غودرت مذ قيل الفراق غدا

ذا حيرة لا أملك الجَلَدا

Since it was said, 'Parting is tomorrow,' I have been left

Bewildered, unable to muster fortitude.

أسيان أجحد ما أكابده

والدمع أصدق شاهد شهدا

Grief-stricken, I deny what I endure,

And tears are the truest witness ever to testify.

أصبو إلى الأغواء ما نسمت

من عالج فأعالج الكَمَدا

I yearn for the wayward ones whenever a breeze blows

From ʿAlij, and I wrestle with grief.

يا دار علوة لا عدا زجل

علياءك الموموق والسندا

O dwelling of ʿAlwa, may a thundering cloud never miss

Your cherished high ground and slopes,

ومحل أُنسٍ فيك لا أنِسَت

عيني بشيء بعده أَبدا

And that haunt of delight within you; never has

My eye found delight in anything after it.

أَيام تحيي الصب قاتلة

بلواحظ لا تحذر القودا

In days when she revived the lovesick lover while slaying him

With glances that feared no blood vengeance.

يرتج مثل غدير غادية

لعبت به الأرواح فاطّردا

It quivers like a pool left by morning rain,

Played upon by winds, so its ripples run on.

وكأن من فيها وقد بسمت

سرق الغمام البرق والبردا

As though, from her mouth when she smiled,

The clouds had stolen lightning and hail.

كالظبية الأدماء سانحة

لكنها تتصيد الأسدا

Like a white-bellied gazelle passing by,

Yet she hunts lions.

نادمتها والطل منتثر

كمدامعي والظل قد بردا

I shared wine with her while the dew lay scattered,

Like my tears, and the shade had grown cool.

كالظبية الأدماء سانحة

لكنها تتصيد الأسدا

Like a white-bellied gazelle passing by,

Yet she hunts lions.

نادمتها والطل منتثر

كمدامعي والظل قد بردا

I shared wine with her while the dew lay scattered,

Like my tears, and the shade had grown cool.

والماء خوف الرعد مرتعد

والريح تلبس متنبه زردا

And the water trembles for fear of thunder,

And the wind clothes the wakeful one in mail.

يا صاح طف بالراح يرقصها

شعري فتكسو كاسها زَبدا

O friend, pass round the wine, set dancing

By my verse, so it clothes its cup in foam.

محمرة تذر المدير لها

كالورد خدا والشقيق رِدا

Crimson, it leaves the one who passes it round

With a cheek like a rose and a cloak like an anemone.

ومعنف في العدم لي أسفها

أضحى يقول ويكثر الفَنَداء

And one who foolishly reproached me for poverty

Began to speak and heap up foolish reproach:

قم في طلاب الوفر مجتهدا

قعد الفضاء برزق من قَعَدا

Rise and strive diligently in pursuit of wealth;

The wide world withholds the livelihood of one who sits idle.

فاجبته لا أعتضت مغتربا

ما عشته عن بلدتي بلدا

I answered him: Never would I, in exile, take

Another town in place of my own, for as long as I live.

أأزول عن وطن وجدت به

نعمى بهاء الدين لي صَفَدا

Should I leave a homeland where I have found

Baha al-Din's favor a bounty for me?

ملك غدا بالمجد متحدا

وجملة الإحسان منفردا

A king who has become one with glory,

And unrivaled in the whole of beneficence;

ذو صفحة غراء يوم ندى

وصفيحة حمراء يوم رَدى

With a radiant face on a day of giving,

And a crimson blade on a day of death.

كم غاب عن جدواه ذوامل

وأتى فالفاه كما عهدا

How often has a hopeful man been away from his bounty,

Then returned to find him just as he remembered:

جذلان يعطي غير مقتصد

جودا يحقق ظن من قصدا

Joyful, giving without restraint,

With generosity that fulfills the hopes of those who seek him.

نهَّاب أرواح الكماة إذا

أبلى ووهاب لما وجدا

A plunderer of armored warriors' lives when

He proves his valor, and a lavish giver of whatever he finds.

لا يعذر الراجي اللحقا به

يوما ويعذر من له حسدا

He does not excuse one hoping to catch up with him,

On any day, yet excuses anyone who envies him.

عدد الحصى والرمل أنعمه

فمن الذي يحصي لها عددا

His favors are as numerous as pebbles and sand;

So who can reckon their number?

ينسي الوعيد ولا يرى أبدا

متناسيا إنجاز ما وعدا

He lets threats be forgotten, and is never seen

Feigning forgetfulness of fulfilling what he promised.

ما إن طغى عفريت ملحمةٍ

إلا وكان شبابه الرصدا

No demon of battle has ever run rampant

Without his young men lying in wait.

لولا ندى كفيه ما سكنت

روح المكارم والعلى جسدا

But for the bounty of his two hands, never would there dwell

The spirit of noble deeds and glory in a body.

فالجود موجود لسائله

والعدم معدوم قد افتقدا

So generosity is present for whoever asks him,

And poverty is nonexistent, nowhere to be found.

دم يا أبا الفضل الجواد أخا

عمر به تستنفد الأبدا

Live on, O generous Abu al-Fadl, endowed with

A lifetime in which you exhaust eternity;

بخلائق تلفى إذا خلقت

أيامنا مصقولة جددا

With virtues found, when time has worn

Our days, still polished and new.

وتهن بالشهر الأصم وعش

ما شئت عيشا رائقا رغدا

And rejoice in the Deaf Month, and live

As long as you wish, a serene and abundant life.

يا واحد الكرماء قاطبة

قد قلت لا مستثنيا أحدا

O peerless one among all the generous—

I have said it, making no exception for anyone.

قد جدت حتى لم تدع جدة

وبذلت مطرفا ومتلدا

You have been so generous that you left no wealth,

And bestowed both newly acquired and inherited riches.

وصدوت عن من لام في كرم

وغدوت من راجي الندى صددا

You turned away from whoever blamed generosity,

And came within reach of those who hoped for bounty.

فمناى أن يبقيك ربي لي

أبدا وإن يبقي لك العضدا

So my wish is that my Lord preserve you for me

Forever, and preserve your supporting arm.