لئِن كنتِ من عيني نُقِلْتِ إِلى قلْبي

فقد صارَ أَقْصَى البُعْدِ في أَقْرَب القُرْبِ

If you were transferred from my eyes to my heart,

The greatest distance became the closest proximity.

وإِن كان هذا الصدُّ منكِ تَعتُّباً

عليَّ فعِنْدِي أَلفُ عَتْبٍ من العتْبِ

And if this estrangement from you is a reproach,

Then with me there are a thousand reproaches.

وإِن كنتِ في شُغْلٍ فهلْ هُوَ شَاغِلٌ

كشُغْلكِ قِدْماً بالدَّلاَلِ وبالعُجْبِ

And if you are busy, is there anything as busy,

As your feet with coquetry and self-admiration?

وإِنْ كنتِ غضْبى من فِرَاقِي فإِنَّهُ

ولا تَظْلمِي ذنبُ المَنِيَّة لا ذنْبي

And if your anger at my separation enraged you,

Then do not blame me, it was not my fault but that of Death.

دَعِي ذا وقُولِي كيْف خُلِّيتِ للرَّدى

وأُخْرِجْتِ منْ خلفِ المقاصيرِ والحُجْبِ

Leave this talk and tell me how you were left to chance,

And were taken out from behind curtains and veils.

وكيف اعتدَى ذاك الحمَامُ على الحِمى

وكيف سَبَاكِ الموت جَهْراً بِلاَ حَرْبِ

And how did that dove dare trespass the sanctuary?

And how did your death openly raid you without any war?

وكيف أَراقُوا ماءَ وجهِك في الثَّرَى

فأَفْناهُ دُونِي شرْبُه مِنْهُ لا شُرْبي

And how they shed the water of your face in the soil,

So it was lost to me before I could drink it.

وكيف ابتَلَوْا تلك المَعَاطف بالبِلَى

كمَا امْتهنُوا تلك الترائبَ بالتُّرْبِ

And how they tested those clothes with decay,

As they defiled those shrouds with dust.

بِرغْمِيَ قَدْ أُنْزِلْتِ أَضْيَق مَنْزلٍ

فَلا مَرحباً بالمنزِلِ الواسعِ الرَّحْب

Despite me you were made to descend into the narrowest dwelling,

So there is no “welcome” to that vast and spacious abode.

ومَا وجْهُكِ الوَجْهُ الذي غابَ في الثَّرَى

ولكنَّهُ البَدْرُ الَّذِي غابَ في الغَرْبِ

And your face is not the one that is lost in the soil,

But it is the full moon that has set in the horizon.

فلا تَسْأَلِي عنْ حالِ دَارِكِ وانظُرِي

إِلَى الشِّعبِ أَخلت ربْعَه ظبيةُ الشِّعْبِ

So do not ask about the condition of your house, and look,

At the place which the antelope of the valley left desolate.

بكتْ دُورُكِ اللاَّتِي عليكِ تَسَلَّيَتْ

مِن الحُزْنِ لمَّا عُوجِلتْ منكِ بالسَّلْبِ

Your houses that used to find comfort in you wept,

With grief when you were hastily taken away from them.

وربْعُكِ أَضْحَى خاشِعاً مُتصَدِّعاً

وسَاخ إِلى أَنْ صَارَ أَعْلاَهَ كالجُبِّ

And your valley has become submissive and with cracks,

And it became black until its surface became like furrows.

ويَنْدُبُ حَتى يسمَع الخلقُ نَدْبَهُ

مُصَلاَّكِ بالتسبيحِ لا العُودُ بالضَّرْبِ

It mourns until people hear its mourning,

Not with the melody of lutes but with the striking of spears.

وحَاشاكِ من لَغْوٍ وحَاشاكِ من رَدِّ

وحَاشاكِ من لَهْوٍ وحاشاكِ منْ لعْبِ

Far from you is nonsense, far from you is rejection,

Far from you is frivolity, far from you is playfulness.

وما بَرحَتْ في الحُسْنِ قِنْدِيلَ قِبْلةٍ

وفي الطُّهْرِ لا رَيْحَانة الشَّرْبِ والشُّرْبِ

A lantern of beauty has not ceased in charm,

Nor a myrtle of purity in drinking and being drunk.

إِذا ظَهرَتْ كان الحِجَابُ من الحِجىَ

وإِن سفرت نابَ الحَيَاءُ عن النَّقْبِ

When she appeared, the veil was from splendor,

And if she traveled, modesty substituted for the face cover.

ومِنْ طبعِها ذاك العفافُ وكسْبُها

وما أَحسَن الطبعَ الذِي زِيدَ بالكسْبِ

And that chastity is of her nature, and her livelihood

How good is the natural disposition that increased with earnings!

وقد طُوِيَتْ من قبلِ أَنْ يَنْطوِي الصِّبا

وقدْ بَلِيَتْ من قبلِ أَثْوَابِها القُشْبِ

And she has passed away before the departure of youth,

And she wore out before the wearing out of her clothes.

وأَمّا حَديثي أَنَّني الثَّاكلُ الَّذي

أَقامَ زَمَاناً فيكِ يُعْرَفُ بالصَّبِ

As for my talk that I am the negligent one,

Who spent some time with her known for his passion –

ودَافعْتُ عنكِ الموت بالطِّبِّ جَاهِداً

وذا غَلطٌ هل يُدفع الموتُ بالطِّبِّ

And I warded off death from her with medicine, struggling –

This is a mistake. Can death be warded off with medicine?

وحُمَّاكِ غَاثت في حِمَاكِ وأَدخلتْ

عَليكِ الضَّنى حَتى أَبَاحَتْه للنَّهب

Those who came to give you solace during your protection, caused you distress,

And brought anxiety upon you until they allowed you to be looted.

وزارَتْكِ غِبّاً كيْ يُحبَّ مَزارُها

ويا جَهْلها بالموتِ في ذلكَ الغِبِّ

They visited you secretly so that the visit would be more beloved,

Oh how ignorant they were of death during that absence!

وما أَنا مِمَّنْ شَقَّ ثوْباً وإِنَّه

لَفِعْل خَلِيٍّ عَن تَفَعُّلِه يُنْبي

I am not one who tore his clothes although that

Is an act devoid for its doer of ostentation.

نَعَم كبِدِي والقلبُ منِّيَ شُقِّقَا

عليكِ أَسىً هَذا شِغافِي وذا خَلْبي

Yes, my liver and heart were torn,

Grieving over you. This is my compassion and my concealment.

ورُمْتُ نُهوضاً إِذ عَثرتُ فَلمْ أَقُمْ

عَلَى قَدَمِي لكنْ سقطتُ عَلَى جَنْبي

I set about to stand up but I stumbled and did not

Stand on my feet. Rather, I fell on my side.

وَرُزؤُكِ أَشْهى من سُهادِي لناظِرِي

ورُوحي إِلى جسْمِي وأَمْنى إِلى قَلْبي

Seeing you after you passed away is more delightful to my eyes

Than my pillow, and my soul to my body and wishes to my heart.

فيا مُهجَتي ذُبي ويا دَمْعَتي اسكُبي

ويا كبِدِي شيبي ويَا لوْعَتي شُبي

So spill my vessels, oh my tear pour,

And oh my liver grow gray and oh my agony grow severe

ولمْ أُبقِ مني العَين إِلاَّ لأَنها

تُريحُ ثرَاكِ الحُرَّ مِن مِنَّةِ السُّحْب

I have not spared from me an eye except so that it

Alleviates the heat of your tomb from the annoyance of clouds.

بكى ناظِري بالنُّورِ من بَعْد دَمْعِهِ

عليكِ وهذا حَسْبُه فيكِ لا حَسْبي

My onlookers have cried with light after their tears over you

And this suffices them regarding you, not me.

وواللهِ ما وفَّاكِ حقَّكِ مَدْمَعِي

عَلى أَنَّهُ قد أَنبَت الأَرض بالعُشْبِ

By God my tears have not fulfilled your due right,

Even though it brought out grass from the earth.

أَقامتْ عليكِ القفرُ مأْتم حُزْنِها

فقُومِي انظُرِي وسْط الفَلاَ مأْتَم السِّرْب

The wilderness held its mourning wake for you

So stand and see amidst the plains the mourning throng of the flock

ومذْ مُتِّ صَارتْ سَبعةُ الشُّهب سِتَّةً

ومَاذَا الدُّجَى إِلاَّ الحِدادُ عَلَى الشُّهْب

Since you passed away seven gray hairs have become six,

For is not dusk but mourning over gray hairs?

أَحِنُّ إِليهَا كُلَّ يومٍ ولَيْلَةٍ

حنينَ الحَنَايَا لاَ الرءوم إِلى السَّقْب

I yearn for it every day and night,

With the yearning of the lovesick, not with the yearning for shelter.

وآنَسَني مِنْ بُعْدِها طُولُ وَحشَتي

وضاجَعني في مَضْجَعي بَعْدَها كَرْبي

My long desolation after her estranged me

And after her, my anxiety in my bed distressed me.

وأَيسرُ ما بي أَنَّني مِنْ تَدَلُّهِي

أَرُوحُ بِلاَ ذِهْن وأَغْدُو بلاَ لٌبِّ

The easiest thing for me is that from my confusion,

I go without senses and I wake up without a mind

أَغيبُ ذُهُولاً ثم أَحْضُرُ فِكْرةً

وأَعْلَمُ مَنْ بي ثُم أَسأَلُهم مَنْ بي

I disappear perplexed, then I attend to a thought

And I know who I am then ask them who I am

عَدِمْتُ الصِّبا من قَبْلها وعَدِمْتُها

وأَوجَعُ مِنْ فَقْدِ الصِبا فقدُ مَنْ يُصْبي

I lost youth before her and I lost her

And loss of youth is more painful than her loss

وأَشبَه حالي حالَها فَتَرى الرَّدَى

قَضَى نَحْبَها فيمَا أَرَى أَو قَضَى نحْبي

My state resembles hers so you see havoc

Has fulfilled its purpose whether I see or it fulfilled my purpose

عَدَتْ هذهِ الدنيا عَليَّ وأَسْرَفَتْ

بفجْعٍ عَلَى ثَلْمِي وندْبٍ عَلَى ندْبِ

This life turned against me and went too far

With anguish over my wound and mourning over my mourning

أَغَارَتْ عَلَى سَرْحِي أَعانَتْ عَلَى دَمِي

أَصرَّتْ عَلَى ثَلْمِي أَقَامَت عَلَى ثَلْبي

It was jealous of my joy, helped against my blood

It insisted on my wound, it remained over my ulcer

وساعَاتُها الغِربانُ إِذْ كُلُّ ساعةٍ

تُبَشِّرُني بالنَعْي فيهَا وبالنَّعْبِ

And its hours are crows. For at every hour

It gives me glad tidings of death therein and of mourning

إِلى كَمْ إلَى كَمْ نكبةٍ بعدَ نَكْبَةٍ

تُزَعْزِعُ رُكني مِن زَعَازِعِها النُّكْب

For how long, for how long, a catastrophe after a catastrophe

That shakes my pillar with its shaking catastrophes?

فمالي وللدُّنيا ومالي ولِلعِدَى

ومالي ولِلعَدْوى ومالي وللخَطْب

So what is my business with this world and what is my business with enemies

And what is my business with contagion and what is my business with ordeals?

لَقَدْ قَلَّ قلبُ المرءِ وانحَطَّ سُمْكُه

ولو أَنَّهُ بيْنَ السِّمَاكيْن والقَلْب

Indeed the heart of man has constricted and his position lowered

Even if he were between fishes and heart

وقد قيلَ إِنَّ الشُّهْبَ ينفُذُ حكمُهَا

عَلَى ذَا الوَرَى بالخفضِ منْهَا وبالنَّصْب

It has been said that the rule of white hairs penetrates

Upon the people of earth with debasement from it and by classification

وإِنْ صَحَّ هذا أَنَّ ثوراً وعقْرَبَا

أَلحا عَلى ذا الجِنْسِ بالنَّطْح واللَّسبِ

And if this is true that Taurus and Scorpio

Have insisted upon this race with goring and stinging

أَيا تُرْبُ ما أَنصفْت نُضْرة غُصنِها

أَهذا صَنِيعُ التُّربِ بالغُصن الرَّطْب

Oh soil, you did not do justice to the freshness of its branch

Is this the soil’s treatment of a moist branch?

ويا عَاطِلاً مِنْ عِقدِها إِنَّ أَدْمُعِي

لأَكبَرُ ممَّا فِيهِ مِنْ ذلِك الحَبِّ

And oh you who prohibits from her necklace, my tears

Are greater than what little love is in it

خُذِيها وإِنْ لم تنتظمْ فلرُبَّما

تحيَّلْت في تثْقِيبِها لك بالهُدْب

Take it even if it does not come together orderly

Perhaps I pretended in arranging it for you in prose

هجرتُ مَعانِيكِ التي كنتِ لبَّها

وغيري يرضى بالقُشُور عَن اللُّبِّ

I abandoned your meanings that you inclined towards

While others are pleased with the peels instead of the pith

وواصلتُ قبراً أَنتِ فيه أَضُمُّهُ

لصدرِي بل أُهدِي الهناءَ إِلى النَّصْب

And I befriended a grave in which you are, I hug it

To my chest. Rather I present congratulations to the tombstone

وأُهْدى إِليكِ الذكرَ مثلِي وإِنَّهُ

سلاميَ لا أُهْدِي السلام مَعَ الرَّكْب

And I present to you the mention like myself and it is

My greeting not presented with the caravan

قد اعْتاض يا بُؤْسَ الذي اعتاضه فمِي

بنظْم المرَاثي عَنْ مُقبَّلِكِ العَذْب

He who suffers what I suffered intercepted me, from

Composing elegies instead of your sweet kisses

قِفَا نَبْكِ مِنْ ذكرى حبيبي وقبره

وقلْ للَّتي في القبْر حَلَّتْ أَلا هُبِّي

Stop crying from the memory of my beloved and her grave

And tell the one in the grave who descended, “arise”!

ويا ناصِحي ما أَنت باللَّوم ناصِحِي

ودعْ صُحْبَتي ما أَنت في الحُزْن من صَحْبي

And oh my advisor, you are not to blame advising me

Leave my company you are not in grief from my companions

ولست رفيقي في طريق إِنَّني

سأَرْكبُ منها كُلَّ مُسْتوعَر صَعْب

And you are not my friend in the way. I will indeed

Mount from it every rough and difficult terrain

ولا تنه شعري عن رثاها فإِنَّهُ

من الفرضِ عِندِي ندبُها لا مِن النَّدْب

And do not prevent my poetry from eulogizing her for it is

Incumbent upon me to mourn her, not from mourning

وقد بَليتْ تحت الثَّرى وتغيَّرْت

وَوجدِي بها وحْدِي وحُبِّي لها حبِّي

She has worn out underneath the soil and changed

While my love for her, my distress over her and my love for her is still my love