أما لِجَميلٍ عِنْدكُنَّ ثَوابُ

ولا لِمُسيءٍ عِنْدَكُنّ مَتَابُ

Have you no appreciation, dear ladies, for a good deed?

Have you no forgiveness for someone

Who has wrongly behaved

لقد ضلَّ من تحوي هواهُ خريدة ٌ

وقد ذلَّ من تقضي عليه كعابُ

Whosoever places his love in the hands

Of a pretty damsel, has gone astray;

Anyone who surrenders his will to young ladies

Will surely be humiliated

ولكنني والحمدُ للهِ حازمٌ

أعِزُّ إذا ذلـّت لهنَّ رقابُ

As for me, thanks God, I am firm and unyielding;

I remain strong and maintain self-respect,

Even when heads bow down to them, in utter surrender

ولا تملكُ الحسناءُ قلبيَّ كلـَّهُ

وإن شَمَلتـْـها رقة ٌ وشبابُ

No beautiful woman can be in full possession of my heart,

Even if exuding youth, breathing delicate charm

وأجري فلا أعطي الهوى فضلَ مِقودي

وأهفو ولا يخفى عليَّ صوابُ

I run and flit, without allowing passion

To dominate and lead me;

I eagerly desire, yet I remain sober and serene

إذا الخِلُّ لَمْ يَهْجُركَ إلا مَلالةً

فَلَيْسَ لهُ ، إلا الفِرَاقَ ، عِتابُ

Should a friend lose interest in you, and abandon you,

You need not remonstrate with him;

Bid him a permanent farewell instead

إذا لم أجد من خُلَّةٍ ما أُرِيدُهُ

فعندي لأُخْرى عَزْمَةٌ وَرِكابُ

When my needs are not met in one place,

I seek another, more accommodating

وليس فِراقٌ ما استطعتُ فإن يَكُنْ

فِراقٌ على حَالٍ فليس إيابُ

I do my utmost not to part company and leave,

Yet, when inevitable, I go my way and never return

صَبورٌ ولو لم يبقَ مني بقيةٌ

قَؤُولٌ وَلوْ أنَّ السيوفَ جَوابُ

I am infinitely patient, to the very end

I speak my mind, even when swords raised in my face

وَقُورٌ وأحداثُ الزمانِ تَنوشني

وَلِلموتِ حولي جِيئةٌ وَذَهَابُ

Unperturbed when life’s problems

Crowd in on me,

And death struts roundabout

وألحظُ أحوالَ الزمانِ بمقلةٍ

بها الصدقُ صدقُ والكِذابُ كِذابُ

I unerringly read life’s situations,

With an eye that accurately discerns

Between truth and falsehood

بِمنْ يَثِقُ الإنسانُ فيما يَنُوبهُ

ومِنْ أينَ لِلحُرِّ الكَريم صِحابُ

Who shall one trust when disaster strikes?

How can there be friends to a noble-hearted man

وقدْ صَارَ هذا الناسُ إلا أقَلَّهُمْ

ذِئابٌ على أجْسَادِهنَّ ثِيابُ

People, save only a few, have all become human wolves;

With bodies covered with clothes

تَغَابيتُ عن قومٍ فَظَنوا غَباوةً

بِمَفْرِقِ أغبانا حصًى وَتُرابُ!

I intentionally pretend to be unaware

Of what goes on around me;

Others think I am ignorant!

Let pebbles and dirt cover and smother

The head of the more ignorant among us

ولو عَرفوني بَعْضَ مَعرِفَتي بِهمْ

إذاً عَلِموا أني شَهِدتُ وغابوا

If they know me as I know them,

They would realize that I am fully aware

While they are absentminded

وما كلّ فعّالٍ يُجازى بفعلهِ

ولا كلّ قوالٍ لديّ يُجابُ

Not every doer is rewarded for his actions;

Nor every speaker, in my presence, deserves my answer

ورُبَّ كلامٍ مرّ فوقَ مسامعي

كما طنّ في لوح الهجير ذبابُ

Many words fly by my ears,

Like flies whizzing on a hot summer day

تَمُرُّ الليالي لَيْسَ لِلنَّفعِ مَوْضِعٌ

لَديَّ ولا لِلمُعْتَفِين جَنَابُ

Nights roll, yet my fortune is no where to be found,

No more do I see bounty seekers at my door

ولا شُدَّ لي سَرْجٌ على مَتنِ سابحٍ

ولا ضُرِبتْ لي بِالعراءِ قِبابُ

No more a saddle for me, on back of a swift steed

No more a pavilion pitched for me in open spaces

ولكنني راضٍ على كلِّ حالةٍ

ليُعْلَمَ أيَّ الحالتينِ سَرابُ

Yet in any case, I am at ease with myself;

Truth will finally be revealed, delusion exposed

وما زِلتُ أرضى بالقليلِ محبةً

لَدَيْهِ ، ومادون الكثير حِجابُ

I continue to be satisfied with even a little portion

Of love from him, knowing that the greater measure

I desire lies hidden behind a veil

كذاكَ الوِداد المحضُ لا يرتجى لهُ

ثوابٌ ، ولا يُخشى عَليهِ عقابُ

Pure love is freely given,

With no hope of reward

Nor fear of punishment

وقدْ كُنتُ أخشى الهجرَ والشمْلُ جَامِعٌ

وفي كُلِّ يَوْمٍ لُقْيَةٌ وخِطَابُ

I used to fear separation even when we were together;

When daily met, and intimately conversed

فكيف وفيما بيننا مُلْكُ قَيْصَرٍ

ولِلْبَحْرِ حولي زَخْرَةٌ وَعُبَابُ ؟

More so I now entertain apprehension,

With Caesar’s land standing between us

And the sea with its tumultuous waves roars about me

أَمِنْ بَعْدِ بَذْلِ النفس فيما تُرِيدُهُ

أثابُ بِمُرِّ العَتبِ حِينَ أُثابُ

Must my reward,

After sacrificing myself for your sake,

Be severe chiding and bitter reprimand

فليتك تحلو والحياةُ مريرةٌ

وليتك ترضى والأنامُ غِضابُ

I care not if life is full of bitterness,

As long as I enjoy the sweetness of your affection;

Nor do I care if everyone else is angry with me,

So long as I revel in your pleasure

وليتَ الذي بيني وبينك عَامرٌ

وبيني وبين العالمين خَرابُ

O how I wish we were on intimate terms,

Even if my ties to the whole world

Were irreparably severed and utterly spoiled

إذا صحَّ مِنكَ الوِدُّ فالكُلُّ هَيّنٌ

وكُلُّ الذي فوقَ التُّرابِ تُرابُ

If I have your genuine affection,

Nothing else whatsoever matters;

Nor do I deem anything on the face of this earth valuable,

When compared with your true love and friendship