1. إنْ عادَه بعدَ السُّلُوِّ غَرامُه

    فَلَه من الدَّمْعِ المَصونِ سِجامُه

    If his passion revisits him after forgetfulness,

    then his tears, once held in reserve, pour forth.

  2. لا غَرْوَ إنْ غَرِيَ العَذولُ بِلَوْمِه

    طَالَتْ صَبابَتُهُ فطالَ مَلامُه

    No wonder if the reproacher is bent on blaming him;

    his longing has endured, and so has the reproach against him.

  3. ما هاجَ عَهْدَ الشَّوقِ إلا مَعْهَدٌ

    رامَتْ بقلبي في الهَوى آرامُه

    Nothing stirred the memory of longing but a familiar haunt,

    whose gazelles bore my heart away in love.

  4. وأَنا الفِداءُ لمَنْ أصابَ مَقاتِلي

    باللَّحظِ مِنْ خِلَلِ السُّجوفِ سِهامُه

    And I am a ransom for the one who struck my vital parts

    with the arrows of his glance through gaps in the curtains.

  5. أبدَى لنا البدرَ المُبينَ جَمالُه

    وشَمائِلَ الغُصْنِ الرَّطيبِ قَوامُه

    His beauty revealed to us the radiant full moon,

    and his figure the graces of a fresh, supple bough.

  6. أَسْيَانُ يَكسِرُ للسَّلامِ جُفونَه

    ولو استطاعَ شَفَى الغَليلَ سَلامُه

    Sorrowful, he lowers his eyelids in greeting;

    and, if it could, his greeting would quench the burning thirst.

  7. إنِّي وإن عَرَمَ الزَّمانُ لَعائِذٌ

    بالصَّبْرِ ما استولَى عليَّ عُرامُه

    Indeed, though time rages, I seek refuge

    in patience as long as its fury holds sway over me.

  8. مُستَصْحِباً عَزْماً مُضيئاً في الدُّجى

    تجري بفَاجِعَةِ النَّوى أحكامُه

    Taking with me a resolve that shines in the darkness,

    while its decrees run their course in separation's calamity.

  9. أَجْني بِهِ ثَمَرَ القَريِضِ فأَصْطَفي

    منه الذي يُعيي سِوايَ مَرامُه

    I reap through it the fruit of verse, and choose

    from it what others are powerless to attain.

  10. فزِمامُ أبكارِ القَصائدِ في يَدي

    والمجدُ في كَفِّ الأميرِ زِمامُه

    So the reins of maiden odes lie in my hand,

    and the reins of glory lie in the prince's palm.

  11. بدرُ العَلاءِ إذا بَدا فعَلَيهِ مِنْ

    بَدرِ السَّماءِ ضياؤُه وتَمامُه

    He is the full moon of eminence; when he appears, he bears

    the heavenly full moon's radiance and fullness.

  12. وإذا تَبسَّمَ واستَهَلَّ فَعارِضٌ

    لاحَتْ بَوارِقُه وفاضَ غَمامُه

    And when he smiles and beams, he is a rain cloud:

    its lightning flashes, and its clouds pour rain.

  13. نَفسي فداءُ عَليٍّ الباني العُلى

    فلقَد عَلَتْ بِعُلُوِّهِ أيَّامُه

    My soul is a ransom for Ali, builder of lofty glory;

    for his days have indeed risen with his own ascent.

  14. مَلِكٌ يَليقُ به الثَّناءُ فيغتدي

    كالرَّوْضِ يُشرِقُ نَثرُه ونِظامُه

    A king whom praise befits, so it becomes

    like a garden, its prose and verse shining.

  15. رَدَّ السَّماحَ وقد تقادَمَ عَهدُهُ

    مُخضَرَّةً عَرَصاتُه وإكامُه

    He restored generosity, whose days lay far in the past,

    with its open grounds and hillocks green again.

  16. وبَنَتْ يَداه لِتَغْلبٍ شَرَفاً عَلَتْ

    فَوقَ النُّجومِ قِبابُه وخيامُه

    And his hands built for Taghlib a glory: there rose

    above the stars its domes and tents.

  17. أيُّ الفَضائلِ يُرتَجَى إدراكُها

    من مُغْرَمٍ بالمجدِ طالَ غَرامُه

    Which virtues can one hope to grasp

    in one enamored of glory, whose passion has long endured?

  18. أنَوَالُهُ يومَ النَّدى أَمْ بِشْرُهُ

    وسَطاهُ يومَ الرَّوْعِ أَمْ إقدامُه

    Is it his bounty on the day of giving, or his cheerful face,

    and his onslaught on the day of terror, or his daring?

  19. وَسَمَ الزَّمانَ بِوَقْعَةٍ عَدَوِيَّةٍ

    سِيَّانِ فيها عَزمُهُ وحُسامُه

    He branded time with a battle against the enemy,

    in which his resolve and his keen sword were equal.

  20. أَوضَحْتَ نَهْجَ المَكرُماتِ فَنهْجُها

    بادٍ سَناهُ مُنيفَةٌ أعلامُه

    You made clear the path of noble deeds; that path

    has manifest radiance and lofty landmarks.

  21. ووَصَلْتَ للإسْلامِ بأسَكَ مُقْدِماً

    بِضياءِ عَزْمِكَ فاستنارَ ظَلامُه

    And for Islam, advancing boldly, you joined your might

    with the light of your resolve, so its darkness grew bright,

  22. في مَوْقِفٍ صَبَغَتْ سيُوفُكَ أرضَه

    بِدَمِ العِداةِ فما يَثورُ قَتامُه

    on a battlefield whose earth your swords dyed

    with the enemies' blood, so its dust does not rise.

  23. لو لَم يِعُذْ فيه الدُّمُسْتُقُ هارِباً

    عندَ الكَريهَةِ ما عَداهُ حِمامُه

    Had the Domestikos not sought refuge there in flight,

    amid the battle's ordeal, death would not have passed him by.

  24. وَدَّ البَريَّةَ أنَّ عُمرَكَ دائمٌ

    وكذا الربيعُ يُحَبُّ منه دَوامُه

    All creation wishes that your life be everlasting,

    just as spring's continuance is loved.

  25. لو أنَّ جُودَ يَدَيْكَ غَيْثٌ وابِلٌ

    عَمَّ البِلادَ رَذاذُهُ ورِهامُه

    If your hands' generosity were a torrential rain,

    its drizzle and gentle showers would cover the lands.

  26. فالحمدُ مَضروبٌ عليك رِواقُه

    والمجدُ مَقْضِيٌّ لديكَ ذِمامُه

    So the canopy of praise is pitched over you,

    and glory's obligations are discharged by you.

  27. وإذا أناطَ بكَ الرَّجاءَ مُؤَمِّلٌ

    صَدَقَتْ مُناه وحُقِّقَتْ أحلامُه

    And when a hopeful man pins his hope on you,

    his wishes come true and his dreams are fulfilled.

  28. إن الأميرَ أعادَ لي نَهْجَ الغِنَى

    وأعادَ في عُودي النَّدى إنعامُه

    The prince has indeed restored to me the path of wealth,

    and his bounty restored dew to my bough.

  29. وبنَيْلِه أُلْبِسْتُ ثَوْبَ صِيانَةٍ

    عَمَّن يَذُمُّ نَوالَه مُعتامُه

    And through his bounty I was clothed in a robe of protection

    from one whose bounty his petitioner condemns.

  30. فكسوتُه دِيباجَ مَدْحٍ مُشْرقٍ

    حَسُنَتْ مَعانيهِ وقَلَّ كلامُه

    So I clothed him in the brocade of radiant praise,

    whose meanings are beautiful and whose words are few.