رَسمِ دارٍ وَقَفتُ في طَلَلِه

كُدتُ أَقضي الغَداةَ مِن جَلَلِه

I stood amidst the ruins of an abode,

I almost spent the morning lost in its grandeur.

موحِشاً ما تَرى بِهِ أَحَداً

تَنتَسِجُ الريحُ تُربَ مُعتَدِلِه

Desolate, with no one to be seen,

The wind softly blows on its leveled soil.

وَصَريعاً مِنَ الثُمامِ تَرى

عارِماتِ المَدَبِّ في أَسَلِه

And on the ground a dead ostrich lies,

Prey of a prowling beast in its lair.

بَينَ عَلياءِ وابِشٍ فَبُلِيٍّ

فَالغَميمِ الَّذي إِلى جَبَلِه

Between Alia and Wabish then Buliyy,

And the clouds moving toward its mountain.

واقِفاً في دِيارِ أُمُّ حُسَينٍ

مِن ضُحى يَومِهِ إِلى أُصُلِه

Standing in the land of Umm Husain’s abode,

From the dawn of her day to its sunset.

يا خَليلَيَّ إِنَّ أُمَّ حُسَينٍ

حينَ يَدنو الضَجيعُ مِن عَلَلِه

O my friend, verily Umm Husain’s abode,

When the ailing draws near his demise,

رَوضَةٌ ذاتُ حَنوَةٍ وَخُزامى

جادَ فيها الرَبيعُ مِن سَبَلِه

Is a garden, aromatic and flowering,

Where spring has poured forth from its veins.

بَينَما هُنَّ بِالأَراكِ مَعاً

إِذ بَدا راكِبٌ عَلى جَمَلِه

While they were together under the canopies,

A rider on his camel appeared.

فَتَأَطَّرنَ ثُمَّ قُلنَ لَها

أَكرِميهِ حُيِّيتِ في نُزُلِه

So they veiled themselves, and said to her,

“Be generous, greet him in your dwellings.”

فَظَلِلنا بِنِعمَةٍ وَاِتَّكَأنا

وَشَرِبنا الحَلالَ مِن قُلَلِه

We took shade and comfort there,

And drank the halal water from its riverbeds.

قَد أَصونُ الحَديثَ دونَ أَخٍ

لا أَخافُ الأَذاةَ مِن قِبَلِه

I conceal this story from a brother,

Fearing no harm would come his way from it.

غَيرَ ما بِغضَةٍ وَلا لِاِجتِنابٍ

غَيرَ أَنّي أَلَحتُ مِن وَجَلِه

Not out of hatred nor avoidance,

Only that I grew weary of his anxiety.

وَخَليلٍ صافَيتُ مُرضيّاً

وَخَليلٍ فارَقتُ مِن مَلَلِه

One friend's company I enjoyed,

Another's I left, tired of his tedium.