أطاع الهوى من بعدهم وعصى الصبر
فليسَ له نهيٌ عليهِ ولا أَمرُ
He obeyed passion after them and disobeyed patience
So he has no prohibition upon him nor command
وعاودَهُ الوجدُ القديمُ فشَفَّهُ
جَوىً ضاقَ عن كِتمانِهِ الصّدرُ والصبّرُ
And the old love returned to him, so it consoled him
With an intimacy whose confinement was too narrow for his chest and patience
كأنَّ النّوى لَم تخْتَرِم غيرَ شَملِه
ولم يَجْرِ إلاّ بالّذي ساءَه القَدْرُ
As if fate intended no tranquility but his company
And flowed only towards that which destiny had saddened
وهل لِبَني الدّنيا سرورٌ وإنّما
هو العيشُ والْبُؤسَى أو الموتُ والقبرُ
And is there any joy for the people of this world? Indeed
It is only living and misery or death and the grave
وكلُّ اجتماعٍ مُرصَدٌ لتَفَرِّقٍ
وكلُّ وِصالٍ سوف يَعقُبه هجرُ
And every gathering is lying in ambush for parting
And every union will inevitably be followed by separation
وما يدفعُ الخطْبَ المُلِمَّ إذا عرا
سوى الصّبرِ إلاّ أنَّهُ كاسمِهِ صبرُ
And nothing can drive away the painful misfortune when it comes
Except patience, though it is like its name, bitter
أسكَّانَ أكنافِ العواصِم دعوةً
بِفِيَّ بَروداً وهي في كَبِدي جمرُ
I poured in the bosoms of dwellings a call
With coldness in me yet a burning coal in my liver
لقد أظلمتْ دُنيايَ بعد فِراقِكمْ
فكلُّ زَمانِي ليلةٌ ما لَها فَجْرُ
After your separation, my life was darkened
So all my time is a night that has no dawn
أُعاتِبُ أيّامِي عليكُمْ ومَالَها
ولا لِلَّيالِي في الّذي بيننا عُذْرُ
I blame my days for you though they have no fault
And the nights have no excuse for what is between us
لقد صَدَّعَتْ بعد التّفَرّق شَملَنا
كصَدْعِ الصّفا ما إنْ له أبداً جبْرُ
After our parting, our union was shattered
Like the cracking of al-Safa, which will never mend
وما زالَ صرفُ الدّهر يسعى بِبَينِنا
فلمّا انقضَى ما بيننا سكَنَ الدّهرُ
The turns of fate kept trying to separate us
So when what was between us ended, fate became still
فويحَ زمانٍ فرّقتَنا صرُوفُه
أكانَ عليهِ في تَفرُّقِنا نَذْرُ
Woe to a time whose turns separated us
Did it have a vow to separate us?
إذا عنَّ ذِكراكُم نَبا بِيَ مَضجَعي
كأنّ فِراشِي حالَ من دُونِه الجَمْرُ
Whenever the memory of you comes to me on my bed
It is as if my mattress is filled with embers
فأُذهَلُ حتى لا أجيبَ منادِياً
وأُبهتُ لا عُرفٌ لديّ ولا نُكْرُ
I become confused, answering no caller
Bewildered, not recognizing family or stranger
وأرمِي فِجاجَ الأرضِ نحوَ بِلادكم
بطرفٍ كليلٍ دمعُه بَعدَكم قَطرُ
I cast the splinters of the earth in your direction
With a sleepy eye whose tears after you drip
أراقَ جِمامَ الدمعِ فيكُم فإن دعَا
بهِ الوجدُ لبّى وهو مُستكرهٌ نَزْرُ
It shed the bridles of tears for you, so if yearning calls it
It answers though reluctant, a meager flow
وجَانبَ طِيبَ النّومِ بعد فِراقِكُم
فما تَلتقي منه على سِنَةٍ شُفْرُ
And it avoided the sweetness of sleep after your separation
So that for a year, no eyelids come together
عسَى نظرةٌ منكُم يُميطُ بهَا القَذَى
وهيهاتَ عَرضُ الأرضِ من دِونِكُم سِترُ
Perhaps a glance from you will wipe away the grit
Alas the expanse of earth has no cover but you
وإن وَعَدَتْني باقترابِكُمُ المُنَى
نَهَتْنَي عَنْ تَصدِيقِ موعِدها مصرُ
Though the hour of death promised your nearness
Its pledge made me doubt its honesty
وكيفَ بكُم والدّهرُ غيرُ مُساعدٍ
ودونَكُمُ الأعداءُ واللّجَجُ الخُضَرُ
How could you come when fate does not favor
With enemies and raging seas between us
مهالكُ لو سَارت بها الريحُ عاقَها ال
وَجَى وثَناها عن تَقَحُّمِها الذُّعرُ
Refuge! If the winds blew to their demise
Fear would forbid and repel their darkest quest
ولم يبقَ إلا ذِكرُ ما كانَ بَينَنا
ولا عَجَبٌ للدّهرِ أن يُدْرَسَ الذّكرُ
Naught remains but the memory of what was between us
No wonder time erases memory
وروعةُ شوقٍ تَعتريني إليكُمُ
كما انتَفَضَ العصفورُ بلَّلَهُ القَطْرُ
A tremor of yearning for you overtakes me
As the sparrow trembled when dripped upon
فيا رَوعتي لا تَسكُنِي بعد بُعدِهِمْ
ويا سلوةَ الأيّامِ موعدُكِ الحَشْرُ
O my tremor, quiet not after their remoteness
O comfort of days, your tryst is the resurrection
