1. دنا فزادَ اشتعالُ الشوقِ بالبَلَلِ

    كأنَّ موردَهُ في مَنبَع العلَلِ

    He drew near, and longing's blaze grew fiercer with moisture,

    As though its watering place lay at the spring of ailments.

  2. ولا رأيتُ ولا حُدِّثتُ عن ظَمأٍ

    أشدَّ ما كانَ بعد العلِّ والنَّهلِ

    I have never seen, nor been told of, a thirst

    Fiercest of all after the second draught and the first.

  3. فما عَسى يَتَمناهُ العليلُ بكُم

    أرى المُعافاةَ لا تُغني عنِ العِلَلِ

    What, then, might one made ill by you wish for?

    I see that recovery is of no avail against ailments.

  4. وقد تعوَّضَ بالشكوى وذلَّتِها

    صبراً فعَوِّضهُ أنتَ العذرَ بالعذَلِ

    And he has exchanged complaint and its humiliation

    For patience; you, then, give him pardon in place of blame.

  5. أحببتَ بنتَ نوىً ليست تُفارِقُها

    وصالُها أبداً تَوديعُ مرتحِلِ

    You loved a daughter of separation, which never leaves her;

    Union with her is always a departing traveler's farewell.

  6. فليسَ يَبسِمُ عن مَعسولِهِ شَنَبٌ

    أو يكشر البَينُ عن مَذروبَةٍ عصُلُ

    No sweet-toothed mouth smiles to reveal its honeyed sweetness

    Without separation baring keen, crooked fangs.

  7. تنكَّرت أنَّ جسمي غيرُ مُنتَهكٍ

    من السقامِ وقَلبي غير مختَبِلِ

    She objected that my body was not ravaged

    By sickness, and my heart was not deranged.

  8. فقلتُ إن لَم أَكن في حبِّكم مَثلاً

    كَما أمَرتُم فإنِّي صاحبُ المَثَلِ

    So I said: 'If in loving you I am not an example,

    As you commanded, I am at least the author of the proverb.'

  9. قالَت فخُذ مثلَ ما أَعطَيتَ وارضَ به

    إن قلتَ إنَّ الهوى قولٌ بلا عَمَلِ

    She said: 'Then take the like of what you gave, and be content with it,

    If you say that love is words without deeds.'

  10. يا حاكِماً رصَدياً في حكومتِهِ

    هذا هُو القَطعُ لا ما كنتَ تَحسُبُ لي

    O judge who watches the stars in judging,

    This is the severance—not what you used to calculate for me.

  11. انظُر منَ القَمرِ الأَرضيِّ كيفَ تَرى

    حالي ودَعني مِن المرِّيخِ أو زُحَلِ

    Look to the earthly moon to see how

    I fare, and spare me Mars or Saturn.

  12. وقَهوةٍ قام شهرُ الصومِ يَطرُدها

    عن ملَّةٍ فانضَوَت مِنها إلى ملَلِ

    And wine—the month of fasting rose to drive it

    From one faith, so it sought refuge from it among other faiths,

  13. حتَّى استَجارَت بِشَوالٍ فأَنجدَها

    وكادَ يعثرُ شوال مِن العجَلِ

    Until it sought Shawwal's protection, and he came to its aid,

    And Shawwal almost stumbled in his haste.

  14. تعلَّمَت إذ رَأتني قَبلَ فُرقَتِها

    كيفَ استَجرتُ من الأَيام بابنِ عَلي

    It learned, when it saw me before our parting,

    How I sought refuge from the days with Ibn Ali.

  15. كُن عافِياً تَلقَ منه كافِياً وأقِم

    جاراً يُقِم لكَ عِزاً غير ذي مَيَلِ

    Be a seeker of bounty: you will find all you need in him; and settle

    As a neighbor: he will establish for you honor that never tilts.

  16. وانظُر لنَفسِكَ إِن حاوَلتَ ثالِثَةً

    فليسَ يبطلُ فعل الفارِس البَطلِ

    And look to your own safety if you attempt a third course,

    For the valiant horseman's deed never fails.

  17. يا مُغرَماً بِالمَعالي لا سُلوَّ له

    هذا وبينَكُما وصلٌ بِلا مَللِ

    O lover of lofty honors, whose passion never fades,

    All this, though you two are joined without weariness.

  18. تَهيم شَوقاً إذا ما سربَةٌ ذُكِرَت

    كأنَّما خَيلُها تَلقاكَ بالخَوَلِ

    You are wild with longing whenever a troop is mentioned,

    As though its horses met you with servants.

  19. إِذا اعتَقَلتَ قَناةً كانَ لَهذَمُها

    عمَّن رَكبتَ إِليهِ غيرَ مُعتقلِ

    When you couch a spear, its keen head is

    Not held back from anyone you ride against.

  20. وإن تزَحزَحَ عن أرضٍ ثَبتَّ بِها

    للدَّارِعَين ثَباتَ الرَّسمِ والطَّلَلِ

    And if he retreats from ground where you stood firm

    Against the two armored men, firm as traces and standing ruins,

  21. لِم تطردِ السَّرحَ عَنهُم ثمَّ تَطردُهُم

    حتَّى كأنَّكَ راعي الخَيل والإبِلِ

    Why drive the grazing herds away from them, then drive them off,

    Until you seem a herdsman of horses and camels?

  22. وما أرَى لكَ ممَّا أنتَ كاسِبُهُ

    شَيئاً سِوى الحَمدِ مَشدوداً على الثقَلِ

    And of all that you acquire, I see for you

    Nothing but praise, lashed onto the baggage.

  23. أرَى الهِبات شَديداً ما تزاحمها

    فليسَ ينفذُ لحظُ العَينِ من خلَلِ

    I see gifts crowded so tightly together

    That the eye's glance cannot pass through any gap.

  24. فاحذَر لنَفسِكَ مما أنتَ وهبُهُ

    من غَلطَةٍ تدخلُ الأفرادَ في الجُمَلِ

    So guard yourself amid the bounty of which you are a gift,

    Against a slip that puts individuals into the totals.

  25. إن هَجَّرت شمسُ عُدمٍ يا ابنَ حَيدَرةٍ

    فإنَّني من غَمامِ الجودِ في ظُلَلِ

    If poverty's sun blazes at noon, O Ibn Haydara,

    Then I am in the shade of generosity's clouds.

  26. لا خيرَ في الثوبِ لا يُبليهِ صاحِبُهُ

    إلا الثيابَ التي أكسوكَ من حُلَلي

    There is no good in a garment its owner does not wear out,

    Except the garments I clothe you in from my robes,

  27. فإنَّها زينَةُ الدُّنيا وزينتُها

    في العُمرِ باقِيه لا أَيامه الأوَلِ

    For they are the world's adornment, and their beauty

    Lies in life's remaining span, not its earliest days.