تَناوَلَني كِسرى بِبوسى وَدونَهُ

تَناوَلَني كِسرى بِبوسى وَدونَهُ

قِفافٌ مِنَ الصَمّانِ فَلمُتَثَلَّمِ

قِفافٌ مِنَ الصَمّانِ فَلمُتَثَلَّمِ

Kisra struck me with grief, though between him and me lay

Kisra's palace, with its high chambers

Rocky hills of al-Samman and then al-Mutathallam.

Made of teak wood elaborately carved,

فَفَجَّعَني لا وَفَّقَ اللَهُ أَمرَهُ

فَفَجَّعَني لا وَفَّقَ اللَهُ أَمرَهُ

بِأَبيَضَ وَهّابٍ قَليلِ التَجَهُّمِ

بِأَبيَضَ وَهّابٍ قَليلِ التَجَهُّمِ

Thus he bereaved me—may God never prosper his cause—

Saddened me - may God frustrate its lord's aims! -

Of a fair-faced, lavish giver, seldom given to scowling.

With a fair lady hardly given to frowns.

لِتَعفُ مِياهُ الحارِثَينِ وَقَد عَفَت

لِتَعفُ مِياهُ الحارِثَينِ وَقَد عَفَت

مِياهُهُما مِن كُلِّ حَيٍّ عَرَمرَمِ

مِياهُهُما مِن كُلِّ حَيٍّ عَرَمرَمِ

Let the two Hariths' watering places lie deserted; already deserted

To allow the waters of the two ponds to stagnate,

Are their watering places, bereft of every teeming tribe.

Though before they were fresh from every thicket.

وَأَقفَرَ مِن حُضّارِهِ وِردُ أَهلِهِ

وَأَقفَرَ مِن حُضّارِهِ وِردُ أَهلِهِ

وَكانَ يُرَوّى في قِلالٍ وَحَنتَمِ

وَكانَ يُرَوّى في قِلالٍ وَحَنتَمِ

And his people's watering place lies empty of its visitors,

Emptied of its lodgers and the visiting tribes,

Though once drink was served in large jars and glazed vessels.

Once it was watered on burning sands.

وَقُلتُ لِعَينٍ بِالجُوَيَّةِ يا اِسلَمي

وَقُلتُ لِعَينٍ بِالجُوَيَّةِ يا اِسلَمي

نَعَم ثُمَّ لَم تَنطِق وَلَم تَتَكَلَّمِ

نَعَم ثُمَّ لَم تَنطِق وَلَم تَتَكَلَّمِ

And I said to a spring at al-Juwayya, 'Hail!'

I said to an eye with collyrium, "Do greet them!"

Yes—then it uttered nothing and did not speak.

It consented, but did not utter a word.

دِيارُ مُلوكٍ قَد أَراهُم بِغِبطَةٍ

دِيارُ مُلوكٍ قَد أَراهُم بِغِبطَةٍ

زَمانَ عَمودُ المُلكِ لَم يَتَهَدَّمِ

زَمانَ عَمودُ المُلكِ لَم يَتَهَدَّمِ

The dwellings of kings I once saw in prosperity,

The abode of kings I saw, when in comfort,

When the pillar of kingship had not yet crumbled.

The pillar of kingship never tumbled down.

لَعَمري لَحَرثٌ بَينَ قُفٍّ وَرَملَةٍ

لَعَمري لَحَرثٌ بَينَ قُفٍّ وَرَملَةٍ

بِبَرثٍ عَلَت أَنهارُهُ كُلَّ مَخرَمِ

بِبَرثٍ عَلَت أَنهارُهُ كُلَّ مَخرَمِ

By my life, a cultivated field between a rocky hill and a sandy tract,

By my life! It's now a ruin between dunes and hills

On soft ground, its streams rising above every mountain pass,

With channels on which the torrents burst all embankments.

لَدى كُلِّ بُنيانٍ رَفيعٍ وَمَجلِسٍ

لَدى كُلِّ بُنيانٍ رَفيعٍ وَمَجلِسٍ

نَشاوى وَكَأسٍ أُخلِصَت لَم تَصَوَّمِ

نَشاوى وَكَأسٍ أُخلِصَت لَم تَصَوَّمِ

Beside every lofty building and a gathering

By every lofty palace and majestic court,

Of tipsy revelers, and a cup of pure wine never left idle,

Are desolate waste and a cup free of all froth.

أَحَبُّ إِلى حَسّانَ لَو يَستَطيعُهُ

أَحَبُّ إِلى حَسّانَ لَو يَستَطيعُهُ

مِنَ المُرقِصاتِ مِن غِفارٍ وَأَسلَمِ

مِنَ المُرقِصاتِ مِن غِفارٍ وَأَسلَمِ

Is dearer to Hassan, could he attain it,

Dearer to Hassân, if he could manage it,

Than the prancing she-camels of Ghifar and Aslam.

Than frolicking girls of Ghifar and Aslam.