مَكَانُكَ لاَ يَخْلُو إِذَا غَيْرُهُ خَلاَ
وَما أَنْت مَنْ يُسْلَى إِذَا صَاحِبٌ سَلاَ
Your place is not empty when others are absent,
And you are not one who is consoled when a companion departs.
جَفَاءٍ لِدَارٍ لَم تُبَلَّغْكَ مأْرَباً
وقرْباً لِدَارٍ بِلَّغَتْكَ ذرى العُلَى
Harshness to a house that you were not brought up in,
And closeness to a house that the lofty stars brought you up in.
تَمتَّع بِنَوْمٍ لَمْ تُمَتَّعْ بِمِثْلِهِ
وَأَخْلِ فُؤَاداً طَالَمَا بَاتَ مُشْغَلاَ
Enjoy a sleep that you have never enjoyed the like of,
And relieve a heart that has long been preoccupied.
لَقَدْ نُهِكَتْ تِلْكَ القُوَى فَتَحَلَّلَتْ
وَكُلُّ جَمِيعٍ بَائِدٌ إِنْ تَحَلَّلاَ
Indeed those powers have been exhausted and weakened,
And everything combined grows feeble when it weakens.
فَلاَ الحِلْمُ فَيَّاضٌ كَمَا كَانَ آخِراً
وَلاَ العَزْمُ نَهَّاضٌ كَمَا كَانَ أَوَّلاَ
So neither is forbearance exuberant as it was before,
Nor is determination invigorating as it was at first.
وَلاَ شِعْرَ بَعْدَ اليَوْمِ صَافٍ بَيَانُهُ
يُعِيدُ لَنَا أَخْفَى المَعَانِي مُمَثَّلاَ
And no poetry after today has eloquent expression,
That can convey to us the most subtle meanings through imagery.
وَلاَ نَثْرَ بَعْدَ اليَوْمِ عَذْبٌ مَساغُهُ
سَلِيمٌ مِنَ العِلاَّتِ غَانٍ عَنِ الحِلَى
And no prose after today has a sweet taste,
Free from defects, flowing with charm.
ولاَ فِكْرةٌ نَقَّادة وَمَهَارَةٌ
حِسَابِيَّةٌ تعْتَدٌّ فِي الرَّيْبِ فَيْصلاَ
No critical thought or skillful calculation,
That judges precisely and makes a clear distinction.
ولاَ خُلُقٌ رَاضٍ نَقِيٌّ كَأَنَّهُ
عَلَى كُلِّ حَالٍ طَاهِرُ الماءِ سلسَلاَ
No pleasing manners, pure as if
They were under all conditions as clear as flowing water.
هِيَ القِصةُ الكُبْرى شَجانَا خِتَامُهَا
وَلَمْ يَكنِ المَوْضوعُ فِيها تخَيلاَ
This is the great story that saddened us with its ending,
And the subject was not imagined in it.
فَتًى لَقِيَ الدُّنيا عبُوساً بِوجْهِهِ
فَأضحَكَ مِنها عزمَهُ وَتَوَكَّلاَ
A young man met the world frowning,
But his determination and trust made him laugh at it.
إِذَا أَحرَجَتْهُ فِي الشَّآمِ فَإِنَّهُ
لَيعتَاضُ مِنها بِالكِنَانَةٍ موثِلاَ
When it embarrassed him in Syria,
He would console himself with seclusion.
يُصَرِّفُ فِي شَتَّى الأمُورِ ذَكاءَهُ
وَيستَنْزِلُ الرزقَ العَصِيَّ مُذَلَّلاَ
He directed his intelligence in various matters,
And brought down sustenance that was difficult to obtain.
وَيَبْنِي لهُ مجْداً ويُضْحِي بِجِدِّهِ
مِنَ النفر الأَعِلينِ في الشَّرْقِ منزِلاَ
He built for himself glory and sacrificed with his effort,
A high position among the eminent in the East.
فَتَأْخذُهُ الدُّنْيَا بِأَسْبابِ فَضْلِهِ
وترْمِيهِ مِنْ حَيْثُ اتَّقَاهَا لِتَقْتُلا
But the world took him by means of his virtuous causes,
And threw him from where he feared it in order to kill him.
فَمَا هُوَ إِلاَّ وَالمُنَى قَدْ غَدتْ لَهُ
ضَنىً وَخلُودُ الصِّيْتِ موْتاً مُعجَّلاَ
So it was nothing but death that had become a source of grief for him,
And the eternity of fame became accelerated death.
بِوَشْك كَهذَا الوشْكِ مَرَّتْ حَياتُهُ
وَما ينْقَضِي عُمرٌ بِأَنْكَى وأَجمَلاَ
In the blink of an eye his life passed,
And no lifetime ends with more sorrow and beauty.
أَلاَ يَا أَخِي إِني لأَرثِيكَ باكِياً
حزِيناُ عَلَى العَهدِ الكَرِيمِ الَّذِي خَلاَ
Oh my brother! I lament you crying,
Grieving over the noble era that has passed.
بِصَوْتٍ إِذَا بَحَّتْهُ غَاشِيَةُ الأَسى
فَذِكْراكَ تَجْلوهُ عَلَى مَسْمَعِ المَلاَ
With a voice, that when the overwhelmings of sorrow roar it,
The mention of you makes it gentle to the ears of the assembly.
تَوَاطَنْ قرِيراً حيْثُ بِت مُنَعَّماً
وَدعْ مُبْتَلىً فِي النَّاسِ يَرثِيِ لِمُبتَلَى
Sleep comfortably where you lived in luxury,
And leave the afflicted among the people lamenting the afflicted.
