1. خَلِيلِىَّ لاَ لاَ تُبدِيَبا لِىَ التَّلَكِيَا

    وَعُوجَا عَلَى تِلكَ المَنَازِلِ وَأبكِيَا

    My two friends, no, no—show me no hesitation.

    And turn aside to those dwellings and weep.

  2. وَسُحَّا مَصُونَ الدَّمعِ في عَرصَاتِهَا

    وَمُرَّا عَلَى آى الدِّيَارِ وحَيِّيَد

    And pour your guarded tears into their courtyards.

    And pass by the traces of the dwellings and greet them.

  3. وِإن بَلِيَت إِلاَّ ثَلاَثاً خَوَالِداً

    ونُؤياً وآريًّا وَأودَت بِهَا الرِّيَا

    Though they have decayed, save three enduring hearthstones,

    a trench and a tethering stake, and the winds have ruined them.

  4. وغَيَّرَ بعدَ الحَيِّ إِذ نَحنُ جِيرَةٌ

    مَعَالِمَهَا حَتَّى كَسَاهَا البِلَي الحَيَا

    And after the tribe departed—once we were neighbors—rain altered

    their landmarks, until it clothed them in decay.

  5. فَإِنَّ لَهَا حَقَّ البُكَاءِ عَلَيكُمَا

    وَقَد كَانَ رَبعُ الحِبِّ لِلدَّمعِ مُجرِيَا

    For they have a claim upon the tears of you both,

    and the beloved's abode has indeed set tears flowing.

  6. ألَم تَرَيَا الأطلالَ مَا هِي إِنَّهَا

    طُلُولُ اللِّوَى دَهرَ اللِّوَى المُتَوَلِيَا

    Have you two not seen what the ruins are? They are

    the ruins of al-Liwa, from al-Liwa's bygone age.

  7. فَلَيسَ وَفاءً منكما أن تَسَلَّيَا

    بِهِنَّ وَلاَ أن تَسألاني التَّسَلِيَا

    It is no loyalty on your part to find consolation

    over them, nor to ask me to forget my sorrow.

  8. فإِن أنتُمَا حَيِّيتُمَا كُلَّ مَربَعٍ

    وأَبنتُمَا مِن رَسمِهَا المُتَعَفِّيَا

    For if you both have greeted every campsite

    and made out the fading parts of its trace,

  9. وأبدَيتُمَا مَا اكتَنَّ مِن لاعِجِ الهَوَى

    وأطفأتُمَا الأشجَانَ عَنِّ غَنِّيَا

    and revealed what lay hidden of love's burning anguish,

    and quenched my sorrows, then sing to me.

  10. فَقَد أبدَت الأطلالَ مَا كُنتُ مُخفِياً

    وأخفَآ إدِكَارُ اللَّهوِ مَا كُنتُ مُبدِيَا

    For the ruins have revealed what I had concealed,

    while remembrance of pleasure concealed what I had revealed.

  11. فَقَالاَ وَقَد أغرَى الجَوَى بي بَرحَهُ

    وأبدَى الأسىَ مَا كَانَ مُختَفِياً بِيَا

    Then the two said, while love's anguish loosed its torment upon me,

    and grief revealed what had lain hidden within me:

  12. أتصبُو وَقَد لاَحَت بِفَودِكَ شَيبَةٌ

    وَطِرفُ التَّصابي والصَّبَابَةِ عُرِّيَا

    “Do you still yearn, though a gray hair has appeared at your temple,

    and the steed of youthful dalliance and ardor stands unsaddled?”

  13. فَقُلتُ الهَوَى العُذرِيُّ مِنهَا أصَابني

    أمَا بِالهَوَى العُذِرِيِّ يُقبَلُ عُذريَا

    I said, “Chaste, Udhri love for her has afflicted me;

    will chaste, Udhri love not win acceptance for my excuse?

  14. وَتُشبِهُ في الخَطِّ الشَّيبةُ شَيبَةً

    ونَفسُ الفَتَى في الفَهمِ تَقفُو التَّمَنِيَا

    And in writing, ‘gray hair’ resembles ‘gray hair’ [as written],

    and a young man's mind follows wishful thinking in its understanding.

  15. أعِيدَا إِلَى فَودَىِّ مِن نَظَرَيكُمَا

    لَعَلَّ الذي حَلَّ الشَّبِِيبَةُ فَودِيَا

    Turn your gazes back to my two temples;

    perhaps what has settled upon my temples is youth.”

  16. لَقَد لاَمني في حُبِّ مَن تَامَ حُبُّهَا

    فُؤَادِىَّ حَتَّى أن أَطَلتُ التَّشَكِيَا

    Indeed, I was reproached for loving her whose love enslaved

    my heart, until I prolonged my complaints,

  17. خَلِيلٌ خَلِىٌّ لاَ يَمِيلُ ِإلَى الهَوَى

    فَقُلتُ لَهُ دَع عَنكَ لَومِى وخَلِيَا

    by a carefree companion who has no inclination toward love.

    So I told him, “Stop reproaching me, and leave me alone.

  18. أيَا لاَئِمِى في الوَجدِ أغرَيتني بِهِ

    ألَم تَرَ لَومَ الصِّبِّ لِلصَّبِّ مُغرِيَا

    O you who reproach my passion, you have incited me toward it;

    have you not seen that reproaching a lover only spurs the lover on?”

  19. إِذَا رُمُتُ مِن حُبِّ الرَّبَابِ تَفَصِّياً

    أبَت لِىَ أيَّامُ اللّوَى تَفَصِّيَا

    Whenever I seek escape from my love for al-Rabab,

    the days of al-Liwa deny me escape.

  20. تَبَدَّت لَنَا يَوماً تُشَيِّعُ جَارَةً

    لَهَا وَهىَ في أَبهَى الحُلِىِّ تَبَدِّيَا

    One day she appeared before us, seeing off a neighbor

    of hers, appearing in the most splendid jewelry.

  21. فَهِمتُ بِهَا حَتَّى تَرَدَّيتُ في هُوىً

    حَوَالِىَّ وَجداً وَاستَطبَتُ التَّرَدِيَا

    So I fell madly in love with her, until I plunged into chasms

    all around me in passion, and found the plunge sweet.

  22. فَلَمَّا رَأتني شَفني ألَمُ الهَوَى

    وَلَم أكُ ِإلاَّ بِالصَّبَابَةِ مُدلِيَا

    When she saw me, wasted by love's pain,

    and pleading with nothing but passionate longing,

  23. ومُصطَانُ دَمعِى قَد تَدَلَّى صَبَابَةً

    بِنَحرِى وَرَاءَت دَمعِىَ المُتَدَلِّيَا

    and my guarded tears had streamed down in longing

    upon my throat, and she saw my streaming tears,

  24. تَثَنَّت بِدِعصٍ فَوقَ دِعصٍ فَخِلتُهَا

    مِنَ ألبَانِ غُصناً نَاعِماً مُتَثَنَيَا

    she swayed, dune above dune, and I thought her

    a tender, swaying branch of the ban-tree.

  25. وَلاَحَت فَخِلتُ البَدرَ غُرَّةَ وَجهِها

    ضِيَاءً وَمَا لِلبَدرِ ذَاكَ مِنَ الضِّيَا

    And she shone; I took the full moon for her face's bright brow

    in radiance—yet the full moon has no such radiance.

  26. وَنَصَّت فَأَبدَت جِيدَ أُمِّ جِدايَةٍ

    فَقُلتُ مَهَاةٌ هِى أم أُمُّ طَلاً هِيَا

    And she raised her head, revealing the neck of a fawn's mother;

    I said, “Is she an oryx, or is she a fawn's mother?”

  27. وَأبدَى ثَنَايَاهَأ إختِلاَسُ ابتِسَامِهَا

    أَقَاحِى رَوضٍ واللَّثَاتِ رُوَيزِيَا

    A fleeting smile revealed her front teeth:

    meadow daisies; and her gums, ruwayziya [unclear].

  28. تَصَدَّت لَهَا أُخرَى مُنَاوِيَةً لَهَا

    وقَد أنكَرَ الرَّاءُونَ مِنهَا التَّصَدِيَا

    Another woman challenged her, setting herself against her,

    and the onlookers disapproved of her challenge,

  29. كَمَا تَصَدَّى لِى زَنِيمٌ مُذَمَّمٌ

    يُحَاوِلُ في حَولِ القَصَائِدِ شَأوِيَا

    just as a baseborn, blameworthy fellow challenged me,

    trying, in the strength of poems, to attain my reach.

  30. ويَزعُمني مِثلَ الأُلَى أَحدَ قُوابِه

    وَخَالُوهُ في شَأوِ القَرِيضِ مُحَلِّيَا

    He reckons me, like the others, one of his quwab [unclear],

    and they imagined him a front-runner in verse's race [reading uncertain].

  31. أيَا وَغدُ لا تَفخَر فَلَستَ بِشَاعِرٍ

    وَلَم تَكُ مِمَّن بِالجَزَالَةِ حُلِّيَا

    O wretch, do not boast: you are no poet,

    nor one adorned with vigorous eloquence.

  32. دَعِ الشِّعرَ إِنَّ الشِّعرَ لَستًَ مِن أهلِهِ

    وَلَم تَستَطِع عِندَ التَّحَدِّى التَّحَدِيَا

    Leave poetry alone, for you are not one of its people,

    and when challenged, you could not rise to the challenge.

  33. تَأَسَّ بِمَن نَاوَيتُ قَبلَكَ فَانثَنَوا

    خَزَايَا وَوَلَّوا مُدبرِينَ تَأَسِّيَا

    Follow those I opposed before you: they turned back

    disgraced and fled with their backs turned—follow their example.

  34. وَكُلُّ امرِئٍ وَافَاكَ أَمِن مُعَزِّزاً

    بِتَهنِئِةٍ فَالآن يَأتِي مُعَزِّيَا

    And everyone who came to you, secure and offering support,

    with congratulations, now comes offering condolences.

  35. فَمَا أنتَ إِلا البُخلُ والجَهلُ والجَفَا

    لِذَلِكَ سَاكَنتَ الجُفَاةَ والأَغبِيَا

    You are nothing but miserliness, ignorance, and harshness;

    that is why you dwelt among the uncouth and the foolish.

  36. فَواللهِ مَا كُنتَ المُجَلَّى في المَدَى

    وَمَا كُنتَ إِن رُمتَ السِّبَاقَ مُصَلِيَا

    By God, you were never the winner on the racecourse,

    nor, if you sought to race, were you even the runner-up.

  37. خُلِقتَ غَوِيًّا في الغَوَايَةِ قَافَياً

    غَوِيًّا لِمِنهَاجِ الغوي مُتَقَفِّيَا

    You were created wayward, in waywardness following

    a wayward man, tracing a wayward man's path.

  38. وَصَلتَ حِبَالَ الأَغبِيَاءِ غَبَاوَةً

    وَصَرَّمتَ حَبلَ الأَولِيَاءِ والأتقِيَا

    You joined the cords of fools in your folly,

    and severed the cord of the saints and the devout.

  39. وَحُزتَ مَعَ الجَهلِ المُرَكَّبِ وَالخَنَا

    وَسُوءَ الطِّبَاعِ العُجبَ والكِبرَ والرِّيَا

    And you acquired—besides compound ignorance, obscenity,

    and vile character—conceit, arrogance, and ostentation.

  40. وَأبدَلتَ مِن نَهجِ الهُدَى مَنهَجَ الهَوَى

    وَهَوناً وأبدَلتَ الوَقَاحَةَ بِالحِيَا

    And you exchanged the path of guidance for the way of caprice

    and abasement, and substituted impudence for modesty.

  41. وَعُوِّضتَ مِن كَسبِ المَعَالِى تَطَفُّلاً

    وَأخذَكَ مَالَ المُسلِمينَ تَعَدِّيَا

    Instead of gaining lofty honors, you were given freeloading,

    and your wrongful taking of Muslims' wealth.

  42. تَعَلَّقتَ بِالدَّجَالِ تَرجُو تَرَقِياً

    وهَيهَاتَ مِنهُ أن تَنَالَ تَرَقِيَا

    You attached yourself to the impostor, hoping for advancement;

    far-fetched is any advancement you might gain from him.

  43. فَمَا نِلتَ إِلاَّ شِقوَةً وَضَلاَلَةً

    وَفِسقاً عَلَى جَهرٍ وسِحراً وسُغنِيَا

    You gained nothing but misery and error,

    and open impiety, sorcery, and sughniya [unclear].

  44. ومَا كُنتَ مِن حَلىِ العُلاَ مُتَحَلِّياً

    وَمَا كُنتَ عَن خِزىِ الخَنَا مُتَخَلِّيَا

    You never adorned yourself with the jewels of eminence,

    nor freed yourself from obscenity's disgrace.

  45. فَأصبَحتَ في المَخزَاةِ لاَمُتَخَلِّياً

    عَنِ العَارفي آنٍ وَلاَ مُتَحَلِّيَا

    So you remain in disgrace, never casting off

    shame for an instant, nor adorning yourself with honor.

  46. وَلَم تُرَ يَوماً طُولَ دَهرِكَ صَائِماً

    وَلَم تُرَ يَوماً في الزَّمَانِ مُصَلِّيَا

    Not once in all your life have you been seen fasting,

    nor have you ever been seen praying.

  47. وَلَم تَشتَغِل ِإلاَّ بِبَطنِكَ دَائِماً

    وَلَستَ لِمَا أدَّى الرِّجَالُ مُؤَدِّيَا

    You have always occupied yourself with nothing but your belly,

    and you do not fulfill what men have fulfilled.

  48. عَداني عَن هَجوِ المُذَمَّمِ أنني

    إِذَا حُكتُ شِعراً رَائِقَ الحَوكِ مُندِيَا

    What holds me back from satirizing the blameworthy man is that,

    whenever I weave verse, elegant in its weaving and dew-fresh,

  49. وأَهدَيتُه مِثلَ الجُمَانِ مُنَظَّماً

    جَزِيلَ مَعَانٍ وَاضِحاً مُتَبَدِّيَا

    and offer it like pearls strung together,

    rich in meaning, clear and manifest,

  50. تَفَيَهقَ بِاللَّحنِ الرَّكِيكِ وَخَالَهُ

    كَمِثلِ الذي أهدَيتُ أصبَحَ مُهدِيَا

    he blusters with feeble, faulty speech, imagining it

    like what I offered, and sets about offering it;

  51. وأني إِن بَالَغتُ في صِرفِ هَجوِهِ

    وَمَزَّقتُه مِن أصلِه كُنتُ مُطرِيَا

    and that, if I go to extremes in pure invective against him

    and tear him up by the roots, I would still be praising him.

  52. فَهَاكَ رَوِيًّا رَائِقاً وقَصِيدَةً

    مُنَمَّقَة ً أحسَنتُ فِيهَا التَّمطِيَا

    So take a pleasing rhyme-letter and a poem,

    ornamented, in which I have excelled at swaggering.

  53. فَارسِل جَواباً سَالِماً مِن رَكَاكَةٍ

    وَسُوءَ اتَّزَانٍ واجعَلَنَّ الرَّوِىًّ يَا

    Then send a reply free of feebleness

    and faulty meter, and be sure to make yāʾ the rhyme-letter.