1. ما مَرَّ ذِكرَكَ خاطِراً في خاطِري

    إِلّا اِستَباحَ الشَوقُ هَتكَ سَرائِري

    Never did remembrance of you flit across my mind

    Without longing claiming the right to lay my secrets bare.

  2. وَتَصَبَبَتْ وَجداً عَلَيك نَواظرٌ

    باتَت بِلَيلٍ مِن جَفائكَ ساهِرِ

    And eyes streamed with yearning for you,

    Keeping vigil through a night of your estrangement.

  3. بَلَغَ الهَوى مِنِّي فَإِن أَحبَبتَ صِل

    أَولا فَدَتكَ حشاشَتي وَنَواظِري

    Love has done its utmost to me; if you wish, grant me union,

    Or do not—may my life's last spark and my eyes ransom you.

  4. قَسَماً بِحُسنكَ لَم أُصادفْ زاجِراً

    إِلّا وَحُسنك كانَ عَنهُ زاجِري

    I swear by your beauty: never did I meet a reprover

    Without your beauty turning me away from him.

  5. أَوَ ما كَفاكَ مِن الَّذي لاقَيتَهُ

    وَلَهٌ كَساني الذُّلُّ بَينَ مَعاشِري

    Have you not had enough of what you have encountered:

    A passion that clothed me in humiliation among my companions,

  6. وَضَنىً يَكاد يَشف عَن طَيِّ الحَشا

    حَتّى خَشيتُ بِهِ اِفتِضاحَ ضَمائِري

    And wasting sickness that almost reveals my inmost breast,

    Till I feared it would expose my hidden thoughts?

  7. أَخَذتْ عُيونك مِن فُؤادي مُوثِقاً

    وَعَلَيَّ عَهدُ هَواكَ لَستُ بِغادرِ

    Your eyes have taken a binding pledge from my heart;

    I am bound by the covenant of loving you, and will not betray it.

  8. كُن كَيفَ شئتَ تَجدْ مُحبّك مِثلَما

    تَهوى عَلى الحالين غَير مغايرِ

    Be as you wish: you will find your lover just as

    You desire, unchanged in either state.

  9. صَبري عَلَيك بِما أَرَدت مُطاوعٌ

    أَبَداً وَلَكن عَنكَ لَستَ بِصابرِ

    My patience with you submits to whatever you wish,

    Always; yet away from you, patience is impossible.

  10. عَذّبتَ قَلبي بِالصُّدودِ وَإِن يَكُن

    لَكَ فيهِ بَعض رِضىً فَدونَكَ سائِري

    You tormented my heart by turning away; and if

    That gives you any pleasure, take the rest of me.

  11. وَأَضَعتُ عُمري بِالدَّلالِ وَحَبَّذا

    إِن صَحَّ عِندَكَ مَطمَعٌ في الآخرِ

    I have squandered my life on coyness—and gladly,

    If hope with you for the next life should prove true.

  12. كُثُرَ التَقَوُّلُ بَيننا وَتَحَدَّثوا

    يا هاجِري حاشاكَ أَنَّكَ هاجري

    False tales have multiplied between us, and they have said—

    O my forsaker, far be it from you!—that you forsake me.

  13. وَأَطالَ فيكَ معنِّفي فعذرتُهُ

    وَعَساكَ في كَلَفي فديتك عاذري

    My reprover spoke at length about you, and I excused him;

    Perhaps you too will pardon my infatuation—may I ransom you.

  14. حَسبي رِضاكَ إِذا مَنَنتَ بَزورةٍ

    يَدري المزورُ بِها رَقيقَ الزائرِ

    Your pleasure is enough for me, if you grace me with a visit

    Through which the visited one learns the visitor's tenderness.

  15. مالأتُ أَيَّامي فَقبَّح وَجهها

    جورُ الخطوبِ وَكُنتُ أَحسَن جائرِ

    I made common cause with my days; their face was disfigured

    By calamities' injustice—and I was the best of wrongdoers.

  16. بي يا وَقاك اللَهُ كُلّ مُلمَةٍ

    أَمسى بِها جِلدي كَجَرفٍ هائرِ

    Every calamity afflicts me—ah, may God protect you!—

    That has made my fortitude like a crumbling bank.

  17. غِيَرٌ يديرُ بِها الحَكيمُ لِحاظَهُ

    فَتردُّهُ عَنها بِطَرفٍ حائرِ

    Reversals of fortune at which the sage turns his glances,

    Only for them to send him back with bewildered gaze.

  18. بَكَرَتْ إِلَيَّ الحادِثاتُ فَلَم أَزَلْ

    مِنهُنَّ بَينَ نَواجِذٍ وَأَظافِرِ

    Misfortunes came early to me, and I have never ceased

    To be caught between their teeth and claws.

  19. وَتَأَلَّفتْ عِندي الهُموم فَفَرَّقتْ

    هِمَمِي وَما بَرِحَ القَضاءُ مساوري

    Cares gathered around me and scattered

    My aspirations, while fate kept assailing me.

  20. نَزَلَتْ بِيَ الدُّنيا عَلى أَربابها

    فَأَفضَتُ بَينَ مَواردٍ وَمَصادرِ

    The world lodged me among its masters,

    And I ranged between places of arrival and departure.

  21. وَبَلوتُ مِن أَهلِ الزَّمانِ سَرائِراً

    هِيَ مَصرَعُ الساهي وَمُنجي السَّاهرِ

    I have tested the hidden natures of the people of this age:

    The heedless one's downfall, the vigilant one's salvation.

  22. فَسَمعتُ حَتّى لَستُ أَحمَدُ مُسمَعي

    وَنَظَرتُ حَتّى لَستُ أَحمَد ناظِري

    I have heard so much that I no longer praise my hearing,

    And seen so much that I no longer praise my sight.

  23. وَالعَينُ آذَى لِلبَصير وَرُبَّما

    سَلِم الضَّريرُ وَكانَ عَين العاثِرِ

    The eye brings greater harm to the sighted; sometimes

    The blind escapes unharmed and serves as the stumbling man's eye.

  24. يا مَن يُطارِحُني المَودَّةَ غائِباً

    إِيهِ وَقاكِ اللَهُ شَرَّ الحاضرِ

    O you who exchange affection with me from afar,

    Speak on—may God protect you from the evil of those nearby!

  25. خَلقٌ يمرُّ بِها الكَريمُ وَوَجههُ

    في أَعيُنِ النُّظارِ أَغرَبُ سافرِ

    People among whom the noble man passes, his face

    The strangest unveiled face in the eyes of onlookers.

  26. مِن كُلِ خَنَّاسٍ إِذا اِستَقبَلتَهُ

    فَإِذا اِنقَلَبَت رَنا بِمُقلةِ شاذرِ

    Each a skulker when you come face to face with him,

    But when you turn away, he watches with a hostile, sidelong eye.

  27. وَلَقد رَأَيتُ فَما رَأَيتُ أَشَدّ مِن

    مَرأى العَزيزِ عَلى حَسودٍ صاغرِ

    Much have I seen, but nothing more grievous than

    The sight of the exalted to an abject, envious man.

  28. وَمِن المهانةِ أَن تُقابلَ هيِّناً

    يَقلاك إِلّا بِابِتسامةِ ساخرِ

    It is degrading to greet a base man

    Who hates you, with anything but a mocker's smile.

  29. وَبِمَ اِعتدادُ الأَدعياء وَجُهدهُم

    سَردُ الدَعاوي وَهيَ أَضعَفُ ناصرِ

    Why do pretenders vaunt themselves, when their utmost effort

    Is a string of claims, the weakest supporter of all?

  30. كَذب الغَبيُّ أَيَبتَغي دَرك العُلى

    بِفُؤادِ مَزهوٍّ وَمَنطقِ هاذرِ

    The fool lies! Does he seek to attain the heights

    With an arrogant heart and a babbler's speech?

  31. أَم يَحسَب الرُّتب المُحسَّدِ فَضلُها

    عِدةٌ بِوَصلٍ مِن حَبيبٍ هاجرِ

    Or does he think ranks whose distinction is envied

    Are a promise of union from a forsaking beloved?

  32. كَلا قَد اِنحَسَر الحِجاب وَإِنَّما

    أَبصار قَومٍ في حِجابٍ ساترِ

    No! The veil has lifted; it is only

    Some people's eyes that lie behind a concealing veil.

  33. وَكَذاكَ بَعضُ الجَهلِ يَسترُ بَعضهُ

    فَاعذرْ إِذا خَفيَتْ كِرامُ مآثرِ

    Thus one part of ignorance conceals another;

    So be forgiving when noble deeds go unrecognized.

  34. وَبِمُهجَتي مَن لَيسَ يَبرَحُ طَيفُهُ

    تَحتَ الظَّلامِ مسامري وَمُحاوري

    My life's blood would ransom one whose phantom never ceases

    To be my companion and converser beneath the darkness.

  35. سَبَقتْ صَنائِعهُ إليَّ وَلطفهُ

    وَهُوَ السَّبوقُ بِكُلِّ فَضلٍ باهِرِ

    His favors and kindness hastened to me,

    For he leads the way in every dazzling excellence.

  36. قَد أَذهَلتْ لبِّي الخَطوبُ بَوقعِها

    عَنهُ وَكانَ عَلى ذُهولي ذاكِري

    Calamities, with their blows, had distracted my mind

    From him; yet despite my distraction, he remembered me.

  37. فَعَرَفتُ عَجزي فيهِ غَيرَ مُكذِّبٍ

    وَعَرَفتُ فَضلَ عُلاهُ غَيرَ مُكابِرِ

    I recognized my inadequacy toward him, without denying it,

    And recognized his lofty excellence, without stubborn dispute.

  38. ذِممٌ ظَفرتُ بِها لَديهِ وَإِنَّها

    إَرثٌ قَديمٌ مِن أَجلِّ ذَخائِري

    Pledges I have gained from him; indeed they are

    An ancient inheritance, among my noblest treasures.

  39. تِلكَ المَواثِقُ ما بَرَحنَ وَهَكَذا

    كانَ الوَفاء لَديهِ خَيرَ أَواصِري

    Those covenants have never ceased; and thus

    His faithfulness has been the finest of my bonds.

  40. اللَّوذَعِيُّ الفاضلُ القطب الَّذي

    مَلَكَت يَداهُ الفَضلَ دونَ مَناظرِ

    The keen-witted, virtuous lodestar, whose

    Two hands have grasped excellence without a rival.

  41. أَدَبٌ حَكى زَهرَ الرُّبى وَشمائِلٌ

    رَقَّتْ فَكانَت كَالنَّسيم السائرِ

    Literary grace resembling hillside flowers, and manners

    So gentle they became like the passing breeze.

  42. وَمناقِبٌ تَتلو مَدائِحِها عَلى

    أَكبادِ أَهلِ الغيِّ سَورةَ فاطِرِ

    And virtues whose praises recite, over

    The livers of the erring, the surah Fatir.

  43. وَأَرى الزِّنادَ إِذا جَرَت أَقلامُهُ

    أَرَتِ البَصائرَ أَيُّ لَمحٍ باصِرِ

    And I see the fire-sticks, when his pens run,

    Show discerning minds a truly penetrating flash.

  44. يَجلو القَوافي في الطُّروسِ كَأَنَّها

    غِيدٌ جَلاها الحبرُ تَحتَ غَدائِرِ

    He unveils rhymes upon the pages as though they were

    Graceful maidens whom ink unveils beneath their tresses.

  45. وَلَهُ الفُصولُ المُحكَماتُ كَأَنَّها

    شَذَراتُ دُرٍّ فَصِّلت بِجواهرِ

    His finely wrought prose pieces seem

    Like pearl beads interspersed with jewels.

  46. وَلرُبَّ زائِرَةٍ جَعَلتُ مَحَلَّها

    قَلبي وَإِن باتَت مَناطَ الناظِرِ

    Many a visitor have I lodged within

    My heart, though she remained the focus of my gaze.

  47. عَربيةُ النَفثاتِ وافَت تَنجلي

    بِفَصاحةِ البادي وَظَرفِ الحاضِرِ

    Arabic in her breath, she came into view

    With the desert dweller's eloquence and the townsman's wit.

  48. بسمت فَما كَذَّبتُ حينَ رَأَيتَها

    بَسمَ الثُّغورِ عَن الجُمانِ الناضرِ

    She smiled; when you saw her, I could not deny

    The smile of mouths revealing lustrous pearls.

  49. وَتَلَتْ عَليَّ حَديثَهُ فَوَجَدَتُ ما

    يَجدُ الطَروبُ لذكرِ دَهرٍ عابِرِ

    She recounted his words to me, and I felt what

    The impassioned feel at the memory of a bygone age.

  50. يا نائياً أَيَّانَ أَعرضَ ذِكرهُ

    تَركَ الفُؤادَ عَلى جَناحَيْ طائِرِ

    O distant one, whenever remembrance of you appears,

    It leaves the heart upon a bird's two wings.

  51. لَكَ ذمةٌ عِندي وَإِن عَزَّ اللُّقا

    تَبقى عَلى مَرِّ الزَّمانِ الغابِرِ

    You have a pledge from me, though meeting be hard,

    That will endure through all the time to come.

  52. هِيَ مَوثقُ الأُخرى فَدونَكَ عِقدها

    وَاللَهُ في القَلبينِ أَفضلُ ناظِرِ

    It secures the other pledge: take its necklace,

    And God sees best into both hearts.