1. ما لي إلى السلوانِ عنك سبيل

    فدع العذول وما عساهُ يقول

    I have no way to forget you;

    so disregard the reproacher and whatever he may say.

  2. مهما بعثت جوًى وفيض مدامع

    فعلى حشايَ ومقلتي محمول

    Whatever burning grief and flood of tears you arouse,

    it is borne by my heart and my eye.

  3. يا غصن بانٍ قد تبين جوره

    إن أنت لم تعطف فكيفَ تميل

    O bough of the ban tree, whose cruelty has become clear—

    if you will not bend in kindness, how can you sway?

  4. كم ذا عليك القلب تلهبُ ناره

    هذا وذكرك للقلوبِ خليل

    How fiercely the heart's fire blazes for you—

    all this while remembrance of you is a friend to hearts!

  5. أهفو إلى مرِّ النسيم بمهجةٍ

    ترجو شفاءً منه وهو عليل

    I yearn for the passing breeze with a heart

    that hopes for healing from it, though the breeze itself is ailing.

  6. وأبثُّ جرح جوارح بيد الأسى

    لكنَّ تجريح الأسى تعديل

    And I tell of limbs wounded by grief's hand,

    yet grief's wounding is a setting right.

  7. أما غرام القلب فهو كثير

    عندِي ولكن ما السلوّ جميل

    As for the heart's passion, it is abundant

    within me; but forgetting is not beautiful.

  8. مه يا عذول فقد جهلت صبابتي

    وبعيد شبهٍ عالمٌ وجهول

    Be silent, reproacher: you do not know my longing,

    and the knowing and the ignorant are far from alike.

  9. أنا من يحول العاشقون وعشقه

    كندى بني ريَّان ليس يحول

    I am one whose love, though lovers change,

    is like the bounty of Banu Rayyan: it never changes.

  10. المعرقين مناسباً ومكارماً

    تدري بها الأوصاف كيف تجول

    Deep-rooted in lineage and noble deeds,

    through these, descriptions learn how to roam;

  11. والواضحين وفي البدورِ تكلّف

    والثابتين وفي الحيا تبديل

    and radiant, while the full moons strain;

    and steadfast, while the rain is changeable;

  12. والتاركين لبيتهم فرعاً به

    نشأت لهم بعد الدروس أصول

    and those who left their house a branch, through which

    roots sprang up for them after being effaced.

  13. إن يتَّزن بيت الفخار بذكره

    فبنانه للمكرماتِ فعول

    If glory's verse finds its meter in mention of him,

    then his fingers are ever active in noble deeds.

  14. ثاوٍ على حلب ولكن جوده

    ينهلُّ منه على الفرات النيل

    He dwells in Aleppo, but as for his bounty,

    the Nile pours from it upon the Euphrates.

  15. عُرِفت مبايعة المحامد عندهُ

    ووفت فما في بيعها مجهول

    With him, the trade in praise is known,

    and duly fulfilled; nothing in its sale is unknown.

  16. وزهت برؤيته الديار كأنما

    كلُّ النسيم على الديار قبول

    And the dwellings bloom at the sight of him, as though

    every breeze over the dwellings were an east wind.

  17. ومحت غثاثة دهره نعماؤه

    فكأنَّ ذاك غثاً وتلك سيول

    And his favors swept away the wretchedness of his age,

    as though that were flotsam and those were torrents.

  18. يسعى لمغناه المؤمل مادحاً

    ويعود وهو ممدَّح مأمول

    The hopeful petitioner hastens to his abode with praise,

    and returns himself much praised and looked to with hope.

  19. لو أثر التقبيل في يدِ ماجدٍ

    لمحا تواجد كفّه التقبيل

    If kissing left a mark on a noble man's hand,

    his palm's fervor would wipe the kisses away.

  20. بعض الحديث إذا أعيد لواصفٍ

    إلا حديث صفاته مملول

    Some talk, when repeated to a describer,

    is tiresome—except talk of his qualities.

  21. إيضاح رأي قد حوى جمل العلى

    فيه لكلِّ عريكةٍ تسهيل

    Clarity of judgment encompassing the sum of greatness,

    in which every disposition is softened.

  22. ومواهب مقرونة بمناقبٍ

    فالفضل حيث أقامَ والتفضيل

    And gifts coupled with noble virtues,

    so merit and preeminence are wherever he dwells.

  23. ويراعة ألفاظها مشمولةٌ

    تشفي وجمع فخارها مشمول

    And a reed pen whose words are cooled by the north wind,

    bringing healing, with all its glories gathered together.

  24. من خطرة العسَّال فيها نسبةٌ

    لا غَرْوَ أنَّ كلامها معسول

    It has a kinship with the quivering spear's sway;

    no wonder its speech is honeyed.

  25. يا حبَّذا القلم الذي من دأبه

    حفظ الحمى وثراؤه مبذول

    Ah, how fine the pen whose custom is

    to guard the domain, while its wealth is freely given.

  26. يعلي الممالك وهو خافض رأسه

    ويسمّن الأحوال وهو هزيل

    It raises kingdoms while bowing its head,

    and fattens fortunes, though it is itself lean.

  27. حمدتكَ يا ابن سعيد عنَّا أنعمٌ

    روض المحامد حولها مطلول

    Favors have praised you on our behalf, O Ibn Sa'id;

    the garden of praises around them is wet with dew.

  28. طارَ الحديث بها عليلاً محلقاً

    هذا وعطف جناحه مبلول

    The tale of them took flight, ailing yet soaring,

    all this while the fold of its wing was wet.

  29. لا أنسَ بشرك والزمان مقطّبٌ

    ونوال كفّك والغمام نحيل

    I shall not forget your cheerful welcome while time scowled,

    nor your palm's bounty while the clouds were lean.

  30. كرم أشبّب في ثناه لأنه

    أبداً بأنسابِ العلى موصول

    A generosity in whose praise I sing a lover's prelude, for it

    is forever joined to the lineages of greatness.

  31. يا من عُلاه عن الثناء غنيَّةٌ

    والصبح أوضح أن يقام دليل

    O you whose eminence has no need of praise—

    and dawn is too clear to need proof.

  32. خذ من وليّك سامعاً ومسامحاً

    جهد الثناء وإنه لجليل

    Accept from your loyal friend, listening and forgiving,

    his utmost effort in praise; it is indeed great.

  33. إن لم يكن شعري ببابك مُرقصاً

    فليهنَ مدحي إنه مقبول

    If my verse at your gate does not move you to dance,

    then let my praise rejoice: it is accepted.