رَحَلْتَ وَلَمْ تَقْضِ اللُّبَانَةَ مِن جُمْلِ

وكانَ سِفَاهًا صَرْمُ ذي الوُدِّ والوَصْلِ

You left before finishing the farewell cup

Though parting was foolish for one so loving and close

وما ذاك مِن صَرْمٍ بَدَا لِي ولا قِلًى

ولكنْ مُلِمَّاتٌ عَرَضْنَ مِن الشُّغْلِ

It wasn't out of carelessness or disdain that you left

But pressing affairs kept me from attending to you

وخَطْبٌ يُعَدِّي ذا الهَوَى عن صَدِيقِهِ

وَيَمْنَعُ مِن بَعْضِ الصَّبَابَةِ ذا العَقْلِ

Matters distract the lover from his beloved

And keep the wise from some youthful indulgences

وَرَكْبٍ يُرِيدونَ الرُّقَادَ بَعَثْتُهُمْ

على لاحِبٍ يَعْلُو الأَحِزَّةِ كالسَّحْلِ

I sent off riders who sought rest

On a swift camel rising above the sand dunes

فَقَامُوا نَشَاوَى يَلْمَسُونَ ثِيَابَهُمْ

يَشِيمُونَ أَبْرَاقَ المَشَقَّةِ مِن أَجْلِي

They rose reluctantly, brushing off their clothes

Enduring hardship for my sake

وَقُمْتُ إلى حَرْفٍ كَأَنَّ قُتُودَها

إذا دُقَّ أَعْنَاقُ المَطِيِّ على فَحْلِ

I went to the edge of the well, its pulley wheels

Like the necks of stallions when the lead mare is in heat

شَدِيدَةِ دَرْءِ المَنْكِبَينِ جُلالَةٍ

وَثِيقَةِ وَصْلِ الدَّفِّ مَفْرُوشَةِ الرِّجْلِ

Hard wheels to guide the bucket’s shoulders

Connected by strong ropes, platform straddling the pit

ومَاءٍ كَلَونٍ البَوْلِ قَدْ عَادَ آجِنًا

قِلِيلٍ به الأصواتُ في كَلإٍ مَحْلِ

The water was the color of stale urine

Murky in the stone trough, echoes faint

لَقِيتُ عليه الذِّئْبُ يَعْوِي كأَنَّهُ

خَلِيعٌ خلا مِن كلِّ مَالٍ ومِن أَهْلِ

There a wolf howled as if it were

A wanton outcast, bereft of wealth and kin

فقلتُ له يا ذِئْبُ هَلْ لك في أَخٍ

يُوَاسِي بلا أُثْرَى عليكَ ولا بُخْلِ

I said: O wolf, would you accept a brother

To console you without obligation or stinginess?

فقال هَدَاكَ اللهُ إِنَّك إِنَّما

دَعَوتَ لِمَا لَمْ يَأْتِهِ سَبْعٌ قَبْلِي

It replied: May God guide you, you invite me

To what no wolf before me has ever known

فَلَسْتُ بِآتِيهِ ولا أَسْتَطِيعُهُ

وَلاكِ اسْقِنِي إِنْ كانَ مَاؤُك ذا فَضْلِ

I cannot accept it nor do it

But let me drink if your water has some to spare

فَقَلْتُ عليكَ الحوضَ إِنِّي تَرَكْتُهُ

وفي صَفْوِهِ فَضْلُ القَلُوصِ مِن السَّجْلِ

I said: The trough is yours, I left it

With remnants from the buckets and rope fibers

فَطَرَّبَ يَسْتَعْوِي ذِئَابًا كَثِيرَةً

وَعَدَّيْتُ كُلٌّ مِن هَوَاهُ على شُغْلِ

It howled joyfully, calling many wolves

While I was preoccupied with my own affairs