1. أمِنْ أجل أن أعفاك دهرُك تطمعُ

    وتأمن في الدنيا وأنتَ المروَّعُ

    Is it because your fate has spared you that you grow hopeful,

    and feel safe in this world, though you are terror-stricken?

  2. فإنْ كنتَ مغروراً بمن سمحتْ به

    صروف اللّيالي فهي تُعطي وتمنعُ

    If you are beguiled by someone whom

    the turns of night have granted, they give and withhold.

  3. شفاءٌ وأسقامٌ وفقرٌ وثَرْوَةٌ

    وبَعْدَ اِئتِلافٍ نَبوَةٌ وتصدُّعُ

    Healing and illnesses, poverty and riches,

    and after concord, estrangement and fracture.

  4. تأمّلْ خليلي هل ترى غيرَ هالكٍ

    وإلّا مُبقىً هُلْكُهُ متوقّعُ

    Reflect, my friend: do you see any but one who has perished,

    or one left alive whose death is expected?

  5. فَما بالُنا نَبغي الحياةَ وإنّما

    حياةُ الفتى نَهجٌ إلى الموتِ مَهْيَعُ

    Why, then, do we seek life, when

    a young man's life is a broad road to death?

  6. لنا كلَّ يومٍ صاحبٌ في يد الرّدى

    وماضٍ إلى دار البِلى ليس يرجعُ

    Each day we have a companion in death's hand,

    and one departing to decay's abode, never to return.

  7. ومَغْنى جميعٍ فرّق الدَّهر بينهم

    ودارُ أنيسِ أوحَشَتْ فهي بَلْقَعُ

    And a dwelling of companions whom Time has scattered,

    and a companion's home grown desolate, a barren waste.

  8. وخَرْقٌ نُرجِّيه بسدِّ فروجِهِ

    وآخرُ لا يخفى ولا هو يُرقَعُ

    And a breach we hope to mend by closing its gaps,

    and another plainly seen, never to be patched.

  9. تحسَّى الرّدى لَخْمٌ وأبناءُ حِمْيَرٍ

    وقيدَ إلى الأجداث عادٌ وتُبَّعُ

    Lakhm and the sons of Himyar drank down death,

    and Ad and Tubba were led to the graves.

  10. وآلُ نِزارٍ زَعْزَعتْ من عروشهمْ

    بأيدي الرَّزايا السّود هوجاءُ زَعْزعُ

    And Nizar's clan were shaken from their thrones

    by a fierce, uprooting gale in the hands of dark calamities.

  11. ولم يبق من أبناء ساسانَ مُخبرٌ

    ولم يبدُ من أولادِ قيصر مُسمِعُ

    And no teller remained among the sons of Sasan,

    and no speaker appeared among Caesar's sons.

  12. ولم يُنجهمْ منه عديدٌ مُجمّع

    ولم يَثْنِهمْ عنه مَشيدٌ مُرَفَّعُ

    No gathered host saved them from it,

    nor did a lofty, towering building keep them from it.

  13. فلا مِعْصَمٌ فيه سِوارٌ مُعَطَّنٌ

    ولا مَفْرِقٌ يَعلوه تاجٌ مُرَصَّعُ

    Thus no wrist bears a bracelet fixed upon it,

    nor a hair-parting topped by a jeweled crown.

  14. كَأنّهُمُ بعدَ اِعتِلاءٍ وَصولةٍ

    أَديمٌ مفرّىً أَو هَشيمٌ مُذَعْذَعُ

    As though, after eminence and might,

    they were shredded hide or scattered dry stalks.

  15. وَلَيس لَهمْ إلّا بِناءٌ مُهَدَّمٌ

    وركنٌ بمَرِّ الحادثاتِ مُضَعْضَعُ

    Nothing remains of theirs but a ruined building,

    and a pillar shaken by passing calamities.

  16. وَقَطّع عنّي معشري وأصادِقي

    وَشَملُ اِمرئٍ فاتَ الرّدى متقطّعُ

    And Time has torn my people and my friends away from me;

    the company of a man who eludes death is dispersed.

  17. وكانوا وعزَّاتُ الزَّمانِ ذليلةٌ

    لديهمْ وأجفانُ المنيَّاتِ هُجَّعُ

    They lived with Time's mighty assaults humbled

    before them, and death's eyelids asleep.

  18. متى عجِموا كانوا الصّخورَ وإنْ هُمُ

    دُعوا يومَ مكروهٍ أجابوا فأسرعوا

    Whenever tested, they were rocks; and if they

    were called on a day of hardship, they answered and hastened.

  19. وإنْ شهدوا الهيجاءَ والسُّمرُ شُرَّعٌ

    فَذاكَ عرينٌ لا أباً لك مُسبِعُ

    And if they entered battle with brown spears leveled,

    that was a den full of lions—no father to you!

  20. تفانَوْا فماضٍ بانَ غيرَ مودَّعٍ

    تعاجَلَهُ صرفُ الرّدى أو مودَّعٌ

    They all perished: one went away without a farewell,

    overtaken by death's sudden turn, or another bid farewell.

  21. أَلا قُلْ لِناعِي جعفرِ بنِ محمّدٍ

    وأسمَعني يا ليت لم أكُ أسمعُ

    Now tell the bearer of news of Jafar ibn Muhammad's death,

    who made me hear it—oh, would that I had not heard:

  22. فما لك منِّي اليومَ إلّا تَلَهُّفٌ

    وإلّا زَفيرٌ أو حنينٌ مُرَجَّعُ

    you have nothing from me today but anguish,

    and a sigh, or a wavering lament,

  23. وإلّا عِضاضٌ للأباهِم من جوىً

    وهل نافعٌ أنْ أدْمِيَتْ لِيَ إصبعُ

    and biting my thumbs in inward grief.

    And does it help if a finger of mine is bloodied?

  24. ولو كانت الأقدار تُوقَى وقَتكَ مِن

    نُيوبِ الرّدى أيدٍ طوالٌ وأَذرُعُ

    Had fate's decrees been wardable, you would have been shielded from

    death's fangs by long hands and arms,

  25. وَقَومٌ إِذا ما أَطعَموا بأكفّهمْ

    طِوالَ القَنا لحمَ التَّرائبِ أشبعوا

    and by men who, when their hands feed

    long spears the flesh of breasts, sate them.

  26. كِرامٌ إذا ضَنَّ الغمامُ تدفّقوا

    وإنْ أقحطَ العامُ الشّماليُّ أمْرَعوا

    Generous men: when the clouds withhold, they pour forth;

    and when a north-wind year brings drought, they abound in plenty.

  27. وَإنْ طَلبوا صَعْباً منَ الأمرِ أرهقوا

    وإنْ طرقوا بابَ العظيمةِ قعقعوا

    And if they seek a difficult task, they overcome it;

    and when they knock at a great ordeal's door, they make it rattle.

  28. مَعاقِلهمْ ما فيهمُ مِن بسالةٍ

    وَلَيس لَهمْ إِلّا القنا السُّمْرَ أدْرُعُ

    Their strongholds are the valor within them;

    they have no armor but brown spears,

  29. وبيضاً تراهنّ العيون وعهدُها

    بَعيدٌ بأيمانِ الصّياقلِ تلمعُ

    and bright swords that eyes behold, their last stay

    in the polishers' right hands long past, yet still gleaming.

  30. وما فيهمُ والحربُ تقتنصُ الطُّلى

    بِأَيدي الظّبا إِلّا الغلامُ المُشَيَّعُ

    None among them, while war hunts necks

    with the hands of blades, is other than a fearless youth.

  31. صحبتُ به عصرَ الشّبابِ وطيبَه

    وكنتُ إلى نجواه في الهمِّ أفزعُ

    With him I shared youth's season and sweetness,

    and in distress I fled to his private counsel.

  32. وللسّرِّ منّي بين جنبيه مَسكَنٌ

    حميٌّ أبيٌّ شاحطٌ مُتمنِّعُ

    My secret had a dwelling between his two sides,

    well-defended, defiant, remote and unassailable.

  33. وكم رامه منّي الرّجالُ وإنّما

    يرومون نجماً غارباً ليس يطلعُ

    How often men sought it from me; yet they only

    sought a setting star that would not rise.

  34. فلِي جَزَعٌ باقٍ عليه وإن عفا الت

    تَجمّل ما في أضلُعي والتّصنُّعُ

    My anguish for him endures, though

    composure and pretense efface what lies within my ribs.

  35. ولم أسْلُهُ لكنْ تجلّدت كي يرى

    شَموتٌ بِحُزْنِي أنّ صدرِيَ أوسعُ

    I have not ceased mourning him, but I have steeled myself so that

    a gloater at my grief may see that my breast is broader.

  36. وقالوا عهدنا منك صبراً وحِسْبَةً

    وفي الرُّزءِ لا يجري لعينيك مدمَعُ

    They said: "We have known patience and hope of divine reward in you,

    and in bereavement no tear runs from your eyes."

  37. فقلتُ مصيباتُ الزّمان كثيرةٌ

    وبعض الرّزايا فيه أدهى وأوجعُ

    I said: "Time's calamities are many,

    and some of its afflictions are more dire and painful."

  38. ذكرتُك والعينان لا غَرْبَ فيهما

    فلم تبقَ لِي لمّا ذكرتُك أدمُعُ

    I remembered you when no tears flowed from my eyes,

    and no tears remained to me when I remembered you.

  39. وَما زُلتَ عن قلبي وإنْ زُلت عن يدي

    وقد تنزع الأقدار ما ليس يُنزعُ

    You have not left my heart, though you have left my hand,

    and fate's decrees may wrench away what cannot be wrenched away.

  40. فإنْ ترقَ عيني من بكاءٍ تجمّلاً

    فمن دونها قلبٌ بفقدك موجَعُ

    If my eye stops weeping to maintain composure,

    behind it lies a heart wounded by your loss.

  41. وَإنْ غبتَ عن عَيني فما غبتَ عن حَشىً

    مُقَلْقِلَةٍ تحنو عليك وأضلعُ

    Though gone from my eyes, you are not gone from my heart,

    agitated and bending toward you, nor from my ribs.

  42. وما بعد يومٍ أمطَرَتْكَ مدامعي

    لعينِيَ مَبْكىً أو لقلبيَ مَجزَعُ

    And after the day my tears rained upon you,

    my eye has nothing else to weep over, my heart nothing to grieve for.

  43. وكم قلّبتْ كفّاي من ذي مودّةٍ

    فَلم يَلقَنِي إلّا الملومُ المقرَّعُ

    And how many a friend my hands have tested,

    yet none met me but one deserving blame and rebuke.

  44. عرفتُك لمّا أنْ وفَيْتَ وما وَفَوْا

    وحين حفظتَ العهدَ منِّي وضيّعوا

    I knew you when you kept faith and they did not,

    and when you preserved the covenant with me while they neglected it.

  45. فنعمَ مشيراً أنتَ والرّأيُ ضيِّقٌ

    ونعم ظهيراً أنت والخطب أشنعُ

    What a fine adviser you were when judgment was hemmed in,

    and what a fine ally when calamity grew more terrible!

  46. وإنّ غناءً بعد هُلْكِكَ أصْلَمٌ

    وإنّ وفاءً بعد فقدك أجْدَعُ

    Indeed, aid after your death is ear-cropped,

    and loyalty after your loss is nose-cropped.

  47. وليس لإخوانِ الزّمان وقد سُقوا

    فراقَك صِرْفاً من يضرّ وينفعُ

    The companions of this age, having been made to drink

    your parting undiluted, have none who can harm or help.

  48. عهدتُك لا تعنو لبأسٍ ولم تَبِتْ

    وخدُّك من شكوى الشّدائد أضرعُ

    I knew you never to bow to hardship, nor to pass the night

    with your cheek humbled by complaints of adversity.

  49. وَعَزّ على قلبي بأنّك مفردٌ

    أُناجيك لَهْفاً نائماً ليس تسمعُ

    It weighs upon my heart that you are alone;

    I whisper to you in anguish as you sleep and cannot hear.

  50. وَأَنّك مِن بعدِ اِمتِناعٍ وعزّةٍ

    تُحَطُّ على أيدي الرّجالِ وتُرفعُ

    And that, after proud resistance and might,

    you are lowered and lifted by men's hands.

  51. فَما لَكَ مَهجوراً وأنتَ مُحبَّبٌ

    وما لك مبذولاً وأنت المُمَنَّعُ

    Why are you abandoned, though beloved?

    And why are you given over, though inviolable?

  52. وقد كنتَ صَعْباً شامسَ الظّهر آبياً

    وأنتَ لرَحْلِ الموت عَوْدٌ مُوَقَّعُ

    You were restive, your back refusing riders, unyielding,

    yet beneath death's saddle you are an old, saddle-scarred camel.

  53. وما ذاك عن عجزٍ ولا ضَعْفِ قوّةٍ

    وَلَكنّه الأمر الّذي ليس يُدفعُ

    This was not from incapacity or failing strength,

    but the decree that cannot be warded off.

  54. وما سرّني أنّي نبذتُك طائحاً

    بغبراءَ لا تدنو ولا تتجمّعُ

    It gave me no joy that I cast you down, fallen,

    on dusty earth, no longer drawing near or joining us,

  55. وأودعتُ بطنَ الأرضِ منك نفيسةً

    وهلْ مودَعٌ في التُّربِ إلّا المُضَيَّعُ

    and entrusted earth's belly with your precious being.

    And is anything laid in the dust but a thing lost?

  56. سَقى قَبرَك الثّاوي بِمَلساءَ قفرةٍ

    غَزائرُ من نسجِ العشيّات هُمَّعُ

    May your grave, lying on a smooth, barren plain, be watered

    by copious, pouring rains from the evenings' weave.

  57. كأنّ السّحابَ الجَوْنَ يَنطِفُ فوقه

    ركائبُ يحملن الهوادجَ ضُلَّعُ

    As though the dark clouds dripping above it

    were limping camels carrying howdahs.

  58. وَلا زالَ مَطلولَ التّراب وحولهُ

    مِنَ الرّوض مُخضرُّ السّباسب مُمْرِعُ

    May its soil be ever wet with dew, and around it

    be meadowland with green expanses and abundant pasture.

  59. وجِيد بريحانٍ وَرَوْحٍ ورحمةٍ

    وناء بما فيه الشّفيعُ المشفّعُ

    May it be showered with sweet herbs, repose and mercy,

    and may the accepted intercessor bear the burden of what it holds.