1. شموس المواضي اِن بغيتَ الأمانيا

    وظِلَّ العوالي اِنْ أدرتَ المعَاليا

    Seek the suns of keen swords if you seek your wishes,

    and the shade of lofty spears if you pursue high honors.

  2. وعَدِّ عن الأرضِ التي لنعيمها

    سواكَ ولو أدْركتَه كنتَ عانيا

    And turn from the land whose comforts belong to

    another; even if you attained them, you would be a captive.

  3. لحى اللّه مجهود الفؤاد من الأذى

    إِذا هو لم يستخلص العزمَ شافيا

    May God curse the man whose heart is worn by harm,

    if he does not choose resolve as a healer.

  4. فما أحرزَ الآمالَ مثلُ مُهاجرٍ

    إِلَيْهَا وفاتَ النُّجْحَ من بات ثاويا

    For none wins his hopes like one who journeys

    toward them; success eludes whoever stays put.

  5. عصيتُ اِبائي اذْ أطعْتُ مطامعي

    ولو كنت شهماً ما عصيتُ اِبائيا

    I defied my pride when I obeyed my cravings,

    and had I been noble-spirited, I would not have defied my pride.

  6. وما زلت مقلاق الوضين إِلى السُّرى

    جريئاً كصدر الهِندوانيِّ ماضيا

    And I kept my saddle-girth ever restless, bound for night travel,

    bold as an Indian sword's point, pressing onward.

  7. تُسابقُ همِّي بالخطوبِ رواحلي

    الى نازحٍ يُضْحي عليهنَّ دانيا

    My riding camels race my ambition through hardships

    toward a distant goal that becomes near upon their backs.

  8. إِلى أنْ تحاماني الظَّلومُ وأذعنت

    لفضلي نفوسٌ لا تَودُّ القوافيا

    until the oppressor kept clear of me, and souls bowed

    to my merit, though they had no love for rhymes.

  9. وها أنا عند اليوم أرضي بخدْعةٍ

    وأقنعُ أن اُدْعى لبيباً مُداريا

    And here I am today, content with a ruse,

    and satisfied to be called discerning and tactful.

  10. وأسترُ شيباً أسْرع الهمُّ زوْرَه

    مخافة أن ألْفى من الدهر شاكيا

    I conceal gray hair whose visit worry has hastened,

    for fear of being found complaining of time.

  11. صموتٌ يضيق النُّطق عنه وباسمٌ

    إِذا اخْتُبِرَتْ حالاتُه كان باكيا

    Silent, beyond words to describe, and smiling,

    yet, when his circumstances are examined, he is weeping.

  12. وما مات مني العزمُ لكنْ أجَنَّهُ

    من الحزم ما فاتَ الجهولَ المُجاثيا

    Resolve has not died in me; rather, it has been hidden

    by a prudence that eludes the ignorant disputant.

  13. وحُبُّ وزيرٍ من ذؤابةِ هاشمٍ

    تَمَلَّكَ لُبِّي واسْترقَّ فؤاديا

    And love for a vizier from the crest of Hashim's line

    possessed my mind and enslaved my heart.

  14. أراني مرير العيش عَذْبأً بجوده

    وأكدَرَهُ من خالص الودِّ صافيا

    He made life's bitterness seem sweet through his bounty,

    and its murkiness clear through pure affection.

  15. وقفتُ عليه شُرَّداً لم أزلْ لها

    قؤولاً ووِدّاً لم أكُنْ منه خاليا

    I dedicated to him far-ranging verses, of which I have always

    been a prolific composer, and love I have never lacked.

  16. أغرُّ كرأدِ الصبح صلْتٌ جبينه

    إِذا راح للعلياءِ أصبح غاديا

    Radiant as dawn's first gleam, with a bright, smooth brow;

    when he sets out at evening for glory, he sets out again at dawn.

  17. ويُعدي على صرف الخطوب فما يُرى

    مدى الدهر اِلا واهباً أو محاميا

    He lends aid against the turns of adversity; he is never seen

    throughout time except giving or defending.

  18. إِذا خذل الخطب الفتى كان ناصراً

    واِنْ منع الجدبُ الحَيا كان هاميا

    When misfortune leaves a young man helpless, he is his helper,

    and if drought withholds rain, he rains in torrents.

  19. هو الطَّودِ اِن أحفظته كان راسياً

    رزيناً واِنْ طاولْتَه كان ساميا

    He is the mountain: if you anger him, he remains rooted,

    composed; if you vie with him in height, he towers above.

  20. يفوق زُلال الماء لُطْفاً ولينةً

    ويفْضل في البأس الحُسام اليمانيا

    He surpasses clear water in gentleness and softness,

    and in battle surpasses the Yemeni blade.

  21. ويُسفرُ للخطب البَهيم بوجههِ

    فيجلو دُجى أحداثهِ واللَّياليا

    His face shines against pitch-black calamity,

    dispelling the gloom of its happenings and the nights.

  22. ويُغني إِذا ما أسعد الوجدُ جوده

    فانْ هو لم يُسعده راحَ مواسيا

    He enriches others when wealth supports his generosity;

    and if it does not, he goes forth offering support.

  23. إِذا أخمد النيرانَ ريعانُ زعزعٍ

    يُعيدُ ذكيَّ الجمر قَرَّانَ شاتيا

    When a gale's first rush extinguished the fires,

    turning glowing embers cold and winter-struck,

  24. وخَزَّ على الأحفاضِ كلُّ مُعمَّدٍ

    أطال الأواسي في الثَّرى والأواخيا

    and every pole-supported tent collapsed upon its furnishings,

    its posts and tether-stakes sunk deep into the soil,

  25. وجعجع قُرُّ الليل من فرط صرَّه

    شِدادَ الصَّفايا والعِشار المَتاليا

    and the night's cold, through its fierce chill, hemmed in

    sturdy milch-beasts and pregnant camels with young at heel,

  26. وزوال راعي الذود عهدأً فلم يُطق

    وفاءً ولم يبرحٍ أميناً ووافيا

    and the camel-herder struggled with a pledge he could not

    fulfill, though he remained trustworthy and true,

  27. وآوتْ إِلى الصِّرْم العزيب جوافلٌ

    رأيْنَ اللقاح الجمَّ للذُّعر قاصيا

    and frightened beasts took shelter at the outlying camp,

    seeing the abundant milch camels as far off in their fear,

  28. على حين غَبْراءُ المطالعِ أزْمةٌ

    أعادتْ غنيَّ الحيِّ خمْصانَ عافيا

    in a season of famine with dust-gray horizons,

    that reduced the tribe's rich man to a hungry beggar,

  29. تساوى بها نينانُ لُجٍّ وكُنَّسٌ

    بوجْرة يرْأمنَ الظِّباءَ الجوازيا

    in which fish of the deep fared alike with sheltering beasts

    at Wajrah, nurturing gazelles that live without drinking,

  30. فأضحت وكُثبان الصَّري وعالجٍ

    من المحل قد شاكهن نِهْياً وواديا

    so it and the dunes of al-Sari and ʿAlij became

    alike through drought, in pool and valley:

  31. قرى شرف الدين الغِنى وأبتْ له

    معاذرُه أن يحتبسْنَ الطَّواهيا

    Sharaf al-Din served wealth as guest-fare, nor would his

    excuses hold the cooks back.

  32. قِرى ظاعنِ بالحزم غادٍ مع الحجا

    يفُلُّ الرَّزايا والخطوبَ العواديا

    The guest-fare of one who journeys with prudence, setting out with reason,

    blunting calamities and onrushing misfortunes.

  33. إِذا هدم الأموال بالبذل والنَّدى

    غَدا للمعالي بالمحامدِ بانيا

    When he demolishes wealth through giving and bounty,

    he builds high honor through praiseworthy deeds.

  34. من المالئين الدهر في السلم والوغى

    ردىً حيثُما لاقيتهمْ وأياديا

    One of those who fill all time, in peace and war,

    with death wherever you meet them, and with favors:

  35. غيوثُ نوالٍ أو ليوثُ كريهةٍ

    إِذا شهدوا حَرَّ الوغى والمشاتيا

    rains of bounty, or lions of battle,

    when they face war's heat and the winter seasons.

  36. إِذا ضل عافيهم عن القصد في الدجى

    أضاؤوه نيرانَ القِرى والمَجاليا

    When their supplicant loses his course in the dark,

    they light his way with hospitality's fires and open meeting grounds.

  37. إِذا اخْترموا ألفيت جُلَّ تراثهم

    كِرامَ المواضي والعِتاقَ المَذاكيا

    When death cuts them off, you find most of their inheritance

    to be noble keen swords and full-grown thoroughbred steeds.

  38. ليهْنَ عليَّ الخيرِ أني جزيتهُ

    بنُعْمى يديه الصَّالحاتِ البَواقيا

    May Ali the Good rejoice that I have repaid him

    for the good, enduring favors of his hands.