أبا مسلم ما طول عيش بدائم — Bashar Ibn Burd

O Abu Muslim, no span of life lasts forever.

Nor will one now safe remain safe for long.

Death storms upon the tyrannical king,

and fells him in the close-locked press of battle.

As though you had not heard of a crowned king's slaying—

a mighty one's—nor heard of the non-Arabs' treacherous killings.

His clansmen cut Kisra apart with their swords,

and Abu al-Abbas became a sleeper's dreams.

And he had not feared a plot's turning

against him, nor the course of ill-omened misfortunes,

abiding in pleasures, until there appeared to him

the faces of death, with their turbans cast off.

And days may arrive bright-browed, and sometimes

they come scowling, their bridle-bits exposed.

And the millstone turned upon Marwan's head,

though his crimes were few beside what you have committed.

So you have come to run heedlessly along their path,

without guarding against the like of those retributions.

You set yourself against Islam, effacing its path,

and lay its back bare to fierce lions.

You did not cease until the faith called its people for help

against you, so they returned with keen-edged swords.

Then seek a refuge to save you, O son of Washikah,

for you will not escape those who humiliate and oppress.

May God curse a people who made you their chief,

though you have always been a subordinate, foul in your fare.

I say to Bassam, upon whom majesty rests,

who has grown generous-hearted, a lover of noble deeds,

one of the Hashimites who call to guidance

openly—and who guides you like a son of Hashim?

A lamp to the eye of one seeking light, and at times

he is darkness to the encroaching enemy.

When deliberation reaches the stage of consultation, seek aid

from a sincere counselor's judgment or a resolute man's advice.

And do not deem consultation a slight upon you;

the secondary feathers, in their place, strengthen the primaries.

And what good is a hand when a shackle holds its sister?

And what good is a sword not strengthened by a hilt?

Leave leisurely ease to the weak, and do not be

a heavy sleeper, for resolve never sleeps.

And fight if you are given nothing but injustice;

the sharp edges of war are better than accepting oppression.

And draw close, in preference to kin, the man who brings himself near,

and admit to counsel no man who cannot keep secrets.

For you cannot drive worry away with wishes,

nor reach the heights without noble deeds.

If you stand alone, the people snarl at you as you approach;

and if you are lesser, you will not prevail through firm resolve.

And none has struck peoples like a courageous man

of keen judgment, nor dispelled blindness like a learned man.