حيّا رُبوعَكِ من رُبىً ومنازِلِ

ساري الغَمامِ بكلِّ هامٍ هامِلِ

Greet its dwellings, both settled and nomadic

Covered with clouds, burdened and portentous

وسَقَتْكِ يا دارَ الهَوى بعد النَّوى

وطَفاءُ تَسفَحُ بالهَتونِ الهاطلِ

It has quenched you, O abode of love, after hope

And downpour pours, streaming heavily

حتّى تُروِّضَ كلَّ ماحٍ ماحِلٍ

عافٍ وتُرويَ كلَّ ذاوٍ ذابِلِ

Until it tames every unruly wanderer

Quenching all the thirsty and nourishing the feeble

أبكيكَ أم أبْكي زماني فيكَ أمْ

أهليكَ أم شَرخَ الشبابِ الرّاحِلِ

Shall I weep for you, or weep for my days in you, or

My family, or the fading of blithe youth?

ما قدرُ دَمعيَ أن يقسِّمَه الأسى

والوجدُ بين أحبّةٍ ومنازِلِ

My tears cannot be apportioned by sorrow

Between loved ones and dwellings

أنفقتُهُ سَرَفاً وها أنا ماثِلٌ

في ماحلٍ أبكي بِجَفنٍ ماحِلِ

I spent them wastefully, and here I am, present

Weeping with a weeping eye in a shelter

وإذا فَزعتُ إلى العَزاءِ دعوتُ مَن

لا يَستجيبُ ورُمتُ نُصرةَ خاذِلِ

And if I cry out for solace, I call on one

Who does not respond, and I seek the aid of one who disappoints

أين الظِّباءُ عهدتُهُنَّ كوانِساً

بِك في ظلالِ السَّمهرِيِّ الذَّابِلِ

Where are the gazelles I counted as companions

In your shade, withered and wasted?

النّافراتُ من الأنيسِ تكرُّماً

والآنساتُ بكلِّ ليثٍ باسِلِ

Those who fled from a loved one out of dignity

And those made intimate with every valiant lion

من كلِّ مكروهِ اللّقاءِ مُنازِلٍ

رحبِ الفِناءِ لطارقٍ أو نازلِ

Of every hated encounter, of dwellings

With courtyards wide for guest or settler

متمنِّعٍ صعبٍ على أعدائه

سهلِ المَقادَة للخليلِ الواصِلِ

Difficult to access, hard on his enemies

Easy to approach for a loyal friend

عزّوا على الدّنيا وخالفَ فِعلُهُم

أفعالَها فبغَتْهُمُ بغَوائِلِ

They condoled the world, and their actions

Opposed its deeds, so it beset them with calamities

حتّى إذا اغتالَتْهُمُ بخطوبِها

ورمتهُمُ بحوادثٍ وزَلازِلِ

Until, when it assailed them with its afflictions

And cast them amidst tumult and tremors

دَرَسَتْ منازِلُهم وأوْحَشُ مِنهُمُ

مأنوسُ أنديةٍ وعزُّ مَحافِلِ

It demolished their dwellings, and more cheerless than them

Were familiar gatherings and pride of assemblies

واهاً لهم من عالِمٍ ومَعالِمٍ

ومُمَنَّعاتِ عَقائلٍ ومَعاقِلِ

Woe to them, from a learned man and learning

And guarded tribes and impregnable forts

كانوا شَجىً في صدرِ كل مُعانِدٍ

وقذىً يجول بعينِ كلِّ مُحاوِلِ

They were a burning in the breast of every opponent

And a speck roving in the eye of every aspirant

غَوثاً لملهوفٍ وملجأَ لاجِئٍ

وجوارَ رَبّ جَرائرٍ وطَوائِلِ

A haven for the anguished, and refuge for the fugitive

And neighbor of bold raids and hardships

ذهبوا ذهابَ الأمسِ ما من مُخبرٍ

عَنهُم وزالوا كالظِّلالِ الزّائِلِ

They went the way of yesterday, none remains to inform

About them, and they vanished like fading shadows

وبقيتُ بعدهُمُ حليفَ كآبةٍ

مستورَةٍ بتجمُّلٍ وتَحامُلِ

And I remained after them, ally of sorrow

Cloaked in composure and resilience

سعدُوا براحَتِهم وها أنا بعدَهُم

في شَقوةٍ تُضني وهمٍّ داخِلِ

They were happy with their rest, while here am I, after them

In misery that exasperates me and inner disquiet

فاعجب لشَقوةِ مُتعَبٍ بمُقامِهِ

من بعد أسرتِه وراحةِ راحِلِ

So stranger is the misery of one wearied, in his place

After his family's rest and that of one departed

دَع ذا فأنتَ على الحوادِث مَروةٌ

تَلقى الرّزايا عالماً كالجاهلِ

Leave this be, for you are steadfast against events

Meeting calamities knowing, like the ignorant

واصبِر فما فيما أصابَكَ وصمَةٌ

كلُّ الوَرى غرضٌ لسَهمِ النَّابِلِ

And be patient - in what befell you is no stigma

All of existence is prey to the archer's arrow