1. هيج الطرس كامِناً ثُم أَورى

    مِن سَنا الشَوق بَينَ جَنبي جَمرا

    The page roused what lay dormant, then kindled

    Embers from longing's radiance within my breast.

  2. فَجرت أَدمُعي عَقيقاً لِقَوم

    لَست أَنساهُم وَإِن مت صَبرا

    So my tears flowed like carnelian for people

    Whom I will not forget, even if I die in captivity.

  3. كُلَّما مَرَّ ذكرهُم في ضَميري

    زدت مِن لَوعة الصَبابة حَرا

    Whenever their memory passes through my mind,

    I grow hotter with the anguish of yearning.

  4. فَسَلوني عَما أَجن فُؤادي

    صاحب البَيت بِالَّذي فيهِ أَدرى

    So ask me about what my heart conceals:

    The master of the house knows best what lies within it.

  5. يا كتِاباً أَتى وَكُنت سَقيماً

    فَشَفاني مِن السقام وَأَبرا

    O letter that arrived while I was ill,

    Then healed me of sickness and cured me!

  6. ذَكرتني نُقوشه كف بَحر

    كُلما مَد اصبَعاً صارَ نَهرا

    Its inscriptions recalled to me the hand of a sea:

    Whenever it extends a finger, that finger becomes a river.

  7. ذا يَراع إذا دعته اللَيالي

    كانَ أَمضى مِن الحسام وَأَجرى

    Possessor of a reed pen that, when the nights summon it,

    Is sharper than the sword and swifter-flowing;

  8. وَفَخار إِذا وَزَنت علاه

    بِنُجوم السَماء يَزداد فَخرا

    And glory that, when you weigh its loftiness

    Against heaven's stars, grows more glorious;

  9. وَعُلوم إِذا دَجا الشَك يَوماً

    كانَ صُبحاً لِلمعضلات وَفَجرا

    And learning that, if doubt grows dark one day,

    Is morning and dawn for difficult questions;

  10. وَنِظام بِهِ إِذا خاضَ فكري

    مِن مَعاني بِديعه خُضت بَحرا

    And verse into which, when my thought ventures,

    I plunge into a sea of its wondrous meanings.

  11. وَمَتى ما بَدا رَأَينا عُقوداً

    وَالتَقَطنا مِن الصحيفة درا

    And whenever it appears, we see necklaces,

    And gather pearls from the page.

  12. تَتَباهى بِهِ الوُرود وَيَروي

    طيبه عَن كَتايب الشيح نَشرا

    Roses take pride in it, and there is recounted

    By its perfume the scent of ranks of wormwood.

  13. فَإِذا ما تَلوته كَان شَهدا

    وَإِذا ما شَممته كانَ عطرا

    For when I recite it, it is honey,

    And when I smell it, it is perfume,

  14. بِسُطور عَلى اللجين أَضاءَت

    فَحَكَت عسجداً مُذاباً وَتبرا

    In lines that shone upon silver

    And so resembled molten gold and unworked gold.

  15. كُل لَفظ يَخاله السَمع قرطاً

    فيهِ مَعنى يَظنه العَقل سِحرا

    Each word the ear imagines to be an earring;

    Within it lies a meaning the mind deems magic.

  16. يا كَليم الفُؤاد رد عَين نَظم

    كُلما ذُقت كَأسَها صرت خضرا

    O wounded-hearted one, approach a spring of verse:

    Whenever you taste its cup, you become Khidr.

  17. فَإِذا ما بَدَت سَفينة صَبر

    قُم لَها وَاكسر السَفينة كَسرا

    So whenever a ship of patience appears,

    Rise to it, and break the ship utterly.

  18. وَبِسَيف الغَرام فَاقتل غُلاماً

    لا يَرى في هَوى المُحبين عُذرا

    And with the sword of passion, slay a youth

    Who sees no excuse for lovers' love.

  19. وَأقم لِلصبا جِدار غَرام

    كُلَّما رُمت نَقصه طالَ قَدرا

    And erect for youthful ardor a wall of passion:

    Whenever you seek to lessen it, it grows in stature.

  20. يا فَريد البَيان يا عَين فَضل

    مِن مَعانيه ماؤُها صار خَمرا

    O peerless in eloquence, O spring of excellence,

    Through his meanings, its water has turned to wine.

  21. يا كَريم النجار يا فرع دوح

    هُوَ بِالفَضل وَالكَمالات أَحرى

    O noble in lineage, O branch of a great tree,

    He is most worthy of excellence and perfection.

  22. عُمري فَمن يُضاهيه أَصلاً

    عَدوي وَمَن يُباريه تَجرا

    ʿUmarī—who can match him in ancestry?

    ʿAdawī—and who can rival him in trade?

  23. طَود حلم بِهِ رَسا كُل فلك

    فَتملى بِجوده وَاِستَقرا

    A mountain of forbearance, beside which every ship anchors,

    Then basks in his bounty and comes to rest.

  24. وَسماء مِن العُلوم أَضاءَت

    شَمسها فَاِنثَنَت نُجوماً وَبَدرا

    And a sky of learning, illuminated

    By its sun, then transformed into stars and a full moon.

  25. أَنتَ طَوَّقتَني مِن الدُر عقداً

    فاقَ في نَظمه القَلائد طرا

    You have adorned my neck with a necklace of pearls,

    Surpassing all necklaces in its stringing.

  26. منن لَم أطق بِهن قِياماً

    لا وَلا العُمر يا أَخا العلم شُكرا

    Favors whose obligations I could not fulfill,

    No—not with a lifetime of thanks, O brother in learning.

  27. فَجَزاك لِلإله خَير جَزاء

    وَحَباك الإِله عزاً وَنَصرا

    So may God reward you with the finest recompense,

    And may God bestow on you honor and victory,

  28. ما رَأَينا صَحائف الشَوق تُبدي

    مِن قَوافي المَديح شَفعاً وَوترا

    As long as we see pages of longing reveal

    Rhymes of praise, in pairs and singly.

  29. ثُمَّ لا زَالَت المَعارف كنزاً

    وَلِمَن أَم دارك الرحب ذُخرا

    Then may learning never cease to be a treasure,

    And a reserve for whoever seeks your spacious home.