1. راحَت رَواحاً بَينَ كُنّادِ

    وَأَخلَفَت ظَنّي وَميعادي

    She departed at evening amid Kunnād,

    And disappointed my hopes and failed my tryst.

  2. وَبِتُّ مُشتاقاً إِلى وَجهِها

    أَلقى عَلَيهِ غُلَّةَ الصادي

    And I spent the night yearning for her face,

    Upon it I find a parched man's burning thirst.

  3. فَقُلتُ لِلنَفسِ قِفي إِنَّها

    شيمَةُ ما في الوَعدِ ميعادِ

    So I told my soul: “Stop! It is

    Her way: no meeting lies within the promise.”

  4. ما كُلُّ برقٍ مُرشِدٌ ماؤُهُ

    وَلا صَديقٌ كُلُّ مُعتادِ

    Not every lightning flash points the way to rain,

    Nor is every frequent visitor a friend.

  5. كَم دونَها مِن مَنهَلٍ آجِنٍ

    وَمِن ذُرى طَودٍ وَأَعقادِ

    How many stagnant watering places stand between me and her,

    And mountain summits and heaped sand-ridges,

  6. وَمِن سَخاوِيٍّ بِها مُشرِفٍ

    لِلعَينِ مِن مَثنى وَأَفرادِ

    And broad sandy tracts looming there

    Before the eye, in pairs and singly.

  7. فَعَزِّ نَفساً قَلبُها شاخِصٌ

    بِفَقدِ مَن لَيسَ بِمِفقادِ

    So console a soul whose heart is transfixed

    By losing one not worth missing.

  8. وَصاحِبٍ يُعطي وَيُبدي العُلى

    رَكّابُ أَهوالٍ وَأَعوادِ

    And a companion who gives and displays nobility—

    A rider of terrors and timbers—

  9. صَحِبتُهُ في المُلكِ أَو عودِهِ

    فَزادَ في عِدَّةِ حُسّادي

    I kept him company in kingship or on his return;

    So he swelled the number of my enviers.

  10. يا طالِبَ الحاجاتِ لا تَعصِني

    وَاِسمَع فَإِنّي ناصِحٌ هادِ

    O seeker of favors, do not disobey me;

    And listen, for I am an adviser and guide.

  11. دَع عَنكَ حَمّاداً وَخُلقانَهُ

    لا خَيرَ في خُلقانِ حَمّادِ

    Have done with Hammād and his rags;

    There is no good in Hammād's rags.

  12. المُؤثِرُ الرَأسَ عَلى رَبِّهِ

    وَالجاعِلُ الخِنزيرَ في الزادِ

    He who prefers the head to his Lord,

    And puts the pig among his provisions;

  13. طَرّادُ وِلدانٍ إِذا ما غَدا

    ما كُلُّ لوطِيٍّ بِطَرّادِ

    A relentless pursuer of boys whenever he goes out in the morning—

    Not every sodomite is such a pursuer.

  14. بَرِئتُ مِن هَذا وَمِن دينِهِ

    يُصبِحُ لِلخِشفِ بِمِرصادِ

    I have disowned this man and his creed;

    Each morning he lies in wait for the fawn.

  15. بِئسَ الشَوانِيُّ لَهُ مَنصِبٌ

    في آلِ نِهيا غَيرُ مُرتادِ

    Wretched al-Shawānī! He has a lineage

    In the house of Nihyā that none seeks out.

  16. لا يَشرَبُ الخَمرَ وَلَكِنَّهُ

    يَأكُلُها أَكلَ اِمرِئٍ عادِ

    He does not drink wine, but he

    Eats it like a man who exceeds all bounds.

  17. سُمّيتَ عَبدَ الرَأسِ مِن حُبِّهِ

    قَد عَلِمَ الحاضِرُ وَالبادي

    You were called “Slave of the Head” for loving it;

    Town-dweller and nomad alike know it.

  18. سَمّاكَ حَمّاداً أَبٌ كاذِبٌ

    ما أَنتَ لِلَّهِ بِحَمّادِ

    A lying father named you Hammād;

    You are no constant praiser of God.

  19. أَبَعدَ خَمسينَ تَكَمَّلتَها

    تَبكي عَلى اِستٍ المُسمِرِ العادي

    After fifty years that you have completed,

    Do you weep over the night-talking transgressor's arse?

  20. عَرَّدتَ عَن قَرمِ بَني هاشِمٍ

    وَالمَوتُ يَحدوكَ بِهِ الحادي

    You fled from the chieftain of the sons of Hāshim,

    And with death the camel-driver chants you onward.

  21. لَولا تَنَحّيكَ وَفى نَذرَهُ

    فيكَ فَأَصبَحتَ مَعَ الزادِ

    Had you not withdrawn, he would have fulfilled his vow

    Upon you, and you would have joined the provisions.

  22. ما أَنتَ بِالزاني وَلَكِنَّما

    وَرِثتَ عَن حَشٍّ وَوَلّادِ

    You are not a fornicator; rather,

    You inherited it from a privy and a prolific begetter.

  23. لَو كُنتَ مِمَّن يَتَّقي سَوأَةً

    أَعوَلتَ مِن سُخطي وَإِبعادي

    If you were one who shunned disgrace,

    You would have wailed at my anger and my driving you away.

  24. تَخدُمُ أَقواماً وَخَلَّيتَني

    وَقَد تَراني حَيَّةَ الوادي

    You serve other folk and have forsaken me,

    Though you see me as the valley's serpent.