1. لَونُ الشَبينَةِ أَنصَلُ الأَلوانِ

    وَالشَيبُ جُلُّ عَمائِمِ الفِتيانِ

    The hue of youth is the quickest of hues to fade;

    gray hair is the chief of young men's turbans.

  2. نَبتٌ بِأَعلى الرَأسِ يَرعاهُ الرَدى

    رَعيَ المَطِيِّ مَنابِتَ الغيطانِ

    A growth atop the head, grazed by death

    as riding camels graze the growth of lowland fields.

  3. الشَيبُ أَحسَنُ غَيرَ أَنَّ غَضارَةً

    لِلمَرءِ في وَرَقِ الشَبابِ الآني

    Gray hair is fairer, yet there is freshness

    for a man in the foliage of youth in its prime.

  4. وَكَذا بَياضُ الناظِرينَ وَإِنَّما

    بِسَوادِها تَتَأَمَّلُ العَينانِ

    So too the whiteness of the eyes; yet only

    through their blackness do the two eyes gaze.

  5. لَهفي عَلى زَمَنٍ مَضى وَكَأَنَّني

    مِن بَعدِهِ كَلٌّ عَلى الأَزمانِ

    Alas for a time gone by! It is as though I

    am, after its passing, a burden upon the ages.

  6. أَفنَيتُهُ طاغي العُرامِ كَأَنَّما

    في أُمِّ رَأسي نَخوَةُ السَكرانِ

    I spent it in raging recklessness, as though

    a drunkard's arrogance filled the core of my head.

  7. يَرجو الفَتى خُلَسَ البَقاءِ وَإِنَّما

    جارا حَياةِ العُمرِ مُفتَرِقانِ

    The young man hopes for stolen moments of survival, yet

    the two companions sharing a lifetime must part.

  8. مُتَعَرِّضٌ إِمّا لِلَونٍ حائِلٍ

    بَينَ الذَوائِبِ أَو لِعُمرٍ فانِ

    He is exposed either to a changing hue

    among his locks, or to a life that fades.

  9. ما لي وَما لِلدَهرِ قَلقَلَ صَرفُهُ

    عَزمي وَقَطَّعَ بَينُهُ أَقراني

    What have I to do with Time? Its turns have shaken

    my resolve, and its partings have cut away my peers.

  10. وَرَمى بِشَخصي حَرَّ كُلَّ مَفازَةٍ

    لا يَستَقِلُّ بِها مَطِيُّ جَبانِ

    It has cast my person into the heat of every wilderness

    where no coward's mounts would venture.

  11. مُتَغَرِّباً لا أَستَجيرُ بِمَنزِلٍ

    فَإِذا نَزَلتُ فَعَقلَةُ الضيفانِ

    Far from home, I seek no shelter in a dwelling;

    if I alight, it is only a guest's tethering.

  12. سَيفي رَفيقي في البِلادِ وَهِمَّتي

    مُتَعَلَّلي وَجَوانِحي خُلّاني

    My sword is my companion through the lands, my aspiration

    my consolation, and my heart's recesses my friends.

  13. يَشكو الحَبيبُ إِلَيَّ شِدَّةَ شَوقِهِ

    وَأَنا المَشوقُ وَما يَبينُ جَناني

    The beloved complains to me of his intense longing,

    though I am the longing one, and my heart reveals nothing.

  14. وَإِذا هَمَمتُ بِمَن أُحِبُّ أَمالَني

    حَصَرٌ يَعوقُ وَعِفَّةٌ تَنهاني

    When I think of the one I love, I am turned aside

    by shyness that hinders and chastity that forbids me.

  15. لِلَّهِ ما أَغضَت عَلَيهِ جَوانِحي

    وَالشَوقُ تَحتَ حِجابِ قَلبِيَ عانِ

    How wondrous, by God, what my breast has veiled,

    while longing lies captive beneath my heart's veil!

  16. ما مَرَّ بَرقٌ في فُروجِ غَمامَةٍ

    إِلّا وَأَعدى القَلبَ بِالخَفَقانِ

    No lightning ever passed through a cloud's clefts

    without infecting the heart with throbbing.

  17. وَإِذا تَحَرَّكَتِ الرِياحُ تَحَرَّكَت

    بَينَ الضُلوعِ غَوامِضُ الأَشجانِ

    And when the winds stir, there stir

    between the ribs the hidden depths of sorrow.

  18. أَجَمَمتُ لَحظي عِفَّةً وَسَجِيَّةً

    أَن لا أَجُمَّ البيضَ في الأَجفانِ

    I have rested my gaze in chastity, and made it my habit

    not to let white blades rest within their sheaths.

  19. غَيرانُ دونَ العِرضِ لا أَسخو بِهِ

    وَالعِرضُ خَيرُ عَقيلَةِ الإِنسانِ

    Jealous in defense of honor, I do not give it away;

    honor is a person's most precious possession.

  20. وَأَذودُ عَن سَمعي المَلامَ كَأَنَّهُ

    عُصوٌ أَخافُ عَلَيهِ حَدَّ سِنانِ

    I ward reproach away from my hearing, as though it were

    a limb I fear a spearpoint's edge might hurt.

  21. لي يَقظَةُ الذِئبِ الحَبيثِ فَإِن جَرى

    سَفَهٌ فَعِندي نَومَةُ الظَرِبانِ

    I have the vigilance of a cunning wolf; but if

    foolishness occurs, I have the sleep of a polecat.

  22. حَدَثٌ عَلى الأَحبابِ لا أَشكو الَّذي

    يَشكو وَلا أَنسى الَّذي يَنساني

    Solicitous toward loved ones, I do not complain of the one

    who complains, nor forget the one who forgets me.

  23. أَشكو النَوائِبَ ثُمَّ أَشكُرُ فِعلَها

    لِعَظيمِ ما أَلقى مِنَ الخُلّانِ

    I complain of calamities, then thank them for their work,

    because of the enormity of what I suffer from friends.

  24. وَإِذا أَمِنتَ مِنَ الزَمانِ فَلا تَكُن

    إِلّا عَلى حَذَرٍ مِنَ الإِخوانِ

    And if you are safe from Time, do not be

    anything but on guard against your brothers.

  25. كَم مِن أَخٍ تَدعوهُ عِندَ مُلِمَّةٍ

    فَيَكونُ أَعظَمَ مِن يَدِ الحِدثانِ

    How many a brother you call upon in a calamity

    proves worse than the hand of misfortune!

  26. لَولا يَقينُ القَلبِ أَنَّكَ حَبسُهُ

    لَعَصى وَهَمَّ عَليكَ بِالعُدوانِ

    Were the heart not certain that you are its prison,

    it would rebel and contemplate an assault upon you.

  27. كَم عَمَّمَتني بِالظَلامِ مَطِيَّةٌ

    بَعدَ اِعوِجاجِ عَمائِمِ الرُكبانِ

    How often a mount has turbaned me with darkness

    after the riders' turbans had tilted askew!

  28. وَاللَيلُ أَعمى دونَ كُلِّ ثَنِيَّةٍ

    وَالدَهرُ غَيرُ مُغَمِّضِ الأَجفانِ

    Night is blind before every mountain pass,

    while Time never closes its eyelids.

  29. وَكَأَنَّ أَنجُمَهُ أَسِنَّةُ فَيلَقٍ

    طَلَعَت بِها صُمُّ الكُعوبِ دَواني

    As though its stars were an army's spearheads,

    borne aloft by solid-jointed shafts close at hand.

  30. بَطلٌ يُعَمَّمُ بِالحُسامِ مِنَ الأَذى

    إِنَّ السُيوفَ عَمائِمُ الشُجعانِ

    A hero is turbaned with a keen blade against harm;

    swords are the turbans of the brave.

  31. قَطَعَ الهُوَينا وَاِستَمَرَّ وَإِنَّما

    بَعضُ التَوَكُّلِ في الأُمورِ تَوانِ

    He abandoned leisurely ease and pressed onward; for

    some reliance in affairs is merely procrastination.

  32. مَيتٌ يَهونُ عَلى الفَوارِسِ فَقدُهُ

    مَن لا يُرِقُّ عَوالِيَ المُرّانِ

    A dead man whose loss is slight to horsemen

    is he who does not wear down the tips of ash-wood spears.

  33. ما ضاقَ هَمّاً كَالشُجاعِ وَلا خَلا

    بِمَسَرَّةٍ كَالعاجِزِ المُتَواني

    None is so straitened by care as the brave, nor so free

    to enjoy delight as the helpless laggard.

  34. ياراكِبَ الهَوجاءِ تَغتَرِفُ الخُطى

    طَلَقَ الظَليمِ وَغايَةَ السِرحانِ

    O rider of the headlong she-camel, whose strides scoop up

    the ostrich's sprint and the wolf's utmost speed!

  35. أَبلِغ أَميرَ المُؤمِنينَ رِسالَةً

    رَوعاءَ نافِرَةً عَنِ الأَقرانِ

    Convey to the Commander of the Faithful a message

    awe-inspiring, standing apart from its peers.

  36. أَجزَلتَ عارِفَتي وَعَوَّدتَ العَطا

    عَقِبي وَوَلَّيتَ اليَراعَ بَناني

    You have lavished favors on me and made gifts attend

    my footsteps, and entrusted the reed pen to my fingers.

  37. ما ضَرَّني أَن لَو بَعِدتُ عَنِ الغِنى

    أَبَداً وَأَنّي مِن لِقائِكَ دانِ

    It would not harm me to remain far from wealth

    forever, provided I am near to meeting you.

  38. وَيَسُرُّني أَن لا يَراني دائِلٌ

    وَمُعَظِّمٌ يَوماً وَأَنتَ تَراني

    It pleases me that no man favored by fortune sees me,

    nor any admirer, on any day, so long as you see me.

  39. ذِكراكَ آخِرُ ما يُفارِقُ خاطِري

    وَنَداكَ أَوَّلُ وارِدٍ يَلقاني

    Remembrance of you is the last thing to leave my mind,

    and your bounty is the first arrival to meet me.

  40. وَإِذا حَطَطتُ عَلَيكَ أَقسَمَتِ المُنى

    أَن لا أُميلَ ذَوائِبَ الكيرانِ

    When I set down my load at your side, my wishes swear

    that I shall no longer tilt the crests of camel-saddles.

  41. وَتَرَكتُ أَيدي العيسِ غَيرَ مَروعَةٍ

    مِن صَفصَفٍ مُتَعَرِّضٍ وَرِعانِ

    I leave the pale camels' forelegs unfrightened

    by a stretching level waste or mountain spurs.

  42. وَإِذا الفَتى بَلَغَ المُنى مِن دَهرِهِ

    عافَ المَسيرَ وَلَذَّ بِالأَوطانِ

    When a young man attains his wishes in his lifetime,

    he shuns travel and delights in his homeland.

  43. أَنتَ المُعينُ عَلى مَآبِبَ جَمَّةٍ

    وَجِماحِ حادِثَةٍ وَرَيبِ زَمانِ

    You are the helper in a multitude of needs,

    against calamity's unruliness and Time's uncertainties.

  44. وَالمُستَجارُ إِذا تَصافَحَتِ القَنا

    بِصُدورِها وَاِلتَفَّتِ الفِئَتانِ

    You are the refuge sought when spears clasp together

    with their breasts, and the two forces interlock.

  45. مُتَيَقِّظٌ لا القَلبُ يَفتُرُ هَمُّهُ

    يَوماً وَلا الجَفنانِ يَنعَقِدانِ

    Ever watchful, his heart's concern never slackens

    for a day, nor do his two eyelids close.

  46. وَكَأَنَّما صَرفُ الزَمانِ أَعارَهُ

    عَينَي قَطامِيٍّ بِرَأسِ قِنانِ

    As though the vicissitudes of Time had lent him

    the eyes of a falcon on Qinan's summit.

  47. لا يَصحَبُ الأَيّامَ إِلّا راغِباً

    في وَصلَتي أَو سائِلاً عَن شاني

    He accompanies the days only while seeking

    my fellowship, or asking after my affairs.

  48. في كُلِّ يَومٍ يَستَثيرُ عَجاجَةً

    هَوجاءَ راغِبَةً عَلى القيعانِ

    Each day he stirs up a dust cloud,

    wild and vast over the open plains,

  49. في فَيلَقٍ تَعمى الغَزالَةُ دونَهُ

    وَتَكوسُ خابِطَةً بِغَيرِ طِعانِ

    amid an army before which the sun grows blind

    and topples, stumbling, without a spear-thrust.

  50. مُتَضايِقٍ غَصَّت بِهِ فيحُ الفَلا

    ضيقَ القَلائِدِ في رِقابِ غَوانِ

    So closely packed that the broad deserts choke on it,

    as tightly as necklaces about beautiful women's necks,

  51. وَفَوارِساً يَتَسَمَّعونَ إِلى العُلى

    نَغَماتِ كُلِّ حَنِيَّةٍ مِرنانِ

    and horsemen who listen, intent on glory,

    to the notes of every resonant bow.

  52. مَشَقوا بِأَطرافِ القَنا قِمَمَ العِدا

    إِنَّ الرَماحَ مَخاصِرُ الفُرسانِ

    They slash the enemies' crowns with spear-tips;

    spears are the horsemen's hand-staves.

  53. وَإِذا الغُبارُ نَهى العُيونَ تَدافَعوا

    في الرَوعِ وَاِتَّكَلوا عَلى الآذانِ

    When dust denies the eyes their sight, they surge forward

    in battle's terror, relying on their ears.

  54. أُسدٌ كَأَنَّ عَلى سَنابِكِ خَيلِهِم

    يَومَ اللِقاءِ مُسِفَّةَ العِقبانِ

    Lions, as though upon their horses' hooves

    on the day of encounter were low-swooping eagles.

  55. تُرعى الجَماجِمُ وَالجَميمُ إِزاءَها

    وَدَمُ الطُلى بَدَلاً مِنَ الغُدرانِ

    Skulls serve as pasture, though fresh herbage lies beside them,

    and throat-blood takes the place of pools.

  56. لَو شِئتَ شَتَّتَتِ الثَرَيّا شَملَها

    جَزَعاً وَهَمَّ النِسرُ بِالطَيَرانِ

    If you wished, the Pleiades would scatter their cluster

    in terror, and the Eagle would make to fly.

  57. لَيسَ الحَمائِمُ بِالبِطاحِ وَحُجرُها

    بِأَعَزِّ مِمّا نِلتَهُ بِأَمانِ

    The doves in the valley flats and their nests

    are no more inviolable than what you won under safe-conduct.

  58. عَجَباً لِنارٍ جاوَرَتكَ خَديعَةً

    في أَيِّ ناحِيَةٍ وَأَيَّ مَغاني

    Marvel at a fire that came beside you treacherously,

    in whatever region and whatever dwellings!

  59. ما كانَ ذا إِلّا تَخَمُّطَ غارَةٍ

    بُدِّلتَ مِن هَبَواتِها بِدُخانِ

    That was nothing but the fury of a raid;

    you were given smoke in place of its dust clouds.

  60. ما ضَرَّ لَيثَ الغابِ نارٌ أُضرِمَت

    في غابِهِ وَنَجا بِغَيرِ هَوانِ

    The forest's lion was not harmed by a fire kindled

    in his forest: he escaped without disgrace.

  61. وَمَتى تُهُضِّمَ ضَيغَمٌ وَتَوَلَّعَت

    بِحَيا الغُيوثِ أَنامِلُ النيرانِ

    When has a lion ever been brought low, or

    fire's fingers toyed with rainstorms' life-giving water?

  62. وَأَنا اِبنُ عَمِّكَ ما يَسوكَ يَسوءُني

    عُمرَ الزَمانِ وَمَن رَماكَ رَماني

    And I am your cousin: whatever hurts you hurts me

    for all Time's duration; whoever strikes at you strikes at me.

  63. ماذا فَليسَ بِضائِري أَن لَم أَكُن

    لَكَ جارَ بَيتٍ أَو رَضيعَ لِبانِ

    What then? It does not harm me that I am not

    your neighbor at home, or your brother at the breast.

  64. وَلَأَنتَ حَسرَةُ ذي الخُمولِ وَما دَرى

    أَنَّ الثُرَيّا حَسرَةُ الدَبَرانِ

    You indeed are the obscure man's anguish; he does not know

    that the Pleiades are Aldebaran's anguish.

  65. أَنا حَربُ ضِدِّكَ فَاِرضِني حَرباً لَهُ

    وَاِرضَ السِنانَ مُصَمِّماً لِطِعانِ

    I am war upon your foe; accept me as war against him,

    and accept the spearpoint, unyielding in the thrust.

  66. وَكَفاكَ شُكري أَنَّ بِرَّكَ ظاهِرٌ

    عِندي وَما يَخفى عَلى الأَعيانِ

    Let this suffice as my thanks: your kindness is manifest

    to me, and is not hidden from the notables.

  67. وَإِذا سَكَتُّ فَإِنَّ أَنطَقَ مِن فَمي

    عَنّي فَمُ المَعروفِ وَالإِحسانِ

    And if I am silent, more eloquent than my mouth

    on my behalf is the mouth of kindness and beneficence.

  68. فَاِكفُف سَماحَكَ وَاِثنِ مِن غُلَوائِهِ

    إِنَّ الغِنى في بَعضِ ما أَعطاني

    So restrain your generosity and curb its excess;

    wealth lies in only part of what it has given me.

  69. فَليَشكُرَنكَ ما شَكَرتُكَ غالِبٌ

    وَذَوائِبُ الآباءِ مِن عَدنانِ

    So may Ghalib thank you as long as I thank you,

    and the foremost forefathers descended from Adnan.

  70. ما ماتَ مَن كَثُرَ الثَناءُ وَراءَهُ

    إِنَّ المُذَمَّمَ مَيِّتُ الحَيوانِ

    He has not died who leaves abundant praise behind;

    the reviled man is the dead one among the living.

  71. هَذا الإِمامُ يَذودُني عَن وَجهِه

    وَيَسومُني لُقيا ذَوي الشَنآنِ

    This Imam keeps me from his face

    and subjects me to encounters with those full of hatred.

  72. مُتَكَلِّفاً أَقتاتُ بِشرَ مَعاشِرٍ

    لَهُمُ إِلَيَّ تَشازُرُ الغَيرانِ

    Constrained, I subsist on the smiles of people

    who turn a jealous man's sidelong glare toward me.

  73. تَتَناتَجُ الأَحقادُ بَينَ ضُلوعِهِم

    وَيَزَمِّلونَ أَجِنَّةَ الأَضغانِ

    Hatreds breed between their ribs,

    and they swaddle the embryos of rancor.

  74. وَأَنا الفَقيرُ عَلى غَزارَةِ جودِه

    فَإِذا أَرادَ بيَ الغِنى أَدناني

    Yet I am poor, despite the abundance of his generosity;

    when he wishes wealth for me, he draws me near.

  75. لَم آلُ جُهداً في الثَناءِ وَإِنَّما

    غَطّى بِعَرضِ نَداهُ طولَ لِساني

    I have spared no effort in praise, yet

    the breadth of his bounty has covered the length of my tongue.

  76. طَمِعَ المُعادي أَن يُقَرِّبَهُ وَمَن

    صافى عَدُوّاً لي فَقَد عاداني

    The adversary hoped he would draw him near; and whoever

    befriends an enemy of mine has become my enemy.

  77. طَلَبَ العُلى وَأَبوهُ غَيرُ مُهَذَّبِ

    بَينَ الوَرى وَالأُمُّ غَيرُ حَصانِ

    He sought high rank, though his father is not well bred

    among mankind, and his mother is not chaste.

  78. وَلَأَنتَ أَولى أَن تُرِبَّ صَنائِعاً

    كَثُرَت بِهِنَّ مَطامِعٌ وَأماني

    You are indeed more worthy of nurturing favors

    through which many ambitions and hopes have grown.

  79. وَإِذا بَقيتَ فَقَد شَفَيتَ مِنَ العِدا

    قَلبي وَأَعطَيتَ الأَمانَ زَماني

    If you live on, you have brought relief from my foes

    to my heart, and granted security to my days.