Sol 6.1

  1. وَثِقْتُ بكمْ حتّى خجلتُ وكم جَنَتْ

    لنا ثقةٌ من خَجْلَةٍ في الصّفائِحِ

    I trusted you until I was ashamed; how often has

    trust brought us shame upon our cheeks!

  2. وما كنتُ أخشى قبلها إنْ كشفتُكُم

    أُكشّفكمْ عن مثلِ هذي القبائحِ

    Before this, I never feared that, if I uncovered you,

    I would expose such ugly faults in you.

  3. هَبونِي اِمرَءاً لا مَنَّ منه عليكُمُ

    ولا كان يوماً عنكُمُ بمُنافحِ

    Suppose me a man who has done you no favor

    and never once stood up in your defense;

  4. وإنْ قادكمْ كُرْهاً إلى ربوةِ العُلا

    نكصتُمْ على الأقفاءِ نكْص طَلائِحِ

    and if he led you against your will to glory's hill,

    you recoiled backward like exhausted beasts.

  5. ولم يسعَ فيما تبتغون ودونَهُ

    حجازٌ منَ الأعداءِ ليس ببارحِ

    And never strove for what you sought, though before it

    stood a barrier of enemies that would not budge.

  6. وأدْناكُمُ عفواً إلى جانبِ الغِنى

    وكلُّكُمُ ما بين ناءٍ ونازحِ

    And freely brought you close to wealth's side,

    while all of you were distant and far removed.

  7. وقد صَلُحَتْ أيّامُكمْ باِجتِهادِهِ

    فَلِمْ يومُهُ ما بَينكمْ غيرُ صالحِ

    Your days prospered through his striving,

    so why is his day among you not good?

  8. وَأَظْفَركمْ بالعزِّ وَالعزُّ شاهقٌ

    وَأَنتُمْ بِلا طَرْفٍ إلى العزِّ طامحِ

    And he won you honor, though honor towers high,

    while not an eye of yours aspired to honor.

  9. شَحَذْتُكُمُ سيفاً أصُدُّ به العِدى

    وما كان عندي أنّ سيفِيَ جارِحِي

    I sharpened you into a sword with which to repel enemies;

    I never imagined that my own sword would wound me.

  10. وإنّ الّذي أغراكُمُ بقطيعتِي

    وقد كنتُ وصّالاً لكمْ غيرُ نازحِ

    And indeed, what tempted you to sever ties with me—

    though I kept close ties with you and never stayed away—

  11. وَإنّي لَسَمْحٌ باذلٌ بِفراقكمْ

    وما كنتُ فيه برهةً بالمسامِحِ

    and I am truly generous, freely offering to part from you,

    though for a time I had not consented to it.

  12. تبدّلتُ لمّا أنْ أرَبْتُمْ ولم أُعِنْ

    على رَيْبِكُمْ بيضاً بسودِ المسائحِ

    I changed when you aroused suspicion, and did not reinforce

    white hairs with black tresses on account of your treachery.

  13. وأخْرَجَ ما أبْدَعتُمُ من مساءَةٍ

    هوىً لكُم قد كان بين الجوانِحِ

    And the mistreatment you devised drove out

    the love for you that once lay within my ribs.

  14. وَلَمّا شَرِبتُ الوُدّ منكمْ بسومِكمْ

    رجعتُ بكفٍّ بيعُها غيرُ رابحِ

    And when I drank affection from you at your asking price,

    I returned with a hand whose bargain brought no profit.

  15. وَلَولايَ في مِيزانكم يومَ خبرةٍ

    لَما كانَ إِلّا شائلاً غيرَ راجحِ

    Had I not been in your balance on a day of trial,

    it would only have risen, not sunk with weight.

  16. فَلا تَحسبوا أنّي مقيمٌ على أذىً

    فإنِّيَ مَوْتورٌ كثيرُ المنادِحِ

    So do not think I will keep enduring harm,

    for I am a wronged man with many ways out.

  17. إذا ضرّني يوماً صديقي وساءَنِي

    فَما هوَ إلّا كالعدوِّ المكاشِحِ

    If one day my friend harms and hurts me,

    he is no different from a spiteful enemy.

  18. تَقَطَّع وُدٌّ كانَ بَيني وَبينكمْ

    وطاحتْ بهِ في الأرضِ إحدى الطَّوائِحِ

    The affection between us has been severed,

    and one of the ruinous calamities flung it to the earth.

  19. فَما لِي إِلى أَوطانكم من مطامِحٍ

    وما لِي إلى أعطانكمْ من مَسارِحِ

    So I cast no longing glances toward your homelands,

    nor have any grazing grounds at your watering places.

  20. وما لِيَ إِلْمامٌ بدارِ حُلولِكمْ

    وَما كنتُ إلّا بينَ غادٍ ورائِحِ

    I make no visit to the dwelling where you reside,

    though once I was always a morning or evening visitor.

  21. وإنْ كانتِ البطحاءُ دارَ مُقامِكمْ

    فما لِيَ تعريجٌ بتلك الأباطِحِ

    And even if al-Batha is your dwelling place,

    I make no detour to those gravelly valleys.

  22. وأيْقنتُ أنّي ثاوياً في دياركمْ

    مقيمٌ على آلِ القفارِ الصّحاصِحِ

    And I knew for certain that, staying in your lands,

    I was dwelling on the mirage of barren desert plains.

  23. وكنتُ وما جرّبتكم كَلِفاً بكمْ

    فأظفرنِي تجريبُكمْ بالفضائِحِ

    I was devoted to you before I had put you to the test,

    but testing you brought me shameful revelations.

  24. لنا في تلاقينا وجوهٌ ضواحكٌ

    وكم دونهنّ من قلوبٍ كوالحِ

    Our faces smile when we meet,

    yet how many scowling hearts lie beneath them!

  25. وقد كنتُمُ صبحاً بغيرِ دُجُنَّةٍ

    فقد صرتُمُ جُنْحاً بغير مصابحِ

    You once were morning without darkness,

    but now you have become nightfall without lamps.

  26. فلا تسألونِي عن صفاءٍ عَهِدتُمُ

    فقد طار في هُوجِ الرّياح البوارحِ

    So do not ask me about the unclouded affection you once knew:

    it has flown away in the fury of scorching winds.

  27. فَإِنْ تَشحَطوا بعدَ اِجتِماعٍ وإلْفَةٍ

    ببعض الرّزايا الهاجمات الفوادِحِ

    And if you are driven far away after closeness and affection,

    by some sudden, crushing calamities,

  28. فقلبِيَ عنكمْ مُعرضٌ غيرُ مائقٍ

    ودمعِي عليكمْ جامدٌ غيرُ سافِحِ

    my heart turns away from you, not foolishly grieving,

    and my tears for you are frozen, not flowing.

  29. وما كلُّ ما لاقيتُ منكمْ شكوتُهُ

    وأوّلُ جِدِّ المرءِ تعريضُ مازحِ

    I have not complained of all I endured from you;

    a man's earnestness begins with a joker's veiled hint.

  30. فشتّانَ لو أنصَفْتُمُ من نفوسكمْ

    ولم تظلموا ما بين هاجٍ ومادحِ

    So what a difference—if you were fair, even against yourselves,

    and did no wrong—between a satirist and a praise-poet!

  31. وإنّ غبينَ النّاسِ مَن بات عِرْضُهُ

    تعرّضُهُ السُّوءى لبعضِ القرائحِ

    And the dupe among men is he whose honor ends up

    exposed by his wickedness to certain poetic minds.