Claude 2

  1. مَا كَانَ هذَا الْحَدَّ حَدَّ عَذَابِهِ

    تُرْدِي الأُسُودَ ضَرُورَةُ الإِخْدَارِ

    This torment was not the limit of his suffering,

    Necessity makes the lions prey on the meek.

  2. صَالَ الشَّقاءُ عَلَى فَرِيدٍ صَوْلةً

    بَيْنَ الْجَوَانِحِ أَنْذَرَتْ بِدَمَارِ

    Misery pounced on the lonely one with ferocity,

    Portending destruction in his innermost being.

  3. قَصُرَتْ لَيَاليهِ عَلَى مَجْهُوِدِه

    وَالْيَوْمَ عُدْنَ عَلَيْهِ غَيْرَ قِصَارِ

    His nights fell short of his exertion,

    And today, lasting rest eludes him.

  4. مَا بَالُ ذَاكَ الْوَجْهِ بَعْدَ توَردٍ

    خَلَعَ النّضَارَة وَاكْتَسَى بِبَهَارِ

    What is wrong with that face after being so rosy?

    It lost its radiance and took on pallor.

  5. مَا بَالُ ذَاكَ الْجِسْمِ بَاتَ مِنَ الضَّنَى

    كَالرَّسْمِ فِي جُرْفٍ بِهِ مُنْهَارِ

    What is wrong with that body that lies anxious and gaunt

    Like an eroded drawing on a crumbling wall?

  6. مَا بَالُ ذَاكَ العَزْمِ بَعْدَ مَضَائِهِ

    عَثَرَتْ بِهِ العِلاَّتُ كُلَّ عِثَارِ

    What is wrong with that resolve after its steadfastness?

    Afflictions made it stumble at every hurdle.

  7. مَا بَالُ ذَاكَ القَلْبِ بَعْدَ خُفُوقِهِ

    تَنْتَابُهُ هَدَآتُ الاِسْتِقْرَارِ

    What is wrong with that heart after its ardor?

    It is now gripped by the calm of stability.

  8. أَمْسَى يُعَاِلجُ سَكْرَةً فِِي نَزْعِهِ

    مَنْ لَم يَذُقْ فِي الْعُمْرِ طَعْمَ عُقَارِ

    He who never tasted bitterness in life

    Ends up battling intoxication in sobriety.

  9. وَلَوِ اسْتَطاعَ لَمَا أَضَاعَ دَقِيقَةً

    يَمْضِي الزَّمَانُ بِهَا مُضِيَّ خَسَارِ

    Had he been able, he would not have wasted one moment,

    As time slipped by him, a stark loss.

  10. وَفَّى بِمَا أَعْطاهُ حَقَّ بِلاَدِهِ

    وَالمَوْهَبَاتُ تُرَدُّ رَدَّ عَوَارِي

    He fulfilled his duty to his country,

    Though generosity may be rebuffed disgracefully.

  11. أَمَكَانُهُ هَذا أَتِلْكَ حُلِيُّهُ

    وَالبَيْتُ خالٍ وَالمُقَلَّدُ عَارِي

    Is this his place, are those his jewels?

    While the home lies empty and the adorned stripped bare?

  12. أَكَذَاكَ يَخْتِمُ فِي الشَّقاءِ حَيَاتَهُ

    مَنْ كَانَ جَمَّ الْجَاهِ وَالإِيسَارِ

    Does he who once had glory and luxury

    End his life thus, in misery?

  13. مَاذَا تَفِي مِنْ حَقِّه بَعْدَ الَّذِي

    عَانَاه كُلُّ قَلاَئِدِ الأَشْعَارِ

    What will poetry avail him after what

    Every verse of poetry made him endure?

  14. إِنَّ الَّذِي يَبْلُوهُ شَارِي قَوْمِهِ

    غَيْرُ الَّذِي نَتْلُوهُ فِي الأَسْطَارِ

    The suffering borne for his people’s sake

    Is not what we recount in prose and verse.