سلامٌ عَلَى مُسْتَوْدَع الرُّوحِ والنَّفْسِ

وذُخْرِ غَدي مِمَّا انْتَحَبْتُ لَهُ أَمْسِ

Greetings to the repository of the soul and the spirit,

And the provision for my tomorrow from what I harvested yesterday,

بِحَيْثُ تَخَطَّيْتُ المنايا إِلَى المُنى

وآنَسَ وَحْشِي بالفَلا كَرَمُ الأُنْسِ

Where I transcended deaths to reach my wishes,

And my loneliness was delighted by the generosity of company,

وحيثُ اعْتَلى بِالمُعْتَلِي صَوْتُ رائِدِي

مُهِلّاً إِلَى خِمْسِي بأَنْمُلِهِ الخَمْسِ

Where the voice of my guide ascended with the ascendant,

Stretching slowly to my fifth decade with his five fingers,

وحَيْثُ سَقى يَحْيى حياتي فأَيْنَعَتْ

لَهُ من ثَنائِي زَهْرَةُ الجِنِّ والإِنْسِ

Where Yahya watered my life, so it flourished,

With my praise being a flower of jinn and humans for him,

فمِنْ يَدِ أَنفاسِي إِلَى مُنْتَهى الدُّنا

ومن خَطِّ أقلامي إِلَى مَطْلَعِ الشَّمْسِ

So from my breaths to the ends of the world,

And from my pen's path to the rising of the sun,

شوارِدُ لَوْلا حِلْمُ يَحْيى دَنا بِهَا

لَجَلَّتْ أَدَانِيها عَنِ الشَّمِّ واللَّمْسِ

Thoughts that were it not for Yahya's patience drawing them near,

Their harm would have kept them from good and touch,

فكَيْفَ بأَنْ أُزرِي بِهَا فأَبِيعَها

كَمَا زَعَمَ الواشُونَ بالثَّمَنِ البَخْسِ

So how could I burden him with them and sell them

As the slanderers claimed for a paltry price?

وكَمْ فَتَّقَتْ فِي الأَرضِ من وَقْرِ مَسْمَعٍ

وكم أَنْطَقَتْ بِالحَمْدِ من أَلْسُنِ خُرْسِ

How many deaf ears did they rupture in the land?

And how many mute tongues did they loosen in praise?

ثناءٌ عَلَى مَنْ رَدَّ رُوحي رَوْحُهُ

وَقَرَّبَ أَنفاسَ الحياةِ من النَّفْسِ

Praise to the one whose spirit revived my spirit,

And brought the breaths of life closer to the soul,

فهلْ أنا مُسدٍ لُبْسَ هَجْوِي لِمُنْعِمٍ

كساني فَسَدّى من هِجاءِ اسْمِهِ لِبْسِي

So am I an ungrateful wearer of his vitriol as a garment,

When he clothed me, so my garb was saturated with criticizing his name?

فأَصبحتُ مِنْهُ فِي حُلىً لَوْ أَفَكْتُها

لَطُفْتُ بِهَا فِي الأَرْضِ تَنْضَحُ بِالرِّجْسِ

Thus I came to wear ornaments that if I took them off,

I would gently spread evil on earth,

وهل أَنا عَنِّي خالِعٌ تاجَ عُرْفِهِ

فأَهْوِي بِهِ فِي هُوَّةِ الخَسفِ والنَّكْسِ

And am I one who took off the crown of his convention,

To toss it into the abyss of devastation and defeat?

كَأَنِّيَ قَدْ أنهَجْتُ لبسِي من الهُدى

وأَصْبَحْتُ من مِنْهاجِ جَدِّكَ فِي لَبْسِ

As if I tailored my dress from misguidance,

And came to follow your approach in dress,

وأَنْكَرْتُ حَقَّ اللهِ فيكُمْ مَوَدَّةً

عَلَى كلِّ مَنْ أَمْسى عَلَى الأَرْضِ أَوْ يُمْسِي

And rejected God's right to your affection,

For every being who spent the evening or will spend it on earth,

وحَطِّيَ رَحْلِي مِنْكَ بَيْنَ مَكارِمٍ

يُمَزِّقْنَ عَنِّي راكِدَ الظُّلَمِ الطُّمْسِ

And pitched my encampment away from your virtues,

Which tear away the sediments of deep darkness,

وبحْرُكَ لي يختالُ بالخَيْلِ والمَها

وبَرُّكَ لي ينهلُّ بالبِرِّ والأُنْسِ

Your sea proudly undulates with horses and waves,

And your land serenely undulates with righteousness and companionship,

فَمنْ ذا الَّذِي مِنْ بُعْدِ أَرْضِي ومَشْهَدِي

تَخَبَّطَهُ شيطانُ ضِغْني من المَسِّ

So who is it after my land and my spectacle,

Whom the devil of malice confused with temptation?

فدبَّ بما لَوْ سامَني الخوفُ ذِكْرَهُ

لَما جالَ فِي وَهْمِي ولا دَبَّ من حِسِّي

He crept with what, had fear made me heed its mention,

Would neither have stirred in my imagination nor crawled in my senses,

ولو رُدَّ فِيَّ الرُّوحُ من قَتْلِ قاتِلٍ

لما باتَ من ذمِّي وعَتْبي عَلَى وَجْسِ

Had the soul within me been returned from the murder of a murderer,

No blame or reproach of mine would have lasted the night on an unjust one,

وكيفَ بكُفْرِي من هَدى وابْنُ مَنْ هَدى

أَبُوكَ ويُمْناكَ الَّتِي أَثمَرَتْ غَرْسِي

How could I disbelieve, when you are guided and the son of one who guided,

Your father brought you blessings which produced my plantation,

وهَبْني ذَمَمْتُ العالَمِينَ فكيفَ لي

بذَمِّيَ من أَوْدَعْتُ راحَتَهُ نَفْسِي

I blamed the worlds, so how can I blame,

Whom I placed the comfort of my soul in?

وإِنَّ اختِلاقَ الغدرِ عَنِّي لِحَاسِدٍ

لأَدْنَى لَهُ أَن يَصْبِغَ الشمسَ بالنِّقْسِ

Verily, contriving betrayal is from an envier,

To whom it is more trivial to dye the sun with blemish,

وإِنَّ أخا غَسّانَ عِندي لَذو يَدٍ

بِكَ ابْتاعَ مِنِّي شُكْرَها غَيْرَ ذِي وَكْسِ

And verily, brother Ghassan to me is open handed,

Through you he bought my gratitude without deficiency,

غداةَ تَجَلَّى لي بذكرِكَ فاجْتلى

عَرُوسَ ثنائي فيكَ مشهودَةَ العُرْسِ

On the morn when your mention appeared to me and thus manifested,

My ode's bride in you was witnessed at the wedding,

فلم يُلْفِ صدرِي خامداً نارُ شَوْقِهِ

إِلَيْكَ ولكِنْ ضَمَّ قَبْساً إِلَى قَبْسِ

So my breast was not kindled by the quenched fire of longing,

For you, but it embraced a spark next to a spark,

ولا زادَني فِي حفظِ عهدِكَ بَسْطَةً

سِوى أَنَّ حفظَ العِلْمِ أَثْبَتُ بالدَّرْسِ

And your spreading of knowledge did not increase me,

Except that preserving knowledge is most proven by study,

وطِيبُ حديثي عنكَ صادَفَ مُصْغِياً

لأَفْصَحِ مُقتصٍّ وأَرْبَحِ مُقْتَسِّ

And my good words about you met a listener,

To the most eloquent bargain-maker and profitable bargainer,

فراسلَ نَشْري عنك شدواً بشَدْوِهِ

ونادَمَ حَمْدِي فيكَ كأْساً إِلَى كَأْسِ

So he corresponded spreading my writings in song with his chants,

And he entertained my praise of you cup after cup,

أَياديكَ فِي أُولى الزَّمانِ وإِنَّها

لأَدْنى إِلَى ذكرِي ونشريَ من أَمْسِي

Your hands are foremost in time and they,

Are closest to my remembrance and spreading than my evenings,

لَياليَ فِي مأْواكَ أَمْني منَ الرَّدى

وَفِي ظِلِّكَ الممدودِ نشْرِي من الرَّمْسِ

Nights in your abode are my wishes safe from evil,

And in your extended shade, my proliferation from spears,

ومَضْجَعُ طِيبِ النَّومِ فِي أَمَدِ السُّرى

ومشرَبُ عَذْبِ الماءِ فِي مُنْتهى الخِمْسِ

A bed of good sleep in the time of travel,

And a drink of fresh water at the edge of thirst,

فلا زالَ دينُ اللهِ منكَ بِمَعْقِلٍ

منيعٍ وسَمْكُ الحقِّ منكَ عَلَى أُسِّ

So God's faith in you remains in an impregnable refuge,

And the fish of truth in you is on a strong lead,

ولا رَمَتِ الأَقدارُ عنكَ مُعَانِداً

بأَفْوَقَ مفلُولِ الغِرارِ ولا نِكْسِ

Destinies have not cast an adversary at you,

With overwhelming vanquished delusions and defeat,

ولا ماتَ من والاكَ من غُرْبَة النَّوى

ولا عاشَ من عاداكَ من عَثْرَةِ التَّعْسِ

None who followed you died of the estrangement of resolves,

Nor did any who opposed you live from the stumbling of misery,