1. أتُرَى بثارٍ أم بدينِ

    عَلقَت مَحاسِنُها بعَيني

    Was it for vengeance, I wonder, or for a debt

    that her charms clung to my eye?

  2. في خَصرِها وقَوامِها

    ولحاظِها ما في الرُّدَيني

    In her waist and her stature,

    and in her glances, is what lies in a Rudayni spear.

  3. وبوَجهِها ماءُ الشَّبا

    بِ خَليطُ نارِ الوَجنَتَينِ

    And on her face, the water of youth

    is mingled with the fire of her two cheeks.

  4. بكرَت عَليَّ وقالَت اخ

    تَر خَصلَة من خَصلتينِ

    She came to me early and said, “Choose

    one of two courses:

  5. إمَّا الصُّدُود أو الفِرا

    ق فليسَ عندِي غيرُ ذَينِ

    either rejection or separation—

    for I have nothing else but those two.”

  6. فأجَبتُها ومَدامِعي

    تَنهلُّ فوقَ الوَجنَتَينِ

    I answered her, while my tears

    poured down over both cheeks:

  7. لا تفعَلي إن حانَ صَد

    دُكَ أو فِراقُكِ حان حَيني

    “Do not do it! If the hour of your rejection

    or your departure comes, my death comes too.”

  8. فكأنَّني قُلتُ انهَضِي

    فَمضَت مُسارِعةً لِبَيني

    It was as though I had said, “Rise!”

    So she hurried away to leave me.

  9. ثم استَقَلَّت أين حَلَّت

    عِيسُها رُميَت بأينِ

    Then she set off; wherever they alight,

    may her pale camels be struck with exhaustion!

  10. ونوائبٍ أظهَرنَ أي

    يامي إليَّ بِصُورَتَينِ

    And many calamities have shown my days

    to me in two guises:

  11. سَوَّدنَها وأطَلنَها

    فرأيتُ يوماً لَيلَتَينِ

    they darkened them and lengthened them,

    so I saw a single day as two nights.

  12. هَل بعدَ بَينِكِ مَن يُعَر

    رِفُني النُّضارَ من اللُّجَينِ

    After your parting, can anyone teach me

    to tell gold from silver?

  13. ولَقَد جَهلتُهما لبُع

    دِ العَهدِ بَينهما وبَيني

    Indeed, I no longer recognize either, so long

    has it been since they and I last met,

  14. مُتَصرِّفاً بالشِّعرِ يا

    بئسَ البِضاعَةِ في اليَدينِ

    while trading in poetry—oh,

    what wretched merchandise in one's hands!

  15. كانَت كذلِكَ قبلَ أن

    يَأتي عَليُّ ابنُ الحُسَينِ

    Such it was before

    Ali ibn al-Husayn came.

  16. فاليومَ حالُ الشِّعرِ ثا

    لِثةً كَحَالِ الشِّعرَيَينِ

    Today poetry stands as a third star,

    with the same standing as the two Shi‘ra stars.

  17. أغنَى وأعفَى مَدحَه ال

    عافينَ من كَذبٍ ومَينِ

    Praise of him has enriched and freed

    seekers of bounty from lies and falsehood.

  18. فتَمتَّعُوا من مالِهِ

    وصِفاتِه بالحُسنَيَينِ

    So delight in his wealth

    and his qualities—the two blessings.

  19. وإذا لَقيتَ لَقِيتَ سَم

    حَ الخُلق سَمحَ الرّاحتَينِ

    And when you meet him, you meet one gracious

    in character, generous with both palms.

  20. فيكادُ يَبكي رَحمَةً

    للعُدمِ بينَ سَماحَتَينِ

    So he almost weeps with compassion

    for poverty, between his two forms of generosity.

  21. ولرُبَّ ذي مالٍ وَلَي

    سَ يَداهُ بالمَبسُوطَتَينِ

    And many a man of wealth does not

    hold his two hands open.

  22. إنَّ الإمامَ إذا رَمَى

    بكَ ما وراءَ الرّقَّتَينِ

    Indeed, when the Imam sends

    you beyond the two Raqqas,

  23. علِمَ العِراقُ وأهلُهُ

    أن ليسَ خَطبهُما بهَينِ

    Iraq and its people will know

    that their ordeal is no light matter.

  24. ماذا أؤثِّرُ في ثَنا

    ئِكَ وهوَ مِلءُ الخافِقَينِ

    What can I add to your praise,

    when it fills the two horizons?

  25. أَأُحِيطُ بِالبَحرِ المُحي

    طِ بعيد بَينَ السَّاحِلَينِ

    Can I encompass the encircling sea,

    with its two shores so far apart?

  26. أم أرتَقي حتَّى أثا

    لِثَ بالمَديحِ الفَرقَدَينِ

    Or shall I ascend until I become

    a third, through praise, beside the two Farqad stars?