وَقائِلَةٍ هَجَرتَ الشِعرَ حَتّى

تَغَنّى بِالسَخافاتِ المُغَنّي

A woman reproached me, saying I had abandoned poetry

She asked: "Have you abandoned poetry, until / The singer now chants mere absurdities?"

Until buffoons sang silly songs.

"Springtime came while you were distracted, / And it has passed without you chanting a melody."

أَتى زَمَنُ الرَبيعِ وَأَنتَ لاهٍ

وَقَد وَلّى وَلَم تَهتِف بِلَحنِ

Springtime came while I was heedless,

"Your soul is like an echo in the depths of a well, / And like the dawn wrapped in gloom."

And it departed though I sang no melody.

"What ails you that beauty no longer enthralls you, / When you are a man who adores every grace?"

وَنَفسُكَ كَالصَدى في قاعِ بِئرٍ

وَمِثلِ الفَجرِ مُلتَحِفاً بِدَجنِ

My soul is like an echo in a deep well,

"Do you remain silent while youth flows amply upon you, / And around you lie Gardens of Eden for love?"

Or like the dawn wrapped in its shroud.

"Stagnation breeds corruption in water." / So I told her: "Be still and rest assured."

فَما لَكَ لَيسَ يَستَهويكَ حُسنٌ

وَأَنتَ المَرءُ تَعشَقُ كُلَّ حُسنِ

What beauty cannot allure you

"For the hand of time has not shattered my spirit, / Even if it has shattered my pitchers and my casks."

When you are one who loves all beauty?

"I have not tied my tongue out of fear, / Nor out of stinginess with my art toward the world."

أَتَسكُتُ وَالشَبابُ عَلَيكَ ضافٍ

وَحَولَكَ لِلهَوى جَنّاتُ عَدنِ

Will you be silent while youth still clings to you

"But I am a man whose laughter belongs to the people, / While my agony and sorrow belong to me alone."

And love's gardens surround you in this paradise?

"If I complain of my worries to a friend / When I have the strength to be silent, I have wronged my friend."

رُكودُ الماءِ يورِثُهُ فَساداً

فَقُلتُ لَها اِستَكيني وَاِطمَإِنّي

Stagnant water breeds only decay.

"And my pride refuses that he should see me / As a youth with eyelids drowned in tears."

So I said to her, "Calm me and give me peace."

"So I hide my weeping from him, lest he be / Distressed by it, even though it burns me."

فَما حَطَّمَت يَدُ الأَيّامِ روحي

وَإِن حَطَّمَت أَباريقي وَدَنّي

The hands of time have not broken my spirit,

"And should my companion weep, I imagine / That I am the culprit, even if he does not accuse me."

Though they've shattered my jugs and pots.

"So I wipe away the tears from his eyes, / Even if they resemble flames and sear me."

وَلَم أَعقِد عَلى خَوفٍ لِساني

وَلا ضَنّاً عَلى الدُنيا بِفَنّي

I have not bridled my tongue in fear,

"For whenever I bring him relief, / I rejoice as though I have brought relief to myself."

Nor mourned the loss of worldly goods.

وَلَكِنّي إِمرُؤٌ لِلناسِ ضِحكي

وَلي وَحدي تَباريحي وَحُزني

Rather I am one whose laughter lights people's faces,

While only to myself belong my sighs and sorrows.

إِذا أَشكو إِلى خِدنٍ هُمومي

وَفي وُسعي السُكوتُ ظُلِمتُ خِدني

When I complain of my troubles to a confidant,

Silence is best - I have wronged my confidant.

وَتَأبى كِبرِيائي أَن يَراني

فَتىً مُغرَورِقاً بِالدَمعِ جَفني

My pride refuses to let anyone see

My eyes overflowing with tears like a lovesick boy's.

فَأَستُرُ عَبرَتي عَنهُ لِأَلّا

يَضيقُ بِها وَإِن هيَ أَحرَقَتني

So I hide my tears from him, though they burn me,

Lest he feel distressed, though he does not accuse me.

وَيَبكي صاحِبي فَإِخالُ أَنّي

أَنا الجاني وَإِن لَم يَتَّهِمني

I wipe away a tear from his eyelid

Though the flames lick and consume me,

فَأَمسَحُ أَدمُعاً في مُقلَتَيهِ

وَإِن حَكَتِ اللَهيبَ وَإِن كَوَتني

Because whenever I comfort him,

I am troubled, as if I had comforted myself.

لِأَنّي كُلَّما رَفَّهتُ عَنهُ

طَرِبتُ كَأَنَّني رَفَّهتُ عَنّي