1. أَظُنُّكَ خِلتَ الشَوقَ وَالنَأيَ أَبكاني

    فَأقبَلتَ نَحوي يابِسَ الدَمعِ تَلحاني

    I think you supposed that longing and separation made me weep,

    so you came toward me, dry-eyed, reproaching me.

  2. فَقُم فَاِلتَمِس خِلّاً سِوايَ فَما أَرى

    صَحابَةَ مَن لَم يتَّبِع شَأنُهُ شاني

    Then rise and seek a friend other than me, for I cannot accept

    the company of one whose concerns do not accord with mine.

  3. كَأَنَّكَ ما شاهَدتَ ما قَد أَصابَني

    بِهِ الدَهرُ مِن صُيّابِ قَومي وَإِخواني

    It is as though you never witnessed what afflicted me

    at Time's hand: the loss of the finest of my people and my brothers.

  4. رُزِئتُ مُلوكاً لَو بَكَيتُ لِفَقدِهِم

    دَماً ما كَفاني عُمرُ نُوحٍ وَلُقمانِ

    I have lost kings; were I to weep for their loss

    blood, the lifetimes of Noah and Luqman would not suffice me.

  5. بِهِم كُنتُ أَرمي مَن رَماني وَأَتَّقي

    بِهِم نائِباتِ الدَهرِ مِن حَيثُ تَلقاني

    Through them I shot at whoever shot at me, and guarded myself

    through them against Time's calamities, wherever they met me.

  6. بِأَسيافِهِم ذاقُوا الرَدى وَتَجَرَّعُوا

    حَسا المَوتِ لا أَسيافِ قَيسٍ وَغَيلانِ

    By their own swords they tasted death and swallowed

    death's draughts—not by the swords of Qays and Ghaylan.

  7. وَلَيسَ عُقوقاً مِنهُمُ بَل تَعالِياً

    إِلى خَيرِ غاياتٍ وَأَشرَفِ بُنيانِ

    It was no disloyalty on their part, but an ascent

    to the best of destinations and the noblest edifice.

  8. لَعَمري لَقَد سُرَّ العَدُوُّ وَأظهِرَت

    دَفاناتُ أَحقادٍ سُتِرنَ وَأَضغانِ

    By my life, the enemy rejoiced, and there were revealed

    buried hatreds, once concealed, and grudges.

  9. وَمَدَّت عَضاريطُ الرِجالِ أَكُفَّها

    لِتَلمَسَ عِزّاً بَعدَ ذُلٍّ وَإِذعانِ

    And the lackeys among men stretched out their hands

    to reach for honor after humiliation and submission.

  10. وَأَطمَعَ فِينا فَقدُهُم كُلَّ مُسبَعٍ

    وَشاوِيِّ أَغنامٍ وَعامِلِ فَدّانِ

    Their loss made every baseborn wretch covet us,

    every sheep-herder and driver of a plow-team.

  11. فَيا بارِدَ الأَنفاسِ دَعني فَإِنَّهُ

    قَليلٌ لَهُم مِن مَعشَرٍ فَيضُ أَجفانِ

    O you of cold breath, leave me be; for

    the flood from a people's eyelids is little enough for them.

  12. فَلَو جاءَكَ الناعِي بِما جاءَني بِهِ

    لَما عِشتَ إِلّا لابِساً ثَوبَ أَسفانِ

    Had the death-messenger brought you what he brought me,

    you would have lived only wearing a mourner's robe.

  13. لَطابَ لَدَيكَ النَوحُ وَاستُسمِجَ العَزا

    وَأَصبَحتَ في شَأنِ البُكا بَعضَ أَعواني

    Lamentation would have pleased you, and consolation seemed distasteful,

    and in the work of weeping you would have become one of my helpers.

  14. أَتَلحى عَلى فَيضِ الدُموعِ وَقَد ثَوى

    أَخي وَشَقيقي وَاِبنُ عَمّي وَخُلصاني

    Do you reproach my streaming tears, when laid to rest are

    my brother, my full brother, my cousin, and my dearest friends?

  15. أَمِن بَعدِ مَذكُورٍ أَصُونُ مُدامعاً

    تَقِلُّ لَهُ لَو أَنَّها مِن دَمٍ قانِ

    After Madhkur, should I hold back tears

    that would be too little for him even if they were crimson blood?

  16. أَلا عَمِيَت عَينُ اِمرِئٍ لَم تَجُد لَهُ

    بِدَمعٍ وَأَضحى رَبُّها رَبَّ عميانِ

    May the eye of any man go blind if it grants him no

    tears, and may its owner become lord of the blind!

  17. وَأَيُّ اِبنِ عَمٍّ إِن دَعَوتُ لِنازِلٍ

    أَجابَ بِعَزمٍ صادِقٍ غَيرِ خَوّانِ

    What a cousin! When I called upon him in a calamity,

    he answered with true resolve, never treacherous.

  18. أَقُولُ لِناعيهِ وَقَد كَظَّنِي البُكا

    وَقَد أَضَّ مِن صَدري تَأَجُّجُ نِيرانِ

    I say to the messenger of his death, as weeping chokes me

    and the blaze of fires torments my breast,

  19. وَقَد أَشرَفَ الرَكبُ العِراقيُّ قَاصِداً

    إِلى الخَطِّ أَعلا ذِي الشَقِيقَةِ فُرقانِ

    as the Iraqi caravan comes into view, bound

    for al-Khatt, on the heights of Dhu al-Shaqiqah, in two bands:

  20. أَحَقّاً ثَوى في اللَحدِ وَاِستَوطَنَ الثَرى

    وَجاوَرَ فِيهِ كُلَّ ذِي نازِحٍ دانِ

    Is it true that he lies in the grave and has made the earth his home,

    and there neighbors every distant one brought near?

  21. فَقالَ نَعَم لَم آتِ حَتّى تَناوَحَت

    عَلى يَومِهِ بِيضُ الخُدورِ بِأَلحانِ

    He said: Yes; I did not come until there had lamented

    over his death the fair women of the curtained chambers, in mournful strains,

  22. وَحَتّى رَأَيتُ القَومَ حَولَ سَريرِهِ

    حُفاةً يَنادونَ العَويلَ بِإِعلانِ

    and until I had seen the people around his bier,

    barefoot and crying their lamentation aloud.

  23. فَقُلتُ وَلَم أَملِك عَزائِي وَعَبرَتي

    أُرَدِّدُها في صَحنِ خَدّي بِأَرداني

    Then I said, unable to control my grief or my tears,

    rubbing them again and again across my cheek with my sleeves:

  24. أَلا شَقِيَت قَومي لَقَد غالَها الرَدى

    بِمقدامِ غاراتٍ وَفَلّالِ أَقرانِ

    Alas, my people are stricken! Death has robbed them

    of a leader in raids and a shatterer of rivals.

  25. بِماذَا أُصِيبَت وَيلَها يَومَ سَدَّدَت

    إِلَيهِ المَنايا سَهمَ صَفراءَ مِرنانِ

    What a blow struck them—woe to them!—the day there was aimed

    at him, by the fates, the arrow of a yellow, resonant bow!

  26. لَقَد كانَ غَيظاً لِلأَعادي وَباذِخاً

    يَلُوذُ بِهِ جانٍ وَيَأمَلُهُ عانِ

    He was indeed a torment to enemies, a towering refuge,

    where an offender sought shelter and a captive placed his hope.

  27. فَمن بَعده مَن لِلرِماحِ يُعِلُّها

    وَيُنهِلُها مِن كُلِّ أَشوَسَ مِطعانِ

    Who after him will give the spears their second draught

    and their first, from every fierce, spear-thrusting warrior?

  28. وَمَن لِتَوالي المُرهَقِينَ إِذا غَدَت

    تَعاطى وَأَبدى الشَرُّ صَفحَة عُريانِ

    And who will shield the rear ranks of hard-pressed men, when they begin

    to exchange blows, and evil bares a naked flank?

  29. وَمَن لِجَلِيلِ الخَطبِ يَوماً إِذا أَتَت

    هَوازِنُ تُردي بَينَ بَيضٍ وَأَبدانِ

    Who will face the mighty calamity one day, when there come

    Hawazin, charging among helmets and cuirasses?

  30. وَمَن لِمضيمٍ مَضَّهُ الضَيمُ وَاِلتَوى

    بِهِ ذُو ظُلاماتٍ تُعَدُّ وَعُدوانِ

    And who will aid a wronged man, tormented by injustice and ensnared

    by one guilty of many wrongs and acts of aggression?

  31. وَمَن لِأَسيرٍ غارِمٍ قَلَّ مالُهُ

    وَآبَ مِنَ المَولى الشَقيقِ بِحِرمانِ

    And who will aid a captive burdened with debt, whose wealth has dwindled,

    who returns empty-handed from his closest kinsman?

  32. فَيا آلَ إِبراهِيمَ بَكّوا لِيَومِهِ

    دَماً وَأَقيمُوا سُوقَ نَوحٍ وَإِرنانِ

    O house of Ibrahim, weep for the day of his death

    blood, and establish a market of lamentation and wailing.

  33. وَقُومُوا لِأَخذِ الثَأرِ جِدّاً وَلا تَنوا

    قِيامَ أَبيٍّ لا حَرونٍ وَلا وانِ

    Rise earnestly to take vengeance, and do not slacken,

    as a proud man rises, neither balking nor flagging.

  34. فَعِندَكُمُ للطَّعنِ سُمرٌ عَواسِلٌ

    وَلِلضَربِ بِيضٌ لا تَقِرُّ بِأَجفانِ

    You have for thrusting brown, swaying spears,

    and for striking white blades that will not rest in scabbards.

  35. يُخَبِّرنَ عَن أَيّامِ مُرَّةً واِبنهِ

    أَبيكُم وَعَن أَيّامِ ذُهلِ بنِ شَيبانِ

    They tell of the battle-days of Murrah and his son,

    your father, and of the battle-days of Dhuhl ibn Shayban.

  36. بِها ضَرَبَت آباؤُكُم وَجُدُودُكُم

    جَماجِمَ أَهلِ البَغيِ مِن قَبلِ ساسانِ

    With them your fathers and forefathers struck

    the skulls of the transgressors, before Sasan.

  37. فَلَو أَنَّ في الحَيِّ الشِبانِيّ ثارَهُ

    لَكُنتُ أُمنّي النَفسَ عَنهُ بِسُلوانِ

    Had his blood-debt rested with the Shaybani clan,

    I would have held out to my soul the hope of solace for him,

  38. وَإِن كانَ لا يُوفى بِهِ مِن دِمائِهِم

    قَتيلٌ وَلَو أَوفى عَلى رَبِّ عَلهانِ

    though none of their blood could be full payment for him—

    no slain man, even one who surpassed the lord of Alhan.

  39. ولَكِنَّهُ أَمسى قَتيلاً لِمَعشَرٍ

    إِذا قِيلَ مَن هُم قِيل هَيُّ بنُ بيّانِ

    But he became the slain victim of a people

    who, when asked who they are, are called Hayy ibn Bayyan.

  40. وَلَو جاءَهُ مُغتالُهُ مِن أَمامِهِ

    لَراحَ أَكيلاً بَينَ نَسرٍ وَسِرحانِ

    Had his assassin come at him from the front,

    he would have ended as carrion between a vulture and a wolf,

  41. أَوِ اِنصاعَ عَدواً يَقتَفي إِثرَ غَيرِهِ

    مَخافَةَ مَشبُوحِ الذِراعَينِ غَضبانِ

    or fled running in another's tracks

    for fear of the angry man with outstretched arms.

  42. فَمَن مُبلِغٍ عَنّي أَباهُ رِسالَةً

    مُغَلغَلَةً عَن مُوجَعِ القَلبِ حَرّانِ

    Who will carry from me to his father a message,

    borne far, from a man whose heart is wounded and burning:

  43. أَيا عَمُّ لا تَجزَع فَكُلٌّ إِلى البِلى

    يَصيرُ وَلا خُلدٌ لِإِنسٍ وَلا جانِ

    O uncle, do not despair, for everyone toward decay

    must go; neither humans nor jinn have immortality.

  44. فَلَو لَم يَمُت قَتلاً لَماتَ بِعِلَّةٍ

    وَلَيسَ بِمنجٍ مِن رَدىً رَأسُ غُمدانِ

    Had he not been killed, he would have died of illness;

    even Ghumdan's summit offers no escape from death.

  45. وَما قَتلُهُ مِمّا يُعابُ بِهِ الفَتى

    إِذا عُدَّ يوماً بَينَ شِيبٍ وَشُبّانِ

    His being killed is no reproach to a young man,

    when one day he is counted among gray-haired men and youths.

  46. فَقَد ماتَ بِسطامٌ بِطَعنَةِ عاصِمٍ

    وَكانَ المُرَجّى في مَعَدّ بنِ عَدنانِ

    Bistam died from Asim's spear-thrust,

    and was the hope of Maadd ibn Adnan.

  47. وَحَمزَةُ عَمُّ المصطَفى ذاقَ حَتفَهُ

    بِطَعنَةِ عَبدٍ مِن سُلالَةِ عبدانِ

    And Hamzah, uncle of al-Mustafa, tasted his death

    from the thrust of a slave descended from slaves.

  48. كَذا اِبنُ حوارِيِّ الأَميرِ مُحَمَّدٍ

    أَتاهُ الرَدى مِن كَفِّ راعٍ لِرِعيانِ

    So too the son of the devoted companion of the leader Muhammad:

    death came to him from the hand of a shepherd of shepherds.

  49. وَقَد كانَ يَلقى الأَلفَ فَرداً فَيَنثَني

    كَطَيرٍ رَمَت فِيها السَماءُ بِحُسبانِ

    He would face a thousand single-handed, and they would recoil

    like birds at which the sky had hurled thunderbolts.

  50. وَما آفَةُ الشُجعانِ إِلّا اِحتِقارُها

    رِجالاً وَكَم صِيدَت صُقُورٌ بِخربانِ

    The only bane of the brave is their contempt

    for other men; how many falcons have been caught with bustards!

  51. وَأَنتَ لَعَمرِي ما خُصِصتَ بِفَقدِهِ

    وَإِنَّكَ فيهِ وَالبَعيدَ لَسِيّانِ

    By my life, you are not alone in losing him,

    and in this you and one far away are indeed alike.

  52. سَقى الجَدَثَ الثاوِي بِهِ كُلُّ رائِحٍ

    مِنَ المُزنِ أَو غادٍ مُسِحٍّ بِتَهتانِ

    May every evening cloud water the grave where he lies,

    or morning cloud pouring torrents of rain.

  53. وَحَيَّتهُ أَملاكُ السَماءِ بِجَنَّةٍ

    وَظِلٍّ بَينَ رَوحٍ وَرَيحانِ

    May the angels of heaven greet him with a garden

    and shade amid repose and sweet basil.