إنّا نُعلّلُ كلّنا بمحالِ

ونُغَرُّ بالغدوات والآصالِ

We all make excuses for the impossible,

And are fooled by hopes and dreams.

وكأنّنا نرعى القَواءَ من الطَّوى

أبداً ونكرع من ظماً في آلِ

It’s as though we graze on mirages in the wilderness,

Always drinking from a figment of imagination.

يهوى الفتى طول البقاء ودونه

وَلَعُ الرّدى وتعرّضُ الآجالِ

The youth yearns for longevity, yet below him

Lies the pit of doom and the assault of fate.

وتقوده آمالُه ووراءَها

قَدَرٌ يحطّم غَرْبَةَ الآمالِ

His hopes lead him on while behind him

Is a destiny that shatters the strangers of dreams.

والمرءُ بين مصيبةٍ في النفس أو

في الأهل أو في الحال أو في المالِ

Man is caught between a tragedy of the soul,

Or of family, life, or wealth and riches.

ولئنْ عفتْ عنه الحوادث إنّه

رهنٌ لبعض تقلّبِ الأحوالِ

And if disasters spare him, he still remains

Subject to the vagaries of all things.

وسجيّةٌ للدّهر في أبنائِهِ

إِلحاقُ كلِّ مؤثَّلٍ بزوالِ

It is the way of fate with her children

To make every fortunate one meet his end.

للَّه مُفتَقَدٌ تحيّف فقدُهُ

من جانبيَّ وحزّ في أوصالِي

I have lost a dear one. His loss distorts me.

It has cloven my sides and pierced my joints.

وأصمّ ناعيه الغداة مسامعي

ورمى سوادَ جوانحي بخَبالِ

At dawn, his caller deafens my hearing;

And casts the blackness of gloom over my wings.

وأزارني وفدَ الهموم يسمْنَنِي

شَطَطَ المُنى فينلْن كلَّ مَنالِ

The throng of worries besiege me, fattening me,

As wishes run wild, toppling all that can be attained.

وأباتَنِي قَلِقَ الوساد كأنّني اِس

تَبْطَنْتُ للجنبين شوكَ سَيالِ

Insomnia keeps me restless, as if I slept

On a bed of thorns flaying my sides.

يبدو غَرامي والتّجلّدُ مقصدي

ويُجيبني دمعي بغير سؤالِ

My love shows, though patience is my goal,

And my tears answer me without being asked.

ومتى طلبتُ الصّبر عنه وجدتُه

في حَيِّزِ الإعوازِ والإقلالِ

Whenever I seek patience from it, I find it

In the realm of frustration and paucity.

يا نازحاً غدرتْ به غدّارةٌ

لا يُتَّقَى مكروهها بنزالِ

O you who migrated, betrayed by a treacherous one

Whose harm cannot be avoided by migration!

طالتْ به أيدي الخطوب ورُزؤُه

أبقى ذُرا العلياء غير طوالِ

The strokes of fate have been long for him, and his adversity

Remains even when the noble are gone.

رَفَعوا جَوانب نعشه فكأنّما

رفعوا به جبلاً من الأجبالِ

They carried his bier as though

They bore a mountain of mountains.

وطوَوْا عليه صفائحاً ما نُضِّدَتْ

إلّا على الإنعامِ والإفضالِ

And they wrapped him in panels that are not

Laid except for favors and generosity.

وأرَوْه غيرَ مضاجعٍ لدنيّةٍ

ونَعَوْه غيرَ مدنَّسِ الأذيالِ

They showed him other than a lowly grave,

And mourned him with unsoiled garments.

وتصدّعوا عن جانبيه وإنّه

عَطَنُ الوفودِ ومجمعُ الأقوالِ

They parted ways at his tomb, which is

The concourse of visitors and conversations.

مَنْ للذّمارِ إذا الفحولُ تهادَرَتْ

وخلطن بين تخبّطٍ وصِيالِ

Who will lead the singers when the stalwarts are gone,

Lost in confusion and wailing?

مَنْ للوفود تصامتوا عن حجّةٍ

مَنْ للخصومِ تفارغوا لجدالِ

Who will answer the guests when they dispute over no argument?

Who will attend to the opponents when they disengage from debate?

مَنْ للضّرِيك إذا غدا في أزْمَةٍ

صِفْرَ اليدين وراح بالأموالِ

Who will help the destitute when he is in dire need,

Empty-handed, stripped of his money?

مَنْ للجيوش يقودها فيُعيدها

محفوفةً بالسَّبْىِ والأنفالِ

Who will lead the armies and restore them

Laden with captives and spoils?

مَنْ للخيولِ يُثيرها مِقْوَرَّةً

مثلَ الدَّبى هاجَتْهُ ريحُ شمالِ

Who will provoke the steeds snorted in fury

As the north wind stirred their passion?

مَنْ للقَنا يروي صدورَ صِعاده

في كلِّ رَوْعٍ من دمِ الأبطالِ

Who will water the breasts of the valiant in every

Raiding with the blood of heroes?

مَنْ للسّيوف يفلّ حدَّ شفارها

بالضّربِ بين كواهلٍ وقِلالِ

Who will blunt the sharp edges of swords

With blows between shoulders and napes?

كشفتْ بطونُ الأرضِ شمس ظهورها

واِستَضجعتْ جوّاً لها في جالِ

The belly of earth has revealed its shining sun,

And it lies prostrated in the open.

هيهات ضلّ عن القضاءِ وصرفِهِ

كيدُ الشّجاعِ وحيلةُ المحتالِ

Alas! The plots of the brave and tricks of the cunning

Are lost to the decree of fate and its dispensation!

أَأبا عليٍّ لن تُراعَ بمثلها

فاِصبِرْ لها ولَصَبْرُ غيرك غالِ

O Abu Ali, none shall be watched over like you!

So be patient, though the patience of others is dear.

يا حاملَ الأثقالِ ما حُمّلْتَه

ثِقلٌ وليس كسائر الأثقالِ

O bearer of burdens, yours is no easy load;

It is not like other burdens.

فذُدِ الدّموع عن الجفون وطالما

جمدتْ فلم تقطرْ على الأهوالِ

Hold back the tears from your eyelids, after

They have frozen and ceased to fall for calamities.

ومتى طوى عنك السُّلوُّ سبيلَه

فاِلبَسْ لمن يلقاك ثوبَ السّالي

And when sadness turns away from you,

Don the garb of the one who meets you.

وتعزَّ عمّنْ لا يعزّي بعدهُ

إلّا مكارمُ أُبقيتْ ومعالي

And find solace from one who cannot console you,

Except by retained virtues and glories.