1. زمانٌ قليلٌ من بنيهِ نَجيبُ

    وعَصْرٌ وفاءُ الناسِ فيه عجيبُ

    An age with few noble sons,

    And an era when people's loyalty is a marvel.

  2. وقلْبٌ كقِرطاسِ الرُّماةِ مُجَّرحٌ

    له صفحاتٌ مِلْؤهنّ نُدوب

    And a heart wounded like the archers' target-sheet,

    Its pages filled with scars.

  3. وإلْفٌ قريبٌ دارُه غير أنَّه

    يُقاسِمُني العينَيْنِ منه رقيب

    And a beloved whose home is near, except that

    A watcher over him claims a share of my two eyes.

  4. من الهيِفِ أمّا فوقَ عَقْدِ قَبائه

    فَخُطوطٌ وأمّا تحته فكثيب

    One of the slender-waisted: above his robe's fastening,

    He is lines; beneath it, a sand dune.

  5. يَضيقُ مَشَق الجَفْنِ منه إذا رنا

    ومُعتَنقُ العُشاق منه رَحيب

    His eyelid's slit narrows when he gazes,

    Yet the space he offers lovers to embrace is wide.

  6. يُقرَطُ أُذْنَيه بصُدْغَيهِ عابثاً

    وفي الحَلْيِ ممّا لا يُصاغُ ضُروب

    He playfully adorns his ears with his temple-locks,

    And jewelry has kinds that are never fashioned.

  7. ويَرْمي له طَرْفٌ وكفٌّ بأسهمٍ

    وكُلُّ لحَبّاتِ القلوبِ مُسيب

    An eye of his and a hand both shoot arrows,

    And each strikes the very cores of hearts.

  8. فَيوماهُ إمّا وَقْفةٌ فإطافةٌ

    بمُلْكٍ وإمّا وَثْبةٌ فَرُكوب

    His days are either spent standing, then circling

    A realm, or leaping, then mounting

  9. على مَتْنِ سَبّاقٍ منَ الخيلِ سابحِ

    له شادحٌ ينشَقُ عنه سَبيب

    The back of a fleet, gliding horse,

    Whose flowing mane parts around a long, raised neck.

  10. إذا ما غدا في سَرْجه وهْو قُعدَةٌ

    فإنّ فؤادي المُستهامَ جَنيب

    Whenever he sets out in its saddle, upon that riding mount,

    My love-distraught heart is the horse led alongside.

  11. وقد زاد منه الرَّدفَ ثِقْلا سلاحُه

    فبَرَّح بالخَصْرِ النحيلِ لُغوب

    His weapons have added weight to his haunches,

    So weariness sorely afflicts his slender waist.

  12. مُعلَّقُ قَوْسٍ للنِضالِ وأسهمٍ

    لها مَنظرٌ لولا الغرامُ مَهيب

    He wears a slung bow for target-shooting, and arrows,

    Whose appearance, but for love, would be fearsome.

  13. غزالٌ تراه سائحاً غير أنّه

    لأشباهِه عند التصيُّد ذيب

    A gazelle you see roaming, except that

    To his own kind, when hunting, he is a wolf.

  14. شجاع إذا سايرته فهو وحده

    رعيل وإن سامرته فأديب

    Brave: if you journey with him, he alone is

    A troop; if you keep him evening company, a cultivated man.

  15. عليكَ به عند الرَّضا وهْو باسمٌ

    وإيّاكَ منه إن علاه قطوب

    Seek him when he is pleased and smiling,

    But beware of him if a frown comes over him.

  16. أقولُ له والخوفُ يُمسِكُ مِقْولي

    ويُرسلُ والدّمعُ السّفوحُ يَصوب

    I speak to him while fear restrains my tongue

    And releases it, as streaming tears pour down:

  17. أأدنَيْتَني حتّى إذا ما ملكْتَني

    صدَدتَ وعندي زَفْرةٌ ونَحيب

    Did you draw me near until, once you possessed me,

    You turned away, leaving me sighs and sobbing?

  18. وقد عِبْتَ قلبي بالسُلُوِّ فَرُدَّه

    كَرْدِّ الفتى للشيء حينَ يَعيب

    You have faulted my heart for forgetfulness; return it,

    As a young man returns a thing when he finds it flawed.

  19. أتَسْبي فؤادي لا تُحارَبُ دونه

    وكم سُعّرَتْ حتّى سُبيتَ حُروب

    Do you capture my heart with no one fighting you for it,

    Though so many wars blazed before you were captured?

  20. فإن تَسلُبوا القلبَ الّذي في جوانحي

    فإنّي إليكم بعدَه لَطَروب

    If you steal the heart within my breast,

    Even without it, I shall still yearn ardently for you.

  21. فنحن أناسٌ للحنين كأنّما

    خُلِقْنَ جسوماً كُلُّهنّ قُلوب

    We are people so given to longing that it is as though

    We were made bodies that are nothing but hearts.

  22. وليلَتُنا بينَ الخيام ولَمَّةٌ

    تَخطَّفها والحَيُّ منه قريب

    And our night among the tents, and a brief meeting

    He snatched while his people were close by!

  23. وخوفَ فراق النّجم قد صار سُحْرةً

    لناصية اللّيل البهيم مشيب

    And for fear of parting from the star, at dawn

    Gray hair appeared on the pitch-black night's forelock.

  24. وقد زارَنا رَوْعانَ يَسترقُ الخُطا

    ليكتُمَ وَصْلاً والكَتومُ مُريب

    He visited us frightened, stealing his steps,

    To conceal a union; the secretive arouse suspicion.

  25. يَتيهُ بقَدِّ كلّما هَزَّه الصِّبا

    تَمايلَ مَيْل الغُصْنِ وهو رطيب

    He struts with a figure that, whenever youth stirs it,

    Sways like a fresh, tender bough.

  26. وروضةُ وَرْدٍ وَسْطَها أُقحوانةٌ

    بها يَحسُنُ المرعَى له ويطيب

    And a garden of roses, with a daisy at its center,

    With which his pasture grows lovely and sweet.

  27. فللهِ بَدرٌ ما يزالُ مُراقباً

    طُلوعٌ له في أعيُنٍ وغُروب

    How wondrous a full moon, forever watched,

    Rising and setting within eyes!

  28. لدى ساعة فيها العواذِلُ نُوّمٌ

    وفينا إلى داعي السرورِ هُبوب

    At an hour when the reproaching women sleep,

    While we rise at the summons of joy.

  29. تَهدَّي إلينا في الظّلام بوَجْهِه

    وما دَلَّهُ ضَوءٌ سواهُ غريب

    He found his way to us in darkness by his own face;

    No other, alien light showed him the way.

  30. كما بسَديدِ الدّولةِ الدّولةُ اهتدَتْ

    إلى كُلِّ ما تَرْمي به فَتُصيب

    Just as, through Sadid al-Dawla, the state found its way

    To every goal it shoots for through him, striking true.

  31. لعَمْري لقد خازَ المكارمَ كُلَّها

    هُمامٌ لغاياتِ العلاء طَلوب

    By my life, all noble virtues have been gathered by

    A magnanimous man who eagerly seeks the heights of glory.

  32. إذا ساجَلَ الأكْفاءَ في المجدِ فاقهم

    أَغرُّ كريمُ الشِيمتَيْنِ حَسيب

    When he rivals his equals in glory, he surpasses them,

    Radiant, noble in both dispositions, of honored lineage.

  33. له قَلَمٌ يَرْقى من الكفِّ منْبَراً

    فيَملأُ سمْعَ الدّهر منه خَطيب

    He has a pen that climbs from his palm to a pulpit,

    And an orator from it fills Time's hearing.

  34. بيُمناهُ منه قِيدُ كعْبٍ إذا جَرى

    تَقاصَر عنه الرّمحُ وهْو كعُوب

    A single joint's length of it in his right hand, when it runs,

    Leaves the spear falling short, though it has many joints.

  35. إذا ما دعا الرّأيُ الإماميُّ دَعوةً

    أجاب إلى العلياء منهُ مُجيب

    Whenever the imam's counsel issues a summons,

    He answers it, reaching for the heights.

  36. مُحمّدُ يا ابنَ السّابقينَ إلى العُلا

    سماحاً وبأساً إن أهابَ مهيب

    Muhammad, son of those foremost in reaching greatness,

    In generosity and valor whenever a summoner called!

  37. تَفرَّق أيسارُ الثّناءِ لأنْ رأوا

    وما لِسوى كفَّيكَ منه نَصيب

    The lot-casters of praise dispersed, for they saw

    That none but your two hands had any share of it.

  38. إذا عَرضَتْ أعشارُ حَمْدٍ فإنما

    نَداك مُعَلىً عندَها ورَقيب

    When the lots of praise are laid out,

    Your bounty is their Mu'alla and Raqib, the winning lots.

  39. فَداكَ زمانٌ أنتَ رائقُ بِشْره

    وأبناؤه في الوجه منه شُحوب

    May the age be your ransom: you are its radiant cheer,

    While its sons are pallor upon its face.

  40. ففِيك كما تبدو النّجوم مَحاسنٌ

    وفيهم كما يَدجو الظّلامُ عُيوب

    In you are virtues, like stars appearing,

    And in them flaws, like darkness growing black.

  41. ضرائبُ أسلافٍ كرامٍ حَوْيتَها

    وليس لحاوي مِثْلهنَّ ضَريب

    You have gathered the traits of noble forebears,

    And whoever holds their like has no peer.

  42. أعِدْ نظَراً بالعدْلِ كاسمك نحونا

    سديداً فللحقِّ القديمِ وجوب

    Turn toward us once more a look of justice, like your name,

    Rightly directed—for an old claim must be honored.

  43. وأنت الّذي ما زال لي منه ماجدٌ

    ألوذُ به طَلْق اليديْنِ وهوب

    You are the one who has always been a noble man to me,

    In whom I take refuge, open-handed and lavish in giving.

  44. غريبٌ عطاياهُ غريبٌ مدائحي

    فكلٌّ لكُلٍّ في الزمانِ نَسيب

    Rare are his gifts; rare are my praises;

    Each is kin to the other in this age.

  45. وإن يك نظْمٌ حال عن عهدِ حُنه

    فطُولُ اللّيالي للأنامِ سَلوب

    And if some verse has changed from its former beauty,

    The long passage of nights robs humankind.

  46. وقد كان يَصفو خاطري في شبيبتي

    فمُذْ شِبْتُ عاد الطّبعُ وهوَ مَشوب

    My mind used to run clear in my youth,

    But since I grew gray, my poetic gift has become clouded.

  47. فما خصَ وخْطُ الشّيبِ رأسي وإنما

    بشَعري وشعرِي قد ألمَّ مشيبُ

    Gray hair's streaking has not touched my head alone;

    Grayness has visited both my hair and my verse.

  48. وما صادياتٌ ماطلَ السّيرُ وِردها

    فأكبادها شوقاً إليه تذوب

    No thirsty she-camels whose watering the journey delayed,

    So that their livers melt with longing for it,

  49. خلطْنَ السُّرى بالسيرِ حتى وَردْنه

    وأفنى بقايا متنِهنَّ دُؤوب

    Who mixed night travel with marching until they reached it,

    While ceaseless toil wasted what remained of their backs,

  50. فلمّا رأيْنَ الماءَ وهْي خوامسٌ

    ومنْ حولهِ مرعىً أجمُّ خصيب

    Then saw the water, on their fifth day of thirst,

    With lush, fertile pasture all around it,

  51. ثناهُنَّ طعنٌ دونه فهْي خيفةً

    تمُدُّ إلى الماء الطلي وتلوب

    But were driven back by spear-thrusts, so that in fear they

    Stretch their necks toward the water and circle thirstily,

  52. بأشوقَ مني نحوه غير أنّني

    لِلُقياهُ من خوفِ العتابِ هيوب

    Are more eager than I for him; yet I

    Dread meeting him for fear of reproach.

  53. ولولاهُ ما زُرتُ العراقَ مُعاوِداً

    على رَبِذاتٍ سيْرُهُنَّ خبيب

    But for him, I would not have returned to Iraq,

    Upon fleet she-camels whose gait is a quick trot.

  54. تُساري نجومَ اللّيلِ هَذِي لِجَوِّها

    وتلك بصحْبي للفلاةِ تجوب

    They travel by night alongside the stars—these through their sky,

    And those traversing the desert with my companions.

  55. فسارتْ متابِيعاً تُماشي ظلالها

    وجاءتْ نُحولاً كُلُّهن سَلوب

    They set out as dams with young, their shadows keeping pace,

    And arrived emaciated, each bereft of her calf.

  56. فمالي أرى يا ابنَ الأكارمِ بعدما

    تُعُسِّفَ من بُعْدٍ إليك سُهوب

    Why then, son of the most noble, do I find, after

    Vast plains were arduously crossed from afar to reach you,

  57. تُناجي بيأْسٍ في ذُراكَ هواجسٌ

    وغيرُك مَن فيه الظُنونُ تخيب

    That anxious thoughts whisper despair in your shelter,

    When others, not you, are those in whom hopes fail?

  58. وبلّغني عنك المُبلِّغُ قولةً

    بقلبي لديها مِن هواكَ وَجيب

    A messenger conveyed to me a saying from you,

    At which my heart pounds with love for you:

  59. كلامٌ حشا قلْبي كلاماً مُمضّةً

    وَرُبَّ خطاب جاء منه خُطوب

    Words that filled my heart with piercing wounds—

    How often an address has brought calamities!

  60. فإنْ يك حقاً ما سمِعْتُ فما يُرَى

    لداء القِلى إلا الفراقَ طَبيب

    If what I heard is true, no physician is found

    For the sickness of aversion except separation.

  61. على أنَّ وُدِّي في ذُراكَ مُخلَّفٌ

    وشُكري مُقيمٌ ما أقامَ عسيب

    Yet my affection is left behind in your shelter,

    And my thanks remain as long as ʿAsib stands.

  62. رُزِقْتُ كثيراً ثُمَّ إني حُرِمْتُه

    وكم نائباتٍ للرجالِ تنوب

    I was granted much, then was deprived of it;

    How many misfortunes befall men!

  63. ويا ليْتني أَدْري بذَنْبٍ جَنيْتُه

    لعلِّيَ أرجو الصّفْحَ حينَ أتوب

    Would that I knew of some sin I had committed,

    So I might hope for pardon when I repent.

  64. ولكنّني حيرانُ لا القلبُ يهتدي

    لصبْرٍ ولا عزْمي إليّ يثوب

    But I am bewildered: neither does my heart find its way

    To patience, nor does my resolve return to me.

  65. وللعفو أو للعذرِ منك ترقُّبي

    لئن كُنَّ لي أو لم يكُنَّ ذنوب

    I await pardon or an excuse from you,

    Whether I have sins to my account or none.