1. رَدَّ جَفني بسَافحِ الدَّمعِ يَندى

    حينَ حيَّيتُه فأحسَنَ رَدَّا

    He made my eyelid moist with streaming tears

    when I greeted him; he made a fine reply.

  2. سَمَحَت لي به السُّجوفُ فما حا

    دَ عن العينِ والرَّكائبُ تُحدَى

    The curtains granted me sight of him; he did not turn

    aside from my gaze while the mounts were urged onward by song.

  3. قمرٌ كلَّما مَنَحناه لَحظاً

    منحَ اللَّحْظَ جُلَّناراً وَوَرْدا

    A moon: whenever we granted him a glance,

    he granted the gaze pomegranate blossoms and roses.

  4. هو كالرِّيمِ ما تَلفَّتَ جيداً

    وهو كالغُصْنِ ما تأوَّدَ قَدَّا

    He is like a white gazelle whenever he turns his neck,

    and like a branch whenever his figure sways.

  5. أنا إن راحَ أو غَدا لفِراقٍ

    في رَواحٍ من الحِمامِ ومَغْدَى

    If he leaves at evening or morning to part, I am

    amid death's evening and morning visits.

  6. أيها البرقُ إن وَجَدْتَ غَماماً

    فَاسْق نجداً به ومَن حَلَّ نَجدا

    O lightning, if you find a cloud,

    water Najd with it, and whoever dwells in Najd.

  7. وتعهَّدْ تلكَ الخِيامَ ففيها

    ظَبَياتٌ يَفتُكْنَ بالصَّبِّ عَمْدا

    And tend those tents, for within them

    are gazelles who deliberately slay the lovesick.

  8. بجديدِ الشُّؤبوبِ يُصبحُ منه

    خَلَقُ الرَّوْضِ نَاضراً مُستَجِداً

    With a fresh downpour that makes

    the garden's worn garment lush and new,

  9. ومُرِبٍّ يُخفي صَنائعَ بيضاً

    حينَ يُبدي لنا شمائلَ رُبْدا

    and a lingering cloud concealing bright benefactions

    while displaying dusky traits to us.

  10. وكأنَّ الوميضَ يَنشُرُ نُوراً

    في أعاليه أو يُفَوِّتُ بُرْدا

    It is as though the lightning spreads light

    in its heights, or lets a striped cloak slip away.

  11. عادَ بحرُ السُّرُورِ بالشَّيبِ جَزْراً

    بعدما كان بالشَّبيبةِ مَدَّا

    The sea of joy has ebbed with gray hair,

    after being a flood tide in youth.

  12. وأساءَ الزَّمانُ فيه إلينا

    حينَ أعطى القَليلَ منه وأكدى

    And time treated us badly in this,

    giving little of it, then ceasing to give.

  13. كانَ كالبرقِ فاستَتمَّ خُموداً

    قبل أن يَستَتِمَّ للعينِ وَقْدا

    It was like lightning: it wholly died out

    before it fully blazed before the eye.

  14. قد غَنِينا عَنِ السَّحابِ ولو كا

    نَ رَحيقاً بين السُّقاةِ وشَهْدا

    We have no need of clouds, even if they were

    pure wine among cupbearers, and honey.

  15. أصبحَتْ راحةُ الأميرِ أبي الهي

    جاءِ أحلَى جَنىً وأعذبَ وِرْدا

    The palm of Emir Abu al-Hayja' has become

    sweeter in fruit and fresher as a drinking place.

  16. سَيِّدٌ يَهدِمُ الثَّراءِ ويَبني

    سُؤدُداً في حِمى النُّجومِ ومَجدا

    A lord who destroys wealth and builds

    eminence and glory in the stars' protected domain.

  17. غَمَرَتْنا له سِجَالُ عطَايا

    كَسِجالِ الغَمامِ أسرفَ جِدَّا

    Outpourings of his gifts have flooded us,

    like outpourings from clouds; he has been lavish indeed.

  18. يَضعُفُ الشُّكرُ عن مُكافاةِ ما نَوْ

    ولَ فيها وما أفادَ وأَسدى

    Thanks fall short of repaying what he bestowed

    through them, and what he granted and conferred.

  19. وإذا عُدَّتِ المَناهِلُ كانَتْ

    يَدُهُ منهلاً من العُرفِ عِدَّا

    And when watering places are counted,

    his hand is an inexhaustible spring of kindness.

  20. سَدَّ منه وجهَ الخُطوبِ فأضحَى

    دونَ ما يتَّقي من الدَّهرِ سَدَّا

    With it he barred calamities' advance, becoming

    a barrier against whatever one fears from time.

  21. وكفى الوَفْدَ أن يَحُثَّ المَطايا

    بندىً يغتدي إلى الوَفْدِ وَفْدا

    He spared the envoys the need to urge their mounts,

    with bounty that comes each morning to the envoys as a delegation itself.

  22. أنت سَعدُ العُفاةِ يا ابْنَ سعيدٍ

    وكَفاهم بأن تُطاوِلَ سَعدا

    You are the fortune of those seeking gifts, O son of Sa'id;

    it suffices them that you rival Sa'd.

  23. مستهلٌّ إذا تبسَّمَ برقاً

    وهو بينَ الخُطوبِ قَهقَةَ رَعدا

    A pouring cloud flashes lightning when it smiles,

    and its loud laughter amid calamities is thunder.

  24. باتَ يُهدي إليَّ شَوْقاً إلى بِشْ

    رِكَ مستبشِراً إلى الرَّوْضِ يُهدى

    All night it brought me longing for your cheerful

    countenance, rejoicing as it was brought toward the garden.

  25. وبطئٌ في السَّيرِ يُسرعُ وَمْضاً

    مثلَ ما تُسرِعُ الأناملُ عَدَّا

    Slow in its passage, yet swift in its flashes,

    as fingertips hurry when counting.

  26. فتذكَّرْتُ جِدُّ نُعماكَ لَمَّا

    مِرحَ الغَيثُ في الرِّياضِ وجدَّا

    So I recalled the earnestness of your bounty when

    the rain frolicked in the gardens, then grew earnest.

  27. أنا جَلْدٌ على الخطوبِ ولكنْ

    لستُ فيها على جَفائِكَ جَلْدا

    I am steadfast against calamities, but

    amid them I am not steadfast against your coldness.

  28. أُوسِعُ الدَّهَر مذ تعتَّبْتَ ذَمّاً

    بعدَما كنتُ أُوسعُ الدَّهرَ حَمْدا

    I lavish blame on time since you took offense,

    after once lavishing praise on time.

  29. فكأني أرى السُّرورَ عَدوّاً

    أَتحَامَاهُ والمُدامةَ ضِدَّا

    It is as though I see joy as an enemy

    that I shun, and wine as an adversary.

  30. فلو أني ارتشفتُ ثَغْرَ حبيبٍ

    باردِ الظَّلْمِ لم أنلْ منه بَردا

    Even if I sipped a beloved's lips,

    cool with saliva, I would find no coolness in them.

  31. أجَفاءً مُرّاً ولم أَجْنِ ذَنْباً

    فأُجازَى به بُعاداً وصَدَّا

    Bitter coldness—though I have committed no sin

    to be repaid for with distance and rejection,

  32. واطِّراحاً يَبيتُ يُخْلِقُ صَبْراً

    بينَ أحشايَ أو يجدِّدُ وَجْدا

    and abandonment that all night wears out patience

    within my entrails, or renews longing?

  33. حينَ جارَت عليَّ أحداثُ دَهْرٍ

    ليسَ يسلُكْنَ بي إذا سِرتَ قَصْدا

    When time's upheavals wronged me,

    they took no straight course with me when you traveled.

  34. نُوَبٌ لو علَتْ شماريخَ رَضوى

    أوشكَت أن تَخُرَّ منهنَّ هَدَّا

    Calamities that, had they risen above Radwa's peaks,

    would all but have brought those peaks crashing down.

  35. عَرَضَتنْي على الحُسامِ فأضحَى

    كلُّ عُضوٍ مني لِحَدَّيْهِ غِمْدا

    They exposed me to the sword, so that

    each limb of mine became a sheath for its two edges.

  36. وكَسَتْ مَفْرِقي عِمامةَ ضَرْبٍ

    أُرجُوانيَّةَ الذَّوائبِ تَنْدَى

    And they clothed my crown in a turban of blows,

    its trailing ends purple and wet,

  37. ورداء من صنعة الريح فضفا

    ضاً إذا ما ارتداه عار تردى

    and an ample cloak made by the wind—

    whenever a naked man dons it, he falls to ruin.

  38. وإذا قِسْتُ هجرَكَ المُرَّ بالدَّهْ

    رِ وما قد جَناه كان أشَدَّا

    When I compare your bitter abandonment with time

    and what it has wrought, yours is harsher.

  39. أنا حُرٌّ إذا انتسبْتُ ولكنْ

    جَعلَتْني لكَ الصَّنائعُ عَبْدا

    I am freeborn by descent, yet

    your benefactions have made me your slave.

  40. لا أقولُ الغَمامُ مثلُ أيادي

    كَ ولا السيفُ مثلُ عَزْمِكَ حَدَّا

    I do not say clouds resemble your favors,

    nor a sword your resolve in sharpness.

  41. أنتَ أمضى من الحسامِ وأصفى

    من حَيَا المُزنِ في المُحولِ وأندَى

    You are keener than the sword, and purer

    than cloud-rain in drought, and more bountiful.