أَثَرتَ بِنا مِنَ الشَوقِ القَديمِ

وَذِكرى ذَلِكَ العَيشِ الرَخيمِ

You have awakened in me longing of old

And memories of that easy life

وَأَيّامٍ كَسَوناها جَمالاً

وَأَرقَصنا لَها فَلَكَ النَعيمِ

And days we adorned with beauty

And danced for it the dance of bliss

مَلَأناها بِنا حُسناً فَكانَت

بِجيدِ الدَهرِ كَالعِقدِ النَظيمِ

We filled them with us, beautifully, so they were

Like a well-strung necklace, in the prime of time

وَفِتيانٍ مَساميحٍ عَلَيهِم

جَلابيبٌ مِنَ الذَوقِ السَليمِ

And gallant youths in fine raiment

Wearing garments of tasteful elegance

لَهُم شِيَمٌ أَلَذُّ مِنَ الأَماني

وَأَطرَبُ مِن مُعاطاةِ النَديمِ

They have manners sweeter than wishes

And more delightful than intimacies with boon companions

كَهَمِّكَ في الخَلاعَةِ وَالتَصابي

وَإِن كانوا عَلى خُلُقٍ عَظيمِ

Like your anxiety about manners and propriety

Though you are of most noble character

دَعَوتُهُمُ إِلى أَنسٍ فَوافَوا

مُوافاةَ الكَريمِ إِلى الكَريمِ

I invited them to intimacy, and they came

With the response of the generous to the generous

وَجاؤوا كَالقَطا وَرَدَت نَميراً

عَلى ظَمَإٍ وَهَبّوا كَالنَسيمِ

And they came like rain-clouds that poured down abundantly

On a thirst and rushed like the breeze

وَكانَ اللَيلُ يَمرَحُ في شَبابِ

وَيَلهو بِالمَجَرَّةِ وَالنُجومِ

And the night would frolic in its youth

Playing with the stars and planets

فَواصَلنا كُئوسَ الراحِ حَتّى

بَدَت لِلعَينِ أَنوارُ الصَريمِ

So we continued passing the cup of comfort until

The eyes could see the lights of dawn

وَأَعمَلنا بِها رَأيَ اِبنِ هاني

فَأُلحِقنا بِأَصحابِ الرَقيمِ

And we followed the opinion of Ibn Hani

And joined the ranks of the doomed

وَظَبيٍ مِن بَني مِصرٍ غَريرٍ

شَهِيِّ اللَفظِ ذي خَدٍّ مَشيمِ

And a gazelle from the elegant Misrs

Eloquent, with a wine-colored cheek

وَلَحظٍ بابِلِيٍّ ذي اِنكِسارِ

كَأَنَّ بِطَرفِهِ سيما اليَتيمِ

And a Babylonian glance, with languor

As if its lashes held the mark of the orphan

سَقانا في مُنادَمَةٍ حَديثاً

نَسينا عِندَهُ بِنتَ الكُرومِ

They entertained us in conversation with tales

That made us forget the daughter of the vineyards

سَلامُ اللَهِ يا عَهدَ التَصابي

عَلَيكَ وَفِتيَةِ العَهدِ القَديمِ

Greetings of God, O age of refinement

Upon you and the youths of the ancient covenant

أَحِنُّ لَهُم وَدونَهُمُ فَلاةٌ

كَأَنَّ فَسيحَها صَدرُ الحَليمِ

I yearn for them, and beyond them lies only wilderness

As if its expanse were the heart of the forbearing

كَأَنَّ أَديمَها أَحشاءُ صَبٍّ

قَدِ اِلتَهَبَت مِنَ الوَجدِ الأَليمِ

As if its barrenness were the vitals

Of one in passionate love, inflamed with anguish

كَأَنَّ سَرابَها إِذ لاحَ فيها

خِداعٌ لاحَ في وَجهِ اللَئيمِ

As if its mirage, when it appeared in it

Were a deception that appeared in the face of the wretched

تَضِلُّ بِلَيلِها لِهبٌ فَتَحكي

بِوادي التيهِ أَقوامَ الكَليمِ

Its night leads astray with flames that tell

Of the people of the valley of the lost

وَتَمشي السافِياتُ بِها حَيارى

إِذا نُقِلَ الهَجيرُ عَنِ الجَحيمِ

And the one gone astray wanders in it confused

When the emigration from hell is related

فَمَن لي أَن أَرى تِلكَ المَغاني

وَما فيها مِنَ الحُسنِ القَديمِ

So who will grant me to see those pleasures

And the ancient beauty that is in them?

فَما حَظُّ اِبنِ داوودٍ كَحَظّي

وَلا أوتيتُ مِن عِلمِ العَليمِ

For the lot of the son of David is not like my lot

Nor have I been given any knowledge of the All-Knowing

وَلا أَنا مُطلَقٌ كَالفِكرِ أَسري

فَأَستَبِقُ الضَواحِكَ في الغُيومِ

Nor am I free like thought taken captive

So I can outstrip the clouds in speed

وَلَكِنّي مُقَيَّدَةٌ رِحالي

بِقَيدِ العُدمِ في وادي الهُمومِ

Rather, my journey is fettered

By the fetter of nothingness in the valley of sorrows

نَزَحتُ عَنِ الدِيارِ أَرومُ رِزقي

وَأَضرِبُ في المَهامِهِ وَالتُخومِ

I traveled from the dwellings, seeking my fortune

Wandering in the desolate valleys and hills

وَما غادَرتُ في السودانِ قَفراً

وَلَم أَصبُغ بِتُربَتِهِ أَديمي

And I left no desert in the Sudan

Without soaking my garment in its dust

وَها أَنا بَينَ أَنيابِ المَنايا

وَتَحتَ بَراثِنِ الخَطبِ الجَسيمِ

And here I am between the jaws of death

And beneath the fearful calamities

وَلَولا سَورَةٌ لِلمَجدِ عِندي

قَنِعتُ بِعيشَتي قَنَعَ الظَليمِ

And were it not for a chapter on glory I have

I would be content with my life like the ignorant

أَيا اِبنَ الأَكرَمينَ أَباً وَجَدّاً

وَيا اِبنَ عُضادَةِ الدينِ القَويمِ

O son of the two most noble fathers

And son of the pillar of upright religion

أَقامَ لِدينِنا أَهلوكَ رُكناً

لَهُ نَسَبٌ إِلى رُكنِ الحَطيمِ

Your people established you as a pillar for our faith

With lineage reaching the Pillar of the Sacred House

فَما طافَ العُفاةُ بِهِ وَعادوا

بِغَيرِ العَسجَدِيَّةِ وَاللَطيمِ

The dissolute have not circumambulated it and returned

With anything but unseemliness and vileness

أَتَيتُكَ وَالخُطوبُ تَزِفُّ رَحلي

وَلي حالٌ أَرَقُّ مِنَ السَديمِ

I came to you, though hardships urge on my departure

And I am in a state more wretched than fenugreek

وَقَد أَصبَحتُ مِن سَعيي وَكَدحي

عَلى الأَرزاقِ كَالثَوبِ الرَديمِ

And I have become from my toil and labors

For livelihoods like a worn-out garment

فَلا تُخلِق فُديتَ أَديمَ وَجهي

وَلا تَقطَع مُواصَلَةَ الحَميمِ

So do not, may I be ransomed for you, make my face forbidden

Or cut off the intimacy of affection