1. أَما تَرى الأَنواءَ وَالسَحائِبا

    قَد أَصبَحَت دُموعُها سَواكِبا

    Do you not see the rain-bringing stars and the clouds?

    Their tears have begun to pour.

  2. فَاِكتَسَتِ الأَرضُ بِها جَلابِبا

    فَأَظهَرَت أَزهارَها عَجائِبا

    Through them the earth has clothed itself in robes,

    And displayed its flowers as wonders,

  3. غَرائِباً أَضحَت لَنا رَغائِبا

    هَذي الرَوابي بِالكَلا قَد تُوِّجَت

    Rare marvels that have become our delights.

    These hills have been crowned with grass,

  4. وَنَسمَةُ الخَريفِ قَد تَأَرَّجَت

    وَقَد صَفَت مِياهُهُ وَرَجَّجَت

    And the autumn breeze has grown fragrant.

    Its waters have cleared and rippled,

  5. وَالأَرضُ بِالأَزهارِ قَد تَدَبَّجَت

    وَأَصبَحَ الطَلُّ عَليها ساكِبا

    And the earth has been embroidered with flowers,

    While dew has begun to pour upon it.

  6. فَقُم فَقَد تَمَّ لَنا طيبُ الهَنا

    وَالدَهرُ قَد مَنَّ عَلينا بِالمُنى

    Rise, for the sweetness of our happiness is complete,

    And Time has favored us with our wishes.

  7. وَالعَيشُ قَد رَقَّت حَواشيهِ لَنا

    وَمُسعِدي شَرخُ الشَبابِ وَالغِنى

    Life's fringes have grown soft for us,

    And my helpers are youth's prime and wealth.

  8. هُما اللَذانِ غَمَرا لي جانِبا

    يا سَعدُ باكِر فَاللَبيبُ مَن بَكَر

    These two have flooded my side with bounty.

    Sa'd, set out early: the wise man rises early.

  9. وَاِبرِز بِنا لَيسَ العِيانُ كَالخَبَر

    فَاِغتَنِم الصَفوَ بِنا قَبلَ الكَدَر

    Come out with us: seeing is not like hearing.

    Seize serenity with us before the murk,

  10. فَالدَهرُ مِن زَلّاتِهِ قَد اِعتَذَر

    وَجاءَنا مِنَ الذُنوبِ تائِبا

    For Time has apologized for its lapses,

    And come to us repentant of its sins.

  11. لا تَسكُبِ الدَمعَ عَلى عَيشٍ مَضى

    وَلا تَقُل كانَ زَمانٌ وَاِنقَضى

    Do not shed tears over a life gone by,

    Nor say, 'There was a time, and it has passed.'

  12. وَاِغتَنِمِ الغَفلَةَ مِن صَرفِ القَضا

    فَالمَوتُ كَالسَيفِ مَتى ما يُنتَضى

    Seize the respite from fate's turning,

    For death is like a sword: whenever it is drawn,

  13. تُضحي لَهُ أَعمارُنا ضَرائِبا

    فَدَع حَديثَ الزَمَنِ القَديمِ

    Our lifetimes become targets for its blows.

    Leave talk of ancient times,

  14. وَالذِكرَ لِلأَطلالِ وَالرُسومِ

    فَإِن تَكُن عَوني عَلى الهُمومِ

    And remembrance of ruins and abandoned traces.

    If you would help me against sorrow,

  15. حَدِّث عَنِ القَديمِ وَالنَديمِ

    وَاِذكُر لَدَيَّ رامِياً أَو سارِيا

    Speak of the veteran and the boon companion,

    And mention to me an archer or a night traveler.

  16. ما دامَتِ الأَيّامُ في نَصاحَتي

    وَالعِزُّ مُلقٍ رَحلَهُ بِساحَتي

    As long as the days remain sincere in advising me,

    And honor sets down its saddle in my courtyard,

  17. لَأَبذُلَنَّ ما حَوَتهُ راحَتَي

    أُتلِفَ ما في راحَتي في راحَتي

    I shall surely spend whatever my two palms hold,

    Squandering what is in my palm upon my repose,

  18. وَأَقصِدُ اللَذّاتِ وَالمَلاعِبا

    فَقُم بِنا مُبتَكِراً يا صاحِبي

    And seeking pleasures and pastimes.

    Rise and set out early with us, my friend,

  19. نَقضي بِأَيّامِ الصِبى مَآرِبي

    وَلا تَكُن تَفكُرُ في العَواقِبِ

    So we may fulfill my desires in the days of youth.

    Do not dwell upon the consequences.

  20. وَخَلِّ خِلّاني وَدَع أَقارِبي

    وَاِقصِد بِنا الأَحلافَ وَالقَرائِبا

    Leave my friends behind, and leave my relatives,

    And seek with us the allies and the kindred.

  21. وَاِعتَبِرِ الجَنَّةَ في الطَريقِ

    وَاِنتَخِبِ الرَفيقَ لِلمَضيقِ

    Contemplate the garden along the way,

    And choose a companion for the narrow pass.

  22. وَلا تُصاحِب غَيرَ ذي التَحقيقِ

    فَالتَمُّ لايَطيرُ بَينَ الشيقِ

    Befriend none but one of proven skill:

    The swan does not fly among the shiq birds,

  23. وَالكَيُّ لا يَرضى الوَريدَ صاحِبا

    أَما تَرى الطَيرَ الجَليلَ قَد أَتى

    And the kayy will not accept the warid as a companion.

    Do you not see that the large birds have arrived,

  24. مُستَبشِراً يَمرَحُ في فَصلِ الشِتا

    فَقُم بِنا إِنَّ الصِبى عَونُ الفَتى

    Rejoicing and frolicking in the winter season?

    Rise with us: youth is a young man's support.

  25. وَلا تَقُل كَيفَ وَأَنّى وَمَتى

    إِنَّ الأَماني لَم تَزَل كَواذِبا

    Do not say 'how,' 'whence,' and 'when':

    Wishes have never ceased to be false.

  26. بِمُدمَجاتٍ زانَها إِدماجُها

    مُعَوَّجاتٍ حُسنُها اِعوِجاجُها

    With close-knit bows, adorned by their joining,

    Curved bows whose beauty is their curvature,

  27. أَهِلَّةٍ أَكُفُّها أَبراجُها

    حَوامِلٍ إِذا دَنا نِتاجُها

    Crescents whose celestial houses are the palms holding them,

    Pregnant bearers which, when their birth draws near,

  28. تَقذِفُ مِن أَكبادِها كَواكِبا

    ما خَيَبَت يَوماً لَنا مَساعِيا

    Fling stars from their livers.

    They have never disappointed our endeavors,

  29. لَكادَ حُسناً أَن تُجيبَ الداعِيا

    تُغني بِها الجَليلَ وَالمَراعِيا

    So beautiful that they almost answer the caller.

    With them you satisfy the large birds and the grazers.

  30. إِن كَم دَنَت ظَنَنتَها أَفاعِيا

    أَو أَوتَرَت حَسبَتَها عَقارِبا

    When they draw near, how often you think them serpents,

    Or, when strung, take them for scorpions.

  31. وَمُدمَجٍ كَالنونِ في تَعريقِهِ

    أَشهى إِلى العاشِقِ مِن مَعشوقِهِ

    And a close-knit bow, like the letter nun in its curving stroke,

    More desirable to a lover than his beloved,

  32. كَالصارِمِ المَصقولِ في بَريقِهِ

    لَو أَنَّهُ يُسكِنُ مِن خُفوقِهِ

    Like a polished sword in its gleam:

    If only it would still its quivering,

  33. أَضحى عَلى عَينِ الزَمانِ حاجِباً

    مُستَأنِفٍ قَد تَمَّ في أَقسامِهِ

    It would become an eyebrow above Time's eye.

    Newly made, complete in all its parts,

  34. لَكِنَّ نَقصَ الطَيرِ في تَمامِهِ

    قَد نَبَتَ العودُ عَلى لِحامِهِ

    Yet the birds' diminution lies in its perfection.

    The wood has grown over its joints.

  35. مَن خَطِفَ الخَطفَةَ في مَقامِهِ

    أَتبَعَهُ مِنهُ شِهاباً ثاقِبا

    Whoever makes a snatch within its station,

    It pursues with a piercing meteor from itself.

  36. مُرَدَّدٍ يُرضيكَ في تَرديدِهِ

    شُهرَتُهُ تُغنيكَ عَن تَحديدِهِ

    Recurved, pleasing you in its repeated bending,

    Its fame spares you any need to define it.

  37. لا فَرقَ بَينَ شاخِهِ وُعودِهِ

    يُحَقِّقُ البُندُقَ في صُعودِهِ

    There is no difference between its horn and its wood.

    It guides the pellet true in its ascent,

  38. وَيَضمَنُ المَصروعَ وَالصَوائِبا

    أَصلَحَهُ صالِحٌ عِندَ جَسِّهِ

    And guarantees fallen game and true hits.

    Salih perfected it when he tested it,

  39. وَزانَهُ وَاِختارَهُ لِنَفسِهِ

    مَنظَرُهُ يُغني الفَتى عَن لَمسِهِ

    Adorned it, and chose it for himself.

    Its appearance spares a young man the need to touch it.

  40. فَهوَ لَهُ بَعدَ حُلولِ رَمسِهِ

    يُهدي الثَنا وَيُظهِرُ المَناقِبا

    So, even after he has entered his grave, for him

    It offers praise and displays his merits.

  41. وَبُندُقٍ مُعتَدِلِ المِقدارِ

    كَأَنَّما قُسِّمَ بِالعِيارِ

    And a pellet of well-balanced size,

    As though apportioned by a gauge,

  42. قَد حَمَلَ الحِقدَ عَلى الأَطيارِ

    فَهوَ إِذا اِنقَضَّ مِنَ الأَوتارِ

    Bearing rancor against the birds:

    When it swoops from the bowstrings,

  43. يَرى فَناءَ الطَيرِ فَرضاً واجِبا

    يُريكَ في وَقتِ الصَباحِ لَهَبا

    It deems the birds' destruction an obligatory duty.

    It shows you a flame in the morning,

  44. كَأَنَّهُ بَرقٌ أَضاءَ وَخَبا

    يَقطَعُ مَتنَ الريحِ مِن غيرِ شَبا

    Like lightning that flashes and fades.

    It cleaves the wind's back without an edge,

  45. يَقظانَ لا يَصبو إِلى خَفقِ الصَبا

    وَلا يَلينُ لِلجَنوبِ جانِبا

    Wakeful, not inclining to the east wind's flutter,

    Nor offering a yielding side to the south wind.

  46. وَخَيشَةٍ لُطِّفتُ في مِقدارِها

    تَغنى بِها الأَطيارُ عَن أَوكارِها

    And a sack whose dimensions I made dainty,

    With which birds have no need of their nests.

  47. لا يَبرَحُ الريشُ عَلى نُوّارِها

    وَالدَمُ مَسفوكاً عَلى أَقطارِها

    Feathers never leave its blossoms,

    And blood lies spilled along its edges,

  48. إِذ كانَ في اللَونِ لَها مُناسِباً

    كَأَنَّها مِن كَثرَةِ الصُروعِ

    For its color is suited to the sack.

    As though, from so much fallen game,

  49. قَد خَضِبَت بِخالِصِ النَجيعِ

    لَم تَخلُ في البُروزِ وَالرُجوعِ

    It had been dyed with pure gore.

    Neither on setting out nor returning was it empty

  50. مِن صارِعٍ يُحمَلُ أَو مَصروعِ

    تَحمِلُ آتٍ أَو تُقِلُّ ذاهِبا

    Of a slayer carried within it, or one slain:

    It carries one arriving, or bears one departing.

  51. وَحُلَّةٍ جِفتِيَّةٍ كَالعَندَمِ

    لَطيفَةِ التَجليسِ وَالتَهَندُمِ

    And a double-layered robe, crimson as red dye,

    Delicately fitted and neatly arrayed,

  52. مُؤَخَرُها في الحُسنِ مِثلُ المُقدَمِ

    يَظُنُّها الطَيرُ لَهُ نَطعَ الدَمِ

    Its back as beautiful as its front.

    The bird takes it for its own execution-mat of blood,

  53. وَلَم يَكُن فيما يَظُنُّ كاذِبا

    فَلَو شَهِدتَ طَيرَنا فيمَن رَمى

    And is not mistaken in what it thinks.

    If only you had seen our birds amid the shooters,

  54. وَجَيشَهُ مِن جَمعِنا قَد هُزِما

    وَبُندَقَ الصُحبِ إِلَيهِ قَد سَما

    Their army routed by our company,

    And our companions' pellets rising toward them!

  55. عَجِبتُ مِن راقٍ إِلى جَوِّ السَما

    أَرسَلَتِ الأَرضُ عَليهِ حاصِبا

    I marveled at one ascending into heaven's vault,

    Against which the earth sent a hail of stones.

  56. مِن كُلِّ شَهمٍ كَالهِزَبرِ الباسِلِ

    وَكُلِّ قيلٍ قائِلٍ وَفاعِلِ

    From every gallant man, like a valiant lion,

    And every chieftain, a man of word and deed,

  57. ذَخرِ الزَميلِ عِدَّةُ المُقاوِلِ

    وَبَينَهُم حِملٌ بِلا تَحامُلِ

    A comrade's reserve, a partner's support.

    Among them is a burden, without undue strain,

  58. مِن بَعدِ ما اِصطَفّوا لَهُ مَراتِبا

    حَولَ قَديمٍ كَالحُسامِ الماضي

    After they have arrayed themselves in ranks for him,

    Around a veteran, like a keen-edged sword,

  59. خالٍ مِنَ الأَغراضِ وَالأَعراضِ

    يَطُبُّ داءَ الكَلِمِ المِراضِ

    Free of self-interested aims and ailments.

    He treats the sickness of ailing words,

  60. يَرضى بِأَنَّ الجَمعَ عَنها راضِ

    لا يَرقُبُ الأَسباقَ وَالمَواهِبا

    Content that the company is content with them,

    Seeking neither prizes nor gifts.

  61. في مَوقِفٍ بِهِ الصُروعُ تُنثَلُ

    تُلقى المَراعي وَالجَليلُ تَحمِلُ

    In a place where fallen game is poured out,

    The grazers are laid down, and the large birds you carry.

  62. مَعدودَةٌ أَصنافُهُ لا تُجهَلُ

    إِذ هِيَ في سَبعٍ وَسَبعٍ تَكمُلُ

    Its types are counted, not unknown,

    For they make a full seven and seven:

  63. يَعرِفُها مَن كانَ فيها راغِبا

    وَصاحِبٍ أُعُدُّهُ لي مالِكا

    Whoever is interested in them knows them.

    And a companion whom I count as my master

  64. كَلَّفَني في النَظمِ عَدَّ ذَلِكا

    وَقالَ لَخِّص ذاكَ في نِظامِكا

    Tasked me with enumerating this in verse,

    And said, 'Sum that up in your verse.'

  65. قُلتُ عُلُوُّ صُنعِكَ اِحتِشامُكا

    إِن كُنتَ لي حَلَّ الرُموزِ دائِبا

    I said, 'The loftiness of your craft is your modesty,'

    If you labor steadily to unravel the symbols for me.

  66. لَم أَنسَ في ثَوبٍ شَليلٍ بَرزَتي

    بَينَ ثِقافٍ مِن رُماةِ الحِلَّةِ

    I have not forgotten my outing in a shalil under-robe,

    Among skilled archers of Hilla,

  67. وَقَد أَتاني مُحرِقاً عَن جَفَّتي

    مُزدَوِجٌ مِنَ العَنانينِ الَّتي

    When there came to me, at a fiery pace, past my bow-case,

    A pair of the 'ananin birds which

  68. بَينَ الرُماةِ أَصبَحَت غَرائِبا

    ثَبَّتُّ لِلزَوجِ وَقَد أَتاني

    Have become rarities among the archers.

    I braced myself for the pair as it approached me,

  69. مُصَعصَعاً يَمرَحُ في أَمانِ

    عاجَلتُهُ مِن قَبلِ أَن يَراني

    Swaying and frolicking in safety.

    I caught it unawares before it could see me:

  70. صَرَعتُ حَدّاهُ وَصِبتُ الثاني

    دَلّى البَراثِمَ وَوَلّى هارِبا

    I felled one of the pair and struck the second.

    It let its beak droop and turned away fleeing.

  71. فَخَرَّ كَالنَجمِ إِذا النَجمُ هَوى

    ما ضَلَّ عَن صاحِبِهِ وَما غَوى

    Then it fell like a star when a star plunges,

    Straying neither from its companion nor into error.

  72. وافاهُ وَهوَ ناطِقٌ عَنِ الهَوى

    قَد هُدَّ مِنهُ الخَيلُ مِن بَعدِ القُوى

    It reached him, speaking from desire,

    Its steeds shattered after their former strength,

  73. وَأَصبَحَ الثاني عَليهِ نادِبا

    فَيا لَها مِن فُرصَةٍ لَو تَمَّتِ

    And the second became its mourner.

    What an opportunity, had it only been fulfilled!

  74. كُنتُ وَهَبتُ لِلقَديمِ مُهجَتي

    وَلَم يَكُن ذو قَدمَةٍ كَقَدمَتي

    I would have given the veteran my heart's blood,

    And no one's seniority would have matched mine.

  75. بَل فاتَني الثاني وَكانَت هِمَّتي

    تَرى خَلاءَ الجَوِّ مِنهُ واجِبا

    But the second escaped me, though my ambition

    Deemed a sky emptied of it an obligation.