أبا حَسَنٍ قَد رَانَ بعد بِعَادِكم
على القلبِ همٌّ ما أراه يَزولُ
O Abu Hasan, since you went away, there has settled
upon my heart a sorrow I cannot see passing.
أعلّلُ نفسِي أنّني سأَبثّه
إذا ما التقينَا والرّجاءُ مَطُولُ
I soothe myself with the thought that I shall pour it out
when we meet—but hope is long deferred.
إذا قلتُ في أعقابِ ذَا العامِ نَلتقي
تَمادَى وأيّامُ الهُمومِ تَطُولُ
Whenever I say, “At this year’s close we shall meet,”
the year drags on, and sorrow’s days grow long.
وأقتَلُ أدْوائِي بِعادُ أحبّتِي
وداءُ التّنائِي ما علمتَ قَتُولُ
The deadliest of my ailments is my loved ones’ absence,
and separation’s malady, as far as I know, is fatal.
وقد ساءَني أنّ اللّيالِيَ غَيّرتْ
أخِلاَّي حتّى ما يدُومُ خَليلُ
It grieves me that the nights have changed
my intimate friends, until no friend remains constant.
وجفوةُ مجدِ الدّين أَعدَلُ شاهِدٍ
على أنّ أهواءَ القلوبِ تَحُولُ
And Majd al-Din’s estrangement is the truest witness
that the affections of hearts can change.
أساءَ التّنائي ظنَّه بي وإنّنِي
لأَعهَدُهُ في القُربِ وهو جَميلُ
Separation has soured his opinion of me, although I
remember him, when near, as gracious.
جفَاني زماناً لا مَلاَلاً وإنّما
نَهَتْهُ حُزُونٌ بَينَنَا وسُهولُ
He kept aloof from me for a time—not out of weariness;
only rugged uplands and plains between us held him back:
مَفاوِزُ لا يَسْطِيعُ قطعَ فِجاجِها
رسولٌ ولو أنّ الخيالَ رسولُ
trackless deserts whose passes no messenger can cross,
even were the dream-phantom itself a messenger.
ولا ذَنبَ إلاّ للبِعادِ فما لَنا
دَنوْنَا وحَظّي في الدُّنُوِّ قليلُ
Distance alone is to blame—what is the matter with us?
We have drawn near, yet my share of nearness is slight.
Sol 5.6