1. تَجافَ عَنِ العُتبى فَما الذَنبُ واحِدُ

    وهَبِ لِصُروفِ الدَهرِ ما أَنتَ واجِدُ

    Renounce seeking amends: the offense is not just one.

    And forgive time's turns for whatever has angered you.

  2. إِذا خانَكَ الأَدنى الَّذي أَنتَ حِزبُهُ

    فَلا عَجَباً إِن أَسلَمَتكَ الأَباعِدُ

    If the nearest man, whose supporter you are, betrays you,

    It is no wonder if distant men abandon you.

  3. وَلا تَشكُ أَحداثَ اللَيالي إِلى اِمرئٍ

    فَذا الناسُ إِمّا حاسِدٌ أَو مُعانِدُ

    Do not complain of the nights' misfortunes to anyone,

    For these people are either envious or hostile.

  4. وَعَدِّ عَنِ الماءِ الَّذي لَيسَ وِردُهُ

    بِصافٍ فَما تَعمى عَلَيكَ المَوارِدُ

    Turn aside from water whose drinking-place is not

    Clear; the watering places are not hidden from you.

  5. وَكَم مَنهَلٍ طامي النَواحي وَرَدتُهُ

    عَلى ظَمأٍ وَاِنصَعتُ وَالريقُ جامِدُ

    How many a watering place, brimming at its edges, I approached

    Thirsty, then turned away with my saliva still congealed.

  6. فَلا تَحسَبنَ كُلَّ المِياهِ شَريعَةً

    يُبَلَّ الصَدى مِنها وَتوكى المَزاوِدُ

    Do not suppose all waters are a drinking-place

    From which thirst is quenched and waterskins are tied shut.

  7. فَكَم ماتَ في البَحرِ المُحيطِ أَخو ظَماً

    بِغُلَّتِهِ وَالمَوجُ جارٍ وَراكِدُ

    How many a thirsty man has died in the encompassing ocean

    Of his burning thirst, while waves flow and lie still.

  8. وَإِن وَطَنٌ ساءَتكَ أَخلاقُ أَهلِهِ

    فَدَعهُ فَما يُغضي عَلى النَقصِ ماجِدُ

    If a homeland's people's manners distress you,

    Leave it: no nobleman overlooks degradation.

  9. فَما هَجَرٌ أَمٌّ غَذَتكَ لِبانُها

    وَلا الخَطُّ إِذ فارَقتَها لَكَ والِدُ

    Hajar is no mother whose milk nourished you,

    Nor is al-Khatt your father when you leave it.

  10. وَقَد رُبَّما يَجزي عَلى الصَدِّ وَالقِلى

    أَبٌ وَأَخٌ وَالمَرءُ مِمَّن يُساعِدُ

    And sometimes rejection and hatred are requited

    By a father and a brother; a man belongs with those who help him.

  11. فَبُتَّ حِبالَ الوَصلِ مِمَّن تَوَدُّهُ

    إِذا لَم يَرِد كُلَّ الَّذي أَنتَ وارِدُ

    Sever the bonds of attachment to someone you love

    If he does not face everything you face.

  12. وَقُل لِلَّيالي كَيفَ ما شِئتِ فَاِصنَعي

    فَإِنَّ عَلى الأَقدارِ تَأتي المكائِدُ

    Tell the nights, 'Do whatever you wish,'

    For schemes unfold according to fate's decrees.

  13. وَلا تَرهَب الخَطبَ الجَليلَ لِهَولِهِ

    فَطعمُ المَنايا كَيفَ ما ذُقتَ واحِدُ

    Do not fear a grave calamity for its terror,

    For death tastes the same however you taste it.

  14. نَدِمتُ عَلى مَدحي رِجالاً وَسَرَّني

    بِأَن ضَمَّنَتني قَبلَ ذاكَ المَلاحِدُ

    I regretted my praise of men; I would have been glad

    Had the graves enclosed me before that.

  15. وَحُقَّ لِمِثلي أَن يَموتَ نَدامَةً

    إِذا أُنشِدَت في الناسِ تِلكَ القَصائِدِ

    One like me deserves to die of regret

    When those poems are recited among people.

  16. أَلا لَيتَ شِعري هَل أُجالِسُ فتيَةً

    نَماها إِلى العَلياءِ قَيسٌ وَخالِدُ

    Ah, would that I knew: shall I sit with young men

    Whom Qays and Khalid raised to eminence?

  17. وَهَل تَصحَبَنّي مِن شُرَيكٍ عِصابَةٌ

    لَها طارِفٌ في كُلِّ مَجدٍ وَتالِدُ

    And shall a band from Shurayk accompany me,

    Whose share in every glory is both new and inherited?

  18. عَراعِرُ لَم تَحلل ديارَ اِبنِ مُنذِرٍ

    فَتُلقى إِلى الأَعداءِ مِنها المَقالِدُ

    Great chiefs who did not settle in Ibn Mundhir's lands

    And have their keys delivered to enemies.

  19. مَصاليتُ مَضّاؤونَ قِدماً إِلى الوَغى

    بِعَزمٍ وَخَيلاها طَريدٌ وَطارِدُ

    Bold warriors, pressing onward into battle

    With resolve, its two cavalry hosts pursued and pursuing.

  20. هُمُ الناسُ لا يَدري الخَنا أَينَ دارُهُم

    وَلا عَرَفَت جيرانُهُم ما الشَدائِدُ

    They are true men; vileness knows not where they dwell,

    Nor have their neighbors ever known hardship.

  21. تُفَرِّقُ أَيدي الجُودِ ما في بُيوتِهِم

    وَتَجمَعُ فيها السائِراتُ الشَوارِدُ

    Hands of generosity scatter what is in their houses,

    And far-traveling, wandering verses gather there.

  22. عَطاؤُهُمُ الراجي أُلوفٌ وَغَيرُهُم

    إِذا جادَ فَالإِعطاءُ مِنهُ مَواعِدُ

    Their gifts to the hopeful come in thousands; others,

    When generous, give only promises.

  23. مَناجيبُ لا حيلانُ يُعزى إِلَيهمُ

    وَلا عُدَّ فيهم ذُو كِتابٍ مُعانِدُ

    Nobles: no Haylan is traced to them,

    Nor is a hostile bearer of scripture counted among them.

  24. أُولَئِكَ إِخواني وَرَهطي وَأُسرَتي

    وَقَومي إِذا ما اِستَنهَضَتني الحَقائِدُ

    Those are my brothers, my clan, and my family,

    And my people when grudges rouse me.

  25. فَإِن ساءَني مِنهُم عَلى القُربِ مَعشَرٌ

    وَأَصبَحَ مِن تِلقائِهِم ما أُكابِدُ

    If a group among them distresses me despite our kinship,

    And what I endure comes from their side,

  26. فَقَد باعَتِ الأَسباطُ قَبلي أَخاهُمُ

    بِبَخسٍ وَكُلٌّ مِنهُمُ فيهِ زاهِدُ

    The tribes sold their brother before my time,

    For a paltry price, each of them disdaining him.

  27. وَقَد يُخطِئُ الرَّأيَ السَديدَ ذَوو النُهى

    مِراراً وَتَنبو الباتِراتُ البَوارِدُ

    Even the wise may miss sound judgment

    Time and again; even sharp, cold swords recoil.

  28. فَيا ذا العُلى كَم ذا التَجَنّي عَلى القِلى

    وَفي العَزمِ حادٍ لِلمَطايا وَقائِدُ

    O man of high aims, how long this unjust censure amid hatred,

    While resolve holds a driver and a guide for the mounts?

  29. فَقُم نَحصدِ الأَعمارَ أَو نَبلُغ المُنى

    بِجِدٍّ فِللأَعمارِ لا بُدَّ حاصِدُ

    Rise, then: let us reap lives or attain our hopes

    By earnest effort; lives must have a reaper.

  30. فَلَيسَ بِصَعّادٍ إِلى المَجدِ عاجِزٌ

    نَؤُومٌ تُناديهِ العُلى وَهوَ راقِدُ

    No feeble man climbs up to glory,

    A sluggard whom greatness calls while he lies asleep.

  31. وَفي السَعيِ عُذرٌ لِلفَتى لَو تَعَذَّرَت

    عَلَيهِ المَساعي أَو جَفَتهُ المَقاصِدُ

    Striving excuses a young man, even if

    His endeavors prove impossible or his goals shun him.

  32. خَليليّ كَم أَطوي اللَّيالي وَعَزمَتي

    تنَوِّلُني الجَوزاءَ وَالجَدُّ قاعِدُ

    My two friends, how many nights I pass while my resolve

    Puts al-Jawza within my reach, though fortune sits idle.

  33. وَكَم ذا أُناجي هِمَّةً دونَ هَمّها

    نُجومُ الثُرَيّا وَالسُهى وَالفَراقِدُ

    And how long I commune with ambition beneath whose aims lie

    The stars of the Pleiades, Suha, and the two Farqads.

  34. وَيُقعِدُني عَمّا أُحاوِلُ نَكبةٌ

    جَرَت وَزَمانٌ عاثِرُ الجَدِّ فاسِدُ

    Yet a calamity keeps me from what I attempt,

    One that befell me, and a corrupt age whose fortune stumbles.

  35. وَإِخوانُ سُوءٍ إِن أَلَمَّت مُلِمَّةٌ

    بِسوءٍ فَهُم أُسّاسُها وَالقَواعِدُ

    And evil brothers: if a calamity descends

    With harm, they are its foundations and supports.

  36. يُسِرّونَ لي ما لا أُسِرُّ فَكُلُّهُم

    عَلى ذاكَ شَيطانٌ مِنَ الجِنِّ مارِدُ

    They harbor toward me what I do not harbor; every one of them

    Is in that a rebellious devil from among the jinn.

  37. لَقَد بَذَلُوا المَجهودَ فيما يَسوءُني

    وَقَد كُنتُ أَرمي دونَهُم وَأُجالِدُ

    They have exerted their utmost effort in what harms me,

    Although I used to shoot in their defense and fight.

  38. فَيا لَيتَ أَنّي حالَ بَيني وَبَينَهُم

    جُذامٌ وَخَولانُ بنُ عَمرٍو وَغامِدُ

    Would that between me and them there had stood

    Judham, Khawlan ibn Amr, and Ghamid,

  39. وَصَفَّدَ أَدنانا إِلى الغَدرِ كاشِحٌ

    كَفورٌ بِوحدانِيَّةِ اللَّهِ جاحِدُ

    And a spiteful foe had fettered the more treacherous of us,

    An unbeliever who denies God's oneness.

  40. وَأَعجَبُ ما لاقَيتُ أَنَّ بَني أَبي

    حُسامٌ لِمَن يَبغي جِلادي وَساعِدُ

    The strangest thing I met was that my father's sons

    Are a cutting sword and helping arm for whoever seeks to fight me.

  41. عَزيزُهُمُ إِن لُذتُ يَوماً بِظِلِّهِ

    رَأَيتُ سَموماً وَهوَ لِلخَصمِ بارِدُ

    If ever I take shelter in the shade of their mighty one,

    I find a scorching wind, though he is cool to my adversary.

  42. وَسائِرُهُم إِمّا ضَعيفٌ فَضَعفُهُ

    لَهُ عاذِرٌ أَو مُبغِضٌ لي مُجاهِدُ

    The rest are either weak, their weakness

    Excusing them, or haters who strive against me.

  43. هُمُ أَلحَموني النائِباتِ وَأُولِعَت

    بِلَحمي أُسودٌ مِنهُمُ وَأَساوِدُ

    They thrust me into calamities, and ravenous grew

    For my flesh lions and black serpents among them.

  44. وَهُم تَرَكوا عَمداً جَنابي وَمَربَعي

    مِنَ الجَدبِ لا يَرجو بِهِ الخِصبَ رائِدُ

    They deliberately left my precinct and spring abode

    So barren that no scout hopes to find fertile pasture there.

  45. وَهُم شَمَّتُوا بي حاسِديَّ وَذَلِكُم

    منَ الأَمرِ ما لا تَرتَضيهِ الأَماجِدُ

    They made my enviers gloat over me, and that

    Is a thing no nobleman approves.

  46. وَما لِيَ ذَنبٌ غَير دُرٍّ نَظَمتُهُ

    وَأَسناهُ تِيجانٌ لَهُم وَقلائِدُ

    I have no fault but pearls I strung,

    Their finest crowns and necklaces for them.

  47. وَإِنّي عَلى أَحسابِهِم وَعُلاهُمُ

    غَيورٌ وَعَن بَحبوحَةِ المَجدِ ذائِدُ

    And of their ancestry and lofty honor I am

    Jealously protective, defending glory's spacious heart.

  48. وَأَحمي عَلَيهم أَن تُدَبِّرَ أَمرَهُم

    زَعانِفُ أَهداها عَنِ الرُشدِ حائِدُ

    I protect them from having their affairs managed

    By hangers-on whose best-guided man strays from sound judgment.

  49. وَلَو قَبِلُوا مِن ذَلِكَ الذَنبِ تَوبَةً

    لآلَيتُ أَلفاً أَنَّني لا أُعاوِدُ

    If they accepted repentance for that fault,

    I would swear a thousand times never to repeat it.

  50. فَسُبحانَ رَبّي كَيفَ صارُوا فَإِنَّما

    قُلوبُهُمُ لي وَالأَكُفُّ جَلامِدُ

    Glory to my Lord! What have they become? For

    Their hearts toward me, and their hands, are boulders.

  51. فَلا يَصفَح القَلبُ الَّذي أَنا آمِدٌ

    وَلا يَسمَحِ الكَفُّ الَّذي أَنا حامِدُ

    So the heart I rage against will not forgive,

    Nor will the hand I praise give generously.

  52. أَيا فَضلُ قَد طالَ اِنتِظاري وَلَم يَقُم

    شِتاءً وَقَيظاً عِندَ مِثلِكَ وافِدُ

    O Fadl, my waiting has grown long; no visitor has stayed

    Through winter and summer with a man like you.

  53. وَقَد زالَتِ الأَعذارُ لا الغَوصُ بائِرٌ

    وَلا البَحرُ مَمنوعٌ وَلا الدَخلُ فاسِدُ

    The excuses are gone: pearl-diving is not unprofitable,

    The sea is not barred, nor has revenue failed.

  54. وَلا أَنتَ مَحجورُ التَصَرُّفِ في النَدى

    عَلَيكَ رَقيبٌ في نَوالِكَ راصِدُ

    Nor are you restrained in dispensing bounty

    By a watchful overseer policing your gifts.

  55. وَلا في بَني فَضلٍ بَخيلٌ وَإِنَّهُم

    إِذا اِغبَرَّتِ الآفاقُ غُرٌّ أَماجِدُ

    There is no miser among the sons of Fadl, and they,

    When the horizons grow dusty, are radiant noblemen.

  56. فَمِن أَينَ يَأتي اللَومُ يا اِبنَ مُحمَّدٍ

    وَمَجدُكَ في بَيتِ العُيونيِّ زائِدُ

    Whence, then, comes blame, O son of Muhammad,

    When your glory in al-Uyuni's house keeps growing?

  57. أَتَرضى بِأَن تَغدُو تَسامى رَكائِبي

    حُمولاتُها كِيرانُها وَالمَقاوِدُ

    Are you content that my mounts depart, racing one another,

    Their loads nothing but their saddles and reins?

  58. لِحَقِّ مَديحي أَم لِحَقّ مَوَدَّتي

    لَكُم أَم لأَنَّ البَيتَ وَالجَدَّ واحِدُ

    In return for my praise, or for my affection

    For you, or because our house and forefather are one?

  59. فَلا تَقطَعَن ما بَينَنا مِن مَوَدَّةٍ

    وَقُربى وَخَلِّ الشِعرَ فَالشِعرُ كاسِدُ

    Do not sever the affection between us

    And kinship; leave poetry aside, for poetry finds no market.

  60. وَلا تَنسَيَن ما نالَني في هَواكُمُ

    وَقَد ظَفِرَ الساعي وَقَلَّ المُساعِدُ

    Do not forget what befell me for love of you,

    When the tale-bearer triumphed and helpers grew few.

  61. يَقومُ بِهِ حَيّاً نِزارٍ وَيَعرُبٍ

    شُهودٌ وَفي الدَعوى يَمينٌ وَشاهِدُ

    The two peoples of Nizar and Ya'rub stand to this

    As witnesses; the claim has an oath and a witness.

  62. لَقَد كُنتُ أَرجو في جَنابِكَ حالَةً

    يَموتُ لَها غَيظاً غَيُورٌ وَحاسِدُ

    I had hoped, under your protection, for a station

    At which jealous men and enviers would die of rage.

  63. فَهاتِ فَقُل لي ما أَقولُ لِأُسرَتي

    فَكُلٌّ عَنِ الأَحوالِ لا بُدَّ ناشِدُ

    Come, then, tell me what to say to my family,

    For each will surely ask about my circumstances.

  64. وَكُلُّهُمُ سامٍ إِليَّ بِطَرفِهِ

    يَظُنُّ بِأَنَّ الزارِعَ الخَيرَ حاصِدُ

    Each raises his gaze toward me,

    Believing that whoever sows goodness reaps it.

  65. وَما فَضلُ مَن لا يُرتَجى لِمُلِمَّةٍ

    تُلِمُّ وَلا تُبغى لَدَيهِ الفَوائِدُ

    What worth has one from whom no help is hoped against a calamity

    That descends, and from whom no benefits are sought?

  66. فَذو المَجدِ كَالدِينارِ وَالشِعرُ جَوهَرٌ

    يحكُّ بِهِ وَالناظِمُ الشِعرَ ناقِدُ

    The nobleman is like a dinar, and poetry a gemstone

    Against which it is rubbed; the poet is the assayer.

  67. وَلا خَيرَ في مُستَحسَنِ النَقشِ مُطبَقٌ

    إِذا حُكَّ نَفَّتهُ الأَكُفُّ النَواقِدُ

    No good lies in a plated coin with pleasing engraving,

    If the assayers' hands reject it when rubbed.

  68. فَلا تَتَّكِل يا فَضلُ في الفَضلِ وَالنَدى

    عَلى سالِفٍ أَسداهُ جَدٌّ وَوالِدُ

    So do not rely, O Fadl, in virtue and generosity,

    On past bounty bestowed by grandfather and father.

  69. فَلا حَمدَ إِلّا بِالَّذي يَفعَلُ الفَتى

    وَلَو كَثُرَت في أَوَّليهِ المَحامِدُ

    Praise comes only through what a man himself does,

    Though his forebears' praiseworthy deeds be many.

  70. فَكُن عِندَ ظَنّي فيكَ لا ظَنّ عاذِلٍ

    نَهانِيَ عَن قَصديكَ فَالمالُ نافِدُ

    Be as I think you are, not as a reproacher thought,

    Who forbade my seeking you, for wealth is running out.

  71. فَقَد تَصِلُ الأَرحامُ في عُقرِ دارِكُم

    وَتَرتاحُ لِلجودِ الإِماءُ الوَلائِدُ

    For kinsfolk bestow gifts within your very home,

    And young slave-women delight in generosity.

  72. وَغَيرُ خَفِيٍّ نَيلُ مَن تَعرِفونَهُ

    وَهَل لِضياءِ الشَمسِ في الأَرضِ جاحِدُ

    The bounty received by those you know is plain,

    And who on earth denies the sunlight?

  73. فَعِش وَاِبقَ وَاِسلَم واِنجُ مِن كُلِّ غَمَّةٍ

    جَنابُكَ مَحروسٌ وَمُلكُكَ خالِدُ

    Live, endure, stay safe, and escape every distress,

    Your precinct guarded, your dominion everlasting.