يا ليت شعري حين فارقتكم

هل أخذ البصري في حَطْمي

Ah, would that I knew, when I left you,

whether al-Basri set about crushing me,

أم هلْ حماهُ غيبتي سيدٌ

يحْمي إذا ما قلَّ من يَحْمي

or whether a lord kept him from backbiting me—

one who protects when protectors are few.

قُولا له إن كان لا ينتهي

عن أكل لحمي طالباً عظمي

Tell him, you two, if he will not desist

from eating my flesh, seeking my bones:

مائدةُ السيد مشحونةٌ

تُغنيك باللُّحمان عن لحمي

The lord's table is laden;

its meats spare you any need for my flesh.

فإن أبيتَ السلم فاعزم بنا

فإن حربي في قفا سِلمي

But if you refuse peace, resolve to face us,

for my war follows close behind my peace.

أضربُ من يضربُني سادراً

وتارةً أرمي الذي يرمي

I strike whoever heedlessly strikes me,

and at times I shoot at the one who shoots.

فلْيخْشَ مني من دنا مُنْصُلي

وليخش مني من نأى سهمي

Let whoever is near fear my blade,

and whoever is far fear my arrow.

ولستُ بالظالم إخوانَه

لكنني أمنع من ظُلمي

And I am not one who wrongs his brothers,

but I defend myself against being wronged.

سيفي لساني والهدى قائدي

والحقُّ محتجٌّ على خَصمي

My sword is my tongue, and guidance my leader;

and truth argues against my opponent.

أعذر من أنذر فليحتنِكْ

غِرٌّ وعزمي بعدها عزمي

Whoever warns is blameless; let prudence be learned

by the naïve; afterward my resolve remains my resolve.

فلا يشِم عِرضي على غرَّة

من لا ينافي وشْمُهُ وشمي

So let no one tattoo my honor unawares,

whose tattooing cannot counter mine.

وسَوْسِيَ الحلمَ ويا ربَّما

أصبح يحكي كَلْمُهُ كَلمي

And my nature is forbearance; ah, how often

his wound has come to mirror my wound.

قد جعل الله الذي سبَّني

شيخاً يتمياً وأبى يتمي

God has made the man who insulted me

an orphaned old man, but refused me orphanhood.

فامسح بكفِّ الرُّحم يا فوخه

وادعُ بأن يُدركه رُحْمِي

So stroke him with a compassionate hand, O Fūkha,

and pray that my mercy may reach him.

فرُب ذي حَيْنٍ غدا حينُهُ

مستملحاً في جلده رقمي

For many a doomed man's doom has come

to find my inscription on his skin delightful.

أشْعرتُه من قَذعي مُرْمضاً

صار به الحائنُ طِلَّسْمِي

I clad him in my scorching abuse,

through which the doomed man became my talisman.

أضحى لمن أبصرهُ آيةً

تبصِّرُ الآية أو تُعمي

He became a sign to anyone who saw him;

the sign enlightens—or blinds.

وناثرٍ أعجبه نثْرُهُ

أذهلهُ عن نثره نَظْمِي

And many a prose-writer, pleased with his own prose—

my verse made him forget his prose.

وسار محمولاً على مَنْطِقِي

يجري عليه صاغراً حُكمي

And he went forth, borne upon my words,

my judgment holding sway over him, abased.

نقيصةٌ في الشعر من ذكره

أقبحُ في شِعْريَ من خرمِ

The blemish his mention brings to poetry

is uglier in my verse than metrical truncation.

يا ويحَ حسَّادي ويا ويلهُم

من ذا أراهم قسْمَهُمْ قَسْمي

Ah, my poor enviers—and ah, woe to them!

Who made them think their share was equal to mine?

ثعالبٌ أطمعها حَتْفُها

في قَسْورٍ لَحْظَتُه تُصْمي

Foxes whose doom has stirred their greed

for a lion whose glance kills outright.

أحلف بالله وآلائه

ما فهم الزاري على فهمي

I swear by God and His blessings:

the scoffer at my understanding has understood nothing.

أَعْيُنُ أعدائي على غيبهم

طلائعي تُوحي إلى وهمي

My enemies' eyes, even in their absence,

are my scouts, whispering to my intuition.

فكيف لا أعرف أضغانهم

مع الأقاويل التي تَنْمِي

How, then, can I not know their grudges,

with the reports that circulate?

فريسةُ الليثِ له وحدَهُ

فلْيَبْأسِ الجاهلُ من غَشْمِي

The lion's prey belongs to him alone;

let the fool suffer from my savagery.

ورُبَّما كَفْكَفَ من غايتَيْ

بطشِ لساني ويدِي علمي

And often both extremes have been reined in—

my tongue's and hand's violence—by my knowledge.

إنّي بنانِي مَنْ بنى يَذْبُلاً

فليس تسطيعُ يدٌ هَدْمِي

Indeed, the one who built Yadhbul built me,

so no hand can tear me down.

وإنني ما زلتُ مُسْتَحْسِناً

مَغْفِرتي مُسْتقبِحاً نَقْمي

And I have always approved of

my forgiveness, disapproving of my vengeance.

والحزمُ في نَقْمي ولكنني

أُوثرُ إحساني على حزمي

Prudence lies in my vengeance, yet I

prefer my kindness to my prudence.

فلْيقُلِ البصْريُّ ما يَشْتهي

سوّغْتُه المعسولَ من طَعمي

So let al-Basri say whatever he wishes;

I have let him savor my honeyed flavor.

سوّغْتُه القولَ ولو أنه

يُعرِّقُ الجبهةَ أو يُدْمي

I have permitted him speech, even if it

makes the forehead sweat or bleed.

ولا يَخَلْها جاهلٌ نُهْزَةً

فلا يُمْهِلُ داءه حَسمي

And let no fool mistake this for an opportunity,

for my decisive treatment gives his disease no respite.

قد يَفْرقُ المجنون من كَيَّتي

ويصعقُ العِفريت من رجمي

The madman may tremble at my cautery,

and the demon swoon at my stoning.

ولو نجا أقْسمَ لا يأتلي

أنْ ما رأى أثقبَ من نَجْمي

And if he escaped, he would swear without reserve

that he had seen nothing more piercing than my star.

لولا قضاءُ الله في مَعْشرٍ

ما طمع الطامِعُ في هَضْمي

Were it not for God's decree concerning a group of people,

no covetous man would hope to wrong me.

طُفتُ بأكنافك لا هاجماً

وداءُ عمروٍ أمّنهُ هَجْمي

I circled your precincts without attacking,

and ʿAmr's illness kept him safe from my attack.

وليس شأْني الجهلَ لكنني

قد يَقْدَحُ الإحراجُ في حِلْمي

Folly is not my way, but

provocation may strike at my forbearance.

واعلم إذا استخفَفْت بي أنه

قد تَحْقِر الشيءَ وقد ينمي

And know, when you make light of me, that

you may scorn a thing, yet it may grow.