1. أَأَنْ قالَ لِي صَحْبِي تَسُلَّ بِغَيْرِهَا

    سَلَوْتُ وَهَلْ عَنْهَا أُصَادِفُ مَذْهَبا

    Just because my companions said to me, “Seek solace with another,”

    have I forgotten her? Can I find any path away from her?

  2. وَلَيْلٍ أَضَاعَ الْخِلْوُ عِرْفَانَ طُولِهِ

    تَرَى النَّجْمَ فِيهِ لاَ يَرُومُ تَغَيُّبَاً

    And many a night whose length the carefree fail to fathom—

    you see the stars within it unwilling to set,

  3. وَعَقْرَبَهُ فِي الْغَرْبِ تَهْوِي كَأنَّهَا

    تُشَكِّلُ فِي حَقِّ التَّشَابُهِ عَقْرَبَا

    and its Scorpion plunges in the west, as though

    it forms the very likeness of a scorpion—

  4. قَطَعْتُ مدَاهُ بِالأَمَانِي أَكُرُّهاً

    إذَا قُلْتُ وَلَّى الْهَمُّ عَادَ فَاَنْصَبَا

    I passed its span with wishes, turning them over and over;

    whenever I said, “Worry has departed,” it returned and wearied me.

  5. وَأَزْرَقَ خَفَّاقٍ تَلُوحُ كَأنَّمَا

    تَجَلَّدَ دَرْعاً أَوْ بِسَلْخٍ تَجَبَّبَا

    And a rippling blue expanse gleams as though

    it has taken mail for its skin, or robed itself in a shed skin.

  6. نَأَتْ عَنْهُ أَذْيَالُ السَّحَائِبِ فَأَخْتَلَى

    وَسَرَّبَ لِلتُّرْبِ الْقَذَى فَتَسَرَّبا

    The clouds’ trailing skirts withdrew from it, leaving it alone,

    and it sent the debris into the soil, where it slipped away.

  7. وَيَلْمَحُهُ لَمْحض الرَّياَحِ بِطِيبِهِ

    فَيُرْعَدُ مِنْهُ الْجِسْمُ لَمْحاً مُحَبَّبا

    The winds’ light touch brushes it in its freshness,

    and the body shivers at it with a fleeting, welcome thrill.

  8. وَإنِّي لَذُو صبْرٍ عَلَى رَغْمِ حَاسِدِي

    أفَلِّقُ هَامَ النّاَئِبَاتِ تَعَقُّبا

    And I am indeed patient, despite my envier;

    I split calamities’ skulls as I pursue them.

  9. وأُغْضِي عَلى بَعْضِ الأَذَى فَتُثِيرُنِي

    عَوَاصِفُ ذَنْبِ الْحلْمِ شَرْقاً وَمَغْرباً

    I overlook some harm, yet I am roused

    by storms born of forbearance’s fault, east and west.

  10. وَكَمْ مِنْ عَدُوٍّ قَدْ رَعَتْ لهَوَاتُهُ

    مُنَابِتَ عِرضِي فاسْتَجَابَ مُكَذِّبا

    And many an enemy whose maw has grazed

    the pastures of my honor, then answered with denial—

  11. وَثَبْتُ إلَيْهِ ذَا اعْتِزامٍ وَسَطْوَتِي

    عَلَى الظُّلْمِ لاَ يَزْدَادُ إلاًَّ تَوَثُّبا

    I have sprung upon him with resolve; and my assault

    against injustice only grows more eager to spring.

  12. وَأَوْطَأْتُهُ ذُلاًّ يُبَاقِيهِ وسَمُهُ

    وَأَنْشَبَ كَيْدِي فِيهِ ناباً ومَخْلَبا

    And I made him tread humiliation whose brand endures with him,

    and my stratagem sank a fang and claw into him.

  13. وإنِّي امْرُؤٌ تَصْفُو مَوارِدُ رَأفَتِي

    وَتَحْرُبُ سَطْوَاتِ الْعَدُوَّ الْمُحَرَّبَا

    And I am a man whose springs of compassion run clear,

    and whose onslaughts despoil the battle-hardened enemy.

  14. إذا عُدَّتِ الأَبْيَاتُ أَبْصَرْتَ بَيْتَنَا

    كَأَن الثُّرَيَّا بالْبَنِيِّ مُطَنَّبَا

    When houses are counted, you will see our house

    as though the Pleiades were pitched among the buildings.

  15. رُوَيْدَكَ إِنَّ النَّارَ تَظْهَرُ تَارَةً

    ويَكْمُنُ في الأَحْجارِ مِنْهَا تَغَيُّبَا

    Take your time: fire sometimes shows itself,

    and some of it lurks unseen within the stones.