This my translation of al-Mutanabbi's "bi-mā at-taʿallul" (skip to 25:38 for the poem in Arabic, 28:20 for English)
What's left to divert me? No family, no homeland,
no one to drink with, nothing to drink from, nowhere to live.
I want fate to give me
what fate itself has failed to attain
Take it from me: Don't confront fate unless you're totally indifferent,
not as long as your body and soul are one
Fate will never give you more of the thing that makes you happy,
nor will it ever give you another shot at something you were grieved to lose
The problem with lovers is that they
fall in love without knowing the way of the world nor what it wreaks
Their eyes are dissolved in tears, as are their souls,
for ugly soul with a pretty face they meet
Every swift she-camel has borne away your burden
and now every separation is entrusted to me.
Nothing in your camel-litters can take the place of my heart
should I die of passion, nor can you afford to pay the price of compensation
You, in whose presence they announced my death when I was absent,
everything the death-messengers said is guaranteed
How many times have I been murdered? How many times have I died among you all
Only to rise again? My grave and winding-shroud turning to nought.
Those who swore they'd seen me buried
have each died before the one they laid to rest
A man can never gain everything he hopes for:
The winds blow contrary to what ships wish
I've studied you all: your neighbors don't give a damn about your good name,
and milk flows only stingily from your herd
Whoever grows close to you is rewarded with boredom
and any who loves you, his fortune is spite.
You resent any to whom you give a gift
and in return for his gratitude he receives offense.
Separation has left a wayless desert between you and me
in which even one's eyes and ears do deceive
The camels, treading heavily, creep forward over the surface
and the earth asks their calluses about camel hooves
My only companion is perseverance and it's a blessing
But I wouldn't waste a moment on it if I were steadfastly a coward
I never continue taking money that debases me
and I never take pleasure in anything that sullies my honor
Soon after I left, I lay awake missing you
but then I pulled myself together and sleep returned anew
If affection like yours should befall me again
then I deserve yet another separation like this one
My colt was worn out in the service of someone else
and its reins and its halters were exchanged in Fustat
with the prince, Abu al-Misk (KAFUR), whose generosity has
drowned red Mudar and Yemen
Even if any of his promises ever come late
my hopes are never postponed nor do they ever slacken
He is always loyal, but because I mentioned to him that
I love him, he is putting me to the test