1. هُمُ منَعوا منّي الخيالَ المُسلِّما

    فلا وَصْلَ إلاّ أن يكونَ تَوَهُّما

    They kept the greeting apparition away from me,

    So there is no union except an imagined one.

  2. وكيف طُروقُ الطّيْفِ لا العَيُن غَيّضتْ

    لها الدَّمعَ تقليلاً ولا الصّبُّ هَوَّما

    How can the dream-phantom visit by night? The eyes have not lessened

    Their tears for her at all, nor has the lovesick lover dozed.

  3. وقد وَتّد اللّيلُ النُّجومَ مُطنِّباً

    جُفوني بأهدابي إليها وخَيّما

    Night has pegged down the stars, tethering

    My eyelids to them with my lashes, and pitched its tent.

  4. وهانَ على مَن الثّويّةِ دارُه

    مَبيتي بزَوراءِ العراقِ مُتَيّما

    It mattered little to one whose home was in al-Thawiyya

    That I spent the night lovesick in Iraq's al-Zawra.

  5. إذا ما سَرى رَكبُ النَّسيم اعتَرضْتُه

    لأخبار مَن أحبَبْتُه مُتَنسِّما

    Whenever the breeze's caravan traveled by night, I intercepted it,

    Seeking a breath of news of the one I loved.

  6. فيا ليلَ نَجْدٍ ما صَباحُك عائداً

    ولكنَّ مَن بالغَوْرِ وَهْناً تَبسَّما

    O night of Najd, it is not your morning returning,

    But the one in al-Ghawr has smiled late at night.

  7. تَمزَّقتِ الظّلماءُ عن نُورِ غادةٍ

    أضاءَ من الآفاقِ ما كان مُظْلِما

    The darkness parted to reveal a maiden's light,

    Which lit whatever in the horizons had been dark.

  8. إذا وَجْهُها والبَدْرُ لاحا بلَلْيةٍ

    فما أَحَدٌ يَدْري مَنِ البَدْرُ مِنْهما

    If her face and the full moon appear one night,

    No one can tell which of the two is the moon.

  9. فأُقسِمُ لو لم يَدْنُ من بَرْدِ ريقِها

    لأوشَكَ جَمْرُ الخَدِّ أن يَتَضرّما

    I swear, were it not near the coolness of her saliva,

    The ember of her cheek would be on the verge of blazing.

  10. ولو لم يَزِدْني لَذّةً مَرُّ ذِكْرِها

    بسَمْعي لَما أرعَيْتُه الدَّهْرَ لُوَّما

    If the passing mention of her did not increase my delight,

    As it crossed my hearing, I would never lend my ear to reproachers.

  11. خليلَيّ إن الشّوقَ حارَ دَليلُه

    فأَنجدَ بالقلبِ المُعنَّى وأَتْهَما

    My two friends, longing's guide has lost his way,

    Taking my tormented heart into Najd and Tihama.

  12. ومدَّتْ مَطايانا عُيونَ طلائح

    تَقاضَى من الحادي الطّروبِ تَرنُّما

    Our mounts stretched out the eyes of weary beasts,

    Begging the melodious camel-driver for a song.

  13. وتحتَ خباءِ اللّيلِ منّي ابْنُ فَتْكةٍ

    يَسِرُّ عنِ العُذّالِ حُبّاً مُكَتّما

    Beneath night's tent, a son of daring within me

    Conceals from reproachers a closely guarded love.

  14. فمِيلا بأعناقِ المَطيِّ رواسِماً

    عسى مَنْزِلٌ بالجِزْعِ أنْ يُتَرَسّما

    So turn aside the necks of the swiftly striding mounts,

    Perhaps a dwelling at the valley-bend may be traced.

  15. خلا الرَّبْعُ إلاّ مَوقفَ الرَّكْبِ وَسْطَه

    لِسَلْمَى فإن أَسعَدْتُماني فسَلِّما

    The encampment lies deserted, save for the caravan's stopping-place within it,

    Salma's—if you two would help me, then give it greetings.

  16. وقد لامَ سَعْدٌ يومَ عُجْنا رِكابَنا

    على حينَ رُمْنا منه أن يَتَلَوَّما

    Sa'd reproached us the day we turned our mounts aside,

    Just when we asked him to linger.

  17. وطارَتْ به في أوّلِ الرَّكْبِ جَسْرةٌ

    غُرَيرِيّةٌ تَخْشَى القَطيعَ المُحرَّما

    A sturdy she-camel flew with him at the caravan's head,

    A Ghurayriyya, afraid of the stiff, unsoftened whip.

  18. تُريكَ لرَجْعِ الصّوتِ أُذْناً سميعةً

    وبينَ الخُطا والسَّوطِ طَرْفاً مُقسَّما

    She shows you an ear alert to the echo of the voice,

    And a gaze divided between her steps and the whip.

  19. رأى أنّ داءَ الحُبِّ يُعْدِي رَسيسُه

    فأسلَم مَوْلاهُ ومَرَّ لِيَسْلَما

    He saw that love's sickness is contagious even in its first stirrings,

    So he forsook his companion and went on to stay safe.

  20. أيا صاحبَيْ نَجْوايَ إن لم تُشاكِلا

    طِباعي فَقُولا أَقْطَعِ الحَبْل مِنْكما

    O companions of my private counsel, if you two do not match

    My nature, say so, and I will cut the cord that binds me to you both.

  21. عوارضُ أشغالِ الزّمانِ كَثيرةٌ

    فلا تَجْعَلا إلاّ المُهِمَّ المُقدَّما

    The distractions of time's affairs are many,

    So give precedence to nothing but what matters.

  22. وما فُرَصُ الإمكانِ إلاّ مُعارةٌ

    فإن كُنتُما لم تَعْلَما ذاك فاعْلَما

    Opportunities to act are only on loan,

    If you two did not know that, then know it.

  23. لحَى اللهُ في الفتيانِ مَن خُلِقَتْ له

    يَدانِ ولم يُصْدِرْ يداً قَطُّ عنهما

    May God curse any youth for whom were created

    Two hands, yet who has never bestowed a favor with them.

  24. أَعِينا على دَهْرٍ أرابَ برَيْبِه

    وشَوقٍ على قلبي الغداةَ تَحكَّما

    Help me, you two, against time that troubles me with its vicissitudes,

    And longing that rules over my heart this morning.

  25. وقَفتُ بأطلالِ الدّيارِ كأنّني

    من السُّقْم رَسْمٌ زارَ بالعِيسِ أَرْسُما

    I stood amid the ruins of the dwellings, as though I were,

    From sickness, a mere trace visiting other traces on pale camels.

  26. وقد نَسجَتْ كَفُّ الثُّريّا على الثّرى

    من الرَّوْضِ وَشْياً بالأقاحي مُنَمْنَما

    The hand of the Pleiades had woven upon the earth

    A meadow brocade delicately embroidered with daisies.

  27. ورَقْرقَ فيه دَمْعَها كُلُّ دِيمةٍ

    ولو أنّه من مُقلتي كان أَدْوَما

    Every steady rain-cloud made its tears shimmer there,

    Had they come from my eye, they would have lasted longer.

  28. وما الجُودُ في صَوْبِ السَّحابِ سجيّةٌ

    ولكنّه من دَمْع عَيْني تَعلّما

    Generosity is no innate trait in the clouds' downpour,

    But the clouds learned it from the tears of my eye.

  29. فيا ليتَ لا ينفكَّ طَرْفي وخاطري

    مدَى الدَّهْرِ يُلْقي الدّرَّ فَذّاً وتَوأما

    Oh, would that my eye and my mind never ceased,

    Throughout time, to cast pearls, singly and in pairs,

  30. لِمْلاّكِ قلبي بالهوَى ولِمالِكي

    بسالفةِ النُّعْمَى الّتي كان أَنْعَما

    For my heart's masters in love, and for my own master

    Through the past favor he had bestowed.

  31. فأُذْري لهمْ دُرَّ البكاء مُبَدَّداً

    وأُهدي لهمْ دُرَّ الثّناء مُنظَّما

    So I scatter for them the pearls of weeping, strewn loose,

    And offer them the pearls of praise, strung in order.

  32. لأعلَى الوَرى في قُنّةِ المجدِ مَطْلَعاً

    وأَكثرِهمْ من قِنْيةِ الحَمْدِ مَغْنَما

    For mankind's highest climber on the peak of glory,

    And the greatest in gains from the treasure of praise.

  33. بظلِّ عزيزِ الدِّينِ قد عَزَّ أهلُه

    فهمْ في سماء العزِّ يَحكونَ أَنجُما

    In the shade of 'Aziz al-Din, his people have risen in honor,

    So in the sky of honor they resemble stars.

  34. إذا ما شكا المُلْكُ اعْوجاجَ قَناتِه

    كَساها ثِقافَ الرَّأي حتّى تَقَوّما

    Whenever the kingdom complains of its spear-shaft's crookedness,

    He wraps it in judgment's straightening brace until it stands straight.

  35. سَواءٌ عليه جَرَّد الرَّأيَ ثاقباً

    لِحادثةٍ أو جَرَّدَ السّيفَ مِخْذَما

    It is all one to him whether he unsheathes piercing judgment

    For a crisis, or unsheathes a keen-cutting sword.

  36. خليعُ عِنانِ الجودِ يَجْري بلا مدَى

    وبالحزمِ يُضْحي بأسُه الدّهرَ مُلْجَما

    With generosity's reins cast off, he runs without a limit,

    While prudence keeps his might forever bridled.

  37. إذا اقتسمَ الفَضْلَ الرّجالُ بمَشْهدٍ

    أصابَ سناماً منه والقومُ مَنْسَما

    When men divide excellence among themselves in an assembly,

    He receives its hump, while the others receive a hoof.

  38. هُمامٌ جلا في شَخْصِه اللهُ كُلَّ مَن

    خلا عصرُه من فاضلٍ وتَصرَّما

    A hero in whose person God has revealed all

    The virtuous men whose ages have passed and ended.

  39. مضَوْا سلَفاً قَطْراً وخلَّف بَعدَهمْ

    غديراً حوى تلك القطارَ فأُفْعِما

    They went before as raindrops; after them, He left

    A pool that gathered those drops and was filled to the brim.

  40. دَعُوا المدْحَ يا أهلَ الزّمانِ ومَجدَهُ

    فما خُلِقا إلاّ سِواراً ومِعْصَماً

    Leave praise and his glory together, O people of this age,

    For they were made only as a bracelet and a wrist.

  41. هِلالٌ بدا نَجْمٌ سَما قَدَرٌ سَطا

    سَحابٌ هَمى طَوْدٌ رَسا أَسدٌ حَمى

    A crescent that appeared, a star that rose, a destiny that struck;

    A cloud that poured, a mountain standing firm, a lion that defended.

  42. لهُ كُلَّ يومٍ رفْعةٌ بعدَ رِفْعةٍ

    كذلكَ في العَلْياء فَلْيَسْمُ منَ سَما

    Each day brings him elevation after elevation,

    So let whoever rises rise in the heights like this.

  43. هو الطَّودُ ما حَمَّلْتَه فهْو حامِلٌ

    إذا العَوْدُ لم يَجْشَمْ سِوى الوُسْعِ مَجْشَما

    He is the mountain: whatever you load upon him, he bears,

    Whereas the old camel undertakes no burden beyond its capacity.

  44. وكنتُ وأحداثُ الزّمانِ مُطيفةٌ

    مُؤخّرَ رِجْلٍ تارةً ومُقدِّما

    I had been, while the calamities of time surrounded me,

    At times drawing back a foot, at times advancing it.

  45. فها أنا لمّا حَلَّ دهري عِقالَهُ

    غدا بيَ رامي فَرْطِ شوقي وقد رَمى

    Here I am: when my fate loosened its hobble,

    The archer of my ardent longing bore me onward, having let fly.

  46. أتَتْكَ المَطايا كالحنايا ضوامِراً

    وقد حملَتْ شوقاً من الوَفْدِ أَسْهُما

    The mounts came to you, lean as bows,

    Bearing, out of longing, the visitors as arrows.

  47. عدَدْتُ سوى ناديكَ في الأرض مَجْهَلاً

    وجِئْتُك لمّا كنتَ للعِلْمِ مَعْلَما

    I deemed the earth beyond your assembly a trackless wilderness,

    And came to you, for you were a landmark of learning.

  48. لأخْدُمَ مِن فِكْري عُلاكَ بِمدْحةٍ

    وأَرجِعَ عن سامي ذُراكَ فأُخْدَما

    To serve your eminence with a praise-poem from my thought,

    And return from your lofty summits to be served in turn.

  49. لأحمدَ إن زارتْ ركابي ابنِ حامد

    أَعودُ لِحُسّادي بنُعْماهُ مُرْغِما

    For Ahmad ibn Hamid—if my mounts visit him,

    I return with his bounty, humbling my enviers.

  50. فَنصْراً أبا نَصْرٍ لراجٍ بك العُلا

    على الدّهرِ أن يُلْفَى له مُتَهضِّما

    Grant aid, Abu Nasr, to one who hopes through you for greatness,

    Against time, should it be found oppressing him.

  51. أبعْدَ بُلوغي فيكَ ما كنتُ آمِلاً

    يَراني العِدا أُكْلاً لهمْ مُتَخضِّما

    After gaining through you what I had hoped for,

    Will my enemies see me as food for them to devour?

  52. قَصدْتُك لَمْ أَمدُدْ بمُعْجِبةٍ يَداً

    لديكَ ولم أَفغَرْ بمُرضيةٍ فَما

    I sought you; I did not stretch out a hand with anything admirable

    Before you, nor open a mouth with anything pleasing.

  53. ولكنّني لمّا رأيتُكَ كَعبةً

    أتيتُكَ من كُلِّ الوسائلِ مُحْرِما

    But when I saw you as a Kaaba,

    I came to you consecrated, stripped of every means of approach.

  54. حلَلْتَ من الإفضالِ والفَضْلِ منزلاً

    يَرُدُّ فصيحَ القوم عندَك أَعجَما

    You have attained in beneficence and excellence a station

    That renders the people's eloquent man inarticulate before you.

  55. وأَخجَلُ في مَدِحيك خجلةَ غائصٍ

    يَرُدُّ على البَحْرِ الّلآلى وقد طَما

    In praising you, I feel the shame of a diver

    Who returns pearls to a sea already overflowing.

  56. وأَغْنِ بنَحْرِ البَحرِ عن عِقْدِ ناظمٍ

    ومِن عندِه إخراجُ ما هو نَظَّما

    How little the sea's breast needs a necklace from a stringer,

    When what he strings is brought forth from the sea itself.

  57. بقولِكَ مَسروقاً لَقِيتُكَ مادِحاً

    فأصغَيْتَ عن علْمٍ إليَّ تَكَرُّما

    With stolen words of yours, I met you as a praiser,

    And knowingly you listened to me out of generosity.

  58. كأنّك في ذاك السَّموألُ مُنصَتاً

    يُعيرُ صَداه السّمْعَ لمّا تَكلما

    As though, in this, you were al-Samaw'al, listening,

    Lending his echo a hearing when it spoke.

  59. لأَوسعْتَ إنعاماً فلا زلْتَ مُنعِماً

    وبالَغْتَ إكراماً فلازْلتَ مُكْرِما

    You have surely lavished favors; may you never cease bestowing them,

    And gone to the utmost in honoring; may you never cease to honor.

  60. ولا خفَض الأقدارُ مَن كنتَ رافعاً

    ولا نقَض الأيّامُ ما كنْتَ مُبرِما

    May the fates never bring low anyone you have raised,

    Nor may the days undo what you have made firm.