يَنامُ بِهِ الوَفاءُ
My allegiance is to Him I see as my Lord,
A pact not forgotten though time take its toll.
هَجَرتُ الآنِساتِ وَهُنَّ عِندي
كَماءِ العَينِ فَقدُهُما سَواءُ
I've shunned intimates, to me they're now as
The water of the eye - when gone, the loss is the same.
وَقَد عَرَّضنَ لي وَاللَهُ دوني
أَعوذُ بِهِ إِذا عَرَضَ البَلاءُ
Yet God was my protection from all they exposed me to,
I seek refuge in Him when tribulations appear.
وَلَولا القائِمُ المَهديُّ فينا
حَلَبتُ لَهُنَّ ما وَسِعَ الإِناءُ
Were it not for the Righteous Leader among us,
For them I'd have poured all that my vessel could hold.
وَيَوماً بِالجُدَيدِ وَفَيتُ عَهداً
وَلَيسَ لِعَهدِ جارِيَةٍ بَقاءُ
And one day in Judayyid I broke a promise,
For the word of a serving girl permanence has not.
فَقُل لِلغانِياتِ يَقِرنَ إِنّي
وَقَرتُ وَحانَ مِن غَزَلي اِنتِهاءُ
So say to the singers, enough, I have settled,
The time for my love songs has passed and is gone.
نَهاني مالِكُ الأَملاكِ عَنها
فَثابَ الحِلمُ وَاِنقَطَعَ العَناءُ
The Lord of Creation has barred me from them,
Patience triumphed and torment is no more.
وَكَم مِن هاجِرٍ لِفَتاةِ قَومٍ
وَبَينَهُما إِذا اِلتَقَيا صَفاءُ
How many a lover for a girl of some tribe
When with her, only purity between them is found.
وَغَضّات الشَبابِ مِنَ العَذارى
عَلَيهنَّ السُموطُ لَها إِباءُ
And the bloom of youth in maidens is aversion
To looseness; on them let veils be gracefully drawn.
إِذا نَبَحَ العِدى فَلَهُنَّ وُدّي
وَتَربِيتي وَلِلكَلبِ العُواءُ
When enemies bark, my devotion to them grows,
As I was raised, but for dogs only censure.
لَهَوتُ بِهِنَّ إِذ مَلَقي أَنيقٌ
يَصِرنَ لَهُ وَإِذ نَسَمي شِفاءُ
With them I toyed when an elegant rake,
To whom they incline though I only bring harm.
وَأَطبَقَ حُبُّهُنَّ عَلى فُؤادي
كَما اِنطَبَقَت عَلى الأَرضِ السَماءُ
Their love enveloped my heart entirely,
As the sky envelops the earth spread below.
فَلَمّا أَن دُعيتُ أَصَبتُ رُشدِي
وَأَسفَرَ عَنِّيَ الداءُ العَياءُ
But when I was called, wisdom I attained,
And the painful confusion cleared away from me.
عَلى الغَزَلى سَلامُ اللَهِ مِنّي
وَإِن صَنَعَ الخَليفَةُ ما يَشاءُ
To the coquettish girls, God's peace from me,
Whatever our Caliph, the Leader, may do.
فَهَذا حينَ تُبتُ مِنَ الجَواري
وَمِن راحٍ بِهِ مِسكٌ وَماءُ
For now I repent of fair slave girls,
Of perfume and wine once sweet poisons to me.
وَإِن أَكُ قَد صَحَوتُ فَرُبَّ يَومٍ
يَهُزُّ الكَأسُ رَأسي وَالغِناءُ
On many a day wine shakes my mind,
As singing and beautiful women entice me.
أَروحُ عَلى المَعازِفِ أَربَخيّا
وَتَسقيني بِريقَتِها النِساءُ
I've not abandoned all vice, but
My fervor carried me away from restraint.
وَما فارَقتُ مِن سَرَفٍ وَلَكِن
طَغى طَرَبي وَمالَ بِيَ الفَتاءُ
It's time for Muslimah bin Qays to say
No cure exists for desire's sovereign sway.
أَوانَ يَقولُ مُسلِمَةُ ابنُ قَيسٍ
وَلَيسَ لِسَيِّدِ النَوكى دَواءُ
Refrain from saucy girls, keep your distance,
For the impudent and insolent, seemly behavior's the way.
رُوَيدَكَ عَن قِصافَ عَلَيكَ عَينٌ
وَلِلمُتَكَلِّفِ الصَلِفِ العَفاءُ
No solace from Ibn Qays will meet me,
When consolation for what's past is beyond hope.
فَلا لاقى مَناعِمَهُ اِبنُ قَيسٍ
يُعَزّيني وَقَد غُلِبَ العَزاءُ
