1. عَلَى ما حلَّ بي وهُمُ حلولُ

    إِذا قالوا الرَّحيلَ فَما تَقولُ

    Given what has befallen me while they remain encamped,

    if they announce departure, what will you say?

  2. فَلا تُطِل الملامَ فلستُ أصغي

    فَأدري كيفَ تُقصِرُ أَو تُطيلُ

    So do not prolong your reproach: I do not listen,

    so I cannot tell whether you cut it short or draw it out.

  3. ألَم تَغضَب لنُصحِكَ حينَ يَمضي

    هَباءً لا يُقابِلُهُ قَبولُ

    Have you not been angered when your counsel goes

    to waste, finding no acceptance?

  4. وفي القُطر الَّتي بَكرتَ فُؤادٌ

    تَغَلغَلَ بَينَ قُطرَيهِ الغَليلُ

    And in the caravans you visited at dawn lies a heart,

    between whose two sides burning yearning has seeped.

  5. وأَقمارٌ هَوادِجُها أفولٌ

    وأَغصانٌ تَميلُ فَتَستَميلُ

    And moons whose howdahs are their setting,

    and branches that sway and so entice,

  6. وأَردافٌ تُجاذِبُها خُصورٌ

    وكَيفَ يُجاذِبُ السَّمِنَ النُّحولُ

    and hips with which waists contend—

    and how can slenderness contend with plumpness?

  7. وأَنتَ تَقولُ لَو حمِّلتَ صَبراً

    وبِالصَّبرِ الجَميلِ هَوىً جَميلُ

    And you say, 'If only you were laden with patience!

    And with beautiful patience, love is beautiful.'

  8. فَدَع عَزمي وَما يُدعَى إِلَيهِ

    فَلَيسَ يَهونُ إِلا ما يَهولُ

    So leave my resolve and what it is called to;

    for only what terrifies becomes easy.

  9. وأَكثرُ ما تُخوِّفُني المَنايا

    وكَم قَد جاءَني مِنها رَسولُ

    And the worst you threaten me with is death;

    and many a messenger from it has already come to me.

  10. تحاولُ ما بخِلتَ عَلَيهِ مِني

    وما أَنا بِالَّذي التَمَسَت بَخيلُ

    It seeks from me what you were loath to surrender,

    and I am not stingy with what it sought.

  11. ولَكِن أبعدَت لَمَّا رَأَتني

    قَريباً مِن أَبي الحَسَن بنِ لُولُو

    But it withdrew when it saw me

    near Abu al-Hasan ibn Lulu.

  12. وَكَم حَلَّت صُروفُ الدَّهرِ حَولِي

    فَحَوَّلَهُنَّ عَهدٌ لا يَحولُ

    And how often time's vicissitudes have encamped around me,

    and a pledge that never changes turned them away.

  13. وَجودٌ يُهمِلُ السُّحبَ احتِقاراً

    إِذا ما اشتَدَّ بَينَهُما الهُمولُ

    And generosity that dismisses the clouds with contempt

    when the downpour between the two grows fierce;

  14. وأَخلاقٌ كَأبكارِ الغَوانِي

    إِذا اشتَملَت عَلَيهنَّ الشَّمولُ

    and virtues like virgin beauties

    when wine enfolds them;

  15. وَآراءٌ مُعَلَّقةُ النَّواحِي

    وَإِن ثَبتَت بِأَفكارٍ تَجولُ

    and judgments whose edges hang suspended,

    though made firm by thoughts that roam.

  16. وَقَد تَأتِي العُقولُ إِذا اطمَأَنَّت

    بِما لَيسَت تَقومُ لَه العُقولُ

    And minds, when at ease, may produce

    what minds cannot withstand.

  17. لَئِن باتَت تُسابِقُني المَعاني

    إِلَيكَ كَأنَّ مُختَرعاً مَقولُ

    Even if meanings spend the night racing me

    toward you, as though the newly devised were already spoken,

  18. فَما أَنا مُدرِكٌ بِالقَولِ فَضلاً

    فَكَيفَ وأَنتَ قَوَّالٌ فَعولُ

    yet I can attain no superiority through speech;

    so how could I, when you excel in word and deed?

  19. تَكاثَرَ عِندكَ الشُّعراءُ فَانظُر

    فإِنَّهُم وإِن كَثُروا قَليلُ

    Poets have grown numerous in your presence; look:

    for though they are many, they are few.

  20. وأَبناءُ السَّبيلِ فَما عَلَيهِم

    إِذا سأَلوكَ مَعروفاً سَبيلُ

    And wayfarers incur no

    blame if they ask you for a kindness.