وفُودُ حَبِيبٍ أَمْ ورُودُ عِهادِ

وصَوتُ بَشيرٍ أَمْ تَرَنُّمُ حادِي

Is it the arrival of a beloved or the blossoming of a bower,

Or is it the voice of a herald or the warbling of a guide?

بِعَيْشِكَ هَلْ قد مُزِّقَتْ حُلَلُ النَّوىَ

وَحَانَ مِنَ اللُّقْيا مَنالُ مُرادِي

My friend, have the ties of affection been severed,

And has the time of reunion, my wish, drawn near?

وهَلْ طَلَعَتْ شَمْسُ التَّواصُلِ بَعْدَما

تَطاوَلَ لَيْلٌ مُظْلِمٌ بِبعادِ

Has the sun of communion risen after

A long dark night of separation?

وعادَتْ لَنَا الأَيّامُ بِيضاً زَواهِراً

وقَدْ لَبِسَتْ منْ قَبْلُ ثَوْبَ حِدادِ

Have days returned to us white like flowers

After having worn the garb of mourning?

فإنْ كَانَ ما قَالَ البَشيرُ بيَقْظَةٍ

وَلَمْ يَكُ أحْلاماً وزُورَ رُقادِ

If what the herald said was truly awake

And not just dreams and false slumber,

فَيَا دَهْرُ قُمْ فاسْحَبْ ذُيولَ مَخِيلَةٍ

وَرَنِّحَ أَعْطَافاً بِرَنَّةِ شَادي

Then rise, O Fate, roll up the skirts of illusion

And limp, limping with joy like someone overjoyed,

ويا نَاقُ قَدْ أعْضِيتِ مِنْ تَعَبِ السُّرَى

ومِنْ طَيِّ أَغْوارٍ وقَطْعِ نِجادِ

And O she-camel, you have suffered from traveling at night

And roaming the depths and crossing the wilderness,

وقُمْ يا غُلامِي حُطَّ رَحْلَ مَطِيَّتي

وخُذْ ذَابِلي واحْلُلْ عُقُودَ نِجادِي

So rise, my boy, unload my camel’s litter,

Take off her trappings and remove the cords,

وسَكِّنْ صَهِيلَ الْمُهْرِ وانْزَعْ شَكِيمَهُ

وَضَعْ لأمَتِي مِنْ فَوْقِ ظَهْرِ جَوَادِي

Calm the snorting of the mare and remove her bridle,

And place my cloak over the back of my steed.

فَقَدْ كُنْتُ أَزْمَعْتُ اقْتِحامَ مَتَالِفٍ

وقَطعَ أَكَامٍ أَقْفَرَتْ وَوِهَادِ

For I had intended to brave the hostility

And cross the barren wastes and deserts,

ومنْ دُونِ ما أَبْغِيهِ في كُلِّ مَوْطِنٍ

طِرادُ جِيادٍ وارْتِقاصُ صِعادِ

Seeking, in every abode, nothing

But chasing horses and climbing peaks,

وسَلْبُ نُفُوسٍ لا تَحِيدُ عَنِ اللّقا

وإنْ لَقِيَتْ في الَحْربِ حَرّ جلادِ

Capturing souls that do not fail to meet

And though they face war’s fierce executioner in battle.

ولم يَكُ تَرْحالي لَجمْعِ شَوَارِدٍ

مِنَ المالِ أَبْغِيها بكُلِّ بِلادِ

My traveling was not to gather riches

Which I seek in every land.

ولا لِلقا خَوْدٍ رَدَاحٍ بِذِكْرِها

أديرَتْ كُؤُسٌ من رحيقِ شِهادِ

Nor was it to meet with boon companions in drinking sessions

Where cups are passed around from the nectar of martyrdom.

وأَنىَّ لمثلي يَزْجُرُ العِيسَ قاصِداً

لِقَا زَيْنَبٍ أو طَلِباً لِسُعادِ

How could one like me rein in his steed

Heading towards Zainab or seeking happiness?

وقَدْ طَلَعَتْ شَمْسُ النَّهارِ بعارِضِي

وقَدْ كَانَ لَيْلاً فاحِماً بِسَوادِ

My day had risen with its rejected ones

And it had been a dark night in its darkness.

وطَارَ غُرَابٌ كانَ فَوْدِيَ وَكْرُهُ

وأَبْقَى لَهُ بَيْضاً كَثِيرَ عِدادِ

The crow that was my comrade and whose nest

I frequented flew away, leaving behind many eggs.

وتَمَّتْ سِنُونُ العُمْرِ سَبْعاً وقَبْلَها

ثَلاثُونَ عَاماً آذَنَتْ بِرَشادِ

The years of life are complete at thirty-seven

With thirty years before them that signaled maturity.

فَهَلْ بَعْدَهَا مِنْ مَلْعَبٍ لِصَبابَةٍ

وهَلْ عِنْدَها مِنْ مَرْتَعٍ لوِدَادِ

Is there any sport left for youth after them

Or any meadow left for love after them?

ولكِنَّ تَرْحَالي لِزَوْرَةِ ماجِدٍ

أَشادَ مِنَ العَلْيا رَفيعَ عِمادِ

Rather, my travel is to visit the glorious Ma’jed

Who built the highest edifice of glory,

فَتىً حَلَّ في بَيْتٍ منَ الْمَجْدِ شامِخٍ

وَصَارَ لَهُ فِيهِ أَعَزُّ مِهادِ

A young man who settled in an abode of triumph

And he attained in it the dearest rest,

وجَلَّى بِمضْمارِ الفَضائِلِ والتُّقَى

عَلَى مَنْهَجٍ لَمْ يَعْدُ صَوْبَ سَدادِ

And he excelled in the race track of virtues and piety

On a path that no longer hits the target of righteousness.

أحادِيثُهُ في المكرُمات ذَخَائِرٌ

تعد لذي الأسفار أملح زادِ

His narrations about noble deeds are treasures

That travelers narrate at every abode.

تَناشَدَها الرُّكْبانُ في كُلِّ مَوْطِنٍ

وحَرَّرَها الرّاوي لَها بِمِدادِ

The transmitters have chronicled them in ink

Whenever an asker narrates and questions.

إذَا سَاجَلَتْهُ فِتْيَةٌ في فَضِيلَةس

حَدَا بِعُلاهُ للمُساجِلِ حَادِي

If the youth engage him in virtue,

He confines them with his highest virtue.

وإنْ نَاغَمَتْهُ بالقَرِيضِ بَنَاتُهُ

يُنادي لَهُ بالسَّبْقِ كُلُّ مُنادِي

And if his daughters chant poetry to him,

Every singer announces his precedence.

وإنْ جاذَبَتْهُ بَحْثَ عِلْمٍ رُواتُهُ

رَوَى مَا تُرَوّي كُلَّ سائِلِ صَادِي

And if the scholars dispute with him some knowledge,

He narrates what exhausts every inquiring questioner.

يَجُولُ بِفِكْرٍ منْهُ في كُلِّ مُعْضِلٍ

فَيَقْدَحُ في إيضاحِهِ بِزِنادِ

He roams with a thought that unravels every problem,

Lighting the way to clarify with the spark of his mind.

أَبا أَحْمَدٍ أَهْدَيْتَ لي مِنْكَ مِدْحَةً

تَقَاصَرَ عَنْها طارِفِي وتِلادِي

O Abu Ahmad, you have bestowed upon me praise

That falls short of my compositions and poems.

وطَوَّقْتَني ما لا أَقومُ بشُكْرِهِ

وإِنْ رَكِبَتْ رِجْلاي كُلَّ جَوادِ

You have garlanded me with that which I cannot

Fulfill in gratitude, even if I mounted every steed.

بَدَأتَ بإهْداءِ العِهادِ سَقَاك مِنْ

سَحابِ العُلَى والفَضْلِ صَوْبُ عهادِ

You began by gifting vows – the lofty rain of virtue

Quenched you from the clouds of highness and nobility.

فَهَا أنا قَدْ قَابَلْتُ دُرّكَ بالحَصَى

وشَمْسُكَ قَدْ قَابَلْتُها بِدَادِي

So here I am, repaying your pearl with pebbles

And I face your sun with my firebrand.

فَلَسْتُ امْرَءاً رَاضَ القَرِيضَ بفِكْرِهِ

ولا كان لي مُذْ كُنْتُ طَوْعَ قِيادِ

For I am not one who is content with his mind’s poetry,

Nor has it ever obeyed me since I submitted to destiny.

وإنْ رُمْتُهُ يَجْري عَلَى ما أُريدُهُ

جَرَى جَامِحاً مُغْرىً بِشَوْطِ شِرادِ

And if I guide it, it flows to what I want,

Galloping rebelliously at full speed.

أُوَجِّهُهُ شَرْقاً فَيَقْصِدُ مَغْرِباً

وإنْ رُمْتُ إصْعَاداً جَرَى بِوِهادِ

I direct it east, and it goes west,

And if I guide it uphill, it flows downhill.

وكَمْ مَوْطِنٍ أَجْرَيْتُهُ في رُبُوعِهِ

وطَارَدْتُ فيهِ القِرْنَ أَيَّ طِرادِ

How many places have I set it loose in their expanses

And chased glory in them with every chase!

فَعُدْتُ وكُلُّ الشاهِدينَ بِسوحِهِ

شُهودٌ بأنَّ الْمُهْرَ غَيْرَ جَوادِ

Yet I return with all the witnesses in its plains

Bearing witness that the steed is no racer.

ولَيْسَ عَلَى شَخْصٍ يُكَلَّفُ فَوْقَ ما

يُطاقُ ولا إدْراكُ كُلِّ مُرادِ

A person cannot be tasked beyond what

He can endure, nor attain every wish.

وَرُبَّ فَتىً يَهْوَى المعَالي ونَيْلَها

وحَظُّ الفَتَى يأْتي بِكُلِّ عِنادِ

And how often a young man desires glories and attaining them

Yet the young man’s fortune comes with every obstinacy!

وإنَّ امْرَءاً أَجْرَى إلَى كُلِّ غايَةٍ

وأَوْغَلَ في مِضْمارِ كُلِّ رشادِ

Surely a man who accomplishes every goal

And delves deep into the track of every guidance

يَقُومُ لَهُ بالعُذْرِ في كُلِّ مَحْفِلٍ

بِكُلِّ بلادٍ في الأَنامِ مُنادِي

Will have, in every assembly, someone apologizing for him

A speaker in every land defending him among people.

ودُمْ يا بْنَ يحيى ما حَييتَ مُسَوَّداً

ومَجْدُكَ مَرْفوعاً بكُلِّ عِمادِ

So last, O son of Yahya, for as long as you live darkened

With your glory held high by every pillar.

ولا بَرِحَتْ أَفْعالُكَ الغُرُّ في الوَرَى

تَؤُمُّ بها الرُّكْبانُ كُلَّ بِلادِ

Your deeds never ceased to be wondrous in the land

With travelers guided by them in every land.