يا مَن قَرُبتَ مِنَ الفُؤادِ

وَأَنتَ عَن عَيني بَعيد

O you who drew near my heart

O you who have drawn near to my heart,

While you remain far from my eyes

While remaining far from my sight,

شَوقي إِلَيكَ أَشَدَّ مِن

شَوقِ السَليمِ إِلى الهُجود

My yearning for you is greater than

My longing for you is more intense

The yearning of the thirsty for water

Than the snake-bitten man's longing for sleep,

أَهوى لِقاءَكَ مِثلَما

يَهوى أَخو الظَمءِ الوُرود

I crave meeting you as

I desire to meet you just as

The brother of thirst craves flowers

The parched man desires the watering hole,

وَتَصُدُّني عَنكَ النَوى

وَأَصُدُّ عَن هَذا الصُدود

Intentions prevent me from you

Though distance bars me from you,

And I prevent myself from this deterrence

I turn away from this obstruction,

وَرَدَت نَميقَتَكَ الَّتي

جُمِعَت مِنَ الدُرِّ النَضيد

Your soft voice returned to me

Your adorned letter arrived,

Assembled from precious pearls

Gathered from pearls strung in order,

فَكَأَنَّ لَفظَكَ لُؤلُؤٌ

وَكَأَنَّما القِرطاسُ جيد

Your words seem like pearls

As if your words were pearls,

As if the paper itself is fine

And the paper was a neck.

أَشكو إِلَيك وَلا يُلامُ

إِذا شَكى العاني القُيود

I complain to you, and blame is not deserved

I complain to you—and one is not blamed

If the suffering complains of shackles

When the captive complains of his chains—

دَهراً بَليداً ما يُنيلُ

وِدادَهُ إِلّا بَليد

An indifferent time that does not give

Of a dull age that grants

Its affection except to the indifferent

Its affection to none but the dull,

وَمَعاشِراً ما فيهُمُ

إِن جِئتَهُم غَيرُ الوُعود

And companions among whom

And of a people among whom there is nothing,

Promises are never fulfilled

If you approach them, save empty promises,

مُتَفَرنِجين وَما التَفَرنُجُ

عِندَهُم غَيرُ الجُحود

Boastful, their boasting is nothing

Posing as Westerners, yet Western ways

But falsehood and denial

Are to them nothing but denial.

لا يَعرِفونَ مِنَ الشَجاعَةِ

غَيرَ ما عَرِفَ القُرود

They know nothing of courage

They know nothing of courage

Except what monkeys have known

Except what is known by monkeys.

سَيّانِ قالوا بِالرِضى

عَنّي أَوِ السُخطُ الشَديد

It's all the same if they speak

It is all the same whether they speak with approval

Of contentment with me or anger

Of me, or with intense wrath,

مَن لَيسَ يَصدُقُ في الوُعودِ

فَلَيسَ يَصدُقُ في الوَعيد

One who does not honor promises

For he who is not truthful in promises

Will not honor threats

Will not be truthful in threats.

نَفَرٌ إِذا عُدَّ الرِجالُ

عَدَدتُهُم طَيَّ اللَحُد

Some men, when men are counted

A group that, when men are counted,

I count them as snakes in the burrows

I count as buried within the grave.

تَأبى السَماحَ طِباعَهُم

ما كُلُّ ذي مالٍ يَجود

Their nature refuses gentleness

Their natures refuse generosity,

Not everyone with wealth is generous

For not every possessor of wealth gives freely.

أَسخاهُمُ بِنُضارِهِ

أَقسى مِنَ الحَجَرِ الصَلود

The kindest of them with his freshness

The most generous among them with his gold

Is harder than solid rock

Is harder than solid rock.

جَعدُ البَنانُ بِعِرضِهِ

يَفدي اللُجَينَ مِنَ الوُفود

The curly haired with his honor

Stingy of hand, with his honor

Would sacrifice refugees for delegations

He ransoms his silver from guests,

وَيَخافُ مِن أَضيافِهِ

خَوفَ الصَغيرِ مِنَ اليَهود

And is afraid of his guests

And he fears his visitors

Like a little child fears Jews

As a small child fears the Jews.

تَعِسَ اِمرُؤٌ لا يَستَفيدُ

مِنَ الرِجال وَلا يُفيد

Wretched is the man who does not benefit

Wretched is the man who neither benefits

From men nor benefits them

From others, nor is of use to them;

وَأَرى عَديمَ النَفعِ أَنَّ

وُجودُهُ ضَرَرُ الوُجود

And I see that one useless

And I see the one devoid of use—

His existence harms existence

His very existence is a harm to existence.