1. شَبَحاً أَرى أَم ذاكَ طَيفُ خَيالِ

    لا بَل فَتاةٌ بِالعَراءِ حِيالي

    Do I see a specter, or is that a phantom of the imagination?

    No—rather, a young woman in the open before me.

  2. أَمسَت بِمَدرَجَةِ الخُطوبِ فَما لَها

    راعٍ هُناكَ وَما لَها مِن والي

    Night found her in calamities' path, with no

    caretaker there, and no guardian.

  3. حَسرى تَكادُ تُعيدُ فَحمَةَ لَيلِها

    ناراً بِأَنّاتٍ ذَكَينَ طِوالِ

    Exhausted, she almost turns her night's charcoal darkness

    into fire with long, blazing moans.

  4. ما خَطبُها عَجَباً وَما خَطبي بِها

    ما لي أُشاطِرُها الوَجيعَةَ ما لي

    What is her plight—how strange!—and what is my concern with her?

    What ails me, that I share her suffering? What ails me?

  5. دانَيتُها وَلِصَوتِها في مَسمَعي

    وَقعُ النِبالِ عَطَفنَ إِثرَ نِبالِ

    I drew near her; in my ear her voice had

    the impact of arrows, volley following volley.

  6. وَسَأَلتُها مَن أَنتِ وَهيَ كَأَنَّها

    رَسمٌ عَلى طَلَلٍ مِنَ الأَطلالِ

    And I asked her, “Who are you?” while she seemed

    a trace upon a ruin among ruins.

  7. فَتَمَلمَلَت جَزَعاً وَقالَت حامِلٌ

    لَم تَدرِ طَعمَ الغَمضِ مُنذُ لَيالي

    So she stirred in anguish and said she was pregnant;

    she had not tasted sleep for nights.

  8. قَد ماتَ والِدُها وَماتَت أُمُّها

    وَمَضى الحِمامُ بِعَمِّها وَالخالِ

    Her father had died, and her mother had died,

    and death had carried off her paternal and maternal uncles.

  9. وَإِلى هُنا حَبَسَ الحَياءُ لِسانَها

    وَجَرى البُكاءُ بِدَمعِها الهَطّالِ

    And at this point modesty held back her tongue,

    and weeping flowed with her pouring tears.

  10. فَعَلِمتُ ما تُخفي الفَتاةُ وَإِنَّما

    يَحنو عَلى أَمثالِها أَمثالي

    So I knew what the young woman hid; only

    people like me show tenderness to people like her.

  11. وَوَقَفتُ أَنظُرُها كَأَنّي عابِدٌ

    في هَيكَلٍ يَرنو إِلى تِمثالِ

    And I stood gazing at her, as though I were a worshipper

    in a temple, gazing at a statue.

  12. وَرَأَيتُ آياتِ الجَمالِ تَكَفَّلَت

    بِزَوالِهِنَّ فَوادِحُ الأَثقالِ

    And I saw beauty's signs, their disappearance assured

    by the crushing weight of burdens.

  13. لا شَيءَ أَفعَلُ في النُفوسِ كَقامَةٍ

    هَيفاءَ رَوَّعَها الأَسى بِهُزالِ

    Nothing moves souls more powerfully than a figure,

    slender-waisted, ravaged into gauntness by grief,

  14. أَو غادَةٍ كانَت تُريكَ إِذا بَدَت

    شَمسَ النَهارِ فَأَصبَحَت كَالآلِ

    or a graceful girl who, whenever she appeared, once showed you

    the sun of day, but has become like a mirage.

  15. قُلتُ اِنهَضي قالَت أَيَنهَضُ مَيِّتٌ

    مِن قَبرِهِ وَيَسيرُ شَنٌّ بالي

    I said, “Rise.” She said, “Can a dead person rise

    from his grave, and can a worn-out waterskin walk?”

  16. فَحَمَلتُ هَيكَلَ عَظمِها وَكَأَنَّني

    حُمِّلتُ حينَ حَمَلتُ عودَ خِلالِ

    So I carried her bony frame, and it was as though

    I had been laden, in lifting her, with a toothpick.

  17. وَطَفِقتُ أَنتَهِبُ الخُطا مُتَيَمِّماً

    بِاللَيلِ دارَ رِعايَةِ الأَطفالِ

    And I began snatching stride after stride, making for

    the children's care home by night.

  18. أَمشي وَأَحمِلُ بائِسَينِ فَطارِقٌ

    بابَ الحَياةِ وَمُؤذِنٌ بِزَوالِ

    I walked carrying two wretched souls: one knocking

    at life's door, and one foretelling death.

  19. أَبكيهِما وَكَأَنَّما أَنا ثالِثٌ

    لَهُما مِنَ الإِشفاقِ وَالإِعوالِ

    I wept for them both, as though I were a third

    of their number, through compassion and lamentation.

  20. وَطَرَقتُ بابَ الدارِ لا مُتَهَيِّباً

    أَحَداً وَلا مُتَرَقِّباً لِسُؤالِ

    And I knocked at the home's door, neither fearing

    anyone nor expecting to be questioned,

  21. طَرقَ المُسافِرِ آبَ مِن أَسفارِهِ

    أَو طَرقَ رَبِّ الدارِ غَيرَ مُبالي

    as a traveler knocks on returning from his journeys,

    or as the master of the house knocks, without a care.

  22. وَإِذا بِأَصواتٍ تَصيحُ أَلا اِفتَحوا

    دَقّاتُ مَرضى مُدلِجينَ عِجالِ

    And suddenly voices cried, “Come, open up!

    Those are the knocks of patients hastening through the night!”

  23. وَإِذا بِأَيدٍ طاهِراتٍ عُوِّدَت

    صُنعَ الجَميلِ تَطَوَّعَت في الحالِ

    And suddenly pure hands, accustomed

    to doing good, volunteered at once.

  24. جاءَت تُسابِقُ في المَبَرَّةِ بَعضُها

    بَعضاً لِوَجهِ اللَهِ لا لِلمالِ

    They came vying in kindness, one with

    another, for God's sake, not for money.

  25. فَتَناوَلَت بِالرِفقِ ما أَنا حامِلٌ

    كَالأُمِّ تَكلَأُ طِفلَها وَتُوالي

    So they gently took what I was carrying,

    like a mother guarding her child and tending it continually.

  26. وَإِذا الطَبيبُ مُشَمِّرٌ وَإِذا بِها

    فَوقَ الوَسائِدِ في مَكانٍ عالي

    And there was the doctor, sleeves rolled up; and there she was,

    upon cushions, in a lofty place.

  27. جاءوا بِأَنواعِ الدَواءِ وَطَوَّفوا

    بِسَريرِ ضَيفَتِهِم كَبَعضِ الآلِ

    They brought medicines of many kinds and circled

    their guest's bed, like members of the family.

  28. وَجَثا الطَبيبُ يَجُسُّ نَبضاً خافِتاً

    وَيَرودُ مَكمَنَ دائِها القَتّالِ

    And the doctor knelt, feeling a faint pulse,

    and seeking the hiding place of her deadly disease.

  29. لَم يَدرِ حينَ دَنا لِيَبلُوَ قَلبَها

    دَقّاتِ قَلبٍ أَم دَبيبَ نِمالِ

    He could not tell, when he drew near to examine her heart:

    were these heartbeats, or the creeping of ants?

  30. وَدَّعتُها وَتَرَكتُها في أَهلِها

    وَخَرَجتُ مُنشَرِحاً رَضِيَّ البالِ

    I bade her farewell and left her among her family,

    and went out relieved, at peace of mind.

  31. وَعَجَزتُ عَن شُكرِ الَّذينَ تَجَرَّدوا

    لِلباقِياتِ وَصالِحِ الأَعمالِ

    And I could not thank enough those who devoted themselves

    to lasting deeds and righteous works.

  32. لَم يُخجِلوها بِالسُؤالِ عَنِ اِسمِها

    تِلكَ المُروءَةُ وَالشُعورُ العالي

    They did not embarrass her by asking her name:

    that is nobility and lofty feeling.

  33. خَيرُ الصَنائِعِ في الأَنامِ صَنيعَةٌ

    تَنبو بِحامِلِها عَنِ الإِذلالِ

    The finest kindness among humankind is a kindness

    that lifts its recipient above humiliation.

  34. وَإِذا النَوالُ أَتى وَلَم يُهرَق لَهُ

    ماءُ الوُجوهِ فَذاكَ خَيرُ نَوالِ

    And when a gift comes, with no spilling for its sake

    of the water of faces—their dignity—that is the finest gift.

  35. مَن جادَ مِن بَعدِ السُؤالِ فَإِنَّهُ

    وَهوَ الجَوادُ يُعَدُّ في البُخّالِ

    Whoever gives after being asked,

    though generous, is counted among the misers.

  36. لِلَّهِ دَرُّهُمُ فَكَم مِن بائِسٍ

    جَمِّ الوَجيعَةِ سَيِّئِ الأَحوالِ

    God bless them! How many a wretched soul,

    with vast suffering and wretched circumstances,

  37. تَرمي بِهِ الدُنيا فَمِن جوعٍ إِلى

    عُريٍ إِلى سُقمٍ إِلى إِقلالِ

    is tossed about by the world, from hunger to

    nakedness, to sickness, to destitution.

  38. عَينٌ مُسَهَّدَةٌ وَقَلبٌ واجِفٌ

    نَفسٌ مُرَوَّعَةٌ وَجَيبٌ خالي

    A sleepless eye and a trembling heart,

    a terrified soul and an empty pocket.

  39. لَم يَدرِ ناظِرُهُ أَعُرياناً يَرى

    أَم كاسِياً في تِلكُمُ الأَسمالِ

    His onlooker could not tell whether he saw him naked

    or clothed in those rags.

  40. فَكَأَنَّ ناحِلَ جِسمِهِ في ثَوبِهِ

    خَلفَ الخُروقِ يُطِلُّ مِن غِربالِ

    It is as though his wasted body, inside his garment,

    were peering from behind the holes through a sieve.

  41. يا بَردُ فَاِحمِل قَد ظَفِرتَ بِأَعزَلٍ

    يا حَرُّ تِلكَ فَريسَةِ المُغتالِ

    O cold, charge! You have caught an unarmed man.

    O heat, that is the assassin's prey.

  42. يا عَينُ سُحّي يا قُلوبُ تَفَطَّري

    يا نَفسُ رِقّي يا مُروءَةُ والي

    O eye, pour forth tears! O hearts, break!

    O soul, grow tender! O nobility, keep giving aid!

  43. لَولاهُمُ لَقَضى عَلَيهِ شَقاؤُهُ

    وَخَلا المَجالُ لِخاطِفِ الآجالِ

    Without them, his misery would have destroyed him,

    and the field would have lain open to the snatcher of lives.

  44. لَولاهُمُ كانَ الرَدى وَقفاً عَلى

    نَفسِ الفَقيرِ ثَقيلَةَ الأَحمالِ

    Without them, death would have been reserved for

    the poor man's soul, laden with heavy burdens.

  45. لِلَّهِ دَرُّ الساهِرينَ عَلى الأُلى

    سَهِروا مِنَ الأَوجاعِ وَالأَوجالِ

    God bless those who keep watch over those

    kept awake by pains and fears,

  46. القائِمينَ بِخَيرِ ما جاءَت بِهِ

    مَدَنِيَّةُ الأَديانِ وَالأَجيالِ

    who uphold the best of what has been brought forth by

    the civilization of religions and generations;

  47. أَهلِ اليَتيمِ وَكَهفِهِ وَحُماتِهِ

    وَرَبيعِ أَهلِ البُؤسِ وَالإِمحالِ

    the orphan's family, refuge, and protectors,

    and springtime for those suffering misery and drought.

  48. لا تُهمِلوا في الصالِحاتِ فَإِنَّكُم

    لا تَجهَلونَ عَواقِبَ الإِهمالِ

    Do not neglect good works, for you

    are not ignorant of the consequences of neglect.

  49. إِنّي أَرى فُقَراءَكُم في حاجَةٍ

    لَو تَعلَمونَ لِقائِلٍ فَعّالِ

    Indeed, I see your poor in need,

    if you but knew, of someone who speaks and acts.

  50. فَتَسابَقوا الخَيراتِ فَهيَ أَمامَكُم

    مَيدانُ سَبقٍ لِلجَوادِ النالِ

    So race in good deeds; they lie before you,

    a racecourse for the generous giver.

  51. وَالمُحسِنونَ لَهُم عَلى إِحسانِهِم

    يَومَ الإِثابَةِ عَشرَةُ الأَمثالِ

    And those who do good will receive, for their goodness,

    on the day of recompense, tenfold reward.

  52. وَجَزاءُ رَبِّ المُحسِنينَ يَجِلُّ عَن

    عَدٍّ وَعَن وَزنٍ وَعَن مِكيالِ

    And the reward of the Lord of those who do good is beyond

    number, weight, and measure.