1. طَلَبُ الأَمنِ في الزَّمانِ عَسِيرُ

    وَحَديثُ المُنى خِداعٌ وَزورُ

    Seeking safety in these times is hard;

    and talk of wishes is deceit and falsehood.

  2. تَبدهُ الحازِمَ الخُطوبُ فَإِن قَد

    دَرَ أَبدَت ما أَغفَلَ التَّقديرُ

    Calamities surprise the prudent; if he plans,

    they reveal what his planning overlooked.

  3. وَإِذا قَتَّرَ البَخيلُ فَلِلأَي

    يامِ في طَيِّ عُمرِهِ تَبذيرُ

    And if the miser hoards, the days

    squander his life as they fold it away.

  4. لا تَظُنَّ الفَقيدَ أَفرَدَهُ البَي

    نُ فَقَد أَعجَلَ المُقيمَ المَسيرُ

    Do not think parting has singled out the departed;

    departure has already hurried the one who remains.

  5. سَل بِغَمدانَ أَينَ قاطِنُهُ سَي

    فٌ وَقُل لِلنُّعمانِ أَينَ السَّديرُ

    Ask at Ghumdan: where is its dweller, Sayf?

    And say to al-Nu'man: where is al-Sadir?

  6. عَدَلَ الدَّهرُ فيهِمُ قِسمَةَ الجو

    رِ فَلا عامِرٌ وَلا مَعمورُ

    Time divided injustice equally among them:

    neither inhabitant nor inhabited dwelling remains.

  7. يا سَوادَ الهُموم صِرتَ عَلى الأَي

    يامِ لَمّا ضاقَت عَلَيكَ الصُّدورُ

    O darkness of cares, you have settled upon the days,

    when breasts grew too narrow to contain you.

  8. إِنَّ في جانِبِ المُقَطَّمِ مَهجو

    راً وَمِن أَجلِهِ تُزارُ القُبورُ

    Indeed, beside al-Muqattam lies one forsaken,

    and for his sake the graves are visited;

  9. وَمُقيماً عَلَى المَعَرَّةِ تَطوي

    هِ اللَّيالي وَذِكرُهُ مَنشُورُ

    and one abiding at al-Ma'arrah whom the nights fold away,

    while his remembrance is spread abroad;

  10. وَضَريحَينِ بِالعَواصِمِ مَبذو

    لينَ وَالصَّبرُ عَنهُما مَحظورُ

    and two tombs in al-'Awasim, left exposed,

    and patience over their loss is forbidden;

  11. وَغَريباً بِالدَّيرِ بانَ لَهُ العَي

    شُ وَغاضَ النَّدى وَماتَ السُّرورُ

    and a stranger at the monastery, for whom life is gone—

    and generosity has ebbed, and joy has died.

  12. صارِمٌ فُلَّتِ النَّوائِبُ حَدَّي

    هِ وَغُصنٌ تَحتَ الثَّرى مَهصورُ

    A keen sword whose two edges calamities blunted,

    and a bough crushed beneath the soil.

  13. عُصبَة كُنتُ أَدَّعي فيهم الود

    دَ وَصَبري لُؤمٌ عَلَيهِم كَثيرُ

    A band for whom I once claimed affection;

    and my patience over their loss is profound baseness.

  14. وَحَياتي عُذرٌ فَهَل لِوَقائي

    أَجَلٌ عاجِلٌ وَعُمرٌ قَصِيرُ

    And my life is an excuse; so, for my protection,

    is there a swift death and a short life?

  15. أَيُّها الظّاعِنونَ لا زالَ لِلغَي

    ثِ رَواحٌ عَلَيكُمُ وَبُكورُ

    O departed ones, may the rain never cease

    coming to you at evening and at dawn.

  16. لَستُ أَرضى بِالدَّمعِ فيكُم فَهَل يَم

    لِكُ رِيَّ البُحورِ إِلَّا البُحورُ

    I am not content with tears for you; can anything supply

    the seas their fill except the seas?

  17. قَد رَأَينا دِيارَكُم وَعَلَيها

    أَثَرٌ مِن عُفاتِكُم مَهجورُ

    We have seen your dwellings, and upon them

    lies an abandoned trace of those who sought your bounty.

  18. وَسَأَلنا أَطلالَها فَأَجابَت

    وَمِنَ الصَّمتِ واعِظ وَنَذيرُ

    We questioned their ruins, and they answered;

    and in silence are an admonisher and a warner.

  19. عَرَصات كَأَنَّهُنَّ لَيالٍ

    فارَقَتها عِندَ الكَمالِ البُدورُ

    Courtyards that seem like nights

    forsaken by their full moons at their height.

  20. تُفهِمُ الغافِلينَ كَيفَ يَحولُ الد

    دَهرُ عَن عَهدِهِ وَكَيفَ يَجورُ

    They teach the heedless how Time turns

    from its pledge, and how it deals unjustly.

  21. بانَ ذُلُّ الأَسى عَلَيها فَلِلغَي

    ثِ بُكاءٌ وَلِلنَّسيمِ زَفِيرُ

    Grief's abasement shows upon them; the rain

    weeps, and the breeze sighs.

  22. ذَكَّرَتنا عُهودَكُم بَعدَما طا

    لَت لَيالٍ مِن بَعدِها وَشُهورُ

    They reminded us of your days, after

    nights and months had lengthened in their wake.

  23. عَجَباً كَيفَ لَم تَمُت في مَغاني

    ها أَسىً ما القُلوبُ إِلَّا صُخورُ

    How strange that you did not die in their dwellings

    of grief! Hearts are nothing but rocks.

  24. يا دِيارَ الأَحبابِ غَيَّرَكِ الدَّه

    رُ فَكانَت بَعدَ الأُمورِ أُمورُ

    O dwellings of loved ones, Time has changed you;

    and one state of affairs followed another.

  25. أَينَ أَيّامُنا بِظِلِّكِ وَالشَّم

    لُ جَميعٌ وَالعَيشُ غَضٌّ نَضيرُ

    Where are our days beneath your shade, when our company

    was united and life was tender and fresh?

  26. نَشوَة أَعقَبَت خُماراً مِنَ الهَم

    مِ وَلَكِن قَد يفرقُ المَخمورُ

    An intoxication that brought a hangover of grief—

    yet the hungover may recover.

  27. وَزَمان مَضى فَما عُرِفَ الأَو

    وَلُ إِلَّا بِما جَناهُ الأَخيرُ

    And a time gone by: the former was recognized

    only through what the latter wrought.

  28. يا نُجومَ العُلى غربتُم وَما في ال

    لَيلِ مِن بَعدِكُم نُجومٌ تَفورُ

    O stars of eminence, you have set, and in the

    night after you no stars surge forth.

  29. طالَ عَمّا عَهِدتُموهُ وَلَم يَج

    رِ عَلى رَسمِهِ الصَّباحُ المُنيرُ

    It has grown longer than you knew, nor has there come

    along its customary course the radiant dawn.

  30. وَعَفا الجودُ فَالكَريمُ بَخيلٌ

    في المُلِمّاتِ وَالغَنِيُّ فَقيرُ

    Generosity has vanished: the generous man is miserly

    in calamities, and the rich man poor.

  31. وَتَساوى الوَرى فَلَم يَبقَ مَشكو

    رٌ عَلَى مِنَّةٍ وَلا مَعذورُ

    All mankind has become alike; none remains to be thanked

    for a favor, nor anyone to be excused.

  32. لا يُجاوِرُكُمُ الصَّعيدُ بِسوء

    فَهوَ لِلنّازِلينَ بِئسَ المجيرُ

    May the soil not be an ill neighbor to you,

    for it is a wretched protector of those who settle there.

  33. وَسَقاكُم مِنَ السَّحابِ صَناعُ ال

    كَفِّ يُسدي في رَوضِكُم وَيُنيرُ

    And may a deft-handed cloud water you,

    weaving warp and weft within your garden.

  34. كُلُّ غَنّاء يُقطِعُ الغَيثُ عَنها

    وَلَها أَعيُنٌ مِنَ النُّورِ حُورُ

    Each lush garden, when the rain withdraws from it,

    has dark-pupiled eyes of blossoms.

  35. عارِض مُغضِبٌ عَلى المَحلِ لا يَخ

    طُرُ إِلَّا وَسَيفُهُ مَشهورُ

    A rain-cloud enraged against drought never struts

    without its sword drawn.

  36. أَشرَقَت فيهِ لِلشَّقيقِ خُدودٌ

    وَأَضاءَت مِنَ الأَقاحي ثُغورُ

    In it the anemones' cheeks shone,

    and the daisies' mouths gleamed.

  37. ينقلُ الماء خَطوهُ فَتُرَجِّي

    هِ النُّعامى كَما يُرَجّي الحَسيرُ

    Its stride carries water, so it is encouraged

    by the south wind, as one encourages the weary.

  38. عَمَّ مَعروفُهُ فَفي كُلِّ وادٍ

    مِن أَياديهِ رَوضَةٌ وَغَديرُ

    Its bounty has spread everywhere: in every valley

    a garden and a pool are among its gifts.

  39. وَعَلى العَزمِ أَن يَجودَ عَلَيكُم

    واهِبٌ بِالنَّوالِ مِنكُم جَديرُ

    And firmly resolved to be generous to you

    is a giver worthy of bounty from you.

  40. ما أَرى الشِّعرَ كافِياً في مَراثي

    كُم وَلَكِن قَد يَنفُثُ المَصدورُ

    I do not think poetry enough to mourn

    you, yet the chest-afflicted may spit forth.

  41. وَإِذا ما أَطَلتُ فيهِ وَلَم يُش

    فِ غَليلاً فَكُلُّهُ تَقصيرُ

    And if I speak at length in it, yet it does not quench

    a burning thirst, then all of it falls short.