طاف علينا بكأس راح

كحيل عين خصيب راحِ

He went round among us with a cup of wine,

kohl-dark of eye, generous of hand.

أحور تلقاه ما تثنى

للدل نشوان وهو صاحبي

Dark-eyed, whenever he sways you find him

drunk with coquetry—he is my companion.

في وجيه غدير حسن

قد حف بالورد والأقاحِ

In a little face lies a pool of beauty,

fringed with roses and daisies.

مذكر غير أنَّ فيهِ

تأنيث مكورة رداحِ

Masculine, except that in him lies

the femininity of a rounded, full-hipped woman.

جاء به الحسن بدرتم

حلو الفكاهات والمزاحِ

Beauty brought him forth as a full moon,

sweet in pleasantries and jest.

ما ماس إلا حسبت غصنا

تميله أضعف الرياحِ

Whenever he sways, I take him for a branch

bent by the faintest winds.

لم أستمع فيه قول واش

ولا تقبلت نصح لاحِ

I did not listen to a talebearer's words about him,

nor accept a reproacher's counsel.

خلخاله صامت ينافي

خصرا له ناطق الوشاحِ

His anklet is silent, in contrast to

his waist, whose sash speaks.

يهزه العجب حين يدعي

بيا أميرا على الملاحِ

Vanity makes him sway when he is hailed

with 'O prince over the beauties!'

ما لغرامي به اكتتام

منذ وشي الدمع بافتضاحي

My passion for him cannot be concealed,

since tears betrayed me, laying me bare.

قل لي إلى من أشكو فيشكي

من جور طرف شاكي السلاحِ

Tell me, to whom can I complain, to gain redress

from the tyranny of a gaze bristling with weapons?

أمرضَ قلبي فهل مداوي

من الجفون المرضى الصحاحِ

It has sickened my heart—is there a healer

to cure me of those eyelids, ailing yet sound?

أحبها والذي براها

حب أبي الفضل للسماحِ

I love them, by Him who fashioned them,

as Abu al-Fadl loves generosity.

الأريحي الذي كفانا

برفده منة الشحاح

The generous-hearted man who spared us,

through his gifts, the obligation of misers' favors,

ومتبع كل يوم جود

غدو نعماه بالرواحِ

and on every day of bounty follows

his morning beneficence with evening gifts.

مجرد في الخطوب عزما

أقضي وأمضي من الصِفاحِ

He unsheathes, amid calamities, a resolve

more decisive and sharper than sword blades.

يروع منه العدا يراع

يهزأ في ثوب مستماحِ

A reed pen of his terrifies his foes,

mocking in the garb of one besought for bounty.

كم مستميح أتاه يرجو

فعاد في ثوب مستماح

How many a seeker of bounty came to him in hope,

then returned in the garb of one besought for bounty!

ممدح عرضه مصون

يحمسي بمال له مباحِ

Much praised, his honor is kept inviolate,

[guarded] by wealth he makes freely available.

وبشره لم يزل بشيرا

لمن يرجَّيه بالنجاح

And his cheerful face has always been a herald

of success to anyone who hopes in him.

القائد الخيل جائلات

براكبيها جول القداحِ

He leads the horses as they wheel

with their riders, like arrows whirling in the casting of lots.

تزان منه الدنيا بصدر

صدر مرجيه ذو انفساحِ

Through him the world is adorned with a noble chief;

the breast of whoever hopes in him is open wide.

بربعه ظل مستريحا

غير طليح منضي الطلاحِ

In his abode he remains at ease,

not weary or worn down by exhaustion.

أصفي خلالا من بنت كرم

تشاب بابن المُزن القَراحِ

Purer in character than the daughter of a vine,

mixed with the pure son of rainclouds.

أقرح قلب الحسود أني

أنال منه فوق اقتراحي

It has made the envier's heart sore that I

receive from him beyond what I ask.

فيا بهاء الدين استمعها

وأعجب لألفاظها الفصاحِ

So, Baha al-Din, listen to it,

and marvel at its eloquent words.

واجتَلِ بكرا جاءتك طوعا

بلا نفار ولا جماحِ

And behold a virgin who has come to you willingly,

without shying away or bolting.

يا ابن بحور الدى الطَّوامي

وابن بدور العلى الوضاحِ

O son of the overflowing seas of [generosity],

and son of the radiant full moons of eminence,

وشائدي بنية المعالي

بالجود طورا وبالكفاحِ

and of the builders of the edifice of lofty honors,

through generosity at times, and through combat:

تهن بالعيد وابق واجعل

عداك فيه من الأضاحي

enjoy the feast, live on, and make

your foes among its sacrificial victims.