1. Rise, my boon companion, and pour what is in the decanters,
Of aged red wine that makes the lowly ecstatic when drunk,

2. Of pure nectar whose complexion is like the cock’s eye,
Its blend was of musk and camphor.

3. And bow to it if its essence appears in the goblet
Amidst songs and the trilling of pipes,

4. It shone and shone in it, the glass made radiant for us
A light, so it became for us light upon light.

5. Among the gazelles of intimacy who have grown intimate with us
Of every tender-waisted and girdled one.

6. On a day of affection while my eye’s tears flow,
And the flowers in the garden look like dinars.

7. When she sang we heard in response to her
Rhyming prose amidst nouns raised and declined,

8. The sound of her voice continues to plead if she chants
In a voice that scratches the strings fretted.

9. And give us talk that pleases us
In diction, everything composed and in prose,

10. And mention for us a neighbor we used to visit
To recount wonders in the shade of cottages,

11. And sing to us of Saad, if she reminded you,
Who gives life to the dead not yet buried,

12. A houri whose beauty and charms increased
A beauty over the pretty and lovely young girls,

13. A sprig of acacia blooming over the slender stalk
Above which the sun shone under a parasol,

14. As if beneath the necklace’s clasp she bore
True ivory inlaid with crystal,

15. I am the captive, far from me remains any vigor
That I would be for her anything but enchained,

16. By God, I have not lived since falling for her
Except with a heart enchanted by love’s sorcery,

17. When she saw the blackness of my hair at my temple
Ascending above a line of whiteness inscribed,

18. She betrayed both my bond and estrangement
Who could be excused for breaking a bond?

19. The whiteness of my temple hair ascending
Above a line of whiteness inscribed,

20. Sustenance flows according to fate, not
A man’s merits, of mind and management,

21. How many a foolish, ignorant dolt
Whose ignorance was prolonged, with sustenance seeking him unsought!

22. And how many an intelligent, keen, discerning, sagacious scholar
Whom it evaded, by the decree of fate!

23. Profoundly wise poetry, how many glories cut short
The repute of chiefs by questioning and censure!

24. I hope for the merchandise that fills the universe, in joy
Folded in an unpublished book,

25. Conversing, of the mind’s pure daughters, composed
In rhyme, amid advancing and delaying,

26. I gifted it from my wares to a peer
To a noble in victory’s help victorious,

27. To a youth from the House of Heaven’s Water, with what
Renown and veneration he was granted,

28. To a horseman, scion of the benefactor, the undefeated king
Known for munificence in hardship and comfort,

29. He cleansed honor, his gatherings were not witnessed
Save by untainted, abundant honor,

30. The delegations never departed him, ever,
Save with hearts gladdened by what delighted them.

31. More passionate and wise than Qays ibn ‘Asim in all
That he said in every session of his attended,

32. It suffices you, if you fear those you fear,
His protection, without trench or wall one day,

33. His fingers have never embraced pens
Save commensurate to wisdom’s measure,

34. Oman bowed to him after contention
From fortresses until he restored it to prosperity,

35. As if the sun borrowed its rays
While his glory borrowed whiteness from elixir,

36. O you whose glory and pride has impact
Of a glory that transcends all impact,

37. You were called to assume kingship in haste
Like your Lord called Moses from the Mount,

38. So you stood for justice, striving for what
Pleased God and rewarded all the wretched,

39. Until you openly terrified the enemies
Pouring upon them all they dread,

40. You launched at them every charging warrior
Stoning them with drawn swords,

41. How you made their earth quake when you crushed them
As if your crushing were the Trumpet’s blast!

42. When you were mentioned their hearts fluttered
Palpitating like small birds,

43. And here, O Badr, is Qahtan’s cool poetry
That was not spun on a string,

44. All of pure mind listens spellbound to its diction if chanted
Among the eminent, every eloquent soul.