عزّ التأسّي وفاض الدمع هتانا

والصبر أدبر والسلوان أعيانا

Consolation has grown scarce, and tears have poured in torrents.

Patience has turned away, and solace has exhausted us.

إن تبك يا طير إلفاً نازحاً ونوى

سهم الفراق الذي أضناك أضنانا

If you weep, O bird, for a far-wandering mate and for separation,

the arrow of parting that has worn you down has worn us down as well.

رحماك ربي ما مرج لنا وطن

وما مرابعها ترتاد كثبانا

Mercy, my Lord! No meadow is a homeland for us,

nor do you roam its spring grounds among the dunes.

لكنما الدهر ألقانا بساحتها

رغماً علينا فلا كانت ولا كانا

It was only Time that cast us upon its ground

against our will—may neither that land nor Time ever have been!

هذا هو الدهر لاتصفو عواقبه

إن سرّ حيناً فقد يبكيك أحيانا

Such is Time: its outcomes are never serene;

though it delights you for a while, at times it makes you weep.

بالله يا نسمات قد سرت سحراً

هل تحملين من الملتاع أشجانا

By God, O breezes that journeyed before dawn,

will you carry the sorrows of this anguished lover

إلى الذين استعضنا بعد فرقتهم

مر الصبابة أشواقاً وأحزانا

to those after whose separation we received in exchange

the bitterness of yearning—longings and sorrows?

وخبّريهم بحال قد غدوت به

مضنًى وحيداً كئيب القلب ولهانا

Tell them of the state to which I have come:

wasted, alone, heartsick, and distraught with longing.

أقضي الليالي وأنّاتي تسامرني

فلا عزاء ولا أهلٌ واخوان

I pass the nights with only my groans to keep me company;

there is no consolation, no family, and no brothers.

قد كان لي أمل أودى بنضرته

طول الزمان ومرّ السقم أحيانا

Once I had a hope whose freshness was destroyed

by length of time and, at times, the bitterness of illness.

يا نفس هذا قضاء الله فاصطبري

هذي الحياة وما سالوك تبيانا

O soul, this is God’s decree, so be patient.

Such is life; those who trod your path—we followed in their wake.

ما لي وللدهر كم أضنت نوائبه

قلبي ومن عجب ألقاه جذلانا

What have I to do with Time? How many of its calamities have worn down

my heart—yet, wonder of wonders, I find it exultant.

هذا أنا إن تكن يا دهر تجهلني

أرى المصائب والأفراح سيانا

Here I am, O Time, if you do not know me:

I regard calamities and joys as equal.

نفسي ترى الخطب سهلاً من سجيتها

أهوى وأهون شيء عندها كانا

By its very nature, my soul sees catastrophe as easy;

to it, catastrophe has always been the least and lightest thing.

لو كابد الصخر ما كابدت من كمدٍ

لدك من ثقله رضوى وثهلانا

Had stone endured the anguish I have endured,

its weight would have crushed Radwa and Thahlan.

لو صادف الماء من همّي ومن هممي

شيّاً لأشعل وسط الماء نيرانا

If water encountered even a trace of my grief and my high resolve,

that trace would kindle fires in the very midst of water.

مهما فعلت من التبريح يا زمني

أعلى وأشرف أن أرضاك معوانا

Whatever torment you inflict, O Time,

I am too lofty and noble to accept you as an ally.

يكفي زماني بأني فقته جلداً

وصلته بجميل الصبر ألوانا

It is enough for my lifetime that I have surpassed it in fortitude

and answered it with every kind of noble patience.

إن الذي عارك الأيام في ثقة

ذاك الفتى لا الذي أولته اذعانا

The one who grapples confidently with the days—

that is the valiant youth, not one who offers them submission.

كنز تركنا وعين الله تحرسه

إن ساعد الحظ نلقاه ويلقانا

A treasure we left behind, watched over by the eye of God—

if fortune helps us, we shall meet it, and it shall meet us.

كان العزاء لنا والصبر إن عبثت

حوادث الدهر عزّانا وسلانا

Consolation and patience—and solace—were ours whenever

the vicissitudes of Time played their games around us.