بَدَتْ عَقِداتُ الرّمْلِ والجَرَعُ العُفْرُ

فَمِسْنا كما يَعْتَنُّ في المَرَحِ المُهْرُ

The clustered sand dunes and tawny sandy flats appeared;

so we swayed as a colt cavorts in its delight.

ودُسْنا بأخْفافِ المَطيِّ بِها ثَرًى

يَنُمُّ على مَسْرى الغَواني بهِ العِطْرُ

With our camels' hooves we trod soil there

whose perfume betrays the beauties' nightly passage.

كأنَّ دِيارَ الحَيِّ في جَنَباتها

صَحائِفُ والرَّكْبَ الوُقوفَ بِها سَطْرُ

As though the tribe's dwellings, across their precincts,

were pages, and the riders halted there a line of script.

تَزيدُ على الإقْواءِ حُسْناً كأنّهُمْ

حُلولٌ بِها والدّارُ مِنْ أهلِها قَفْرُ

Desertion only heightens their beauty, as though their people

still dwelt there, though the dwelling is empty of its folk.

مَحا آيَها صَرْفُ اللّيالي وقَلَّما

يُرَجَّى لِما تَطْويهِ أيدي البِلى نَشْرُ

The turns of night erased their signs, and seldom

is unfolding hoped for what decay's hands fold away.

بِما قَدْ ترى مُخْضَرَّةً عَرصاتُها

يُجيب صَهيلَ الأعْوَجِيِّ بِها الهَدْرُ

Once its courtyards could be seen green,

with camels' rumbling answering the A'waji steed's neigh.

ويأْوي إلَيها مِنْ لُؤَيِّ بنِ غالِبٍ

إذا شَبَّتِ الهَيْجاءُ ذو لَجَبٍ مَجْرُ

And there found shelter, from Lu'ayy ibn Ghalib,

a vast, clamorous host whenever battle blazed.

وكُلُّ فتًى يَرْدي بهِ الطِّرْفُ في الوَغى

مُشيحاً كَما أوفى على المَرْقَبِ الصَّقْرُ

And every youth whose swift steed bore him into battle,

keen and ready, like a falcon poised upon a lookout;

وأرْوَعُ وافي اللُّبِّ والسِّلْمِ جامعٌ

وفي الحَرْبِ إن حكَّتْ بهِ بَرْكَها غَمْرُ

and every splendid man, sound of mind, a unifier in peace,

and in war, when she rubs her breast against him, a sea.

وكَمْ في هَوادي سِرْبِهِم مِنْ مُهَفْهَفٍ

إذا خَطَرَ استَعْدى على الكَفَلِ الخَصْرُ

And how many a slender-waisted beauty led their herd,

whose waist, when swaying, cried for help against the hips;

يَميسُ اهْتِزازَ الخُوطِ غازَلَهُ الصَّبا

ويَنْظُرُ عنْ نَجلاءَ أضْعَفَها الفَتْرُ

swaying like a supple shoot courted by the east wind,

and gazing through a wide eye weakened by languor.

ومِنْ رَشأٍ يَثْني عليَّ وِشاحَهُ

بِما حدَّثَتْهُ عنهُ مِنْ عِفَّتي أُزْرُ

And many a fawn whose sash praises me

for what waistcloths told it of my chastity toward him.

لهُ ريقَةٌ ما ذُقْتُها غيرَ أنَّنِي

أظُنُّ وظنِّي صادِقٌ أنَّها خَمْرُ

He has a sweetness of saliva I have never tasted, yet

I think—and my thought is true—that it is wine;

ووَجْهٌ يَرُدُّ اللّيلَ صُبْحاً بهِ السَّنا

وفَرعٌ يُريكَ الصُّبْحَ لَيْلاً بهِ الشَّعْرُ

and a face whose radiance turns night into morning,

and tresses whose hair makes morning seem night;

وجِيدٌ كما يَعْطُو إِلى البَانِ شادِنٌ

تُفيءُ علَيه الظِّلَّ أفْنانُهُ الخُضْرُ

and a neck like a fawn reaching toward the ban tree,

whose green boughs cast their shade upon it;

وعَينٌ كما تَرْنو المَهاةُ إِلى طَلاً

إذا غابَ عَنها اغْتالَ خَطْوَتَهُ الذُّعْرُ

and an eye like an oryx gazing toward her fawn,

whose steps terror waylays when it strays from her.

أقولُ لهُ والليلُ واهٍ عُقودُهُ

كأنَّ تَوالي شُهْبِهِ اللُّؤلُؤُ النَّثْرُ

I say to him, while night's necklaces hang loose,

its successive stars like scattered pearls:

أتَهْجُرُ مَن غادَرْتَ بينَ ضُلوعِهِ

جَوًى يتلظّى مثلَما يَقِدُ الجَمْرُ

Do you forsake one in whose ribs you have left

a longing that flames as embers burn?

وتُلْزِمُهُ أنْ يَكتُمَ السِّرَّ بَعدَما

أُطِيعَ له الواشي فسِرُّ الهَوى جَهْرُ

And compel him to conceal the secret after

the slanderer was heeded against him, making love's secret public?

وتَزْعُمُ أن الهَجرَ لا يُعْقِبُ الرَّدى

وهَل حادِثٌ يخْشى إذا أُمِنَ الهَجْرُ

And claim that separation does not bring death?

Is any calamity feared when one is safe from separation?

وَقَفْنا بِمُسْتَنِّ الوَداعِ وراعَنا

بِحُزْوى غُرابُ البَيْنِ لا ضَمَّهُ وكْرُ

We stood on the path of farewell, and were startled

at Huzwa by separation's raven—may no nest shelter it!

وألَّفَ ما بينَ التَّبَسُّمِ والبُكا

سُلُوٌّ ووَجْدٌ عِيلَ بَينُهُما الصَّبْرُ

And between smiling and weeping there was a mingling

of solace and longing, between which patience failed.

فواللهِ ما أدري أثَغْرُكِ أدْمُعي

غَداةَ تَفَرَّقْنا أمِ الأدْمُعُ الثَّغْرُ

By God, I cannot tell: was your smile my tears

the morning we parted, or were those tears your smile?

تبَرَّمَتِ الأجفانُ بَعدَكِ بِالكَرى

فَلا تَلتَقي أو نَلْتقي ولها العُذْرُ

After you, my eyelids grew weary of sleep;

they will not meet until we meet—and they are excused.

تَغيبُ فلا يَحلى بِعَيني مَنظَرٌ

ويَكثُرُ منّي نحوَهُ النّظَرُ الشَّزْرُ

You disappear, and no sight delights my eye;

more and more I look askance at it.

ويلفِظُ سَمْعي مَنطِقاً لمْ تَفُهْ بهِ

على أنّهُ كالسِّحْرِ لا بل هو السّحْرُ

My hearing rejects any speech you have not uttered,

though it resembles magic—no, it is magic.

فَفيهِ وما كُلُّ الكَلامِ بِمُشْتَهى

سوى مَدْحِ فَخْرِ الدّينِ عن مِثْلِهِ وَقْرُ

So in my hearing—not all speech is desired—

is deafness to its like, save praise of Fakhr al-Din.

خَطا فوقَ أعناق الأعادي إِلى عُلاً

لَها بَينَ أطرافِ القَنا مَسْلَكٌ وعْرُ

He strode over enemies' necks toward heights

whose rugged path runs between the spear-points,

بِماضي الشَّبا رَطْبِ الغِرارَيْنِ لمْ يَزَلْ

يُراعُ بهِ صِيْدُ الكُماةِ أوِ الجُزْرُ

with a keen-pointed blade, both edges wet, that has always

struck terror into proud champions or camels for slaughter;

ومُرتَعِدِ الأُنْبوبِ يُرْوي سِنانَهُ

دَمٌ مائِرٌ والدُّهْمُ مِن نَضْحِهِ شُقُ

and a spear with trembling shaft, its point slaked

by flowing blood, whose spray turns black steeds chestnut.

لهُ طَعَناتٌ إنْ سُبِرْنَ تَخاوَصَتْ

إِلى مَن يُداويهِنَّ أعْيُنُها الخُزْرُ

His spear-wounds, when probed, squint

with their slit-like eyes at whoever tends them.

إذا ما دَعا لَبّاهُ كُلُّ سَمَيْدَعٍ

تُعَلُّ بِكَفَّيهِ الرُّدَيْنيَّةُ السُّمْرُ

Whenever he calls, every noble warrior answers him,

in whose hands the brown Rudayni spears drink again and again.

يَظلُّ وفي ظَهْرِ الحِصانِ مَقيلُهُ

ويُمْسي وبَطْنُ المَضْرَحِيِّ لهُ قَبْرُ

He spends the day with his resting-place on a stallion's back,

and meets evening with a great eagle's belly for his grave.

مِنَ المَزيَديّينَ الذينَ نَداهُمُ

لِمُسْتَمطِريهِ لا بَكِيٌّ ولا نَزْرُ

Of the Mazyadis, whose bounty

for those seeking its rain is neither scant nor meager:

أكُفٌّ سِباطٌ تُمْتَرى نَفَحاتُها

إذا لمْ يكُنْ في دَرِّ جاذِبةٍ غَزْرُ

open hands, whose gifts are milked forth

when a scant-milking camel has no abundant flow.

وخَيْرٌ مِن المالِ الثَّناءُ لِماجِدٍ

يُراقِبُ أعقابَ الأحاديثِ والذِّكرُ

Praise is better than wealth for a noble man

who considers what tales leave behind—and so is remembrance.

ولِلجارِ فيهمْ ذِمَّةٌ لَم يُهِبْ بها

وقَد أطْفأَ المُثْرونَ نارَ القِرى غَدْرُ

Their neighbor has among them a pledge never assailed—

though the rich have quenched hospitality's fire—by treachery.

يَحِلُّ يَفاعاً يَخْزَرُ النَّجْمُ دونَهُ

ويَعْتَنِقُ الجَوْزاءَ في ظِلِّهِ الغَفْرُ

He dwells upon a height beneath which the stars look askance,

and in whose shade al-Ghafr embraces al-Jawza'.

أذَلُّوا بِسَيفِ الدّولةِ ابنِ بَهائِها

رِقاباً فأرْخَى مِن عَلابِيِّها القَسْرُ

Through Sayf al-Dawla, son of Baha' al-Dawla, they humbled

necks, whose sinews compulsion slackened.

أغَرُّ إذا ما النِّكْسُ أرْتَجَ بابَهُ

فما دونَ ناديهِ حِجابٌ ولا سِتْرُ

A radiant man: when the base fellow bolts his door,

no barrier or curtain stands before his assembly.

وإن شامَ مَنْ ألوى بهِ المحْلُ بَرْقَهُ

تَيَقَّنَ أنَّ العُسْرَ يتْبَعَهُ اليُسْرُ

If one whom drought has ruined spies his lightning,

he knows for certain that ease will follow hardship.

تُبيدُ يَداهُ ما يُفيدُ بِبَأسِهِ

فلَيسَ سِوى الذِّكْرِ الجَميلِ لهُ ذُخْرُ

His hands lavish away what his prowess acquires,

and he stores up nothing but fair remembrance.

عَليه رِداءٌ لمْ يَشِنْ صَنِفاتِهِ

أثامٌ ولَمْ يَعْلَقْ بأذْيالِهِ وِزْرُ

He wears a robe whose borders have not been marred

by sin, nor has guilt clung to its hems.

إذا القُبَّةُ الوَقصاءُ مالَ عَمودُها

وقصَّرَ مِن أطْنابِها نُوَبٌ تَعْرو

When the squat pavilion's pole leans over,

and visiting misfortunes shorten its guy ropes,

ولَمْ يَسْرِ مَرقوعُ الأظَلِّ على الوَجى

رَذِيّ مَطايا حَطَّ أكْوارَها السَّفْرُ

and the sore-footed, patched-soled beast cannot travel by night—

a straggler of the mounts whose saddles travel has cast down—

رَجا البَدْوُ مِنهُ ما يُرَجَّى مِنَ الحَيا

وأمَّلَهُ تأميلَ وابِلِهِ الحَضْرُ

the desert folk hope from him what they hope from rain,

and townsfolk await him as they await its downpour.

لهُ نِعَمٌ تَنْمي على الشُّكْرِ في الوَرى

وإنْ جَحدَوها لمْ يَحُلْ دونَها الكُفْرُ

His favors grow among mankind with gratitude;

even if people deny them, ingratitude does not obstruct them.

هو العُرْفُ إنْ يُشْكَرْ يُضاعَفْ وإنْ يُثَبْ

يُتابَعْ وإنْ يُكفَرْ ففي بَذْلِهِ الأجْرُ

Such is kindness: if thanked, it is doubled; if requited,

it is continued; if denied, its giving earns reward.

وحَرْبٍ عَوانٍ لمْ يَخُضْ غَمَراتِها

سِوى أسَدِيٍّ هَمُّهُ الفَتْكَةُ البِكْرُ

And many a recurrent war, whose depths none entered

but an Asadi intent upon the first decisive blow:

إذا ورَدَتْها البِيضُ يَلْهَثْنَ مِنْ صدًى

رَجَعْنَ رِواءً وهْيَ قانِيَةٌ حُمْرُ

when bright swords enter it panting with thirst,

they return quenched, deep crimson and red.

يَئِنُّ لها الأبطالُ مِنْ حَذَرِ الرَّدى

أنينَ هَوامي العِيسِ أضْجَرَها العِشْرُ

Heroes groan at it in fear of death,

like thirst-crazed pale camels fretting at ten days between drinks.

ويَزْأَرُ في حافاتِها كُلُّ ضَيْغَمٍ

إذا كَلَّ فيها نابُهُ خَدَشَ الظُّفْرُ

And every lion roars along its edges;

when his fang grows blunt there, his claw scratches.

سَما نَحوها في غِلْمَةٍ ناشِرِيَّةٍ

لهَمْ في صَهيلِ الخَيلِ أو نَقْعِها نُذْرُ

He advanced toward it among Nashiri youths,

for whom the horses' neighing or their dust gives warning.

يَفوتونَ بالأوْتارِ مَنْ عَلِقوا بِهِ

وتَأبى العَوالي أنْ يَفوتَهُمُ وِتْرُ

They elude those they grapple with, carrying blood-debts,

yet their lofty spears let no blood-debt escape them.

إذا صِيحَ بالشَّعْواءِ في الحَيِّ أُسْرِجَتْ

نَزائِعُ مَعْصوبٌ بأعْرافها النَّصْرُ

When a wild raid is cried out in the camp, there are saddled

far-brought steeds, victory bound about their manes.

يَنُمُّ على أعراقِها مِنْ رُوائِها

تَباشِيرُ عِتْقٍ قَبلَ أن يُخْبَرَ الحُضْرُ

Their appearance betrays their pedigrees

through signs of noble breeding before their gallop is tested.

فما راعَهُمْ جَرْسُ الخَلاخيلِ والبُرى

ولا زالَ رُعْباً عنْ مَعاقِدِها الخُمْرُ

No jingling of anklets or nose-rings alarmed them,

nor did veils slip from their fastenings in terror.

بَني أسَدٍ أنتُمْ مَعاقِلُ خِنْدِفٍ

إذا ما شَحا فاهٌ لَها حادِثٌ نُكْرُ

Sons of Asad, you are Khindif's strongholds

when a monstrous calamity gapes its maw at her.

ولا خَيْرَ إلا في نِزارٍ وخَيْرُها

إذا حُصِّلَ الأحْسابُ دُودَانُ والنَّضْرُ

There is no excellence except in Nizar, and its best,

when pedigrees are examined, are Dudan and al-Nadr.

وفَرْعُ بني دُودانَ سَعدُ بنُ مالِكٍ

وكَهْفُ بني سَعْدٍ سُواءَةُ أو نَصْرُ

The foremost branch of Dudan's sons is Sa'd ibn Malik,

and the refuge of Sa'd's sons is Suwa'a or Nasr.

وناشِرَةٌ أعلى سُواءَةَ مَحْتِداً

إذا قيل أينَ العِزُّ والعَدَدُ الدَّثْرُ

Nashira is Suwa'a's highest in lineage

when one asks where power and abundant numbers lie.

وأثْبَتُها في حَومَةِ الحَرْبِ مالِكٌ

وعَوفٌ وذو الرُّمْحَينِ جَدُّكُمُ عَمْرو

Its firmest in the thick of battle are Malik

and 'Awf, and Dhu al-Rumhayn, your forefather 'Amr.

ومَنْ كَحُيَيٍّ أو كَجِلْدٍ ومَرْثَدٍ

ورَيّانَ والآفاقُ شاحِبةٌ غُبْرُ

And who is like Huyayy, or Jild and Marthad,

and Rayyan, when the horizons are pale and dusty?

وأرْحَبُهُمْ باعاً عَليٌّ ومَزْيَدٌ

إذا السّنَواتُ الشُّهْبُ قَلَّ بها القَطْرُ

The most open-handed among them are 'Ali and Mazyad

when the gray years bring little rain.

ومَن كَدُبَيْسٍ حينَ تُفْتَرَشُ القَنا

إذا النَّقْعُ لَيلٌ والظُّبَى أنجُمٌ زُهرُ

And who is like Dubays when spears are spread out,

when battle-dust is night and sword-edges are bright stars?

وما زالَ مَنصورٌ يُنيفُ على الوَرى

بهِ الشَّرَفُ الوَضَّاحُ والحَسَبُ الغَمْرُ

Mansur has never ceased to tower above mankind,

raised by radiant honor and abundant ancestral distinction.

فسِرْتَ على آثارِهِ مُتَمهِّلاً

ولمْ يَختَلِفْ في السَّعْي بَيْنَكُما النَّجْرُ

You followed in his footsteps, unhurried,

and in your striving your native stock did not differ.

ومِنْ أيِّ عِطفَيْكَ التَفَتَّ تَعَطَّفَتْ

عَليكَ بِهِ الشَّمْسُ المُضيئَةُ والبَدْرُ

Whichever of your two sides you turn toward, there incline

upon you the shining sun and the full moon.

ومَجدٌ مُعَمٌّ في العَشيرةِ مُخْوَلٌ

أحَلَّ أبا المِظْفارِ ذِرْوَتَهُ كِسْرُ

And glory, rooted in paternal and maternal kin within the clan,

a portion of it set Abu al-Mizfar upon its summit.

خَلفْتَهمُ في المَكْرُماتِ وفي العُلا

كما تَخْلُفُ السُّمْرَ المُهَنَّدَةُ البُتْرُ

You succeeded them in noble deeds and lofty rank

as sharp Indian blades succeed the brown spears.

ولو لم يَكُنْ فيهمْ مُؤَثَّلُ سُؤدَدٍ

كَفَتْهُم مساعِيكَ المُحَجَّلةُ الغُرُّ

Even had they possessed no firmly rooted lordship,

your white-stockinged, white-blazed endeavors would have sufficed them.

وكَم شَيّدَتْ أيّامُكُمْ مِن مَناقِبٍ

يُحَدِّثُ عَنها في مَجالِسِها فِهْرُ

How many virtues your days have raised up,

of which Fihr speaks in its gatherings!

نشأنَ وظِئْراها القَواضِبُ والقَنا

لَديْكُمْ وتِرْباها الكَواكِبُ والدَّهْرُ

They grew up with cutting swords and spears as their two foster mothers

among you, and with the stars and time as their two age-mates.

وقائِعُ رَدّتْ في قُضاعةَ مَذْحِجاً

يَهَشُّ لِذِكْراها ذُؤالةُ والنَّسْرُ

Battles that drove Madhhij back among Quda'a,

at whose remembrance Dhu'ala the wolf and the vulture rejoice.

وقَد شارَكَتْ غسّانَ فيهنَّ حِمْيَرٌ

وما سَلِمَتْ مِنهُنَّ قَيْسٌ ولا بَكْرُ

Himyar shared in them with Ghassan,

and neither Qays nor Bakr escaped them unscathed.

وهانَ على حَيَّيْ خُزَيمَةَ أن ثَوى

عُتَيْبَةُ أو ذاقَ الرَّدى صاغِراً حُجْرُ

It was a small matter to Khuzayma's two clans that

'Utayba lay dead, or Hujr tasted death in humiliation.

فإنَّ سُيوفاً أغْمَدَتْها حلومُهُمْ

لَتَفْري طُلى يَلْوي أخادِعَها الكِبْرُ

For swords which their forbearance has sheathed

will surely cleave necks whose veins arrogance twists.

وآثارُها مَشهورَةٌ وغُمودُها

إذا جُرِّدَتْ هامُ المُلوكِ ولا فَخْرُ

Their marks are famous, and their sheaths,

when they are drawn, are kings' skulls—no boast!

عُرِفْنَ بحَيْثُ الشّمْسُ تُلقِي جِرانَها

وفي حَيْثُ يَجلو عن مَباسِمِهِ الفَجْرُ

They are known where the sun lays down her neck,

and where dawn unveils its smile.

وفي أيِّ عَصْرِ الجاهِليّةِ لمْ يَسُدْ

لكُمْ سَرَواتِ العُرْبِ مَن أمرُهُ الأمْرُ

In what age of the Jahiliyya did there fail to rule

the Arab chiefs one of yours whose command was supreme?

ولمّا أتى الإسلامُ قُمتُمْ بنَصْرهِ

فلَمْ يُفتَتَحْ إلا بأسيافِكُمْ مِصْرُ

When Islam came, you rose to its support;

no city was conquered save by your swords.

وأنتُمْ إذا عُدَّتْ مَعَدٌّ بمَنْزِلٍ

يُجاوِرُ أحْناءَ الفُؤادِ بهِ الصَّدْرُ

And when Ma'add is reckoned, yours is a place

where the breast lies beside the heart's folds.

ومُنتَعِلاتٍ بالنَّجيعِ زَجَرْتُها

وهُنَّ بقايا هَجْمَةٍ سَوْطُها الزَّجْرُ

And mounts shod in blood I urged onward,

the remnants of a camel herd whose whip was the driving cry.

عَدا نَسَلانَ الذِّئْبِ في أخْرَياتِها

أُشَيْعِثُ مَشدودٌ بأمثالِهِ الأُزْرُ

At their rear, trotting like a wolf, ran

a tousled fellow, his strength reinforced by men like himself;

رَحيضُ حواشي البُرْدِ ما شانَهُ الخِنَى

خَفيضُ نَواحي النُّطْقِ ما شابَهُ الهُجْرُ

clean in the borders of his cloak, unmarred by indecency,

gentle in his speech, untainted by obscenity;

نَهوضٌ بأعباءِ الرّفيقِ وإنْ غَلا

على مُنحَنى الأضْلاعِ مِنْ صَحْبِهِ غِمْرُ

one who shoulders a companion's burdens, even when there boils

within his curved ribs a grudge arising from his companions.

إذا ما سِراجُ اليَومِ أطْفأَهُ الدُّجى

مَشى كَنَزيفِ القَومِ رنَّحَهُ السُّكْرُ

When darkness extinguishes the lamp of day,

he walks like a man whom drunkenness has made reel.

يَجوبُ بِها والنّومُ حُلْوٌ مَذاقُهُ

أديمَ الفَلا وهْناً وإسْآدُها مُرُّ

With them he traverses, while sleep tastes sweet,

the wilderness's surface deep at night, their night-travel bitter.

لَواغِبُ يُحْذَيْنَ السَّريحَ مِنَ الحَفا

وأوساطُها يَشكُو بِها القلَقَ الضُّفْرُ

Weary mounts, shod with leather straps against worn feet,

with braided girths complaining of looseness about their waists.

أُنِخْنَ وقَد دانى خُطاها كَلالُها

إليكَ فأدْنَتْها البَشاشةُ والبِشْرُ

They were made to kneel, their weariness having shortened their steps,

before you, and your warm welcome and cheer drew them near.

وقَد شَمِلَتْ عَدْنانَ نِعْمَتُكَ التي

نَعَشْتَ بِها قَحْطانَ إذْ خانَها الوَفْرُ

Your bounty has embraced Adnan, the bounty with which

you raised Qahtan when plenty failed it.

أرى كُلَّ قَيْسِيٍّ يَنالُ بكَ الغِنى

فَما لخُزَيْمِيٍّ يُحالِفُهُ الفَقْرُ

I see every Qaysi gain wealth through you;

why, then, does poverty cling to a Khuzaymi?

ولَو لمْ أُجاوِرْ تَغْلِبَ بْنَةَ وائِلٍ

قَرعْتُ ظَنابيبَ النَّوى ويَدي صِفْرُ

Had I not lived beside Taghlib, daughter of Wa'il,

I would have struck departure's shins, my hand empty.

وحَولي أناسٌ تُنْفَضُ الرَّاحُ مِنهُمُ

كثيرونَ إلا أن يُقَلِّلَهُمْ خُبْرُ

Around me are people one shakes one's hands of,

numerous, unless experience diminishes them.

وقد ساءَني طُولُ الصُّدودِ فلمْ أبُحْ

بِذاكَ وأعناقُ العِدا دونَنا صُعْرُ

The long estrangement grieved me, yet I did not disclose

that, while our enemies' necks before us were twisted in scorn.

وعيَّرْتَني تأخيرَ مَدْحِكَ بُرهةً

ومِنْ أينَ يَستوفي مَناقِبَكَ الشِّعْرُ

You reproached me for delaying your praise a while;

but how can poetry encompass your virtues?

وفضُلُكَ لا يستوعبُ الحَصْرُ وصْفَهُ

ومجْدُكَ يَكبو دونَ غاياتِهِ الفِكْرُ

Enumeration cannot encompass the description of your excellence,

and thought stumbles short of your glory's furthest reaches.

ومِنْ شِيَمي أن أُبليَ العُذْرَ فاسْتَمِعْ

ثَناءً كما يُثْني على الوابِلِ الزَّهْرُ

It is my habit to make my excuse complete; so listen

to praise like the flowers' praise of the downpour.

فإنّكَ بَحْرٌ والقَوافي لآلئٌ

ولا غَرْوَ أن يُستَوْدَعَ اللُّؤلُؤَ البَحْرُ

For you are a sea, and rhymes are pearls;

no wonder that the sea is entrusted with pearls.

وكُلُّ مَديحٍ فيكَ يخلُدُ ذِكرُهْ

فمجْدُكَ والمَدْحُ القِلادَةُ والنَّحْرُ

Every poem praising you gains an everlasting remembrance;

praise is the necklace, and your glory the neck.

وخَيْرُ قَريضِ القوْمِ ما طالَ عُمْرُهُ

على عُقَبِ الأيامِ طالَ لكَ العُمْرُ

The best of people's poetry is that whose life endures

through the succession of days—may your life be long!