1. أَثَرتَ بِنا مِنَ الشَوقِ القَديمِ

    وَذِكرى ذَلِكَ العَيشِ الرَخيمِ

    You stirred in us the longing of old,

    And the memory of that gentle life,

  2. وَأَيّامٍ كَسَوناها جَمالاً

    وَأَرقَصنا لَها فَلَكَ النَعيمِ

    And days we clothed in beauty,

    And made the sphere of bliss dance for them.

  3. مَلَأناها بِنا حُسناً فَكانَت

    بِجيدِ الدَهرِ كَالعِقدِ النَظيمِ

    We filled them with beauty by our presence, so they became

    Like a well-strung necklace on Time's neck.

  4. وَفِتيانٍ مَساميحٍ عَلَيهِم

    جَلابيبٌ مِنَ الذَوقِ السَليمِ

    And generous young men, upon whom

    Were robes of sound taste.

  5. لَهُم شِيَمٌ أَلَذُّ مِنَ الأَماني

    وَأَطرَبُ مِن مُعاطاةِ النَديمِ

    Their traits were sweeter than wishes,

    And more enchanting than exchanging cups with a boon companion.

  6. كَهَمِّكَ في الخَلاعَةِ وَالتَصابي

    وَإِن كانوا عَلى خُلُقٍ عَظيمِ

    Like your own zeal for revelry and youthful frolic,

    Though they were of noble character.

  7. دَعَوتُهُمُ إِلى أَنسٍ فَوافَوا

    مُوافاةَ الكَريمِ إِلى الكَريمِ

    I invited them to convivial company, and they came,

    As one generous man comes to another.

  8. وَجاؤوا كَالقَطا وَرَدَت نَميراً

    عَلى ظَمَإٍ وَهَبّوا كَالنَسيمِ

    And they came like sandgrouse reaching fresh water

    In thirst, and swept in like the breeze.

  9. وَكانَ اللَيلُ يَمرَحُ في شَبابِ

    وَيَلهو بِالمَجَرَّةِ وَالنُجومِ

    And the night frolicked in its youth,

    And played with the Milky Way and the stars.

  10. فَواصَلنا كُئوسَ الراحِ حَتّى

    بَدَت لِلعَينِ أَنوارُ الصَريمِ

    So we drank cup after cup of wine until

    The lights of dawn appeared to the eye.

  11. وَأَعمَلنا بِها رَأيَ اِبنِ هاني

    فَأُلحِقنا بِأَصحابِ الرَقيمِ

    And with it we put Ibn Hani's counsel into practice,

    And so were numbered among the companions of al-Raqim.

  12. وَظَبيٍ مِن بَني مِصرٍ غَريرٍ

    شَهِيِّ اللَفظِ ذي خَدٍّ مَشيمِ

    And a guileless gazelle among Egypt's sons,

    Sweet of speech, with a mole-marked cheek,

  13. وَلَحظٍ بابِلِيٍّ ذي اِنكِسارِ

    كَأَنَّ بِطَرفِهِ سيما اليَتيمِ

    And a Babylonian gaze, tenderly downcast,

    As though his eyes bore an orphan's look.

  14. سَقانا في مُنادَمَةٍ حَديثاً

    نَسينا عِندَهُ بِنتَ الكُرومِ

    He gave us conversation to drink in convivial company;

    In his presence we forgot the daughter of the vines.

  15. سَلامُ اللَهِ يا عَهدَ التَصابي

    عَلَيكَ وَفِتيَةِ العَهدِ القَديمِ

    God's peace, O time of youthful frolic,

    Be upon you and the youths of those bygone days.

  16. أَحِنُّ لَهُم وَدونَهُمُ فَلاةٌ

    كَأَنَّ فَسيحَها صَدرُ الحَليمِ

    I yearn for them, but between us lies a wilderness,

    As though its vast expanse were a forbearing man's breast.

  17. كَأَنَّ أَديمَها أَحشاءُ صَبٍّ

    قَدِ اِلتَهَبَت مِنَ الوَجدِ الأَليمِ

    As though its surface were a lovesick lover's entrails,

    Which had flared up with anguished longing.

  18. كَأَنَّ سَرابَها إِذ لاحَ فيها

    خِداعٌ لاحَ في وَجهِ اللَئيمِ

    As though its mirage, when it gleamed there,

    Were deceit gleaming on a scoundrel's face.

  19. تَضِلُّ بِلَيلِها لِهبٌ فَتَحكي

    بِوادي التيهِ أَقوامَ الكَليمِ

    Lihb lose their way in its night, becoming like

    The people of Moses in the Valley of Wandering.

  20. وَتَمشي السافِياتُ بِها حَيارى

    إِذا نُقِلَ الهَجيرُ عَنِ الجَحيمِ

    And the dust-scattering winds walk bewildered through it,

    When the noonday heat is carried over from Hell.

  21. فَمَن لي أَن أَرى تِلكَ المَغاني

    وَما فيها مِنَ الحُسنِ القَديمِ

    So who can help me see those haunts,

    And the beauty of old within them?

  22. فَما حَظُّ اِبنِ داوودٍ كَحَظّي

    وَلا أوتيتُ مِن عِلمِ العَليمِ

    For the son of David's fortune is not like mine,

    Nor was I given a share of the All-Knowing's knowledge.

  23. وَلا أَنا مُطلَقٌ كَالفِكرِ أَسري

    فَأَستَبِقُ الضَواحِكَ في الغُيومِ

    Nor am I free as thought, to travel by night

    And outstrip the smiling flashes in the clouds.

  24. وَلَكِنّي مُقَيَّدَةٌ رِحالي

    بِقَيدِ العُدمِ في وادي الهُمومِ

    But my traveling gear lies shackled

    By poverty's chain in the valley of cares.

  25. نَزَحتُ عَنِ الدِيارِ أَرومُ رِزقي

    وَأَضرِبُ في المَهامِهِ وَالتُخومِ

    I went far from home, seeking my livelihood,

    And journey through wildernesses and borderlands.

  26. وَما غادَرتُ في السودانِ قَفراً

    وَلَم أَصبُغ بِتُربَتِهِ أَديمي

    And no wilderness in Sudan have I left

    Without staining my skin with its soil.

  27. وَها أَنا بَينَ أَنيابِ المَنايا

    وَتَحتَ بَراثِنِ الخَطبِ الجَسيمِ

    And here I am between the fangs of death,

    And beneath the claws of grave calamity.

  28. وَلَولا سَورَةٌ لِلمَجدِ عِندي

    قَنِعتُ بِعيشَتي قَنَعَ الظَليمِ

    And were it not for a fervor for glory within me,

    I would have been content with my life as an ostrich is.

  29. أَيا اِبنَ الأَكرَمينَ أَباً وَجَدّاً

    وَيا اِبنَ عُضادَةِ الدينِ القَويمِ

    O son of the noblest father and grandfather,

    And O son of the pillar of the upright faith,

  30. أَقامَ لِدينِنا أَهلوكَ رُكناً

    لَهُ نَسَبٌ إِلى رُكنِ الحَطيمِ

    Your family raised a pillar for our faith,

    That is kin to the corner of al-Hatim.

  31. فَما طافَ العُفاةُ بِهِ وَعادوا

    بِغَيرِ العَسجَدِيَّةِ وَاللَطيمِ

    For no seekers of bounty circled it and returned

    Without gold-laden camels and caravans of musk.

  32. أَتَيتُكَ وَالخُطوبُ تَزِفُّ رَحلي

    وَلي حالٌ أَرَقُّ مِنَ السَديمِ

    I came to you, calamities escorting my baggage,

    And my condition is more tenuous than mist.

  33. وَقَد أَصبَحتُ مِن سَعيي وَكَدحي

    عَلى الأَرزاقِ كَالثَوبِ الرَديمِ

    And I have become, through my striving and my toil

    For sustenance, like a threadbare garment.

  34. فَلا تُخلِق فُديتَ أَديمَ وَجهي

    وَلا تَقطَع مُواصَلَةَ الحَميمِ

    So do not wear out my face's skin—may I be your ransom—

    Nor sever the bond with a close friend.