ويحَ العواذِل لا خَلاقَ لهُم

وَهِمُوا ولم تَصدُقْهُم الفِكَرُ

Alas for the fickle folk, honor is not theirs

They schemed but their minds could not make the schemes materialize

قَالوا فتىً تسمو به هِمَمٌ

مُستصْغَرٌ في جَنبها الخَطَرُ

They talked of a gallant youth with lofty aspirations

Yet in face of peril he seemed of small worth

لا يَنْثني عمّا يَهِمُّ بِهِ

أو يَنْثَني الصّمصامَةُ الذّكَرُ

He does not flinch from what he is bent on

Nor does the firm-rooted male palm bend

غرّته دنياهُ بزَهرتها

فَصَبَا ومن عادَاتِهَا الغَرَرُ

The world deluded him with its bloom

So he reveled, for delusion is its wont

فأرَتهُ مثلَ الشمسِ طالِعةً

غرّاءَ يعشَى دُونَها البَصرُ

It showed him the rising sun, radiant

Dazzling, before which sight is dimmed

وبدَتْ له عُطُلاً كأحسنِ ما

يَبدُو لعينِ المُدلِجِ القَمرُ

And it seemed to him a vision of utmost beauty

As the moon appears to the watcher's eye

حتى إذا ما الحُبُّ أوقَفَهُ

حَيرانَ لا وِردٌ ولا صَدَرُ

Until when love halted him, perplexed

Neither progressing nor turning back

ضَمِنَتْ له من وَصلِهَا عِدَةً

إن نَالَها فَلْيَهنِهِ الظَّفَرُ

It promised him union's delight

If he attained his goal, but triumph is fickle

أو كان ذَاك لِحَتْفِه سبَباً

فَدَمُ الفَتَى في مِثلَها هَدَرُ

Or that would be the cause of his doom

For the blood of youth like him is cheap