1. أمَا ترى الدّهرَ لا يبقي على حال

    طوراً بأمنٍ وأطواراً بأوجالِ

    Do you not see that time leaves nothing in one state—

    at one time in safety, at others in fear?

  2. أبغي النّجاءَ وما أنجو وإنْ غفلتْ

    عنّى المنون كما لم ينجُ أمثالي

    I seek deliverance, yet do not escape, though it grows heedless

    of me—Death—as those like me did not escape.

  3. شواردٌ من مصيباتٍ ثبتن لنا

    يصبن ما شئن من نفسٍ ومن مالِ

    Stray calamities have taken their stand against us,

    striking whatever they wish of life and wealth.

  4. متى ينلْن الفتى قالوا دنى أجلٌ

    يا هلْ أرى في اللّيالي غيرَ آجالِ

    Whenever they reach a man, people say, “An appointed end draws near.”

    Ah, do I see in the nights anything but appointed ends?

  5. بذلٌ يؤوب إلى منعٍ وعافيةٌ

    تجرّ داءً ونُكسٌ بعد إبلالِ

    Giving turns back to withholding, and well-being

    drags sickness behind it, with relapse after recovery.

  6. وما سُررتُ بأيّامِ الكمال فما

    يعرو الفتى النّقصُ إلّا عند إكمالِ

    I have not rejoiced in days of perfection, for

    decline visits a man only when he reaches completion.

  7. يا ليت شعرِيَ والأهواءُ مولعةٌ

    برجم مستترٍ في الغيب دخّالِ

    Ah, would that I knew—while fancies are obsessed

    with guessing at a hidden intruder in the unseen—

  8. بأيّ نوعٍ من المكروه تخرجني

    هذي النّوائب عن أهلي وعن مالِي

    by what kind of harm they will drive me—

    these calamities—from my family and my wealth;

  9. وأيُّ عَلْقَمَةٍ في كفّ حادثةٍ

    أُجنى لها كي أُسقّاها وتُجنى لِي

    and what colocynth fruit, in the hand of a calamity,

    I am plucked for, to be made to drink it, while it is plucked for me.

  10. ما للنّوائبِ يُعفِين الثُّمامَ كما

    يَعنُفنَ بالنّبعِ أوْ يقذفن بالضّالِ

    What ails calamities? They efface thumam grass just as

    they batter nabʿ trees or toss wild lote trees aside.

  11. وما لهنّ وما يبغين من أَرَبٍ

    يفنينَ نفسي وَقد أبقين أسمالِي

    What is with them, and what purpose do they seek,

    destroying my life while leaving my rags?

  12. نلقى المخاوفَ في الدّنيا ونأمنُها

    ونطلب العزَّ في الدّنيا بإِذلالِ

    We meet terrors in this world, yet feel safe from them,

    and seek honor in this world through humiliation.

  13. وتُستَذَمُّ لنا في كلّ شارقةٍ

    وما لها مُبغضٌ منّا ولا قالي

    At every sunrise it shows itself blameworthy to us,

    yet none among us hates it or detests it.

  14. لِذاذةٌ لم تُنَل إلّا بمؤلمةٍ

    وصحّةٌ لم تدمْ إِلّا بإعلالِ

    A pleasure attained only through pain,

    and health that lasts only through sickness.

  15. فَما أَمنتُ بها إلّا على حَذَرٍ

    ولا فرغتُ بها إلّا بأشغالِ

    I have felt safe in it only while on guard,

    and found leisure in it only amid occupations.

  16. ومُسمِعٍ جاء من أَرْجان يُسمعني

    قولاً يكثّر من همّي وبَلْبالي

    A bearer of tidings came from Arjan to tell me

    words that increased my sorrow and distress.

  17. أهدى على زعمه بَرْدَ اليقين به

    فشبّ بين ضلوعي جمرةَ الصّالي

    He brought, as he claimed, the coolness of certainty through them,

    but kindled between my ribs the ember of one burning in fire.

  18. نعى إليَّ قِوامَ الدّين حادثةٌ

    أحال ما جاء منها كلَّ أحوالي

    A calamity announced to me the death of the faith's mainstay;

    the news it brought altered all my circumstances.

  19. فلو أطَقتُ فنفسي لا تَضِنُّ به

    شققتُ قلبي ولم أعرضْ لسِرْبالي

    Had I been able—my soul would not begrudge it—

    I would have rent my heart, without touching my robe.

  20. وَلم تنلْ عَقْرَ نفسي في المصاب يدي

    فبتّ أعقِرُ أطلابي وآمالي

    My hand could not wound my soul in this calamity,

    so I spent the night wounding my pursuits and hopes.

  21. أَقول والرّبعُ مغبرٌّ جوانبُهُ

    مَنْ بدّل المنزل المأهولَ بالخالي

    I say, while the dwelling's sides are dust-covered:

    Who exchanged the inhabited home for an empty one?

  22. مَنْ أخرج اللّيثَ مِن ذاك العرين ومَن

    حطّ المحلِّقَ في العلياءِ مِن عالِ

    Who drove the lion from that lair, and who

    brought down from on high the one soaring in the heights?

  23. مَنْ زعزع الجبلَ العاديّ منبته

    ومَن طوى ذلك الجوّال في جالِ

    Who shook the mountain, ancient in its roots,

    and who folded that far-roaming man into an earthen bank?

  24. مَنْ حلّ عُقْلَ المنايا فيه ثمّ رمى

    قوائمَ السّابقِ الجاري بعُقّالِ

    Who loosed death's fetters against him, then cast

    hobbles about the legs of the swift-running steed?

  25. مَنْ ساجل الغيثَ هطّالاً بأَذْنِبَةٍ

    مَنْ كايَلَ البحر مكيالاً بمكيالِ

    Who vied with the rain, pouring from great buckets?

    Who matched the sea, measure against measure?

  26. مَنْ طاول الشُّمَّ حتّى طالهنّ ذراً

    مَن وازن الصُّمَّ مثقالاً بمثقالِ

    Who vied with lofty mountains until his peaks rose above them?

    Who weighed himself against solid mountains, weight for weight?

  27. سائل بملكِ الورى لِمْ زلّ أخمَصُهُ

    وهو الّذي كان ثبتاً غيرَ زوّالِ

    Ask of the king of humankind why his foot slipped,

    when he was steadfast, never swerving.

  28. وكيف أعجزه هولٌ ألمَّ به

    وهو المدفّعُ أهوالاً بأهوالِ

    And how did a terror that befell him overwhelm him,

    when he repelled terrors with terrors?

  29. وكيف أصحر بالبيداء منفرداً

    مُخدَّمٌ بين أكنانٍ وأظلالِ

    And how did he go alone into the open desert,

    he who was waited upon amid shelters and shade?

  30. وكيف حطّ مُلِظٌّ في بُلَهْنِيَةٍ

    من ناعم العيش داراً غيرَ مِحْلالِ

    And how did one clinging to ease alight,

    from luxurious living, in an inhospitable dwelling?

  31. وكيف لم يُعطني من ثِقْلهِ طَرَفاً

    قَرْمٌ تحمّل عنّي كلَّ أثقالي

    And how did he not give me a share of his burden,

    that noble lord who bore all my burdens for me?

  32. وكيف ضلّ بأيدي الحادثات فتىً

    مُعطي النّجاةِ وهادي كلّ ضلّالِ

    And how was a young man lost in the hands of calamities,

    a giver of deliverance and guide to every wanderer?

  33. مَنْ للسَّرير الّذي تعنو الجباهُ له

    مقسومةً بين تعظيمٍ وإجلالِ

    Who is left for the throne before which foreheads bow,

    divided between reverence and veneration?

  34. مَنْ للرّواقِ إذا حفّ الوفودُ به

    سامين نحو شَرودِ النطقِ قوّالِ

    Who is left for the portico when delegations throng around it,

    looking up toward an eloquent speaker of far-flying words?

  35. مَن للعُفَاةِ إذا اِبتلّوا بنائِلِهِ

    صباح يومٍ شديد الهضم للمالِ

    Who is left for the petitioners, drenched in his bounty

    on the morning of a day that devours wealth?

  36. مَن للسّوابق يَعرَوْرى مناسجَها

    وتنثني بالدّمِ القاني بأَجْلالِ

    Who will bestride the racers' withers bareback,

    as they wheel back with saddlecloths of crimson blood?

  37. نزائعٌ كالنّعامِ الكُدْرِ نفّرها

    صَراصِرٌ من حديد الظُّفرِ نشّالِ

    Fleet steeds, like dusky ostriches startled

    by shrill cries from a sharp-taloned snatcher;

  38. أو كالسّراحين تَفْرِي كلَّ مقفرةٍ

    غَرْثى من الزّاد تَنْسالاً بتَعْسالِ

    or like wolves cutting through every wilderness,

    hungry for food, racing forward in a swinging lope.

  39. مَن للقنا طالَ حتّى قالَ مُبصرهُ

    ما هُزّ هذا القنا إلّا بِأَطوالِ

    Who is left for the spears, so long their beholder said:

    “Only men of great height have brandished these spears”?

  40. مَن للصّوارِمِ تَعْرى مِن مَغامِدها

    وتكتسي أغمُداً في هامِ أبطالِ

    Who is left for the keen swords that bare themselves from their scabbards

    and take on scabbards in the skulls of heroes?

  41. مَن لِلمكيدة حكّتْه لتبلُوَه

    تحكُّكَ القُلُصِ الجَرْبى بأجذالِ

    Who will face the stratagem that rubs against him to test him,

    as mangy young she-camels rub against tree stumps?

  42. مَن للكتائبِ خُرساً غيرَ ناطقةٍ

    يُجلجل الطّعنُ فيها أيّ جَلجالِ

    Who is left for the battalions, mute and speechless,

    where spear-thrusts rumble with a mighty roar?

  43. فيهنّ كلُّ هضيم الكَشْح مُعْتَرِقٍ

    مُشَذَّبٍ كسَحوقِ النّخلِ طُوّالِ

    Among them is every lean-waisted, gaunt warrior,

    trim-built and towering, like a lofty palm.

  44. إذا مشى في فضولِ الدّرع تحسبه

    مقلّباً نَخْوةً أعطافَ رِئْبالِ

    When he strides in the trailing folds of mail, you would think him

    proudly swinging a lion's flanks.

  45. ذو ناظرٍ توقد الأَضغانَ لحظتُهُ

    كصلّ رملةِ وادٍ بين أصلالِ

    He has an eye whose glance kindles grudges,

    like a viper on a valley's sandbank among vipers.

  46. قد كنتَ توعدني العِدَّ الغزيرَ نَدىً

    فالآن أقنعُ بعد العِدِّ بالآلِ

    You used to promise me a perennial spring, rich in bounty;

    now, after that spring, I settle for a mirage.

  47. وما قنعتُ وبي في غيره طمعٌ

    واليأسُ أرْوَحُ ولّاجٍ على البالِ

    I would not settle while still hoping for something else,

    yet despair is the most soothing visitor to the mind.

  48. وكنتَ لِي وَزَراً في كلّ مُعضلةٍ

    أُمسي أُشمّر فيها فضلَ أذيالي

    You were my refuge in every ordeal,

    where, at evening, I would gather up my trailing hems.

  49. وكنتَ أدنى وقد ناديتُ منتصراً

    إليَّ في الخطب من نفسي ومن آلي

    And you were closer—when I called for help—

    to me in crisis than my own soul or my family.

  50. يا طالِبَيَّ خذا منّي اِقتراحَكما

    ما مانعٌ دون ما أخشى ولا والِ

    O my two pursuers, take from me whatever you choose;

    no defender or protector stands between me and what I fear.

  51. وَاِستعجلا في يديّ اليومَ ثأركما

    بذلتُ ما لم أكن فيه ببذّالِ

    Hasten today to exact your vengeance upon my hands;

    I have yielded what I was never lavish in yielding.

  52. قد ذَعْذَع الموتُ نُصّاري وحاميتي

    وضعضع الموتُ أطوادى وأجبالي

    Death has scattered my supporters and my protectors,

    and death has shaken my towering peaks and mountains.

  53. ونالني بالأذى مَن كان يرمُقني

    قُبَيل هذا الرّدى بالمربأ العالي

    Harm has reached me from one who used to gaze at me,

    just before this death, from the high lookout.

  54. أصبحتُ فيك أُزيرُ الشّكّ معرفتي

    عمداً وأصرف ذاك الخُبْرَ عن بالي

    Concerning you, I have come to make doubt visit my knowledge,

    deliberately, and to banish that knowledge from my mind.

  55. وأسأل الرّكبَ عندي مثل علمهمُ

    أرجو تَعِلَّةَ إلباسي وإشكالِي

    I question the travelers, though I know as much as they,

    hoping for the solace of my own confusion and uncertainty.

  56. قبرٌ على الكوفة الغرّاء نتبعه

    في كلّ يومٍ بإرنانٍ وإعوالِ

    A grave beside radiant Kufa, to which we send

    each day resounding lament and wailing.

  57. كأنّما مِسْكةٌ في تربةٍ فُتِقَتْ

    من طيب عَرْفِكِ أو ناجود جِرْيالِ

    It is as though a musk pod were split open in its soil,

    with your sweet fragrance—or a jar of crimson wine.

  58. لم يدفنوك به لكنّهمْ هَرَقوا

    وما دَرَوْا سَجْلَ إحسانٍ وإجمالِ

    They did not bury you there; rather, they poured out,

    without knowing it, a bucketful of kindness and graciousness.

  59. وإنّني آنفٌ سَقيَ السّحاب له

    فتربةٌ أنتَ فيها غيرُ مِمْحالِ

    I scorn to have the clouds water it,

    for soil that holds you is no barren ground.

  60. جادتكَ مِن صَلواتِ اللَّه أوعيةٌ

    غزيرةٌ ذاتُ إسجامٍ وإسبالِ

    May vessels of God's blessings pour upon you,

    abundant, spilling and streaming down,

  61. مُلِثَّةُ الوَدْقِ تسري اللّيلَ أجمعَهُ

    فإنْ غدَت وصلتْ صبحاً بآصالِ

    unremitting in their rain, traveling through the whole night;

    and when they reach morning, joining dawn to evening.

  62. لا مسّ منك البِلى ما مسّ من بشرٍ

    فإنْ بَلِيتَ فما معروفك البالي

    May decay not touch in you what it touches in mortals;

    and if you decay, your goodness does not decay.

  63. وناب عنك جميلٌ كنتَ تَعمله

    حيث النّجاءُ لمن ينجو بأعمالِ

    May the good you used to do stand in your stead,

    where deliverance belongs to those saved by deeds.

  64. فالذّكرُ عندي مقيمٌ إنْ نُسِيتَ وإِنْ

    سُلِيتَ يوماً فغيري قلبُه السّالي

    Your memory abides with me, though you be forgotten; and if

    grief for you is ever eased, it is another's heart that finds solace.