لِهِندٍ بِحِزّانِ الشَريفِ طُلولُ

تَلوحُ وَأَدنى عَهدِهِنَّ مُحيلُ

For Hind in sorrow's noble vest arrayed,

Appear the signs of parting and decay;

وَبِالسَفحِ آياتٌ كَأَنَّ رُسومَها

يَمانُ وَشَتهُ رَيدَةٌ وَسَحولُ

And o'er the plain are traced memorials

That fill the mind with thoughts of yesterday:

أَرَبَّت بِها نَآجَةٌ تَزدَهي الحَصى

وَأَسحَمُ وَكّافُ العَشِيِّ هَطولُ

Amid them Najah's stones are steeped in tears,

And summer tracks and winter torrents stray.

فَغَيَّرنَ آياتِ الدِيارِ مَعَ البِلى

وَلَيسَ عَلى رَيبِ الزَمانِ كَفيلُ

Changed are the very marks that told of home;

Nor witness now remains of friend or foe,

بِما قَد أَرى الحَيَّ الجَميعَ بِغِبطَةٍ

إِذا الحَيُّ حَيٌّ وَالحُلولُ حُلولُ

Save that I see all living men rejoice;

For life itself is joy, and being so,

أَلا أَبلِغا عَبدَ الضَلالِ رِسالَةً

وَقَد يُبلِغُ الأَنباءَ عَنكَ رَسولُ

Joy still remains though joys themselves depart.

Shall I not send to Abdud Dhilâl news

دَبَبتَ بِسِرّي بَعدَما قَد عَلِمتَهُ

وَأَنتَ بِأَسرارِ الكِرامِ نَسولُ

Of thee, although a messenger can tell?

Thou hast betrayed my secret, known full well,

وَكَيفَ تَضِلُّ القَصدَ وَالحَقُّ واضِحٌ

وَلِلحَقِّ بَينَ الصالِحينَ سَبيلُ

Yet art thyself of nobler souls the soul.

How can the right direction fail, when clear

وَفَرَّقَ عَن بَيتَيكَ سَعدَ بنَ مالِكٍ

وَعَوفاً وَعَمرواً ما تَشي وَتَقولُ

The truth, and plain to all right-judging men

The path of duty lies? But envy's ban

فَأَنتَ عَلى الأَدنى شَمالٌ عَرِيَّةٌ

شَآمِيَّةٌ تَزوي الوُجوهَ بَليلُ

Cleaves to thy home, and parts thee from thy peers,

From Sa'd and Owf and Amr, whose converse cheers.

وَأَنتَ عَلى الأَقصى صَباً غَيرُ قَرَّةٍ

تَذاءَبَ مِنها مُرزِغٌ وَمُسيلُ

On this hand barren northern blasts prevail,

On that the teeming south winds murmuring blow,

وَأَنتَ اِمرُؤٌ مِنّا وَلَستَ بِخَيرِنا

جَواداً عَلى الأَقصى وَأَنتَ بَخيلُ

And thou, that should be free from all self-will,

Art shrunk with parching thirst, and niggard thrift;

فَأَصبَحتَ فَقعاً نابِتاً بِقَرارَةٍ

تَصَوَّحُ عَنهُ وَالذَليلُ ذَليلُ

So livest thou in bitter self-disdain,

While still the abject souls their vileness show;

وَأَعلَمُ عِلماً لَيسَ بِالظَنِّ أَنَّهُ

إِذا ذَلَّ مَولى المَرءِ فَهوَ ذَليلُ

I know this truth, - not idly dreaming so, -

That whomsoe'er his lord degrades, is vile.

وَإِنَّ لِسانَ المَرءِ ما لَم تَكُن لَهُ

حَصاةٌ عَلى عَوراتِهِ لَدَليلُ

Unless his ready wit and watchful care

Guard a man's tongue, it proves his chief betrayer

وَإِنَّ اِمرَأً لَم يَعفُ يَوماً فُكاهَةً

لِمَن لَم يُرِد سوءً بِها لَجَهولُ

Nor let a man, whose will is rightly set,

With those who wish him ill in jest be met;

تَعارَفُ أَرواحُ الرِجالِ إِذا اِلتَقَوا

فَمِنهُم عَدُوٌّ يُتَّقى وَخَليلُ

Souls by their nature may each other know,

And some be found congenial, some be foes.