1. يا خليلي تلك أعلامُ نجدِ

    فدعاني أعيد شوقي وأبدي

    O my two friends, those are the landmarks of Najd.

    So let me renew my longing and reveal it.

  2. ملكَ الوجدُ رقَّ قلبي فح

    كم الصبر فيه علة سبيل التعدي

    Passion claimed my heart in bondage; then

    patience ruled there—an affliction, a way of transgression.

  3. يا جليد الفؤاد لستُ على الهـ

    ـجر ولا مؤلمِ البعادِ بجلد

    O stout-hearted one, I cannot bear

    abandonment or the pain of separation.

  4. خلِّ صباّ يموت وجداً ويحيا

    بوصالٍ من الغواني وصدِّ

    Leave a lover who dies of passion and comes alive

    through union with beautiful women—and rejection.

  5. كل شمسٍ لاثت حجاب قناعٍ

    أو سحاباً من مندليٍّ وندِّ

    Each sun has wound a veiling screen about herself,

    or a cloud of Mandali aloeswood and nadd perfume.

  6. يا مهاة الصّريم ما زورة النّـ

    ـعف بأولى يدٍ لطيفك عندي

    O oryx of al-Sarim, a visit

    to al-Naʿf is not your phantom's first favor to me.

  7. وألذُّ المزار ما ناله الطا

    لب عفواً من غير تنكيدِ وعد

    And the sweetest visit is what is obtained

    freely by the seeker, without a promise's vexation.

  8. زار لا يرهبُ الوشاة ولا

    نخشى كعاداتنا سيوف معدِّ

    He visited, fearing no tale-bearers; nor

    did we fear Maʿadd's swords as we ordinarily would.

  9. فرشفنا سلاف ريقٍ على تر

    جس عينين يجتني وردَ خدِّ

    So we sipped the choicest wine of saliva beside

    two narcissus eyes, gathering a cheek's roses.

  10. ورفعنا بها عروس دنانٍ

    طوّقوها من الحباب بعقد

    And with it we raised the bride of wine-jars,

    whom they garlanded with a necklace of bubbles.

  11. أيّ وردٍ ببرده كم لهُ في

    القلب من لوعةٍ تشبُّ ووقد

    What a cool draught! How much it leaves in

    the heart of blazing anguish and flame!

  12. وخلاف القياس أن ينقع

    الظمآن حرَّ الغليل منه بشهد

    And it defies reason to quench

    a thirsty man's burning thirst with its honey.

  13. حجبوني عن كسر رمّانتي

    نهدٍ شهيٍّ يقلُّها غصنُ قدِّ

    They barred me from breaking the two pomegranates

    of a luscious bosom, borne by a boughlike figure,

  14. بسيوفٍ مثل اللواحظ قضبٍ

    ورماحٍ مثل المعاطف ملد

    with keen-cutting swords like sidelong glances,

    and supple spears like swaying figures.

  15. أسهرتني نجل العيون ونامت

    عن ولوعي بها ولاعجِ وجدي

    The wide-eyed beauties kept me awake, then slept,

    heedless of my infatuation with them and my searing passion.

  16. فغرامٌ هدتهُ ساعةُ قربٍ

    وهدوٌّ أضله يومُ بعد

    Thus passion was laid low by an hour of nearness,

    and calm was led astray by a day of separation.

  17. إنَّ يوم الجمال لو كان عدلاً

    يسقط الحدُّ فيه قتلَ العمد

    Indeed, were beauty's day just,

    the penalty for deliberate killing would lapse that day.

  18. أذكرتني العهودَ نفحةُ شوقٍ

    حسبوها شذا عرار ورند

    A breath of longing reminded me of old pledges;

    they took it for the scent of ʿarar blossoms and laurel.

  19. فبكت لوعتي بها أعينُ السُّـ

    ـحب ورقت لها قلوب الصلد

    So my anguish there drew tears from the eyes

    of clouds, and softened hearts of stone,

  20. إذ بدور السقاة تجلو شموساً

    في كؤوسٍ طلعن أنجمَ سعد

    as the cupbearers' full moons unveiled suns

    in goblets, rising as stars of good fortune.

  21. وقضيب من نوره في لثامٍ

    ومن النبت مائساً فوق برد

    And a bough, veiled in its blossoms,

    and among the plants, swaying above a striped cloak.

  22. فسقاها سبطُ البنان من

    الأنواءِ وقفٌ على ثراها الجعد

    Then it was watered by the openhanded among

    the seasonal rains; the tightfisted too was reserved for its soil.

  23. وقطار السماء ضاحكة البر

    قِ وقد حثَّها حداءُ الرعد

    And heaven's rain-caravans, laughing with

    lightning, were spurred by thunder's driving song.

  24. وإذا ما تألق الومض خلناه

    حساماً سللتهُ من غمده

    And whenever the flash shone, we imagined it

    a sword you had drawn from its sheath.

  25. وكأنَّ الغدير تحت نسيمِ الريح

    عطفٌ يحول من تحت سرد

    And the pool beneath the wind's breeze seemed

    a flank shifting under chain mail,

  26. كصفات الملك المؤيّد يهمي

    باسمَ الوجه في وجوه الوفد

    like the virtues of King al-Muʾayyad, who showers bounty,

    smiling-faced upon the faces of delegations.

  27. ملكٌ في الدنوِّ وابعد تلقا

    هُ جسيمَ النَّدى كريم العهد

    A king: near or far, you find

    him vast in generosity, noble in keeping faith.

  28. وجهُ أفعالهِ ينير إذا اظلمَ

    خطبٌ وكفُّ نعماهُ تسدي

    The face of his deeds shines when darkness engulfs

    a calamity, and the hand of his favors bestows.

  29. فغدا كلُّ باخلٍ هازل

    الهمة يفري بنان مجدٍ بحدٍّ

    So every miser grew feeble in

    resolve, slashing glory's fingers with a blade.

  30. وطويل النجاد والباع في سلمٍ

    وحربِ قصير عمرِ الوعد

    And he is long of sword-belt and reach in peace

    and war, but short is the lifespan of his promise.

  31. نال شأوَ العلى بنفس أبيٍّ

    وأبٍ ينتمي إلى خير جدِّ

    He reached the summit of greatness with an unbowed soul,

    and a father descended from the best of grandfathers.

  32. فالطريفُ الحديثُ مستندٌ منهُ

    إلى تلكمُ الأصولِ التلد

    So his newly acquired, recent glory rests

    upon those ancient ancestral roots.

  33. كم حبا خائفاً بأمنٍ ومصدوعاً

    بجبرٍ منهُ وثغراً بسدِّ

    How often he gave the fearful safety, the broken

    healing from him, and a frontier a barrier!

  34. فهو حقاً أخو الشجاعة لحاً

    وأبو المكرمات وابنُ المجد

    So he is truly courage's full brother,

    and the father of noble deeds and the son of glory.

  35. تلحظ الأفقَ سمرهُ حين تسري

    بعيونٍ من الكواكب رمدُ

    His brown spears watch the horizon as they travel by night,

    with eyes of stars, sore and bleary.

  36. ويردُ الصباحُ أيدي مذاكيهِ

    بوجهٍ من نقعها مسودِّ

    And morning approaches his seasoned steeds' forelegs

    with a face blackened by their dust.

  37. شائمٌ بارقَ السيوف إذا ما

    نشرت كفّهُ سحابةَ بند

    He watches for the swords' lightning whenever

    his hand unfurls a banner-cloud.

  38. هيَ للنَّصر آيةٌ فإذا ما

    رفعتْ أردفتْ بآية حمد

    It is a sign of victory; whenever

    it is raised, a verse of praise follows it.

  39. ضاق ظهرُ النجودِ عنها وقد عبّتْ

    وسالت بها بطونُ الوهد

    The highlands' back was too narrow for it as it swelled,

    and the lowlands' bellies flowed with it.

  40. فهي في مهرق القضاء سطورٌ

    ويجيدِ الهضابِ مثلُ العقد

    So it is lines upon destiny's parchment,

    and on the neck of the hills, like a necklace.

  41. كل طيّارةٍ إلى كلّ ظاغٍ

    بجناحين من مدادٍ ولبد

    Each one flying toward every tyrant,

    with two wings of ink and felt.

  42. بازغٌ شمس فكرهِ عندما يصلد

    في الداجيات قدحُ الزند

    The sun of his thought rises when no spark comes

    in the dark nights from striking the fire-stick.

  43. وأباحت رماحهُ من منيعٍ

    وحمى حدُّ سيفهِ من حدِّ

    And his spears have laid open what was impregnable,

    and his sword's edge has protected many a border.

  44. سخطهُ في الحروب نارُ جحيمٍ

    ورضاهُ في السّلم جنّةُ خلد

    His wrath in war is the fire of hell,

    and his favor in peace a paradise of eternity.

  45. أطلع الله منه والدَّهرُ داجٍ

    نجم دينٍ إلى المكارم يهدي

    God brought forth from him, while the age was dark,

    a star of faith that guides toward noble deeds.

  46. فاضلٌ فاضلٌ إذا أشكل الأمرُ

    سديدُ النُّهى شديد العقد

    Virtuous, virtuous when a matter grows obscure,

    sound of intellect, firm in resolve.

  47. لو سكتنا عن وصف يوميهِ لا

    جهلاً ولكنْ سكوتَ عيٍّ وجهد

    If we fell silent about describing his two days, not

    from ignorance, but from speechlessness and exhaustion,

  48. حدّثتنا الأقلام عن كون نعما

    هُ وقالت عنهُ سيوف الهند

    the pens would tell us of his bounty's existence,

    and the swords of India would speak of him.

  49. مانعٌ عفوهُ البلادَ وقد سال

    بها البحرُ من عداها بمدِّ

    His effortless action protects the lands, though

    a sea of their foes has surged through them in flood,

  50. بعقابٍ يحوم فوق صقور

    ونجومٍ تجول من تحت أسد

    with an eagle circling above falcons,

    and stars roaming beneath a lion.

  51. ذبَّ عنها ذباب ماضيهِ بأساً

    أيُّ مردٍ لها وأيُّ مردِّ

    The tip of his keen blade repelled violence from them—

    what a slayer on their behalf, and what a defense!

  52. حادثٌ صغَّر القديمَ فلا تجلبْ

    بياجوج بعدها والسدِّ

    A new deed that dwarfed the old; so do not clamor

    after it about Yaʾjuj and the barrier.

  53. لو سطا وحدهُ لأغنى وأقنى

    غيرهَ منْ يحوط ملكاً بجند

    If he attacked alone, he would enrich and endow

    any other who guards a kingdom with troops.

  54. أريحيٌّ وجدتهُ خيرَ من يطرى

    ويرجى يومي قصيدٍ وقصد

    A generous soul, I found him the finest to praise

    and hope in, on the two days of ode and petition.

  55. وهبتني يداهُ مجداً ولم يسمعْ

    بخلقٍ سواهُ واهبِ مجد

    His two hands gave me glory, and none has been heard of

    among creatures, other than him, who bestows glory.

  56. علَّمتني كسبَ العلي خطراتٌ

    منه تأبى سوى نوالٍ ورفدِ

    Passing thoughts taught me how to win high honors—

    from him, admitting nothing but gifts and aid.

  57. وكثيرٌ من أمَّهُ فثناهُ

    زاهداً في اللُهى ولا مثل زهدي

    And many a man sought him, and he sent him back

    indifferent to gifts, but none with detachment like mine.

  58. يوسعُ المادحين منَاً ونقداً

    سالماً من كريهِ منٍّ ونقدِ

    He lavishes favors and cash upon the panegyrists,

    free of hateful reminders of favors and criticism.

  59. فضح الأقدمين جودك طبعاً

    فتمتَّع بعامك المستجدِّ

    Your generosity has shamed the ancients by its nature;

    so enjoy your newly begun year.

  60. ابق ضافي ثوب النعيم قرير العين

    نضرَ الجناب صافي الوردِ

    Remain in ample robes of bliss, contented of eye,

    your domain flourishing, your draught pure.

  61. أنت معنى الدنيا ولولاك

    لم يفضح بشيء من هزلها والجدِّ

    You are the meaning of the world; without you,

    nothing of its jest or earnestness would be laid bare.