1. جَمالٌ ولكنْ أينَ منكَ جَميلُ

    وحُسْنٌ وإحسانُ الحسانِ قَليلُ

    Beauty—but where is your kindness?

    And loveliness—and kindness from beauties is rare.

  2. ولكنّ لي حُبّاً تقَادَمَ عَهْدُه

    فليس إلى الإقصار عنه سَبيل

    Yet I have a love long established,

    And there is no way to desist from it.

  3. سَجِيّةُ نَفْسٍ ما تَحولُ فتَرعَوي

    على أنّ حالاتِ الزّمانِ تَحُول

    The disposition of a soul that does not change and relent,

    Though the conditions of time change.

  4. سقَى اللهُ أرضاً ما تَزالُ عِراصُها

    يُجَرُّ عليها للسَّحابِ ذُيول

    May God water a land whose open grounds are ever

    Swept by the trailing skirts of clouds.

  5. يَبيتُ بها قلبي ولَحظُكِ والصَّبا

    جَميعاً وكُلٌّ يا أُمَيمُ عَليل

    There my heart, your gaze, and the east wind pass the night,

    Together, and each, O Umaym, is ailing.

  6. وما تَفْتَأُ الحسناءُ تَفْتِكُ إن رنَتْ

    بلَحْظٍ يَقُدُّ القلبَ وهْو كَليل

    The beautiful woman never ceases to slay when she gazes,

    With a glance that cleaves the heart, though languid.

  7. فللّهِ عَيْنا مَن رأَى مثْلَ سَيْفِها

    لوَ انّ به غيرَ المُحبِّ قَتيل

    God bless the eyes that have seen a sword like hers—

    If only someone other than the lover were slain by it!

  8. وحَيْرانُ أمّا قلبُه فهْو راحِلٌ

    غَراماً وأمّا حَبُّه فحُلول

    And a bewildered man: his heart is traveling

    In longing, while his beloved stays behind.

  9. ألمَّ به ساري الخيالِ ببَلْدةٍ

    وأُخْرَى بها أهْلُ الحبيبِ نُزول

    The night-roaming phantom visited him in one town,

    While the beloved's people were lodged in another.

  10. ونحن نَجوبُ البِيدَ فوقَ ركائبٍ

    تَراها معَ الرَكْبِ العِجالِ تَجول

    And we traverse the deserts upon riding camels,

    Which you see roaming with the hastening caravan.

  11. فلو وقَفوا في ظلِّ رُمْحٍ ونَوَّخوا

    لضَمّهُمُ والعِيسَ فيه مَقيل

    If they stopped beneath a spear's shade and knelt their camels,

    A noonday resting place there would hold them and the pale camels.

  12. وماذا يُريدُ الطّيفُ منّا إذا سَرَى

    وفي الصَّدْرِ منّي لَوعةٌ وغَليل

    What does the phantom want of us when it journeys by night,

    While within my breast are anguish and burning thirst?

  13. وخَدِّيَ من صِبْغِ الدُّموعِ مُورَّدٌ

    وطَرْفيَ باللّيلِ الطّويل كَحيل

    And my cheek is rosy with the dye of tears,

    And my eye wears the kohl of the long night.

  14. تَأوَّبَني هَمٌّ كما خالَط الحَشا

    من البيضِ مَطْرورُ الغِرارِ صَقيل

    Sorrow returned to me as though my innards were pierced

    By a gleaming sword, keen-edged and polished.

  15. لِفُرقَةِ قَومٍ ضَمَّنا أمسِ رِحلةٌ

    ويُفْرِدُهمْ عنّي الغداةَ قُفول

    At parting from people whom yesterday's journey joined with me,

    And whom the morning's return separates from me.

  16. وإنّي إذا قالوا مَتى أنت راحِلٌ

    فقد حانَ للمُسْتَعْجِلينَ رَحيل

    And I, when they ask when I will depart,

    For the time has come for those eager to leave,

  17. وقَضّى لُباناتِ المَقامِ مُودِّعٌ

    ولم يَبْقَ إلاّ أن تُزَمَّ حُمول

    And the departing traveler has fulfilled the wishes of his stay,

    And only the reining of laden camels remains,

  18. لكالطّائرِ المَقْصوصِ منه جَناحُه

    له كُلَّ صُبْحٍ رَنّةٌ وعَويل

    Am indeed like a bird whose wing has been clipped,

    Who every morning cries and wails.

  19. يرَى الطّيرَ أسراباً تَطيرُ وما لَه

    إلى ألْفِه النّائي المَكانِ وُصول

    It sees birds flying in flocks, yet has no

    Way to reach its mate in that distant place.

  20. ويَذكُرُ فَرْخَيهِ ببَيْداءَ بَلْقَعٍ

    تَشُق على مَن جابَها وتَطول

    And it remembers its two chicks in a barren wilderness,

    Hard to cross and long for anyone traversing it.

  21. وتُضحي جِبالُ الثّلْجِ من دونِ عُشّه

    وريحٌ كوقْعِ المَشْرفيِّ بَليل

    Snowy mountains stand between it and its nest,

    And a damp, chill wind like a Mashrafi sword's blow.

  22. فما هو إلاّ ما يُقلِّبُ طَرْفَه

    ويَعروه داءٌ في الضُّلوعِ دَخيل

    It does nothing but turn its gaze,

    While a deep-seated illness afflicts it among its ribs.

  23. فحالي كتلك الحالِ واللهُ شاهدٌ

    ولكنّ صَبْرَ الأكرمينَ جميل

    My state is like that state, and God is witness,

    Yet the patience of the noblest is beautiful.

  24. فهل حامِلٌ عنّى كتابَ صَبابتي

    إلى ساكني أرضِ العراقِ رَسولُ

    Is there one to carry for me the letter of my yearning,

    A messenger to those dwelling in the land of Iraq?

  25. فواللهِ لم أكتُبْه إلاّ وعَبْرتي

    معَ النِّقْسِ منِّي في البَياضِ تَجول

    By God, I wrote it only while my tears

    Flowed from me, with the ink, across the white page.

  26. لِيَهْنِ الرّجالَ الأغنياءَ مُقامُهمْ

    وإنَّ عناءَ المُقْتِرينَ طويل

    May wealthy men enjoy their settled lives,

    For the hardship of the impoverished is long.

  27. وإنّي لأُمْضي للعُلا حَدَّ عَزْمةٍ

    بها من قراعِ النَّائباتِ فُلول

    And for high rank I sharpen the edge of a resolve

    That bears notches from battling calamities.

  28. وما قَصَّرتْ بي هِمّةٌ غيرَ أنّه

    زمانٌ لِما يَرْجو الكرامُ مَطول

    No lack of ambition has held me back; it is only

    An age that delays what noble men hope for.

  29. وقَلَّ غَناءُ الطِّرْفِ والقِدْحِ كُلّما

    يَضيقُ مَجالٌ أو يَضيقُ مُجِيل

    The steed and the arrow-shaft are of little use whenever

    The field is cramped, or their handler is constrained.

  30. وقالوا تشَبَّثْ بالرّجاءِ لعلّه

    يُديلُك من رَيْبِ الزّمانِ مُديل

    They said, 'Cling to hope; perhaps

    A turner of fortunes will give you victory over time's misfortunes,

  31. ويَكْفُلُ عُمْرُ المَرءِ يوماً بحَظِّهِ

    فقلتُ وهل لي بالكَفيلِ كَفيل

    And a man's lifetime will one day guarantee his good fortune.'

    I said, 'But who will guarantee the guarantor for me?'

  32. عسى أحمدٌ يا دَهْرُ يَرْثي لأحمدٍ

    فيُدرَكَ من بَيْنِ الحوادثِ سُول

    Perhaps Ahmad, O Time, will take pity on Ahmad,

    And a wish will be attained amid calamities.

  33. فما يَلتقي يوماً على مثْلِ مِدْحَتي

    وجودُ يدَيِه سائلٌ ومَسول

    For never, with anything like my praise

    And his hands' bounty, do petitioner and patron meet.

  34. منَ القومِ أمّا وجهُه لعُفاتِه

    فطَلْقٌ وأمّا رِفدُه فجَزيل

    He is of those whose face, toward his petitioners,

    Is welcoming, and whose gift is abundant.

  35. يَفيضُ لنا ماءُ النّدى من يَمينِه

    وفي وجههِ ماءُ الحياءِ يَجول

    The water of generosity pours for us from his right hand,

    While the water of modesty flows across his face.

  36. ويَبْسُطُ للدّنيا وللدّينِ راحةً

    تَفاخَرُ أقلامٌ بها ونُصول

    He stretches out a palm for worldly life and religion,

    Of which pens and sword-blades boast.

  37. ويَستَمْطِرُ الجَدْوَى كما انهلَّ واكفاً

    من المُزْنِ مَحلولُ النِّطاقِ هَطول

    And he calls down bounty as rain pours in streams

    From a cloud, its girdle loosened, raining hard.

  38. وفي نَسْخِ ما يُمليهِ ما يَغلطُ الحَيا

    فَيعرِضُ في بَعْضِ البلادِ مُحول

    And the rain errs in copying what he dictates,

    So drought appears in some lands.

  39. فيا أيُّها المَولَى الّذي ظِلُّ عَدْلِه

    على الخَلْقِ طُرّاً والبِلادِ ظَليل

    O master, whose justice's shade

    Shelters all creation and the lands,

  40. ويا أيُّها الفَرْعُ الّذي بلَغ العُلا

    بما كَرُمَتْ في المجدِ منه أُصول

    O branch that has reached the heights

    Through roots ennobled in glory,

  41. لأنتَ الوزيرُ ابنُ الوزيرِ نَباهةً

    إذا مَسَّ قوماً آخَرينَ خُمول

    You are indeed the vizier, a vizier's son, in eminence,

    When obscurity afflicts other men.

  42. وغَيثٌ وفي صَدْرِ المَطالبِ غُلّةٌ

    ولَيثٌ وأطرافُ الأسِنّةِ غِيل

    And rain, while thirst burns in the breast of desires,

    And a lion, with spearheads for thickets.

  43. أَعِنّي على دَهرٍ تَعرَّضَ جائرٍ

    فمالك في العَدْلِ العميمِ عَديل

    Help me against an unjust age that has assailed me,

    For in all-embracing justice you have no equal.

  44. فكلُّ حريمٍ لم تَحُطْهُ مُضَيَّعٌ

    وكُلُّ عزيزٍ لا تُعِزُّ ذَليل

    Every sanctuary you do not guard is left exposed,

    And every mighty man you do not honor is abased.

  45. وهاهو قد هَزَّ الشّتاءُ لِواءه

    بجِيْشٍ له وَطْءٌ عليَّ ثقيل

    Winter has now waved its banner

    With an army whose tread weighs heavily upon me.

  46. ويَذْكرني منسيُّه أو مُضاعُه

    وفي ضِمنها غَيثٌ بحيثُ يَصول

    Its forgotten or neglected things remind me,

    And within them is rain, where it rages.

  47. أَخِفُّ إليها كُلَّ يومٍ وليلةٍ

    وأَسألُ عنها والحَفيُّ سَؤول

    I hasten to them every day and night,

    And ask about them; one deeply concerned asks often.

  48. وقد كاد تَأْخيرُ الجوابِ يُريبُني

    فيَظْهرُ في رَوْضِ الرَّجاءِ ذُبول

    The delayed reply has almost made me doubt,

    So withering appears in the garden of hope.

  49. أَمرْتَ بإنجازِ الأُمورِ فلِمْ أَرَى

    حَوائلَ دَهْرٍ دونَهُنَّ تَحول

    You ordered the matters completed; why, then, do I see

    The obstacles of time standing in their way?

  50. مَنِ الدَّهْرُ حتّى يَجْسُرَ اليومَ أنّه

    إذا قلتَ قولاً ظلَّ عنه يَميل

    Who is Time, that it dares today,

    When you utter a word, to keep turning away from it?

  51. ألم يك من لُؤْمٍ بهيماً وقد غدا

    لمجدِك فيه غُرَّةً وحُجول

    Was it not unmarked black with baseness? Yet now

    Through your glory it bears a white blaze and white stockings.

  52. طَلعْتَ لآفاقِ المكارمِ طَلْعةً

    على حينَ أقمارُ العَلاءِ أُفول

    You rose upon the horizons of noble deeds

    When the moons of high honor were setting.

  53. وأنت الّذي لا يُنكِرُ المَجْدُ أنّه

    لأحسنِ ما قال الكِرامُ فَعول

    And you are he of whom Glory cannot deny

    That he performs the finest things noble men have spoken.

  54. فما يَمنَعُ الحظَّ اليسيرَ التِماسُه

    وجُودُك للحظِّ الكبير بَذول

    What, then, withholds the modest share I seek,

    When your generosity freely bestows the greater share?

  55. أَفي هذه الأقلامِ عاصٍ وطائعٌ

    وفيهنّ أيضاً عالِمٌ وجَهول

    Are some of these pens rebellious and others obedient,

    And among them also the knowing and the ignorant?

  56. وإلاّ فماذا يقْصِدُ القلَمُ الَّذي

    سَمحْتَ بما أَبغيهِ وهْو بَخيل

    If not, what does that pen intend,

    When you grant what I seek, yet it is miserly?

  57. وغيرُ جميلٍ أن يَضِنَّ ورَبُّه

    لأعظَمِ ما يَرجوُ العفاة مُنيل

    It is not seemly that it should be stingy when its master

    Bestows the greatest things petitioners hope for.

  58. فلا والّذي حَجَّ المُلَبّونَ بَيْتَه

    على ناجِياتٍ سَيْرُهُنَّ ذَميل

    No, by Him whose House the pilgrims chanting their call have visited,

    On swift camels whose gait is a brisk trot,

  59. ولا والّذي يُبقِيك للمجدِ والعُلا

    مدَى الدَّهْرِ ما هَبّتْ صَباً وقَبول

    And by Him who preserves you for glory and high rank

    For all time, as long as east winds and easterly breezes blow,

  60. يَميناً لئن أعطَيْتَ أو كنتَ مانعاً

    لَما عنك لي إلاّ إليكَ عُدول

    I swear: whether you give or withhold,

    My turning from you can only be a turning toward you.

  61. وأنْ لم تَزُلْ حتّى تُوقّع لي بِها

    تَرانيَ عن هذا المكانِ أَزول

    And until you endorse it for me, you will not

    See me leave this place.

  62. وأنّ عليك اليومَ تَصْديقَ حَلْفَتي

    فأنت بشَرْعِ المَكْرُمات تَقول

    And today you must make my oath come true,

    For you speak according to the law of noble deeds,

  63. لِيعلمَ كُلٌّ عندك اليومَ مَوضِعي

    وللفضلِ عند العارِفين قَبول

    So all may know today my standing with you;

    And merit finds acceptance among those who recognize it.

  64. بَقِيتَ ولا أبقَى أعاديَكَ الرَّدى

    وغالَ الّذي يَشنا عَلاءكَ غُول

    May you endure, and may death spare none of your enemies,

    And may a ghoul seize whoever hates your eminence.

  65. فلا بَرِحَتْ حُسّادُ علْياكَ تَنتهي

    إلى عثَراتٍ ما لَهُنَّ مُقيل

    May the enviers of your lofty rank never cease to fall

    Into stumbles from which none can rescue them.

  66. لأنت لباغي العُرْفِ وحْدَك مُفْضِلٌ

    وسائرُ أملاكِ البلادِ فُضول

    You alone bestow favor upon the seeker of kindness,

    And the lands' other kings are superfluous.

  67. فمِنْكَ مِثالٌ في الأُمورِ ومنْهمُ

    لأَمْرِك فيها بالرُّؤوسِ مثُول

    From you comes a decree in affairs, and from them

    Submission to your command in them, with bowed heads.

  68. طَليعةُ إقبالٍ جلَتْ لكَ وجْهَها

    وأوّلُ ما يَهْدي الخَميسَ رَعيل

    An advance guard of good fortune has unveiled her face to you,

    And the first to guide an army is its vanguard.

  69. تَركْتَ ملوكَ الأرضِ طُرّاً وكُلُّهمْ

    إلى كلِماتي بالمَسامعِ مِيل

    You have left behind all the kings of the earth, while each

    Inclines his ears toward my words.

  70. قَوافٍ مَعانيها لِطافٌ دقيقةٌ

    وقائلها سَبْقاً بهِنَّ جليل

    Rhymes whose meanings are delicate and subtle,

    And whose speaker is illustrious in surpassing others with them.

  71. هَزَزَن وأطْرَبنَ الكِرامَ كأنّما

    تَهُبُّ شَمالٌ أو تَهُزُّ شَمول

    They stirred and delighted noble men, as though

    A north wind were blowing, or wine were stirring them.

  72. إليك فخُذْها إنّها بِنْتُ ساعةٍ

    كما كَرَّ رَجْعَ النّاظِرَيْنِ عَجول

    Here—take them; they are the daughter of an hour,

    As swift as the returning glance of two eyes.

  73. سَليلةُ فِكْرٍ زاحمَتْها هُمومُه

    فجاءك فيها الحُسْنُ وهْو ضَئيل

    The offspring of thought, crowded by its worries,

    So beauty reached you in them, though slight.

  74. وقد رُضْتُ بالفِكْرِ القريضَ رياضةً

    كما قِيدَ في ثَنْيِ الزِّمامِ ذَلول

    I have trained verse through thought,

    As a docile mount is led by the loop of its rein.

  75. ولا تَستزيدُ الحالَ إن كنتُ مُقصِراً

    ولا يَستغيثُ السَّمْعُ حين أُطيل

    Nor does the occasion ask for more if I have fallen short,

    Nor does the ear cry for help when I speak at length.