1. ما بال قَلبك يَرعوي وَيَعود

    وَيَخف شَوقك تارة وَيَزيد

    What ails your heart, that it desists, then returns?

    And your longing wanes at times, then grows?

  2. وَتَحن كَالثكلى إِذا ذكر الهَوى

    وَسَواد قَلبك بِالجَوى مَوقود

    And you moan like a bereaved mother when love is mentioned,

    And your heart's core is aflame with anguish.

  3. وَأَرى دُموعك كَالغيوث إِذا هَمَت

    أَبَداً يَرق لسحها الجلمود

    And I see your tears like rains when they pour;

    The hard rock ever softens at their pouring.

  4. وَأَراك في حلل السقام كأَنما

    نَشرت عَلَيك مِن الغَرام برود

    And I see you in the robes of sickness, as though

    Mantles of passion had been spread over you.

  5. وَأَراكَ مَخمور الفُؤاد مولهاً

    تَلهو وَعَقلك في الهَوى مَفقود

    And I see you drunk at heart, distraught with love,

    You dally, while your reason is lost in love.

  6. تَهوى مُنادمة الغَوالي مولعاً

    بِعهودهن وَما لَهُن عُهود

    You love to drink with the cherished women, enthralled

    By their pledges, though they keep none.

  7. كَم وَقفة لَكَ بَينهن وَساعة

    تقضي وَأَجفان الوشاة شُهود

    How often you stand among them, how many an hour

    You spend, while the slanderers' eyes bear witness!

  8. أَفللغرام عَلَيك ذمة عاقد

    أم في ذمامك للغرام عقود

    Does passion hold you to a pledge you have made,

    Or are bonds to passion held in your keeping?

  9. خل الصبابة إِنَّني لَكَ ناصح

    وَتلاف جسماً قَد حَكاه العود

    Leave yearning aside; I am your sincere adviser,

    And restore a body now resembling a twig.

  10. وَأَقم لِعَبد اللَه عُذرك إِن تَكُن

    ألمحت فَالحر الكَريم يَعود

    And present your excuse to Abd Allah, if you have

    Made an allusion—for the freeborn, noble man returns.

  11. مَولى إِذا قابلته وَرَأَيته

    أَيقَنت أن مثاله مَفقود

    A patron—when you meet him and behold him,

    You know for certain that his like is nowhere found.

  12. ملك لأَرباب الكَمال فَكلهم

    لِنَتيجة القَوم الكِرام عَبيد

    A king over the masters of perfection—for they all

    Are slaves to the scion of noble men.

  13. هُوَ فَخر هَذا العَصر دُرة تاجه

    وَعِماده وَلواؤه المعقود

    He is this age's pride, the pearl in its crown,

    And its pillar, and its banner bound fast.

  14. بَحر إِذا وَقف العفاة ببابه

    يَوماً تَفيض مِياهه وَتَزيد

    An ocean—when seekers of bounty stand at his door

    One day, his waters overflow and swell.

  15. هُوَ مِن سَنام المَجد وَالشَرف الَّذي

    حازته آباء لَهُ وَجدود

    He comes from the summit of glory and honor that

    His fathers and forefathers attained.

  16. فَعَليك عبد اللَه خَير تَحية

    مَوصولة لا تَنقضي وَتبيد

    So upon you, Abd Allah, be the finest greeting,

    Unbroken, never ending or fading away.

  17. طابَت فَطابَ سَماعها فَفصولها

    درر وَهاتيك السُطور عُقود

    Sweet it is, and sweet to hear, for its passages

    Are pearls, and those lines are necklaces.

  18. لَم أَقض حَقك بِالقريض وَإِنَّني

    قَصرت وَالذهن الخؤون شرود

    I have not paid your due in verse; indeed, I

    Have fallen short, and the faithless mind strays.

  19. وَلَنا عَليك معاتب فأَقم لَها

    وَانصف فَإنكَ سَيد وَمجيد

    And we have grievances against you; attend to them,

    And be just, for you are a lord and an illustrious man.

  20. ما ضر فَضلك إِن مَدَحت مكرماً

    وَمَديحه حَقاً عَلَيك يَعود

    What harm would your excellence suffer if you praised an honored man,

    While his praise truly returns to you?

  21. فَتقارض الدر الثَمين بِغَيره

    حَنقاً عَلَينا وَالمَكان بَعيد

    Yet you repay precious pearls with something else,

    In anger at us, though the place is distant.

  22. أَيذم يا نَجل الأَكارم مصقع

    ظُلماً وَيمدح في العبادِ بليد

    Is an eloquent speaker, O son of the noblest, censured

    Unjustly, while a dullard is praised among men?

  23. حاشا جنابك أن أضام ونسبتي

    بولاك حبل رباطها مشدود

    Far be it from your honor that I be wronged; my bond

    To your patronage is fastened by a taut cord.

  24. فَعَليك مِن عِند السَلام سَلامه

    ما مالَ غُصن أَو تَحَرك عود

    So upon you be His peace, from the Source of Peace,

    As long as a branch sways or a twig moves,

  25. أَبَداً وَتَهنيك البشارة سرمداً

    بِزَوال ظُلم قَد أَتاه حَسود

    Forever—and may glad tidings gladden you eternally

    At the lifting of an injustice an envious man committed.

  26. قَد رَد رَبك كَيده في نَحره

    فَاحمد إلهك إِنَّهُ المحمود

    Your Lord has turned his plot back upon his own throat;

    So praise your God: He is worthy of praise.