1. ذكرتُك في الخَلَوات الّتي

    شَننتَ بهنّ عليَّ السّرورا

    I remembered you in the secluded hours in which

    you showered joy upon me.

  2. وكنت لدَيجُورِهِنّ الصّباحَ

    وفي سَهَكاتٍ لهنّ العبيرا

    You were morning to their deep darkness,

    and perfume amid their foul odors.

  3. فضاقتْ عليَّ سُهوبُ الدّيار

    وصارتْ سهولتُهنّ الوعورا

    So the plains of the land closed in on me,

    and their level ground turned rugged.

  4. وأظلمَ بينِي وبين الأنام

    وما كنت من قبل إلّا البَصيرا

    And darkness fell between me and humankind,

    though before I had been clear-sighted.

  5. وَطالَ عليّ الزّمانُ القصيرُ

    وكان الطّويلُ عليَّ القصيرا

    And short spans of time grew long for me,

    while long spans had once seemed short to me.

  6. فَها أَنا منك خليّ اليَدين

    وفيكَ كليلَ الأمانِي حسيرا

    So here I am, empty-handed without you,

    and, concerning you, my hopes are blunted and I am spent.

  7. فقدتُك فقدَ الزّمان الحبيبِ

    إليَّ وفقدي الشّبابَ النّضيرا

    I lost you as I lost the days dear

    to me, and as I lost youth in its bloom.

  8. وهوّن رُزءَك مَن لم يُحِطْ

    بأنّي أعالجُ منه العسيرا

    And your loss was belittled by those who did not grasp

    that I wrestle with its hardship.

  9. فَظنّوا وَما عَلِموا أنّه

    صغيرٌ وما كان إلّا كَبيرا

    So they supposed, without knowing, that it

    was slight, though it was nothing but immense.

  10. فَقُل للّذي في طَريق الحِمامِ

    يرعى البدور ويُعلي القُصورا

    So tell the one who, on the road to death,

    tends full moons and raises lofty palaces,

  11. وَيغفل عَن وَثَباتِ المنون

    يَدعن الشّوى ويُصبن النّحورا

    and is heedless of death's pounces,

    which spare the limbs and strike the throats:

  12. إلى كم تظلّ وأنت الطّليقُ

    بأيدي الطّماعةِ عبداً أسيرا

    How long will you remain, though you are free,

    in the hands of greed, a captive slave?

  13. إذا ما أريثُ أريثُ الرّحالَ

    وأمّا قرِبتُ قربتُ الغرورا

    If I linger, I hold back the saddles;

    and when I draw near, I approach delusion.

  14. وإن نلت كلّ الّذي تَبتغيه

    فَما نِلت إلّا الطفيفَ الحقيرا

    And if you attain all you seek,

    then you have gained only the paltry and contemptible.

  15. وما أخذ الدّهرُ إلّا الّذي

    أعاد فكيف تلوم المُعيرا

    And time has taken only what

    it gave back—so how can you blame the lender?

  16. وَكَم في الأسافلِ تَحتَ الحَضيض

    أخامص قَومٍ علون السّريرا

    And how many lie in the depths, beneath the lowest ground—

    soles of people who once mounted the throne!

  17. وَكَم ذا صحبنا لأكل التّراب

    أناساً ثَوَوْا يلبسون الحريرا

    And how often have we escorted, for the dust to devour,

    people who once dwelt clad in silk!

  18. وكم أغمد التّربُ في لحْدِهِ

    حُساماً قطوعاً وليثاً هصورا

    And how often has the dust sheathed within its grave

    a keen-cutting sword and a rending lion!

  19. أُخَيَّ حسينُ ومَن لي بأن

    تجيب النّداء وتبدي الضّميرا

    My dear brother Husayn—who can assure me that

    you will answer the call and reveal your inner thoughts?

  20. عَهدتك تَطرد عنّي الهموم

    وتُذكرني بالأمورِ الأمورا

    I knew you to drive worries away from me,

    and through some matters remind me of others.

  21. أُخانُ فآخذُ منك الوفاءَ

    وأظما فأكرع منك النّميرا

    When I am betrayed, I find loyalty in you,

    and when I thirst, I drink deeply of your sweet water.

  22. وكم ليلةٍ كنتَ لِي ثانياً

    بِظلمائِها مؤنساً أَو سميرا

    And how many a night were you my companion,

    in its darkness, a comforting presence or companion in night-talk.

  23. سَقى اللَّه قبرَك بين القبورِ

    سحاباً وَكِيفَ النّواحي مطيرا

    May God water your grave among the graves

    with a cloud streaming at its edges, heavy with rain.

  24. تَخال تَراكمه في السّما

    ءِ عِيراً بطاءً يزاحمنَ عِيرا

    You would take its heaped masses in the sky

    for slow caravans jostling other caravans.

  25. كأنّ زَماجرَه المصعِقاتِ

    ضَجيجُ الفحولِ عَزمن الهديرا

    As though its deafening roars

    were the clamor of bull camels bent on bellowing.

  26. تُعَصفرهُ وَمضاتُ البروقِ

    فَتحسبه مِن نجيعٍ عصيرا

    Flashes of lightning dye it safflower-red,

    so you take it for juice pressed from gore.

  27. مجاورَ قومٍ بأيدي البِلى

    تمزّقهمْ يرقُبون النّشورا

    O neighbor of a people whom the hands of decay

    tear apart as they await resurrection,

  28. ولا زال قبرُك من نوره

    بجُنحِ الظّلام يضيء القبورا

    may your grave never cease, with its light,

    to illuminate the graves under cover of darkness.

  29. ولا زلتَ ممتلئ الرّاحتين

    نعيماً ولاقيتَ ربّاً غفورا

    And may you remain with both palms filled

    with bliss, and may you meet an ever-forgiving Lord.