هاتيكَ دارُ المَلكِ مُقفِرَةٌ
ما إِن بِها مِن أَهلِها شَخصُ
That royal abode lies deserted,
None of its people remain,
عَهدي بِها وَالخَيلُ جائِلَةٌ
لا يَستَبينُ لِشَمسِها قُرصُ
I knew it once, with horses wandering,
Its sun disc indistinct.
وَإِذا عَلَت صَخراً حَوافِرُها
غادَرنَهُ وَكَأَنَّهُ دِعصُ
When their hooves climb a boulder
They leave it as if it were a ram
وَالمُلكُ مَنشورُ الجَناحِ وَلَم
يَهتِك قَوادِمَ ريشِهِ القَصُّ
The realm—its wings widespread, but not
Ruffling the tips of its feathers.
يَنشَقُّ مِنهُ الجَمعُ عَن قَمَرٍ
ما في تَكامُلِ حُسنِهِ نَقصُ
The throng breaks away from it like the moon
Whose beauty is perfect, no defect.
أَخَذَت يَداهُ المُلكَ مُمتَلِياً
حَزماً وَعودُ شَبابِهِ رَخصُ
It has taken into its hands a king
Seizing authority, though still green of youth.
وَمَعاشِرٍ وَجَدوا مَشيئَتَهُم
وَبِما تَحُبُّ نُفوسُهُم خُصّوا
And intimates who found their desires
Fulfilled, and were given what delighted their souls.
طيبُ التَحيَّةِ حَيثُ قُمتُ لَهُم
فَهُمُ الأُلى حَيّوكَ وَاِختَصّوا
Pleasant was the greeting when I stood before them,
They were the nearest, greeting me as their own.
فَمَضى بِذاكَ العَيشِ آخِرُهُ
وَالهَمُّ مِمّا سَرَّ مُقتَصُّ
Then the last of that life went by.
Grief remains from what once gave joy.
وَالدَهرُ يَخبِطُ أَهلَهُ بِيَدٍ
في كُلِّ جارِحَةٍ لَهُ قَرصُ
Fortune buffets its people with a hand
That pierces them in every limb.
أَفَما تَرى بَلَداً أَقَمتُ بِهِ
أَعلى مَساكِنَ أَهلِهِ خُصُّ
Do you not see a land where I dwelt
Aloft above the dwellings of its clan?
وَوِلاتُهُ نَبَطٌ زَنادِقَةٌ
مَلأى البُطونِ وَأَهلُها خُمصُ
Its governors are Nabataean heretics
Filled with bellies—the people are weasels.
وَلَهُم مَسالِخُ يَسلَخونَ بِها
لا يَتَّقي سَطواتِها اللِصُّ
They have slaughterhouses where they butcher
Undeterred by ravagers.
أَسيافُها خُشُبٌ مُعَلَّقَةٌ
مَصنوعَةٌ وَقِرابُها جَصُّ
Their swords hang idle,
Fabricated, their spears are plaster.
وَجُنودُهُم تَحمي رَعيَّتِهِم
وَلَهُم عَلى أَكبادِهِم رَقصُ
Their soldiers protect their subjects
While dancing on their livers.
غَلَبَت خِيانَتُهُم أَمانَتَهُم
وَطَغى عَلى تَقواهُمُ الحِرصُ
Their treachery prevails over their good faith
And greed dominates their piety.
فِتيانُهُم في كُلِّ رابِيَةٍ
وَلَهُم بِكُلِّ قَرارَةٍ شَخصُ
Their youths are in every shack
And they have rascals in every stead.
وَأَميرُهُم مُتَقَدِّمٌ بِهِمُ
نَحوَ الحَرامِ وَسَيرُهُ نَصُّ
Their commander proceeds before them
Toward sacrilege, his course set.
وَإِذا بَدا أُفدي الزَمانُ بِهِ
وَسَطَ الخَميسِ كَأَنَّهُ دُلُصُ
When he appears, time is ransomed through him,
Amid the crowd it is as if he is a bully.
وَكَأَنَّ خَلَّ الخَمرِ يَعصَرُ مِن
وَجَناتِهِ أَو يُجتَنى العَفصُ
As though the wine is squeezed from his vineyards
Or snakes are culled from Afs.
فَتَرى الأَنامَ كَهامَةٍ حُلِقَت
وَيَرونَ رُخصَ السِعرِ أَغبَطُ في ال
You see people like clustered insects,
Deeming cheap prices to be profitable
بَلوى وَلَيسَ بِدِرهِمٍ رُخصُ
When there is no bargain for a dirham.
