أَتَحذَرُ وَشكَ البَينِ أَم لَستَ تَحذَرُ
وَذو الحَذَرِ النَحريرُ قَد يَتَفَكَّرُ
Do you fear the anguish of separation, or do you not fear?
Though the careful one takes heed, he may reflect.
وَلَستَ مُوَقّىً إِن حَذِرتَ قَضِيَّةً
وَلَيسَ مَعَ المِقدارِ يُكدي التَهَوُّرُ
You will not be blamed if you fear destiny,
And recklessness does not benefit when fate is sealed.
تَذَكَّرتُ إِذ بانَ الخَليطُ زَمانَهُ
وَقَد يُسقِمُ المَرءَ الصَحيحَ التَذَكُّرُ
I remembered when our bond was new,
Though remembering may sicken even the healthy.
وَكانَ اِدِّكاري شادِناً قَد هَوَيتُهُ
لَهُ مُقلَةٌ حَوراءُ فَالعَينُ تَسحَرُ
My memory of her captivated me when I let it roam;
She has a tempting glance, so the eye is bewitched.
كَأَنِّيَ لَمّا أَن تَوَلَّت بِهِ النَوى
مِنَ الوَجدِ مَأمومُ الدِماغِ مُحَيَّرُ
It was as if when my heart turned to her,
My love-crazed mind became confused.
إِذا رُمتُ عَيني أَن تُفيقَ مِنَ البُكا
تَبادَرَ دَمعي مُسبِلاً يَتَحَدَّرُ
When I try to make my eyes wake from crying,
My tears flow down unbidden.
لَقَد ساقَني حَينٌ إِلى الشادِنِ الَّذي
أَضَرَّ بِنَفسي أَهلُهُ حينَ هَجَّروا
Indeed, a time led me to her who
Harmed my soul when her people shunned me.
وَلَو أَنَّهُ لا يُبعِدُ اللَهُ دارَهُ
وَلا زِلتُ مِنهُ حَيثُ أَلقى وَأُخبَرُ
If only God would not distant her abode from me,
I would still encounter her wherever I went and asked.
لَقَد كانَ حَتفي يَومَ بانوا بِجُؤذَرٍ
عَلَيهِ سِخابٌ فيهِ دُرٌّ وَعَنبَرُ
On the day they left hatefully, she was my destruction.
Upon her was a perfumed cloak with pearls and ambergris.
فَقُلتُ أَلا أَيُّها الرَكبُ إِنَّني
بِكُم مُستَهامُ القَلبِ عانٍ مُشَهَّرُ
I said, “O people! My heart is enthralled with you,
Yearning, complaining, with my wounds exposed.”
بَلى كُلُّ وُدٍّ كانَ في الناسِ قَبلَنا
وَوُدِّيَ لا يَبلى وَلا يَتَغَيَّرُ
“Indeed, every affection among people before us decays,
But my love will not wear out or change.”
فَقالوا لَعَمري قَد عَهِدناكَ حِقبَةً
وَأَنتَ اِمرُؤٌ مِن دونِ ما جِئتَ تَخطِرُ
They said, “By my life! We've known you for a time,
While you are a man who speaks beyond his worth.”
وَقالَت لِأَترابٍ لَها حينَ عَرَّجوا
عَلَيَّ قَليلاً إِنَّ ذا بِيَ يَسخَرُ
And she said to her camel-drivers when they turned
Away from me for a bit, “He makes fun of me.”
وَقالَت أَخافُ الغَدرَ مِنهُ وَإِنَّني
لَأَعلَمُ أَيضاً أَنَّهُ لَيسَ يَشكُرُ
She said, “I fear his betrayal, and I know
He is ungrateful too.”
فَقُلتُ لَها يا هَمَّ نَفسي وَمُنيَتي
أَلا لا وَبَيتِ اللَهِ إِنّي مُهَبَّرُ
I said, “O you who are my soul and my purpose,
No, by God's house! I am true to you.”
مُصابٌ عَميدُ القَلبِ أَعلَمُ أَنَّني
إِذا أَنا لَم أَلقاكُمُ سَوفَ أَدمُرُ
“My steadfast heart knows well that if
I do not meet with you, I will be destroyed.”
وَشِكرِيَ أَن لا أَبتَغي بِكِ خُلَّةً
وَكَيفَ وَقَد عَذَّبتِ قَلبي أَغدُرُ
“My thanks are that I do not seek privacy with you.
How could I when you have tormented my heart so cruelly?”
وَإِنّي هَداكِ اللَهُ صَرمي سَفاهَةٌ
وَفيمَ بِلا ذَنبٍ أَتَيتُهُ أُهجَرُ
“By God, I was wrong. It was foolish of me.
Why was I shunned though I did no wrong?”
وَقَد حالَ دونَ الكُفرِ وَالغَدرِ أَنَّني
أُعالِجُ نَفساً هَل تُفيقُ وَتَصبِرُ
“My struggle against ingratitude and betrayal
Has kept me from disbelief, if my soul will just be patient.”
فَقالَت فَإِنّا قَد بَذَلنا لَكَ الهَوى
فَبِالطائِرِ المَيمونِ تُلقى وَتُحبَرُ
She said, “We have given our love to you,
So you will meet good fortune and be brought together.”
فَقُلتُ لَها إِن كُنتِ أَهلَ مَوَدَّةٍ
فَميعادُ ما بَيني وَبَينَكِ عَزوَرُ
I said, “If you are one for affection,
Then the tryst between you and I is inevitable.”
فَقالَت فَإِنّا قَد فَعَلنا وَقَد بَدا
لَنا عِندَ ما قالَت بَنانٌ وَمِحجَرُ
She said, “We have done so, as Banan and Mihjar
Have told us when they spoke.”
فَرُنِّحَ قَلبي فَهوَ يَزعَمُ أَنَّهُ
سَيَهلِكُ قَبلَ الوَعدِ أَو سَوفَ يَفتُرُ
So my heart was comforted, though it supposes
It will perish before the promised time or weaken.
