1. يا مالِكاً عَنَتِ الوجوهُ لِعزّهِ

    وتَواضعتْ لجِلالهِ الأَعناقُ

    O ruler, before whose might faces bowed,

    and necks humbled themselves before his majesty!

  2. تأتي فتعثرُ بالطُّبولِ وربّما

    عثرت بها وبركبكَ الأبواقُ

    You come and stumble over drums; and sometimes

    the trumpets stumble over them and your cavalcade.

  3. وإذا رَحلتَ لآخرين مَطيّةً

    فَرِحالُها الأسماعُ والأحداقُ

    And when you saddle a mount for others,

    then its saddles are ears and eyes.

  4. أَوَ كلّما ذَهبتْ رِكابُكَ أو أَتتْ

    رَجفَ الزّمانُ وضجّتِ الآفاقُ

    And whenever your mounts go or come,

    does time tremble and the horizons clamour?

  5. هَفتِ الجُموعُ ولو أَذِنْتَ لِغيرِها

    طارت إليك الدُّورُ والأسواقُ

    The crowds rushed forth; and had you given leave to others,

    the houses and marketplaces would have flown to you.

  6. تلك الحفاوةُ لو أفادَ تصنُّعٌ

    وأعزَّ شأنَ الحاكمين نِفاقُ

    Such homage—if pretence were of any use,

    and hypocrisy exalted the standing of rulers!

  7. لو كنتَ في غيرِ الكنانةِ ما احْتَفتْ

    إلا بكَ الأغلالُ والأطواقُ

    Were you anywhere but Kinana, homage would be paid

    to you alone by shackles and neck-fetters.

  8. لَكَ من مَساوِي الحُكم كلُّ كبيرةٍ

    رِيعَتْ لها الأقلامُ والأوراقُ

    Every enormity among the evils of rule is yours,

    at which pens and pages stood aghast.

  9. الظُّلمُ دِينٌ والتعسُّفُ شِرعةٌ

    والغَدْرُ عَهدٌ والهَوى ميثاقُ

    Injustice is a creed, and arbitrary oppression a law;

    and treachery is a pledge, and whim a covenant.

  10. يُدْلي إليك المجرمون بِمالِهِم

    والله ينظرُ والدّمُ المُهراقُ

    The criminals proffer their money to you,

    and God looks on, and the spilled blood too.

  11. مُثْرٍ يَدوسُ على الرُّؤوسِ ومُعدَمٌ

    يُودِي بِثابتِ حقِّهِ الإملاقُ

    A wealthy man tramples on heads; as for a destitute man,

    poverty destroys his firmly established right.

  12. يَدعوكَ ذُو الرّكنِ الضَّعيفِ لنصرهِ

    فتنوءُ آونةً وتهوِي السّاقُ

    The man with weak support calls on you to aid him;

    so you struggle to rise for a while, and your leg gives way.

  13. وإذا الوُلاةُ إلى الولائِم أَمْعَنوا

    رَكضاً فأنت الأَبلجُ السبَّاقُ

    And when the governors press on towards banquets,

    at a run, you are the radiant frontrunner.

  14. أنت العليمُ فَصِفْ لنا حُكمَ الهَوى

    وتَوجُّعَ الوِجدانِ كيفَ يُطاقُ

    You know so well; describe for us the rule of desire,

    and the anguish of conscience—how can it be borne?

  15. خَصمان يَعصفُ بالمضاجعِ منكما

    تحت الظّلامِ تَغضُّبٌ وشِقاقُ

    Two adversaries: through the beds there rage, from you both,

    beneath the darkness, anger and discord.

  16. سكنت قُلوبُ الصّالحين وما ارْعَوى

    فوق الحَشِيَّةِ قلبُكَ الخفّاقُ

    The hearts of the righteous grew still, yet it did not relent—

    your throbbing heart upon the mattress.

  17. يَنْفِي دبيبَ النومِ حين تَحسُّهُ

    همٌّ يثورُ ولوعةٌ تنساقُ

    The creeping onset of sleep, just when you sense it, is driven away

    by worry that surges and anguish that follows.

  18. قد كان ذلك ثمّ ثابَ إليكما

    بعد الخصام تآلفٌ ووِفاقُ

    That indeed was so; then there returned to you both,

    after the quarrel, harmony and accord.

  19. وإذا تتابعتِ الذُّنوبُ على امرءٍ

    سكنت إليها النّفسُ والأخلاقُ

    And when sins follow one another upon a person,

    the soul and character grow at ease with them.

  20. شرُّ الشُّعوبِ من الحياةِ مكانةً

    شعبٌ بأيدي الجاهلين يُساقُ

    Of all peoples, the lowest station in life belongs to

    a people driven by the hands of the ignorant.

  21. الحكمُ عند المصلحين كفايةٌ

    والعُرْفُ عند ذوي النُّهَى استحقاقُ

    Rule, to reformers, rests on competence;

    and favor, to the discerning, rests on merit.

  22. وأرى النّفاقَ من الشُّعوبِ سجيّةً

    يعيا بِمُعضلِ دائها الحُذّاقُ

    And I see hypocrisy as an ingrained trait among peoples,

    whose intractable disease baffles the skilled.

  23. جُنَّ المُنافِقُ بالحياةِ وما درى

    أنّ الحياةَ يُفِيضُها الخلّاقُ

    The hypocrite is mad for life, yet does not know

    that the Creator pours life forth.

  24. مَلكَ الخلائقَ أجمعين وقُدِّرتْ

    بِيَمينهِ الأقسامُ والأرزاقُ

    He has dominion over all creatures, and apportioned were

    their shares and sustenance by His right hand.

  25. وأفاضَ من عدلٍ ومن حُرِّيَّةٍ

    فيهم فلا ظُلمٌ ولا اسْتِرقاقُ

    And He poured forth justice and freedom

    among them, so there is no oppression and no enslavement.

  26. لا تسبقِِ النّفسُ الأبيَّةُ حِينَها

    يوماً ولا يعتاقها الإشفاقُ

    The unbowed soul does not outrun its appointed hour,

    ever, nor does apprehension hold it back.

  27. تبدو القيودُ فتقشعرُّ جُلودُنا

    والجهلُ قيدٌ مُحكَمٌ ووثاقُ

    Fetters appear, and our skins bristle;

    and ignorance is a tightly fastened fetter and a bond.