1. لو كنتَ في مثل حالي لم تُرِدْ عَذَلي

    تسومني هجْرَ مَنْ في هجره أجلي

    If you were in a state like mine, you would not wish to blame me.

    You press me to forsake one whose forsaking is my death.

  2. دعْ عنك عَذْلي فإنّ العذل منك وما

    هذي الصّبابةُ من عندي ولا قِبَلي

    Leave off blaming me: the blame comes from you, while

    This ardent longing is neither of my choosing nor my doing.

  3. وفي الهوادج مَن لو شاء علّلني

    يوم الرّحيل وقد سرنا على عجلِ

    And in the howdahs is someone who, if he wished, could soothe me

    On departure day, when we had set out in haste,

  4. بوقفةٍ لم يُردني يوم ذاك بها

    وهي الشّفاءُ لما أشكوه من عِلَلي

    With a pause he did not choose to grant me that day,

    And it is the cure for the ailments I complain of.

  5. فلو مررنا على وادي العُذَيْب درى

    مَن عالج الشّوقَ أنّي عنك في شُغُلِ

    Had we passed by the valley of al-Udhayb, one would know—

    Anyone who has grappled with longing—that I am too preoccupied for you.

  6. كم ثَمَّ من مُهجةٍ تقضِي بلا قَوَدٍ

    ومن دمٍ طُلَّ من وجدٍ على طَلَلِ

    How many a soul there perishes without blood-requital,

    And how much blood is left unavenged through longing at a ruined campsite!

  7. ومن فؤادٍ إذا سِيقت ركائبُهمْ

    طَوعَ النّوى من شَرافٍ سيقَ في الإبلِ

    And how many a heart, when their riding camels are driven

    At separation's bidding from Sharaf, is driven among the camels!

  8. تسوقه النُّجْلُ إذْ بانتْ ويوقظُهُ

    على الهوى لَمَعانُ المَبْسَمِ الرَّتِلِ

    Wide eyes drive it onward as they depart, and it is roused

    To passion by the gleam of a smile with even teeth.

  9. ومعشرٍ بمنىً أضحتْ شفارُهمُ

    يَلِغْنَ في ثغَراتِ الأيْنُقِ البُزُلِ

    By a company at Mina whose blades have come

    To lap at the throats of mature she-camels,

  10. وبالمحصَّب ينتابُ الجمارَ به

    عصائبٌ جئن من سهلٍ ومن جبَلِ

    And by al-Muhassab, where the stoning sites are frequented

    By bands come from plain and mountain,

  11. والبائتين بِجَمْعٍ والرّكائبُ قد

    مَلّتْ هنالك من شدٍّ ومن رَحَلِ

    And by those passing the night at Jam', while the riding camels have

    Grown weary there of girths and saddles,

  12. ونازلي عرفاتٍ شاخصين إلى

    ذُؤابةِ الشّمسِ أن تدنو إلى الطَّفَلِ

    And by those encamped at Arafat, gazing toward

    The sun's crest, waiting for it to draw near dusk:

  13. لقد تبوّأ فخرُ الملك منزلةً

    علياءَ شطّتْ على الأَيدي فلم تُنَلِ

    Fakhr al-Mulk has indeed attained a station,

    Lofty, beyond the reach of hands, unattainable;

  14. ملساءَ يحسبها الأقوامُ في مَلَكٍ

    وإنّما هي بالتّحصيلِ في رَجُلِ

    A smooth height that people think belongs to an angel,

    Yet in truth it belongs to a man.

  15. يا موحشي ببعادي منه في وطني

    ومن بلادي ومن أهلي ومن خُللِي

    O you, distance from whom leaves me desolate in my homeland,

    And estranged from my country, my family, and my dear friends;

  16. وتاركي بعد أنْ كانتْ زيارتُه

    حَلْياً بجيدِيَ مملوءاً من العَطَلِ

    And you who leave me—after your visit had been

    An ornament at my neck—now filled with bareness:

  17. إنّي جليدٌ على الأهوالِ قاطبةً

    ولستُ في فرقتي إيّاك بالبطلِ

    Indeed, I am steadfast before all terrors,

    But no hero in my parting from you.

  18. أنتَ الّذي نلتُ منه وهو مُخْتَفِرٌ

    فَوقَ الّذي كان يسمو نحوه أملي

    You are the one from whom I gained, even in your modesty,

    More than what my hope had aspired toward:

  19. من ناظماتِ سموطِ الفخرِ باقيةً

    يحول صبغ اللّيالي ويه لم تَحُلِ

    Of enduring verses that string necklaces of glory—

    The nights' dye changes, but they do not change;

  20. ومن مقالٍ إذا فاه الرُّواةُ به

    كأنّه في قديم الدّهر لم يُقَلِ

    And speech which, whenever the reciters voice it,

    Seems never to have been uttered in ages past.

  21. كم لي بحضرتك الغرّاءِ من قدمٍ

    ووقفةٍ لم أخفْ فيها من الزَّلَلِ

    How many a firm footing I have in your radiant presence,

    And a stance in which I never feared a slip!

  22. أروح أسحب فيها ذيلَ مفتخرٍ

    وساحبُ الفخر ينسى ساحبَ الحُلَلِ

    I walk there, trailing my hem in pride,

    And one who trails glory forgets one who trails fine robes.

  23. ماذا بقربك من عزٍّ ومفخرةٍ

    وما بكفّك من غُنمٍ ومن نَفَلِ

    What honor and grounds for pride there are in your nearness!

    And what gain and bounty there are in your palm!

  24. وما بساحتك الغرّاء من شَرَفٍ

    وتُربِ مجلسك المعمور من قبَلِ

    And what nobility in your radiant courtyard,

    And kisses upon the dust of your well-attended court!

  25. وأيُّ ذي خنْزُواناتٍ يُدِلُّ بها

    بعُقْرِ دارك لم يُعْدَدْ من الخَوَلِ

    And what man of haughty airs, vaunting them,

    At the heart of your house is not reckoned among the servants?

  26. إنّ العراقَ إلى نجواك طامحةٌ

    طماحةَ الهِيمِ نحو العارض الهَطِلِ

    Indeed, Iraq yearns for your private counsel,

    As thirst-crazed camels yearn toward a cloud pouring rain.

  27. وإنّ مَن بات خوفٌ منك يَعقِلُهُ

    قد همّ أو كاد أنْ ينجو من العُقَلِ

    And whoever spent the night fettered by fear of you

    Has resolved—or almost managed—to escape the fetters.

  28. فلامَحوا الغَدرَ لمّا أن بعُدتَ ومذْ

    رِيعوا بقربك أغضوا عنه بالمُقَلِ

    So they eyed treachery when you were far away; and once

    Frightened by your nearness, they averted their eyes from it.

  29. قد قلتُ للقوم غرّتهمْ بشاشَتُه

    وربّما شَرِق المُشتارُ بالعَسَلِ

    I told the people, beguiled by his cheerfulness:

    And sometimes the honey-gatherer chokes on honey.

  30. لا تُحْرِجوه إلى شعواءَ قاطعةٍ

    فتخرجوا فيه من أمْنٍ إلى وَجَلِ

    Do not goad him into a fierce, devastating war,

    Lest, because of him, you pass from safety into dread.

  31. فالصّلحُ ممّن درى الضُرَّ المحيطَ به

    ولا دفاعَ له صلحٌ على دَخَلِ

    For peace from one who knows the harm surrounding him,

    And has no defense, is peace founded on concealed ill will.

  32. عُوتِبتُمُ فأبيتم نصحَ ذي شفقٍ

    وبالظُّبا يُعتبُ الآبي أو الأَسَلِ

    You were reproached, but refused a caring man's advice;

    And the defiant are brought to yield by sword-blades or spears.

  33. أرخى لكمْ فحسبتُم لا زمامَ لكم

    وليس يفْرِق فَوْتاً مُمِسكُ الطِّوَلِ

    He gave you slack, so you thought yourselves without a rein;

    And the holder of the long tether does not fear escape.

  34. وقد وأَلتُمْ مراراً في نِكايتِهِ

    وربّما عثر الجاني فلم يُؤَلِ

    And often you have escaped while doing him harm,

    But sometimes the offender stumbles and is not granted refuge.

  35. فاِسلَم لنا فخرَ هذا الملك واِبقَ على

    مرّ الزّمان بظلٍّ غير منتقلِ

    So stay safe for us, O pride of this realm, and remain through

    The passage of time, with a shade that never shifts.

  36. وقد مضى عنك شهرُ الصّومِ منسلخاً

    يُثني عليك بخير القول والعملِ

    And the month of fasting has passed from you, fully spent,

    Praising you for goodness in word and deed.

  37. فاِسعَدْ بذا العيد واِقبلْ ما حباك به

    من المسرّةِ فيما شئت والجَذَلِ

    So rejoice in this Eid, and accept what it has bestowed upon you

    Of happiness in whatever you wish, and joy,

  38. مُبَرَّءاً من لِمامِ السّوءِ أجمعهِ

    مملَّكاً أنفسَ الأعمارِ والمُهَلِ

    Free from every passing touch of evil,

    Granted the choicest spans of life and respite.