ألا كلُّ آتٍ قريبُ المَدى

وكلُّ حياةٍ إلى مُنْتَهَى

Behold, everything to come is near,

And every life shall reach an end;

وما غَرّ نَفْساً سوَى نفسِها

وعُمْرُ الفتى من أماني الفتى

And naught deludes a soul but itself,

And the youth's life is but the youth's hopes.

فأقْصَرُ في العينِ من لَفْتَةٍ

وأسرَعُ في السمع من ذا ولا

Swifter in the glance than a wink,

And faster in hearing than one who says "aye."

ولم أرَ كالمرْءِ وهو اللبيبُ

يرَى ملءَ عيْنَيْه ما لا يُرَى

Yet I never saw the prudent man

Whose eyes were filled with what could not be seen;

وليسَ النّواظرُ إلاّ القلوبُ

وأمّا العيونُ ففيها العمى

For the sights are naught but the hearts,

While the eyes in them are blind.

ومنْ لي بمثلِ سلاح الزّمانِ

فأسْطو عليه إذا ما سطا

Who can lend me weapons like time

That I may gain power over it when it sets upon me,

يَجُدُّ بنا وهو رَسْلُ العِنانِ

ويُدرِكُنا وهو داني الخُطى

That I may find it attacking yet running away,

That I may catch up with it though it is fleet of foot.

برَى أسْهُماً فنَبَا ما نَبا

فلم يبْقَ إلاّ ارتهافُ الظُّبى

It shot its arrows and there was nothing left

But the stripping of bones flung down in waste,

تُراشُ فتُرْمَى فتُنمي فلا

تَحيدُ وتُصْمي ولا تُدَّرى

Scraped, thrown away, growing again, unswerving,

Deaf, unhearing, unknown.

أأُهْضَمُ لا نَبعَتي مَرْخَةٌ

ولا عَزماتي أيادي سَبا

Shall I be crushed when my sinews have not softened

And my hands have no coward's trembling?

على أنّ مِثلي رحيبُ اللَّبانِ

على ما ينُوبُ سَليمُ الشظى

I am like the wide plain amid winds

And whatever befalls, safe from rupture.

ولو غيرُ رَيبِ المَنونِ اعتدى

عليّ وجرّبني ما اعتدى

And were it not for the fear of death drawing nigh,

It would have tried me to see what it would try.

خليليّ هل ينفعَنّي البُكاءُ

أوِ الوَجدُ لي راجعٌ ما مضى

O my friend, can my weeping avail me

Or sorrow bring back what has passed away?

خليليّ سيرا ولا تَربَعا

عليّ فهَمّيَ غيرُ الثَّوى

O my friend, go gently, not halting;

My understanding is other than anguish.

ولي زَفَراتٌ تُذيبُ المَطِيّ

وقلْبٌ يَسُدُّ عليّ الفَلا

I have sighs that would melt the rigid,

And a heart that closes on my pain.

سَلا قبل وَشك النوى مدنَفاً

أقَضّتْ مضاجِعهُ فاشتكى

Go in peace before the budding of desire

And the restless bed complain of his return.

وراعى النّجومَ فأعشَيْنَه

فباتَ يظنُّ الثّريّا السُّهَى

He watched the stars and longed for their setting,

And thought the Pleiades slow to go down.

ضلوعٌ يضِقنَ إذا ما نَحَطنَ

وقلبٌ يفيضُ إذا ما امتلا

Ribs straitened when his sides closed together,

And a heart overflowing when filled.

وقد قلتُ للعارض المكفَهِرِّ

أفي السِّلم ذا البرقُ أم في الوغى

I said to the lightning flashing in the dust,

"Is the gleam in the drizzle or in the rain?"

وما بالُه قادَ هذا الرّعيلَ

وقُلّدَ ذا الصّارمَ المُنتَضَى

Why did he lead this rabble,

And gird that avenging sword?

وأقبَلَه المُزنُ في جَحْفَلٍ

وأكذبَ أن صَدّ عني الكرَى

Destiny brought him in a squadron

And made as if to fend off fate from me.

أشيمُكَ يا برق شيْمَ النُّجيم

وما فيك لي بَلَلٌ من صَدى

I blame you, lightning, blame of an astrologer,

And in you is no rain to revive me.

كِلانا طَوى البيدَ في ليلِهِ

فأضْعفُنا يَتَشَكّى الوَجى

We both spurned the trodden road in its night,

But I was the weaker when fate was raging.

فجُبْتَ الغَمامَ وجُبتُ الغرامَ

حنانيك ليس سُرىً من سُرى

You burst the clouds and I burst with love –

Your sheltering me is no secret from foes.

أعِنّي على الليل ليلِ التّمامِ

ودعني لشاني إذا ما انقضَى

Help me against the night, night of perfection,

And leave me to my madness when it is done.

فلو كنتُ أطْوي على فتكِهِ

تكشّفَ صبحي عن الشَّنْفرَى

Had I tried to weather its danger,

My morning would have revealed deadly earnest.

وما العين تعشقُ هذا السُّهادَ

ووَدّ القَطا لو ينَامُ القَطا

Not for eyes' delight is this vigil

Or the wild cat's wish to sleep.

أقولُ وقد شقّ أعلى السحابِ

وأعلى الهِضابِ وأعلى الرُّبَى

I say, though the topmost clouds are torn,

The hilltops and heights sundered,

أذا الوَدْقُ في مثل هذا الرّباب

وذا البرْقُ في مثل هذا السنا

Why should the lute in times like these,

The lightning in such heavy rain,

ألا انهلّ هذا بماءِ القلوبِ

وأُوقدِ هذا بنارِ الحَشَا

Not make hearts its watering-place

And flames its hearth?

فيهْمي على أقْبُرٍ لو رأى

مكارمَ أربابها ما هَمَى

Let it inspire the buried in their tombs -

Had they seen their nobility's deeds they would not have slumbered.

وفي ذي النواويسِ موْجُ البحارِ

وما بالبحارِ إليْهِ ظَما

In him of shining belt and sword

Is the sea's surge and naught of the sea pertains to him.

هلمّوا فذا مصرَعُ العالَمينَ

فمن كلّ قلبٍ عليه أسى

Come one, come all, this is the end of the two worlds.

Who does not grieve for him, grief has no heart.

وإنّ التي أنْجَبَتْ للورى

كآلِ عليّ لأمُّ الورى

She who brought forth the best of mankind for the world –

The House of Ali was mother to mankind.

فلوْ عِزّةٌ أنْطَقَتْ مُلحَداً

لأنْطَقَ مُلحَدَها ما يَرَى

Had glory spoken of an unbeliever,

It would have spoken by what he saw.

بكتْه المغاويرُ بِيضُ السيوفِ

وهذي العَناجيجُ قُبُّ الكُلى

The white swords mourned him, flesh of his flesh,

And these firm stones, hearts of his heart.

ولمّا أتينا سقَتْه الدموعُ

فما باتَ حتى سقاه الحَيا

When we came to him the tears poured over him

And ere night he was watered by life.

وما جادَه المزْنُ من غُلّةٍ

ولكنْ ليبْكِ النَّدى بالنَّدى

Fortune gave him no wealth to hoard;

But tears mourn him with tears.

وقد خدّ في الشمس أُخدودَه

ولكن سَبَقْنا به في الثرى

The sun hollowed his cheeks in its blaze

But we were beforehand with him in the dust.

وما ضَرّ من لم يَطُفْ بالمقامِ

إذا طافَ بالجوسَقِ المُبْتَنى

He loses naught who circles not that tomb,

When he circles the old fane, buttressed, firm.

وقالوا الحَجونُ فثَمّ الحجونُ

وثَمّ الحَطِيمُ وثَمّ الصَّفا

They said Hajoun, so Hajoun was filled,

Safa filled, and Marwa's hill filled,

وبينَ الشمالِ وبين الجنو

بِ في هَبوَةٍ من مَهَبّ الصَّبا

Between north and south, amid winds

From the breath of the dawn.

قبورُ الثلاثةِ في مصْرَعٍ

أما كان في واحدٍ ما كفى

There the tombs of the three, in that place

Would not one have sufficed for the sublime?

أما والركوعُ به والسجودُ

إذا ما بكَى قانتٌ أو دعا

By kneeling and prostrating himself there when one prays

Or calls upon Him – that ground and gravel

لَذاكَ الصّعيدُ وذاك الكديدُ

أحَقُّ من الخَيْفِ بي أو مِنى

More right to me than my cloak or Miná.

And had the Arabs of old joined us

ولو جاوَرَ العرَبَ الأقدمينَ

وفي الذاهبينَ وفَى مَنْ وَفى

And fulfilled in us their faithfulness,

Crowds of dancing girls came to him

أتَتْه الحجيجُ من الرّاقصاتِ

فمنها فُرادى ومنها ثُنا

Some singly, some in pairs;

Why not follow the example of bounty

فما ليَ لا أقتدي بالكِرامِ

وأوثِرُ سُنّةَ مَن قد خلا

And will the course of the generous gone before?

When you slay or slaughter

إذا ما نحرتَ به أو عقرتَ

فعَدِّ الخوانفَ ذاتَ البُرى

Count the upturned forelocks, the bowed heads.

Be content only with the slaughter of praise

ولا ترْضَ إلاّ بعَقْرِ الثناءِ

ونَحْرِ القَوافي وإلاّ فلا

And the sacrifice of verse, else no.

Then would the blood spilled over it,

فلوْلا الدّماءُ إذاً أقبلتْ

عليه تَكوسُ ذواتُ الشَّوى

The blood of those who stab, pour forth;

Then would no smooth-skinned damsel

إذاً لم تُغادرْ غُرَيْرِيّةً

تَخُبُّ ولا سابحاً يُمتطَى

Hide in her robe, or swimmer float in his diving.

The best of his people counted with his uncles,

يُعَدُّ الشريفُ وأعمامهُ

وأخوالهُ فيه شِرْعاً سُوى

His paternal and maternal kin the same.

That a steed foaled Jaafar

وإنّ حَصاناً نَمَتْ جعفراً

ويحيَى لَعاديّةُ المنتمى

And Layla mothered Yahya.

This came like the sun of daytime;

فجاءتْ بهذا كشمسِ النهارِ

وجاءت بهذا كبدرِ الدّجى

That like the full moon in the night.

By them you may see the lions of battle

تَرى بهما أسَدَيْ جَحْفَلٍ

غَداةَ المواكبِ وابنَي جَلا

In the throng of retentioners and the two sons of proof.

Were you not the heart of your people,

ألمْ تَك من قوْمها في الصّميم

ومن مجدِها في أشَمّ الذُّرى

Its might, in the sum of grandeur?

So your people's prey is the prey of kings,

فمن قومكَ الصِّيدُ صِيدُ الملوكِ

ومن قومها الأُسدُ أُسْدُ الشرى

And their lion the lion of the thicket.

Horsemen who shake the always-full water skins

فوارسُ تُنضي المذاكي الجِيادَ

إذا ما قَرعنَ العُجا بالعُجا

When they meet each other with rattling quivers.

Their brightness shines upon them

يُضيءُ عليهمْ سَنا الأكرمينَ

إذا ما الحديدُ عليهم دجا

When the iron gleams against them.

You came as you wished, from both your flanks,

فجئتَ كما شئتَ من جانبَيك

فأنتَ الحياةُ وأنتَ الرّدى

For you are life, and you are doom.

Cutting you grows keener but meets no response;

فصِلُّكَ يُرْقى ولا يَستجيبُ

وناركَ تُذكَى ولا تُصْطَلى

Your fire burns stronger, is not cooled.

By that you turned away Fate's caprice,

ومن ذاك أضْنيتَ صرفَ الزمان

فلم يُخفِهِ عنْكَ إلا الضّنى

But grief you could not cheat save by endurance.

You did not sheath the sword till it bent;

فلم تُغمِدِ السيفَ حتى انثنى

ولم تصرِفِ الرُّمحَ حتى انحنى

You did not turn your spear till it bowed.

He whom you shielded with your outstanding valor,

وإنّ الّذي أنتَ صِنْوٌ له

لمَاضي العَزَائمِ عَرْدُ النَّسا

His resolves surpassed all resolves.

He whitens your enemies when he avails himself;

يُبيرُ عِداكَ إذا ما سَطَا

ويُعرَفُ فيهم إذا ما احتبى

He is known among them when he conceals himself.

He comes upon eyes of enviers

ويأتي على أعيُنِ الحاسدينَ

إذا سألوا مَن فتىً قيل ذا

When they are asked "Who is the youth?" and told "That one."

Sons of select mothers, sons of select fathers,

بنو المنجِباتِ بنو المُنجِبينَ

فمِن مُجتَباةٍ ومن مُجتَبَى

Part of our mothers and our lineage is theirs

If a king of ancient stock should rise among us.

لأمّاتِنَا نِصْفُ أنْسابِنَا

إذا المَلِكُ القَيلُ منَّا انتمَى

Our days' pillars are in their first stones,

And our fathers' equals are in their lofty fortresses.

دَعائِمُ أيّامِنا في الفَخارِ

وأكْفاءُ آبائِنا في العُلى

Do you not see that they vie with us,

Outdo us, and attain their goal?

ألمْ تَرَهُنّ يُبارينَنَا

فيَمرُقْنَنَا ويَنَلْنَ المدى

They guaranteed us shade from tents

And they guaranteed us shade from spears.

كفَلنَ لنا بظِلالِ الخِيام

وأكفَلنَنَا بظِلالِ القَنا

In the morn their ears and eyes are ours,

And in the evening amid throngs of warriors.

وتغدو فمنهنّ أسماعُنا

وأبصارُنا في حِجالِ المها

Had my judgment prevailed on the ancients

And I sized the shares of this world,

فلوْ جازَ حكميَ في الغابرينَ

وعدّلْتُ أقسامَ هذا الوَرَى

I'd name some womenmen,

And name some men women.

لسمّيتُ بعضَ النساء الرجالَ

وسمّيتُ بعضَ الرجال النسا

If she unveiled hardships to strike down,

How then her boys to fling the spears?

إذا هي كانتْ لكشفِ الخطوبِ

فكيفَ البنون لضَرْبِ الطُّلى

She turnedaside, grand, for kings,

Either Mustafa's son or else Murtaza's,

تولّتْ مُرَفِّلَةً للملوكِ

فمن مصطفى النجل أو مرْتضَى

And most of her hopes were in you both,

While in her heart hot coals from your absence burned.

وأكثرُ آمالِها فيكما

وفي القلب منها كجمر الغضا

She attained what she wished. Cease

To stint what remains of her wishes to her.

فقد أدركت ما تمنت فلا

تضيقا عليها بباقي المنى

But for the tomb she would call you both

To guard you from the gloating of enemies.

فلولا الضّريحُ لنادتكما

تُعيذُكما من شماتِ العِدى

Either you add to her company

Or ward off ruin from her.

فإمّا تَزِيدانِ في أُنسِها

وإمّا تَذودانِ عنها البِلى

For the living may laugh at their dead's eminence

And their greatest quake in the grave.

فقد يُضحك الحيُّ سنّ الفقيدِ

فتهتَزُّ أعظُمُه في الثرى

Seek as you will the sign of nobility;

Its proof is accord between passion and will.

ومهما طلبتَ دليلَ الكرامِ

فإنّ الدّليلَ ائِتلافُ الهوَى

You are the right hand: act with the left!

No hand suffices without another.

وأنتَ اليَمينُ فَصُلْ بالشمال

فما بيَدٍ عن يدٍ من غنى

Not spears but with swords,

Not pillars but with building high.

وليسَ الرّماحُ بغيرِ السيوفِ

وليس العِمادُ بغيرِ البِنا

Who calls no brother by name

Is neither feared nor held dear.

ومن لا يُنادي أخاً باسمِهِ

فليس يُخافُ ولا يُرتَجَى