أدعص في الملاءة أم كثيب

وذا ضربت بثغرك أم ضريب

Is that a sand-mound beneath the mantle, or a dune?

And is that [white honey?] in your mouth, or frost?

سفرت ومست ختلا واختيالا

فغاب البدر وارتاب القضيب

You unveiled your face and swayed along, stealthily and proudly;

the full moon vanished, and the slender bough grew doubtful.

لقد غطَى لثامك سمط در

يخجل ما تقلده التريبُ

Your face-veil has indeed hidden a string of pearls

that shames the necklace worn upon your breast.

حليك حين زرت عليك واش

ووشيك والشذا كل رقيبُ

Your jewelry betrayed you when you visited,

and your brocade and fragrance were each a watcher.

وفي الأظغان أن شمس توارت

شموس في البراقع ما تغيبُ

And among the departing litters, if one sun is hidden,

there are suns behind the face-veils that never set.

كأن قدودها أغصان بأن

مقوّمة أمالتها جنوبُ

Their slender forms are like boughs of the ban tree,

straight-grown, bent by the south wind.

حمت بردا وبرد لمى عليه

من العفاف أفئد ة قلوب

She guarded hail-white teeth and, above them, the coolness of dark lips,

out of chastity—hearts of hearts [wording unclear].

إذا ما أو منت منه غروب

جرح من سحب أدمعنا غروب

When its bright tooth-edges [flash?],

torrents [flow?] from the clouds of our tears.

رعى الله الحمى فيه رعينا

خصيب العيش إذ فقد الجديب

May God guard the sanctuary where we grazed

on life's abundance, when barrenness was absent.

وجاد أبيرق الحنان جود

لموع البرق حنان سكوبًُ

And may a copious downpour drench Abayriq al-Hanan,

flashing with lightning, rumbling, pouring forth.

عشية موردي صاف برود

وبرد شبيتي خاف قشيب

At evening, when my watering-place was pure and cool,

and the mantle of my youth was [ample?] and fresh.

إذا عن الملام نفرت عنه

ويدعوني الغرام فأستجيب

When I recoiled from reproach and shunned it,

and passion called me, I would answer,

كما لبى العفاة وقد دعوه

بنائله أبو الفرح اللبيب

as he answered those seeking bounty when they called him—

discerning Abu al-Farah, with his gifts.

أحب مديحه علما بأني

وام أفرط فيبه لا أحوب

I love praising him, knowing that I,

even if I go too far in it, commit no sin.

واستنئي الندى ممن سوا

وأعلم أنه منه قريب

And I deem bounty distant from anyone else,

and know that from him it is close at hand.

مريب عند مشتجر العوالي

ويوم السلم متلاف وفوب

Fearsome amid the clash of lance-tips,

and in peace, lavish in spending and giving.

بقيت ابن الدوامي المرجى

فضرب أنت ليس له ضريبُ

Long may you endure, Ibn al-Dawami, in whom hopes are placed,

for you are one of a kind, without an equal.

وأنت إذا دجا خطب شهاب

وحين تكون مسمعة خطيبُ

And when calamity darkens, you are a blazing meteor,

and when an assembly gathers to listen, you are an orator.

وإن وثب الزمان على فقير

قصرت خطاه عنه بما تثيبُ

And if Time leaps upon a poor man,

you keep its steps from him with the gifts you bestow.

تمن ولا تمن ببذل رفد

فعذر ضيق وندى رحيبُ

You grant aid without holding your favors over others;

for excuses are narrow, and generosity is broad.

ومال لا يتم له نصاب

لكل مؤمل فيه نصيبُ

And your wealth never reaches its full measure:

every hopeful seeker has a share in it.

فما كدراء ملمعة النواحي

تؤلف من شتائتها الجنوبُ

So no dark cloud, flashing at its edges,

whose scattered parts the south wind gathers,

إذا ابتسمت ثغور البرق فيها

بدا في وجه زنتها قطوبُ

when the mouths of lightning smile within it,

a frown appearing on the face of its [rain-cloud?],

تلاع الأرض منها في رياض

وكل قرار سائلة قليبُ

the earth's hills becoming gardens through it,

and every streambed a well—

بأندى منك أخلاقا ووجها

وصوب يد أياديها تصوبُ

is more bountiful than you in character and countenance,

or in the downpour of a hand whose favors rain.

وأقسم لو أجرت على الليالي

شبابا ما تحيفه مشيبُ

And I swear: had you granted protection against the nights

to youth, gray hair would never have encroached upon it.

فلا نظر الزمان اليك شزرا

ولا خطبت معاليك الخطوبُ

So may Time never cast a hostile glance at you,

nor may calamities woo your lofty honors.