1. كان أناسٌ يرون أنيَ في ال

    آداب صفو ما شابه رنقُ

    Some people used to think that, in the

    literary arts, I was purity unclouded by murk.

  2. وكان لي بينهم وعندهمُ

    مضطرب واسع ومرتفقُ

    Among them and in their esteem I had

    ample scope and a place of support.

  3. حتى إذا ما صحبتكم نظروا

    وأنتم من تلاحظ الحدق

    Until, when I kept your company, they looked—

    you being those whom eyes follow—

  4. فقلدوا رأيكم فزهدهم

    فيَّ فعِلقي لديهم خلق

    and adopted your judgment, which made them disdain

    me; so my treasure was, to them, threadbare.

  5. رجوت منكم حَيَاً فأخلفني

    كلّاً ولكن أصابني صعق

    I hoped for rain from you, and it failed me—

    No—rather, a thunderbolt struck me.

  6. يا سليمان ظماءً

    قُطِعَت عنك السواقي

    O Suleiman, thirst be yours!

    The watercourses have been cut off from you.

  7. شِخت فأْذنْ بفراقٍ

    وتجهز لانطلاق

    You have grown old; consent to parting,

    and make ready to depart.

  8. بنت عني بطلاق

    وطلاق وطلاق

    You are severed from me by a divorce,

    and a divorce, and a divorce.

  9. فرطت فيك ثلاثٌ

    آخذات بالخناق

    Three divorces have already fallen upon you,

    gripping you by the throat.

  10. فالبس اليأس من الرج

    عى وطالب بالصَداق

    So clothe yourself in despair of

    return, and claim your dower.

  11. نحن قوم ما لدينا

    للمُوَلِّي من خلاق

    We are a people who have

    no share for one past his prime.

  12. نأكل اللحم ونرمي

    بكراديس العُراق

    We eat the flesh and throw away

    the knobby joints of stripped bones.

  13. ما علينا بعد شرب ال

    خمر من طرح الزقاق

    What fault is ours, after drinking the

    wine, in casting away the wineskins?

  14. قد تبدَّلنا بك المر

    د فدع باب النفاق

    We have replaced you with beardless

    youths; leave the gate of hypocrisy.

  15. وفُتِنَّا ببدورٍ

    منهمُ ذاتِ اتساق

    And we have been bewitched by full moons,

    among them, in perfect fullness.

  16. وشغفنا بغصون

    منهم هيف رشاق

    And we have become enamored of branches

    among them, slim-waisted and graceful.

  17. فاترك الركض وسلِّم

    ذاك للخيل العتاق

    So cease your galloping and yield

    that to the thoroughbred horses.

  18. أنت راض حين تجري

    بعد سبق بلَحاق

    You are content, when you run,

    merely to catch up, after once leading.

  19. فاصطبر يا حب نفسي

    كل بدر لِمُحاق

    So be patient, beloved of my soul:

    every full moon is destined to wane away.

  20. ومتى خانك صبرٌ

    فاجتلب ماء المآقي

    And whenever patience betrays you,

    draw forth the water of your eye-corners.

  21. وابك أيامَ حياةٍ

    أنت منها في سباق

    And weep for days of life

    from which you are racing away.

  22. قد مشقنا في قراطي

    سك هاتيك الرقاق

    We have already written upon

    those thin sheets of yours.

  23. وسبقنا في ميادي

    نك أصحاب السباق

    And on your racecourses we outstripped

    the champions of the race.

  24. كم سقاني فوك من رِي

    قك بالكأس الدهاق

    How often your mouth gave me to drink

    your saliva, from a brimming cup!

  25. ربما الْتَفَّت إلى الصب

    ح لنا ساق بساق

    Often, until dawn,

    our legs lay twined together,

  26. في نقابٍ من لثامٍ

    وإزار من عناق

    beneath a veil of kisses,

    and a waist-wrap of embraces.

  27. ذهبت نضرة خدَّي

    ك وما شيء بباقي

    The bloom of your cheeks has gone,

    and nothing endures.

  28. فالزم المنقاش واعلم

    أنه دهر ارتفاق

    So keep to the tweezers, and know

    that this is a time to seek aid.

  29. ليس من دائك هذا

    غير طول النتف راقي

    For this ailment of yours, there is

    no healer but prolonged plucking.

  30. أين سلطانٌ عزيزٌ

    لك في أرض العراق

    Where is the mighty dominion

    that was yours in the land of Iraq?

  31. كنت في ملك من المر

    دة مرهوب الشقاق

    You ruled a realm of rebellious

    demons, who feared to defy you.

  32. قد محا جورُك فيه

    كلَّ حقٍّ وحقاق

    Your tyranny there effaced

    every right and every rightful claim.

  33. لم يكن ملكُك يُرضي

    مَلِكَ السبع الطباق

    Your sovereignty did not please

    the King of the seven layered heavens.

  34. فرماه بزوال

    أودهاه بانفتاق

    So He struck it with dissolution,

    or afflicted it with rupture.

  35. هربت منك المودّا

    ت على ظهر البراق

    Affections have fled from you,

    on the back of al-Buraq.

  36. فاسلُ عنّا قد سقانا

    عنك بالسلوة ساقي

    So forget us; a cupbearer has poured us

    forgetfulness of you.

  37. كنت شيئاً فتلاشي

    ت وما شيء بباقي

    You were something; then you vanished,

    and nothing endures.

  38. فوردنا منك عذباً

    وصدرنا عن زُعاق

    So we came to your sweet water,

    and departed from bitter brine.

  39. كنت عقّاً بالمحبي

    ن فعقتك عَقاق

    You were cruel to those who loved you,

    so calamity has been cruel to you.

  40. فالْهُ عما فات منه

    ما إلى النجم مراقي

    So forget what you have lost of it;

    there are no ladders to the star.

  41. لن ترى موقف مستع

    د على حرِّ اشتياق

    You will never see one stand ready

    in the heat of longing.

  42. لا ولا نفسَ محبٍّ

    ترتقي بين التراقي

    No, nor a lover's soul

    rising between the collarbones.

  43. فُكَّ مأسورُك ذو القد

    رة من ذاك الوثاق

    Your captive, endowed with power, is freed

    from that bond.

  44. لم يدع منه عذارا

    ك هوى غير اختلاق

    Your sideburns have left in him

    no love but a pretense.

  45. ذق عقاب العذر واعلم

    أنه غير مطاق

    Taste the penalty for sideburns, and know

    that it cannot be borne.

  46. قد أكلناك لذيذاً

    طيباً حلو المذاق

    We ate you when you were delicious,

    pleasant and sweet to the taste;

  47. ولفظناك كريهاً

    غير مكروه الفراق

    and spat you out, repellent,

    your parting by no means unwelcome.

  48. خير أحوالك أن تس

    لم من داء الحُلاق

    The best you can hope for is to be safe

    from the fatal throat disease.