1. هُو الحبُّ يَصنعُ ما يَصنعُ

    فهَل لكَ في سَلوةٍ مَطمَعُ

    It is love that does what it does.

    So have you any hope of consolation?

  2. وما بخلَت مقلةٌ شاقَها

    تجودُ عليكَ ولا تمنَعُ

    And no eye he stirred to longing has been stingy;

    it gives freely to you and withholds nothing.

  3. وأحسنُ ما مَلكَت سقمَها

    وأنتَ لذلكَ مُستَودَعُ

    And the finest thing it owns is its sickness,

    and you are entrusted with that.

  4. أوجدٌ عليهم ولا سَلوَةٌ

    ولَومٌ عَليكَ ولا مسمَعُ

    Is there yearning for them, with no solace,

    and reproach for you, with no listening ear,

  5. وسُقمٌ يُقامُ له في الأَنا

    مِ من كلِّ ذي سقمٍ إصبَعُ

    and a sickness for which, among humankind, there is raised

    by every sufferer a finger?

  6. ومُستَمتِعٍ بالكَرى طرفُهُ

    غلطتُ بِه اليومَ مُستَمتِعُ

    And many a man whose gaze delights in slumber—

    I was mistaken about him today: one taking delight.

  7. لَه مِن سَوادِ قُلوب الرِّجا

    لِ وأعيُنِها في الهَوى مَوضِعُ

    He has, in the dark cores of men's hearts

    and their eyes, a place in love.

  8. فللخَمر من ريقهِ مَشرَبٌ

    ولِلبدرِ مِن وجهِهِ مطلعُ

    So wine has a wellspring in his saliva,

    and the full moon has a rising-place in his face.

  9. وكلٌّ وإن كرِهَ الحاسِدو

    نَ منَّا لصاحِبه أطوَعُ

    And each, though the envious resent it,

    of us is more obedient to his companion.

  10. تفلَّلَ سيفُ النوى بَينَنا

    لطولِ الضرابِ فَما يَقطَعُ

    Separation's sword has grown notched between us

    from prolonged striking, so it no longer cuts.

  11. وإن رامَها ملكٌ قبلَهُ

    سعَت لي إلى قَلبهِ تَشفَعُ

    And if a king before him sought her,

    she hastened to his heart to intercede for me.

  12. يَلجُّ المحبُّونَ في ذَمِّها

    وإني بحبِّ الهَوى مولَعُ

    Lovers persist in disparaging her,

    and I am enamored of loving love.

  13. أرحتُ القَوافي إلى مَدحِها

    لما باتَ يَعشَقُها يوشَعُ

    I gave the rhymes repose in her praise

    when Yushaʿ spent the night adoring her.

  14. يحمِّلُها وُسعَ أَخلاقِه

    وما لَم يُطق حمله أوسَعُ

    He makes her bear the breadth of his virtues,

    and what could not be borne is vaster still.

  15. فتىً وجَدَ الحمدَ سُبلاً لَه

    فأَصبَحَ في نَهجِها يشرَعُ

    A youth who found in praise paths for himself,

    and so began to set out along their way.

  16. يضيِّعُ ما حفِظَ الباخِلو

    نَ ويَحفظُ للحمدِ ما ضَيَّعوا

    He squanders what misers hoard,

    and preserves for praise what they squandered.

  17. ويُدركُ شأوَهُم واقِفاً

    ويَهجَعُ من حيثُ لَم يَهجَعوا

    And he reaches their farthest mark while standing still,

    and sleeps where they have not slept.

  18. وكيفَ تُزعزِعُه النائِبا

    تُ وفي صَدرِه جَبلٌ أفرَعُ

    And how can calamities shake him

    when in his breast stands a lofty mountain?

  19. وفي راحتَيهِ وفي مُقلَتي

    وإن لَم يسَع ماءَها مشرَعُ

    And in his two palms, and in my eye,

    though no watering-place can hold its water.

  20. أبا فرجٍ والعُلى حرَّةٌ

    وبالجودِ بينَ الوَرى تخدَعُ

    O Abu Faraj, high honor is a freeborn woman,

    and among mortals she is beguiled by generosity.

  21. هوَ الدَّهرُ وهيَ تصاريفُه

    وما في سِواكَ لها مَدفَعُ

    It is Time, and these are its vicissitudes,

    and none but you can ward them off.

  22. رأيتُكَ ذا شَغفٍ بالعُلى

    وفي دونِ ما نلتَه مقنَعُ

    I saw you full of passion for high honor,

    though less than what you have attained would suffice.

  23. إلى كَم تلامُ فَلا تَرعَوي

    وحتَّامَ تُلحَى فَما تسمَعُ

    How long will you be reproached, yet not desist?

    And how long will you be chided, yet not listen?

  24. ألَيسَ المفرَّقُ بينَ الوَرى

    من المجدِ عندكَ مُستَجمَعُ

    Is not what is scattered among mortals,

    of glory, all gathered together in you?