1. أعِدْ نظرةً في صفحتيْ ذلك الخدِّ

    فإني أخافُ الياسمينَ على الوَرْدِ

    Cast another glance over the two sides of that cheek,

    for I fear what the jasmine may do to the rose.

  2. وَخُذ لهما دمْعي وعَلَلّلْهُما به

    فإنَّ دمُوعيْ لا تُعيد ولا تبدي

    And take my tears for them both, and refresh the two with them;

    for my tears neither bring back nor bring forth anything.

  3. وإلا ففي كأسِ المُدَامَةِ بلُغَةٌ

    تقومُ مَقامَ الريِّ عندكَ أو عندي

    Otherwise, in a cup of wine there is sustenance

    that takes the place of quenching thirst, for you or for me;

  4. وفي ريقكَ المعسولِ لو أنّ روضةً

    تُعَلَّلُ بالكافور والمسكِ والرّنْدِ

    and in your honeyed saliva too, if a garden

    could be refreshed with camphor, musk, and laurel.

  5. وماء شبابي كانَ أعذب مورداً

    لو أنّ الليالي لم تُزَاحِمْكَ في الوِرْد

    And the water of my youth would have been sweeter to drink,

    if the nights had not competed with you at the watering place.

  6. مُنىً لا أُبالي أن تكونَ كواذِباً

    فتفنى ولكنّ المَدَارَ على وَجْدي

    Hopes—I do not care if they prove false

    and perish; yet everything turns upon my yearning.

  7. أمِنْكَ الخيالُ الطَّارِقي كلّ ليلةٍ

    على مِثْلِ حَدِّ السّيْفِ أو طُرّةِ البُردِ

    Is the phantom that visits me every night sent by you,

    upon something like a sword's edge or a striped cloak's border?

  8. يُبَاري إليّ الليلَ لو أنّ شافعاً

    مِنَ النَّومِ أو لولا رقيبٌ منَ السهد

    It would race the night toward me, if there were an intercessor

    from sleep, or were there no watchman of wakefulness.

  9. تَعَلّمَ مِنّي كيف يَنْعَمُ بالهوى

    وَأشْقَى فهلا كانَ يَبْقَى على العهد

    It learned from me how to delight in love,

    while I suffer; why did it not remain true to the pledge?

  10. يَهُونُ عليهِ الوصلُ ما دامَ نازحاً

    وأهونُ شيءٍ حين يَدنوُ إلى الصَدِّ

    Union comes easily to it as long as it remains distant,

    yet when it draws near, nothing is easier than rejection.

  11. وليلةَ وافاني وقد نِمْتُ نَومَةً

    وكنتُ أنا والنجمُ منها على وَعْد

    And on a night when it came to me, I had slept a little,

    and the star and I had an appointed time for that sleep.

  12. ألمّ فحيَّا بين رُقْبَى وَرَقْبَةٍ

    ولا شَيْءَ أحلى من دُنُوٍّ على بُعْد

    It came and greeted me amid watchfulness and dread,

    and nothing is sweeter than nearness despite distance.

  13. وقد رَابَهُ لمحٌ من الليل في الدجى

    كما لاح وَسْمُ الشَّيْبِ في الشَّعَر الجَعْدِ

    And a glimmer from the night, amid the darkness, unsettled it,

    as the mark of gray hair appears in curly locks.

  14. رأى أدمعي حمراً وشيبيَ ناصعاً

    وَفَرطَ نُحُولي واصْفراراً على خدِّي

    It saw my tears red and my gray hair gleaming white,

    and my extreme wasting, and yellow pallor upon my cheek.

  15. فَودَّ لو أني عِقْدُه ووشاحُهُ

    وإن لم يُطقْ حَمْلَ الوشاحِ ولا العِقْد

    So it wished I were its necklace and its sash,

    though it could not bear the weight of sash or necklace.

  16. ألمَّ فأعْدَاني ضَنَاهُ وَسُهْدُهُ

    وقد كان هذا الشوقُ أولى بأن يُعْدِي

    It came and infected me with its wasting and sleeplessness,

    though this longing had more right to be contagious.

  17. وولَّى فلا تسألْ بحاليَ بَعْدَهُ

    ولكنْ سلِ الأَيَّامَ عن حالِهِ بَعْدي

    It turned away; do not ask about my state after it,

    but ask the days about its state after me.

  18. تفاوَتَ قومٌ في الحظوظ وسبلها

    فَمُثْرٍ على حِرْصٍ وَمُكْدٍ على زُهْدِ

    People differ in their fortunes and the paths to them:

    some wealthy in their greed, others poor in their renunciation.

  19. وأمَّا أنا والحضرميُّ فإننا

    قَسَمْنَا العُلا ما بين غَوْرٍ إلى نجد

    But as for me and al-Hadrami, we

    have divided glory, from Ghawr to Najd.

  20. فأَبْتُ أنا بالشعرِ أَحمي لواءَهُ

    وآب ابنُ عيسى بالسيادةِ والمجد

    I returned with poetry, defending its banner,

    and Ibn Isa returned with lordship and glory.

  21. فتىً لا يُبَاليَ فوزَ مَنْ فازَ بالعُلا

    إذا امتلأتْ كفَّا يديهِ مِنَ الحمد

    A youth who cares not for the triumph of those who win high honor,

    once both his palms are filled with praise;

  22. وسيفٌ يباهي كلَّ سيفٍ بنفسِهِ

    إذا السيفُ باهَى بالحمائلِ والغِمْدِ

    and a sword that vies with every sword through its own worth,

    when a sword boasts of its baldrics and sheath;

  23. ونجمُ سناءٍ أو سنا كلمَّا بدا

    تهلَّلَ بالإسعادِ وانهلَّ بالسَّعْد

    and a star of radiance—or radiance itself—whenever it appears,

    it beams with beneficence and rains down good fortune;

  24. وطودٌ وما رَضْوَى بأكبرَ شيقةً

    ولكن بعض القول أشهى إلى الرشد

    and a mountain—Radwa is no greater in stature,

    but some speech is more pleasing to sound judgment.

  25. وما بالُ رَضْوى إنما هو شاهِقٌ

    رسا من أميلٍ عانكٍ أو صَفَاً صَلْد

    And what of Radwa? It is only a towering peak,

    standing firm, of a dark-red sand-ridge or solid rock.

  26. وكم جَبَلٍ في الأَرضِ أشمخُ ذروةً

    وأحمى حمىً لو أنَّ نَجْوَتَهُ تُجدي

    And many a mountain on earth has a loftier summit

    and a safer refuge—if only its high ground were of use!

  27. وكانَ لهمْ في طورِ سَيْنَا شبيهُهُ

    على خطأٍ مما ادَّعَوْا وعلى عَمْدِ

    And they had its like on Mount Sinai,

    through error in what they claimed, and through deliberate intent.

  28. ولكنَّها طارتْ بِرَضْوَى مَطَارَهَا

    ولم نر أحظى من مساعدةِ الجَدِّ

    Yet it bore Radwa aloft in its flight,

    and we have seen nothing more fortunate than fortune's favor.

  29. وبحرٌ ترى الألبابَ غائصة به

    على اللؤلؤِ المكنونِ في الحَلِّ والعَقْد

    And a sea in which you see minds diving

    for pearls hidden in unbinding and binding.

  30. تَرَاجَعَ عبراهُ وَعَبَّ عُبَابُهُ

    ولا فُلْكَ إلا مِنْ رجاءٍ وَمِنْ وُد

    Its two shores recede, and its billows swell,

    and there are no vessels but those of hope and affection.

  31. فَعَرِّجْ بشطَبْهِ إذا كان ساكناً

    خِلالَ جميمٍ ناضرٍ في ثرىً جَعْدِ

    So turn aside to its shore when it is still,

    amid lush, fresh growth in moist, clotted earth.

  32. وإن ماجَ واسطعت الحزامةَ فَأْتِهِ

    فإنَّ النجومَ الزَّهْرَ في الظلم الربد

    And if it surges, and you can muster prudence, come to it;

    for bright stars are found in murky darkness.

  33. بلغتُ بعيسى مُنْتَهى كلَّ سُؤْدَدٍ

    فلستُ بمثرٍ إن حُرمتُ ولا مكد

    Through Isa I have reached the utmost of all nobility,

    so if I am denied, I am neither wealthy nor destitute.

  34. وَدَعْ مالكاً حتى تَرَى كيفَ سَعْيُهُ

    فما منكما من لم يَسُدْ وهو في المهد

    And leave Malik until you see how he strives,

    for neither of you was without lordship while still in the cradle.

  35. هُوَ المجدُ منكمْ أَصْلُهُ وَفُرُوْعُهُ

    تَرَدَّدَ بين الإِبنِ والأبِ والجد

    Such is glory: its root and branches spring from you;

    it has passed among son, father, and grandfather.

  36. أتتكَ قوافِي الشِّعْرِ وَفْداً عنِ الهوى

    وبعضُ قوافي الشعرِ أَحْظَى من الوفد

    The rhymes of poetry have come to you as a delegation from love,

    and some poetic rhymes find more favor than a delegation.

  37. أآذنةٌ عُلْياك لِلْعِيدِ إن دَنَا

    على الطّائرِ الميمونِ والطّالَعِ السَّعد

    Will your eminence admit the feast, if it draws near,

    under an auspicious bird-omen and a fortunate ascendant?

  38. وقد جاءَ يطْوي الأرضَ والدهرُ آخذٌ

    بأيسرِ حظٍّ بينَ وَصْلِك والصَّدِّ

    It has come folding up the earth, while Time takes

    the smallest share between your welcome and rebuff.

  39. أمولايَ لم أَقْدُرْكَ قَدْرَكَ كُلَّهُ

    ولكنه جُهْدُ القصائدِ لا جُهْدِي

    O my lord, I have not valued you at your full worth,

    but it is the poems' utmost effort, not mine.

  40. فلم يبقَ إلا أن تسامحَ مُجْمِلاً

    ومِنْ كَرَمِ المَوْلى مُسامَحَة العَبْد

    So nothing remains but that you pardon graciously,

    and forgiving the servant is part of the master's generosity.