1. لم يدر أن الدمع خير عتادِ

    حتى حدا بالعامريه حادي

    He did not know that tears were the best provision

    until a camel-driver urged the 'Amiriyya onward.

  2. شيّع غوادي الظعن يوم تحملت

    من دمعك الجاري بصوب غوادي

    Escort the caravans departing at dawn, the day they set out,

    with morning downpours from your flowing tears.

  3. فعلام ينتجع البوارق رائد

    وسحاب جفنك نجعة الروادِ

    Why, then, does a scout seek pasture by the lightning,

    when the clouds of your eyelid are the scouts' pasture?

  4. ساروا فلا الجرعاء جرعاء الحمى

    عندي ولا وادي الأراكة وادي

    They departed; al-Jar'a is no longer the Jar'a of the preserve

    to me, nor is the valley of al-Araka a valley.

  5. سقيا لأيام لبست جديدها

    والأمر أمرى والمراد مرادي

    Rain-blessings on the days whose freshness I wore,

    when the command was my command and the desire my desire.

  6. مالي سوى الجمال من جمل كما

    مالي سوى الإسعاد عند سعاد

    I have nothing from Juml but beauty, just as

    I have nothing with Su'ad but happiness.

  7. تمسي تنازعني المدامه طفلة

    ريا لاروادف بضة الأعضادِ

    At evening a tender young woman vies with me for the wine,

    full-hipped, with tender upper arms.

  8. ترنو كما يرنو الغزال وتنثني

    عن مثل خوط البانة الميَّادِ

    She gazes as the gazelle gazes, and sways

    like the swaying shoot of a ban-tree.

  9. وتكاد لولا خفة في قدّها

    تنهال لي هيل النّقا المنقادِ

    And, but for the lightness of her figure, she would almost

    spill toward me like a yielding sand-dune.

  10. يا اهل نجد لطالب رفدكم

    نيل وهل لأسيركم من فادي

    O people of Najd, for one who seeks your bounty,

    is there a gift? And is there a ransomer for your captive?

  11. ضنَّت بخيلتكم بوصل محبها

    علقت أمالي به فتعلقت

    Your stingy lady withheld union from her lover.

    I fastened my hopes on him, and they took hold.

  12. لا عذر لي إن رمت نبل مبخل

    وندى جمال الملك بالمرصادِ

    I have no excuse if I seek nobility from a miser,

    while Jamal al-Mulk's bounty lies in wait.

  13. علقت أمالي به فتعلقت

    منه بمبدو النوال معادِ

    I fastened my hopes on him, and they took hold

    on his bounty, first bestowed and bestowed anew.

  14. بمهذب الأخلاق لولا جوده

    ما بشرت أم الندى بجوادِ

    On one of refined character; were it not for his generosity,

    the mother of generosity would not have received tidings of a generous man.

  15. مستقبل النعمى بعيد مدى العلى

    عف الضمائر طاهر الأبرادِ

    Welcoming blessings, far-reaching in glory,

    chaste in his inward thoughts, pure in his garments.

  16. يغني ويفني حين يقسم دهره

    يومين يوم ندى ويوم جلادِ

    He enriches and destroys when he divides his lifetime

    into two days: a day of bounty and a day of combat.

  17. كوما يبخل حاتما وشجاعة

    تزرى بباس الحارث بن عبادِ

    Generosity that makes Hatim seem miserly, and courage

    that puts the valor of al-Harith ibn 'Abbad to shame.

  18. غيث إذا بخل الحيا ليث إذا

    غشي الوغى طود من الأطوادِ

    Rain when the rains are stingy; a lion when

    he enters the battle; a mountain among mountains.

  19. طلق المحيا واليدين رباعة

    مأوى العفاة وكعبة القصّادِ

    Cheerful of face and open-handed, his dwellings

    are a haven for petitioners, a Kaaba for those who seek him.

  20. من لا يقول الضيف في أبياته

    ما قالت الأضياف في حمادِ

    One in whose dwellings the guest does not say

    what the guests said of Hammad.

  21. يا حاسدي علم الكفاة منيتم

    منه بدى نقم على الحسادِ

    O enviers of the foremost of the capable, you have been afflicted

    by him, a wielder of vengeance against enviers.

  22. ضحكت به الأيام بعد عبوسها

    ضحك السيوف بدت من الأغاد

    Through him the days laughed after their frowning,

    with the laughter of swords emerging from their scabbards.

  23. من لا يشف غباره في خطه

    عبدالحميد ولا فتى عبادِ

    One whose dusty trail in writing cannot be overtaken

    by 'Abd al-Hamid, nor by the son of 'Abbad.

  24. وإذا جرى في الشعر مبتدهابه

    في حالة فاكم بنقعر زيادِ

    And when he races in poetry, improvising it,

    in a circumstance—[the phrase involving Ziyad is unclear].

  25. غالب ببكتمر العدا تغلب

    ولو أن النجوم السائرات أعادي

    Contend with Baktimur against the enemies, and you will prevail,

    even if the moving stars were foes.

  26. بمعرف المعروف ما لعفاته

    منه سوى الأرفاف والارفادِ

    With one who makes kindness known, his petitioners receive

    nothing from him but kindly care and gifts.

  27. شمس الكتابه والخطابه والحجى

    قمر الدجنَّة والندى والنادي

    The sun of writing, oratory, and wisdom,

    the moon of darkness, generosity, and the assembly.

  28. يا من بلغت به من الزمن المني

    وسمحت للأيام بالحمادِ

    O you through whom I attained my wishes from time,

    and freely granted the days praise.

  29. خولتني النعى التي ملأت يدي

    وملكت بالجود الجميل قبادي

    You bestowed on me blessings that filled my hand,

    and with your beautiful generosity took possession of my reins.

  30. وجمعت قسرا بين حظّي والغنى

    فلأ دعونّك جامع الأصدادِ

    And you forcibly brought my lot and wealth together,

    so I shall surely call you the uniter of opposites.

  31. وأرحت مدحي عن ندى من وعده

    من شدة التتطيب كالايعادِ

    And you freed my praise from seeking the bounty of one whose promise,

    through his fierce scowling, resembles a threat.

  32. وأظنني موسى القربض لأنني

    مجربما جزتي أكف جمادِ

    And I think myself the Moses of poetry, because I

    [unclear wording]—palms of stone.

  33. فلاء لبسنك ما بقيت مدائحا

    محشوقة الإنشاء والإنشادِ

    So, while I live, I shall surely clothe you in praises,

    beloved in their composition and recitation,

  34. أبقى على الأيام فخرا شائعا

    من مفخر الأعمام والأجدادِ

    more enduring through the days as widespread glory

    than the pride of paternal uncles and grandfathers.

  35. فتهن شهر الصوم وأنفده بقا

    مستعسد الأعوام والأعيادِ

    So enjoy the month of fasting, and outlive it,

    finding happiness in the years and festivals.