1. جاءَت مُولَّعةَ الكَواهِل

    تختالُ صادقةَ المخائِل

    She came with dappled shoulders,

    strutting, her rain-signs true.

  2. كَحْلاءُ حاليةٌ بكَت

    حتَّى انثنتْ مَرهاءَ عاطل

    Kohl-eyed and adorned, she wept

    until she returned, sore-eyed and unadorned.

  3. حِمَّاءُ يَحسُبُ برقُها السْ

    سَاري مفضّضةُ الحَمائِل

    Dark-hued: her lightning makes the night-

    traveler fancy her baldrics silvered.

  4. يَلقَى الخَمائِلَ من سَنا

    ه بمثلِ نُوَّارِ الخَمائِل

    It greets the leafy groves with its radiance,

    like the blossoms of those leafy groves.

  5. فَيَدُ الجَنوبِ تَلُفُّها

    لفَّ الجَحافلِ بالجحافِل

    The south wind's hand enfolds her,

    as armies are folded into armies.

  6. والرَّعدُ يَسلُقُها بأل

    سِنةٍ كألسنةِ العواذِل

    And thunder lashes her with tongues

    like the tongues of reproving women.

  7. ويَحُثُّها حَثَّ الحُدا

    ةِ شَواردَ الكُومِ العَقائِل

    And urges her on as camel-drivers urge

    straying, choice she-camels with high humps.

  8. والبَرقُ يُومِضُ بينَها

    إيماضَ حاليةِ الأَنامِل

    And lightning flashes within her

    with the flash of a woman's jeweled fingers.

  9. حتَّى إذا اشتمَلت بها ال

    آفاقُ ضاحكةَ الشَّمائِل

    Until, when, wrapped in her,

    the horizons smiled in their aspect,

  10. طَارت عَقائِقُها على

    آثار أَدْمُعِها الهَوامِل

    her lightning bolts flew along

    the tracks of her streaming tears.

  11. فالجَوُّ مِنها في لظىً

    والأرضُ منها في مَناهِل

    So the air is ablaze from her,

    and earth is filled by her with watering places.

  12. والنَّورُ في حَلْيَين مُش

    تَبهينِ من طلٍّ ووَابِل

    And the blossoms wear two ornaments,

    alike, of dew and pouring rain.

  13. يلقاكَ مُختَلِفُ القَلا

    ئِدِ بينَ مُؤتِلفِ الغَلائِل

    It greets you with varied necklaces

    amid harmonizing gauzy robes:

  14. بِدَعٌ كأطرافِ الدَّما

    لجِ والأساورِ والخَلاخِل

    marvels like the ends of armlets,

    and bracelets and anklets,

  15. ما بين ألحانِ الحَما

    م وبين ألحانِ الجَداول

    between the melodies of doves

    and the melodies of streams.

  16. أَغشاهُ طوعَ أكارمِ ال

    خُلاَّنِ لا طَوعَ الحَلائِل

    I visit it at the bidding of the noblest

    friends, not at the bidding of wives.

  17. نشوانُ كالغُصنِ انْثَنى

    ما بينَ أغصانٍ مَوائِل

    Tipsy, he bends like a branch

    among swaying branches,

  18. سَبْطُ الأناملِ ماسحاً

    بالمِسكِ جَعداً كالسَّلاسِل

    slender-fingered, anointing

    with musk curls like chains,

  19. يسعَى إليَّ بخَمرِ با

    بِلَ ماهرٌ في سِحر بابِل

    he hastens to me with the wine of

    Babylon, skilled in Babylon's magic.

  20. صفراءَ تَحسَبُ أنها

    تَنقَدُّ من شمسِ الأصائل

    Golden-yellow, you would think it

    was cleft from the sun of late afternoon.

  21. قَرعَتْ سليلةَ كَرْمِها

    بسليلةِ الغُرِّ الهَواطل

    It, the daughter of its vine, was mingled

    with the daughter of white, rain-pouring clouds.

  22. فكأَنَّها ذَوبُ النُّضا

    رِ يَشوبُه ذَوبُ الوَذائِل

    So it is like molten gold,

    mingled with melted silver.

  23. وكأنَّ نَشْرَ كُؤوسِها

    شُكري لأحمدَ في المَحافِل

    And the fragrance of its cups is like

    my thanks to Ahmad in assemblies.

  24. مَلِكٌ خَلائقُه إلى

    معروفِه أدنَى الوَسائِل

    A king whose virtues lead to

    his bounty by the most direct means.

  25. مُحمرُّ أيامِ الوغَى

    مُبْيَضُّ أيامِ الفَضائِل

    He reddens the days of battle,

    and whitens the days of noble deeds.

  26. يُحيي بحُسْنِ فِعالِه

    أفعالَ والدِه الحُلاحِل

    By the excellence of his deeds he revives

    the deeds of his father, the mighty chief.

  27. كالوَرِد زالَ وماؤُه

    عَبِقُ الرَّوائحِ غيرُ زَائِل

    Like a rose that is gone, while its water

    stays sweetly fragrant, never fading.

  28. بَعَثَ النَّدى في الخَافِقَيْ

    نِ مُسائِلاً عن كلِّ سائِل

    He sent generosity through east and west,

    inquiring after every petitioner.

  29. وأقامَ مشهورَ المَكا

    نِ غريبَ مشهورِ الفَضائل

    And made renowned in standing

    a stranger famed for virtues.

  30. كالبدرِ شارفَ تَمَّه

    فأضاءَ في شُرَفِ المَنازِل

    Like the full moon nearing its fullness,

    then shining in the heights of its stations.

  31. يختالُ في ظِلِّ العُلى

    ويَرودُ في ظِلِّ المَناهِل

    He struts in the shade of eminence

    and roams in the shade of watering places.

  32. شِيَمٌ على عَليائِه

    في الأزدِ واضحةُ الدَّلائِل

    Traits that, of his eminence

    among the Azd, give clear proof.

  33. وأواخرٌ شَهِدَت له

    بمناقبِ السَّلَفِ الأوائِل

    And later deeds have testified for him

    to the merits of the earliest forebears.

  34. ويدٌ كَصَوْبِ المُزنِ يَغ

    مُرُ سَجلُها سَجلَ المُساجِل

    And a hand like rain pouring from clouds:

    its bucket overwhelms a rival's bucket.

  35. ومهنَّدٌ كلُّ الضَّرا

    ئبِ عندَ هَزَّتِهِ مَفاصِل

    And an Indian blade: all its targets

    are joints when it is brandished.

  36. فكأنَّ قُربَك سَقيُهُ

    إذا تألَّقَ بالمَقَاتِل

    As though your nearness were its quenching water,

    when it flashes at the body's vital spots.

  37. يا خيرَ مأمولٍ تُنا

    خُ بَعقْوَتَيه رِكابُ آمِل

    O best of those in whom hope is placed,

    at whose two courts a seeker's camels are made to kneel:

  38. أفنيْتَ شهرَ الصَّومِ مق

    بولَ الفَرائضِ والنَّوافِل

    you have completed the month of fasting,

    your obligatory and voluntary devotions accepted.

  39. فَتَلقَّ فِطرَك مُطْلِعاً

    سعْداً يَسُرُّك غيرَ آفِل

    So welcome your fast-breaking as it brings forth

    good fortune that delights you and never sets.

  40. والشِّعرُ نُزهةُ قاطنٍ

    حَطَّ الرِّحالَ وزادُ راحِل

    And poetry is recreation for one who stays,

    having set down his saddles, and provision for one who travels.

  41. فاشرَبْ على رَيحانِه

    إذ راحَ غَضّاً غيرَ ذابِل

    So drink amid its sweet basil,

    as it comes fresh and unwithered.

  42. واعلَمْ بأنَّ بَديِعَه

    لُبُّ الأَلبَّاءِ الأَفاضِل

    And know that its wondrous artistry

    is the essence of the wise and virtuous.