1. يا ناظِرِيَّ أَلَأياً تَبكِيانِ دَما

    أَهَكَذا عَهدَنا أَن نَحفَظُ الذِمَما

    O my eyes, do you weep blood so reluctantly?

    Is this how we pledged to honor our bonds?

  2. لَو صارَ كُلُّ سَوادٍ مِنكُما يَقِقا

    عَلى الصَديقِ لَمّا أَنصَفتُماهُ لِما

    If every dark part of you both turned pure white

    in mourning your friend, you would not have done him justice for what he was.

  3. وَطالَما ذُبتُما شَوقاً لِرُؤيَتِهِ

    وَخِلتُماها أَماني النَفسِ وَالنِعَما

    How often you both melted with longing to see him,

    and deemed that sight the soul's desires and blessings!

  4. فَالآنَ شَطَّت نَوى ما عِندي أَمَلٌ

    في القُربِ فَاِكتَحِلا مِن بَعدِهِ الظَلَما

    Now separation stretches far; I have no hope

    of reunion; after his loss, take darkness for your kohl.

  5. ماذا أَقولُ لقَلبي في الدِفاعِ إِذا

    أَقامَ قاضي الهَوى ما بَينَنا حَكَما

    What shall I say to my heart in my defense, if

    the judge of love takes his place as arbiter between us?

  6. وَيَلِمُّها حَسرَةً في القَلبِ باقِيَةً

    تَظَلُّ تَحتَ الثَرى تَستَصحِبُ النَدَما

    Ah, what a sorrow, abiding in the heart,

    remaining beneath the earth, with regret for company!

  7. لَو أَنَّ لي طَيرَ يُمنٍ ما صَبَرَت لَها

    وَلا تَبَدَّلتُ مِن بِئزانِها الرَخَما

    Had birds of good fortune been mine, I would not have borne it,

    nor exchanged their falcons for vultures,

  8. وَلا عَداني عَنِ الأَحبابِ عادِيَةً

    وَلا حَثَثتُ لِغَيرِ الصَفوَةِ الرُسَما

    nor would an affliction have kept me from my loved ones,

    nor would I have urged my camel-steps toward any but the elect,

  9. وَلا تُخَلَّفتُ عَن مِصرٍ وَمَقدِمَها

    وَقَد غَدَت دارَها مِن دارِنا أَمَما

    nor stayed away from Egypt and a visit there,

    when its home had become so near our own.

  10. أَلوذُ بِالدَمعِ كَي أُطفي اللَهيبَ بِهِ

    فَأَستَزيدُ كَأَنّي نافِخٌ ضَرَما

    I seek refuge in tears, to quench the blaze with them,

    but only add to it, as though I were fanning a fire.

  11. الآنَ حَقٌّ بأَن أَسخو بِأَسخَنِهِ

    إِنَّ المَدامِعَ يَتلو حَرَّها الشَبَما

    Now it is fitting that I lavish the hottest tears;

    indeed, coolness follows the heat of tears.

  12. وَما بُكائي لِخَطبٍ قَد فَقَدَت بِهِ

    وَحدي خَليلاً بَراني فَقدُهُ أَلَما

    I do not weep for a calamity in which I lost,

    alone, a dear friend whose loss wore me away with pain.

  13. لَكِن بُكائي عَلى المُبكي بِمِصرَعِهِ

    أَهلَ المَشارِقِ بَل مِن غَيرِهِم أُمَما

    Rather, I weep for him whose death made weep

    the peoples of the East—indeed, nations beyond them.

  14. وَلَو سَبَقتُ بِهِ الوَرقاءُ ما لَحِقَت

    مَناحَتي صاحِبَيهِ السَيفُ وَالقَلَما

    Even if I outdid the gray dove in mourning him, never would

    my lament match his two companions, the sword and the pen,

  15. وَالمَجدُ مُكتَسِياً مِن كَفِّهِ حَلَلا

    وَالفَضلُ مُرتَقِياً في ظِلِّهِ اُطَما

    or glory, clothed in robes from his hand,

    or excellence, rising to lofty towers beneath his shade,

  16. وَالشِعرَ أَدرَكَ ما أَعيى زُهَيرَ وَما

    فاتَ الكَريمُ عَلى عِلّاتِهِ هِرَما

    or poetry, which attained what defied Zuhayr, and what

    eluded the generous Harim, despite his shortcomings.

  17. خَطَبَ هَوى بِخَباءِ الفَضلِ فَاِنحَطَمَت

    أَوتادُهُ وَغَدَت أَطنابُهُ رَمَما

    A calamity fell upon excellence's tent, shattering

    its stakes and turning its ropes to decayed shreds.

  18. نَبا بِمَحمودِ سَيفٍ لَو ضُرِبَت بِهِ

    حَدَّ الزَمانِ بِكَفِّ السَعدِ لا نَثلَما

    A sword failed Mahmoud; had a blow been struck with it

    at Time's edge, by Fortune's hand, that edge would have been notched.

  19. مُصيبَةٌ أَرجَفتُ صُمَّ الجِمادِ فَقُل

    في الشارِقِ أَنقَضَ أَو في الشاهِقِ اِنهَدَما

    A calamity shook deaf, lifeless matter; say

    of the rising sun, 'It fell,' or the lofty peak, 'It collapsed.'

  20. نَتيجَةُ الوَقتِ لَو آلى بِهِ رَجُلٌ

    بِأَنَّهُ فَذُّ هَذا الدَهرِ ما أَثِما

    The age's finest product—if a man swore of him

    that he was this age's peerless one, he would not sin.

  21. لَو أَنصَفَتهُ اللَيالي في مَقاسِمِها

    لِأَوطَأَتُها عَلى هامِ السُهى قَدَما

    Had the nights dealt fairly with him in their allotments,

    they would have planted his foot upon the crown of Suha.

  22. لَو لَم يَكُن فَضلُهُ مِن حَظِّهِ بَدَلاً

    ما سامَهُ الدَهرُ إِرهاقاً وَلا حُرِما

    Had his merit not been a substitute for his luck,

    Time would not have burdened him with oppression, nor left him deprived.

  23. أَو كانَ لِلحَقِّ في تِلكَ الأُمورِ يَدٌ

    نَجَت بِهِ الحَجَّةُ البَيضا وَما اِتُّهِما

    Or had justice a hand in those affairs,

    the clear proof would have prevailed for him, and he would not have been accused.

  24. ما كانَ يَأمَلُ إِلّا خَيرَ أُمَّتِهِ

    وَلا يُرَجّي لَها إِلّا عَزيزَ حمى

    He hoped for nothing but his nation's good,

    and wished for it only a mighty, protected realm.

  25. فَإِن يَكُن طاشَ سَهمٌ عَن رَمِيَّتِهِ

    فَكَم مَلومٌ عَلى رَميٍ سِواهُ رَمى

    If an arrow did stray from its target,

    how many a man is blamed for a shot that someone else fired!

  26. كَم ساءَ أَمرٌ بِحَملِ الجاهِلينَ لَهُ

    وَرُبَّما عَقداً بَعضَ مَن نَظَما

    How often has a cause gone awry when ignorant men took it up,

    and sometimes a necklace is spoiled by one who strung it.

  27. لا يُحسِنُ الأَمرَ إِلّا مَن تَعودُهُ

    ما كُلُّ راكِبٍ خَيلٍ يَحفَظُ اللَجَما

    Only one accustomed to a task handles it well;

    not every rider of horses keeps hold of the reins.

  28. وَما نَجاحُ الفَتى كافٍ لِتُزَكّيهِ

    وَلا الحَبوطُ دَليلٌ أَنَّهُ وَهَما

    A young man's success alone is not enough to vindicate him,

    nor is failure proof that he was mistaken.

  29. وَالفَضلُ وَالنَقصُ مَحتومٌ لِزامَهُما

    كَأَنَّ بَينَ الرَزايا وَالنُهى رَحِما

    Merit and lack are destined to keep company,

    as though calamities and reason shared a kinship.

  30. ما زادَ جَوهَرُ سامي الحَكِّ غَيرَ سَنىً

    وَلا عَرا قَدرُهُ نَقصٌ بِما اِهتُضِما

    Rubbing only increased the radiance of Sami's gem,

    and the wrong done him never diminished his worth.

  31. وَقَلَّما الدَهرُ ناوي مِثلَهُ أَسَداً

    مِمَّن رَعى تَلَعاتِ المَجدِ وَالأَكَما

    Rarely has Time confronted a lion like him,

    among those who roamed the slopes and hillocks of glory.

  32. مُهَذَّبٌ لا تَرى في خَلقِهِ عِوَجا

    وَصاحِبٌ لَيسَ يَدري وُدَّهُ السَأَما

    Refined, with no crookedness to be seen in his character,

    a friend whose affection knew no weariness.

  33. لَم يَكفِهِ النَسَبُ العالي فَضَمَّ لَهُ

    أَصلاً وَفَصلاً لَعَمري ما رَسا وَسَما

    His lofty lineage did not suffice him, so he added to it

    firm roots and distinction—by my life, how firmly he stood, how high he rose!

  34. كانَ الأَوائِلُ في الأَنظارِ مُزعِجَةٌ

    حَتّى أَتى فَشَأى مَن جَدَّ مَن قَدُما

    The ancients were daunting in people's eyes,

    until he came and surpassed every striving predecessor.

  35. وَلَيسَ مِن نابِتٍ في عَصرِنا أَدَباً

    إِلّا بِغَيثٍ مَعانيهِ زَكا وَنَما

    No literary talent sprouts in our age

    without flourishing and growing in the rain of his meanings.

  36. ما الجاهِلِيُّ وَلا ذاكَ المُخَضرَمُ لا

    وَلا المُوَلَّدُ مَعَهُ حائِزٌ قِسَما

    Neither the pre-Islamic poet, nor the poet of both eras—no,

    nor the later poet can claim a share beside him.

  37. وَكُلُّ نابِغَةٍ في الشِعرِ مُلتَمِسٌ

    مِن كَأسِهِ رَشَفاتٍ كَي يُبَل ظَما

    Every genius in poetry seeks

    sips from his cup to slake thirst.

  38. لَو جاءَ في الزَمَنِ المَاضي وَعاصِرُهُ

    حَكيمُ كِندَةَ لَم يَزعُم بِما زَعَما

    Had he come in bygone times, with as his contemporary

    the sage of Kinda, that sage would not have made his claims.

  39. أَو كانَ أَدرَكَ عَصراً قَد تَقَدَّمَهُ

    عَيّى حَبيبٌ عَنِ الإِنشادِ مُعتَصِما

    Or had he lived in an age that preceded him,

    Habib would have faltered in singing Mu'tasim's praise.

  40. يَصطادُ كُلَّ شَرودٍ في قَصائِدِهِ

    فَلَيسَ بَيتٌ لَهُ عَن صِيدِها حَرَما

    He hunts every elusive quarry in his poems;

    no verse of his is a sanctuary from that hunt.

  41. أَو هَت فَصاحَتُهُ الأَقوالُ أَمتَنَها

    حَتّى تَكادُ عَلَيها تُؤَثِّرُ البَكَما

    His eloquence weakened even the strongest utterances,

    until you would almost prefer muteness to them.

  42. وَرَدَّ فاسُها في الجَريِ راجِلَها

    حَتّى تَساوى أَخو جَهلٍ وَمَن عَلِما

    And he reduced their horseman to a man on foot in the race,

    until the ignorant and the learned were equal.

  43. فَاِنعو لَنا الشِعرَ وَالآدابَ قاطِبَةً

    مَعَهُ وَقولوا لِشَوقي إِنَّهُ يَتِما

    So announce to us the death of poetry and all letters

    along with him, and tell Shawqi that he is orphaned.

  44. مَن لِلبَدائِعِ أَو مَن لِلصَنائِعِ أَو

    مَن لِلوَقائِعِ إِمّا داهِمٌ دَهَما

    Who will tend wonders, who will bestow favors, or

    who will face battles when an assailant attacks?

  45. مِن لِلصَوارِمِ أَو مَن لِلمَكارِمِ أَو

    مَن لِلمَغارِمِ أَضحى عَقدُها اِنفَصَما

    Who will wield sharp swords, who will uphold noble deeds, or

    who will shoulder burdens, now that their bond has snapped?

  46. يا يَومَ مَحمودَ ما أَبقَيتَ مُحَمَّدَةً

    إِلّا وَأَورَدتَها في نَحبِهِ العَدَما

    O day of Mahmoud's loss, you left no praiseworthy quality

    without plunging it into nothingness at his passing.

  47. تِلكَ الخَلالُ فَهَل آتَ يُجَدِّدَها

    أَو هَل تَرى أَمَلُ العَليا بِها حُلُما

    Those were his qualities; will someone come to renew them,

    or do you deem the hope of reaching such heights through them a dream?

  48. هَيهاتَ يُسعِدُها شَهمٌ يُتاحُ لَها

    فَالدَهرُ أَلأَمُ مِن هَذا النَدى شِيَما

    Alas, far-fetched that a noble man should be granted to sustain them;

    for Time is too base in nature for such generosity.

  49. لَن يَهتَدي بَعدَ مَحمودٍ دَليلٌ ثَنا

    وَلَستَ تُبصِرُ هَذا الجُرحَ مُلتَئِما

    After Mahmoud, no guide will find a mountain pass,

    and you will not see this wound healed.

  50. وَاللَهُ ما عَجَبي مِن فوتِهِ عَجَبي

    لِمِثلِهِ كَيفَ حَتّى الآنَ قَد سَلَّما

    By God, I am not amazed at his passing; I am amazed

    that one like him had survived until now.

  51. وَطالَما قُلتُ إِذا جادَ الزَمانُ بِهِ

    مَن عَلَّمَ الدَهرَ هَذا الجودُ وَالكَرَما

    How often I said, when Time bestowed him:

    'Who taught Time such bounty and generosity?'

  52. يا حِليَةَ الشَرقِ أَضحى بَعدَها عُطُلاً

    وَبَيضَةَ الدَهرِ عَن أَمثالِها عَقَما

    O ornament of the East, left bare after your loss,

    and Time's unique egg—Time is barren of any like it!

  53. إِن كانَ لَم تَألُكَ الدُناي مَعارِكَةً

    فَلَستَ أَوَّلُ حَرٍّ صادَفَ النَقَما

    If the world spared no effort in battling you,

    you are not the first free man to meet calamities.

  54. ما شابَ مِنكَ بَلاءٍ نِيَّةً خَلُصَت

    وَمَن عَزا لَكَ مِن ظُلمٍ فَقَد ظَلَما

    No trial of yours tainted an intention that was pure,

    and whoever ascribed injustice to you did you wrong.

  55. كَم قاصِدٍ لَم تَعِب مَسعاهُ خَيبَتَهُ

    وَقائِدٌ لَم يَنَل خِزياً أَن اِنهَزَما

    How many a seeker whose failure did not disgrace his striving,

    and a commander whose defeat brought him no shame!

  56. وَرُبَّ مُسدي يَدٌ يَلقى البَلاءَ بِها

    وَرُبَّ جانٍ سَعيدٌ بِالَّذي جَرَما

    Many a giver of kindness meets affliction through it,

    while many a wrongdoer prospers through his crime.

  57. إِنَّ التَقاديرَ إِن أُجرَت سَفائِنَها

    أَلحَقنَ مَن كانَ غَمراً بِالَّذي حَزُما

    Indeed, when the decrees of fate set their ships sailing,

    they place the inexperienced beside the prudent.

  58. لا تُبعَدَنَّ وَلا يُبخَس ثَناكَ فَلَم

    تُجَرَّ إِلّا إِباءَ الضِيَمِ وَالشَمَما

    May you never be far away, nor your praise diminished; you were never

    driven except by refusal of oppression and noble pride.

  59. وَاللَهُ لَو كُنتَ تَدري ما بِنا كَمَداً

    لَكُنتَ أَنتَ لَنا الراثي وَمَن رَحَما

    By God, if you knew the grief that weighs upon us,

    you would be the one to mourn us and show us mercy.

  60. لَيسَ الَّذي جاوَرَ الديماسَ في نَكَدٍ

    كَمِن يُزَجّي إِلَيهِ الهَمَّ والسَقَما

    The dweller beside the crypt is not as wretched

    as one whom sorrow and sickness drive toward it.

  61. إِن كانَ حَبلُ حَياةِ المَرءِ أَجَمَعُهُ

    أَحبولَةً كانَ خَيرَ الحَبلِ ما اِنصَرَما

    If the whole cord of a person's life

    is a snare, the best cord is the one that breaks.

  62. فَاِذهَب عَلَيكَ تَحِيّاتث المُهَيمِنِ ما

    هَمّي بِتُربِكَ دَمعَ المُزنِ مُنسَجِما

    Go, then; the Guardian's greetings be upon you, so long as

    the clouds' tears pour streaming upon your grave-dust.

  63. هانَت بِمَصرَعِكَ الأَرزاءُ أَجمَعُها

    فَلَيسَ يُجزِعُ مِن رُزءٍ وَلَو عَظُما

    Your death made every other calamity seem slight;

    no loss now dismays me, however great.