سرى لك عرف في النسيم الذي سرى

وخطرة ذكر نفرت سنة الكرى

A fragrance of yours drifted in the breeze that passed by night,

And a fleeting remembrance drove away the drowsiness of sleep.

وأومض من تلقاء أرضك بارق

قضى لك عندي أن تنامي وأسهرا

From the direction of your land a lightning-flash gleamed,

Ruling in your favor against me: you should sleep, and I stay awake.

يذكرني دراً بثغرك أبيضاً

ولون خضاب في بنانك أحمرا

It reminds me of white pearls in your mouth,

And the red color of the dye upon your fingers.

طوى لك برد الليل نشراً كأنما

أجاز على دارين وهناً وما درى

It traversed night's mantle for you, fragrant, as though

It had passed by Darin at night, without knowing.

وما كان ذاك النشر إلا تحية

بعثت بها مسك الذوائب أذفرا

And that fragrance was nothing but a greeting,

You sent with it the richly scented musk of your tresses.

بعثت بتلك الريح روح ابن قفرة

برى لحمه هز النوافج في البرى

With that breeze you revived the spirit of a son of the wilderness,

Whose flesh the buffeting of winds in the dust had wasted.

حليف لأكوار المطايا كأنما

يعد القرى أوطى مهاداً من القرى

A constant companion to camel-saddles, as though

He counts their backs a softer resting-place than villages.

إذا قطعت أوصال أرض ركابه

فقد وصلت ذيل الهواجر بالسرى

When his mounts cut across the limbs of a land,

They have joined the tail of midday's heat to travel through the night.

كأن ابن حجر قد عناه بقوله

نحاول ملكاً أو نموت فنعذر

As though Ibn Hujr had meant him when he said:

“We strive for kingship, or die and be excused.”

وما ظفر الراجي من المجد غاية

إذا هو لم يرج الأجل المظفر

No hopeful seeker wins the utmost reach of glory

Unless he courts a death that brings him victory.

أغر كأن الدهر أقسم جاهداً

بهيبته لا شاب بالعرف منكراً

Radiant, as though Time had sworn with all its might

By his majesty, never to mingle evil with good.

تزور الأماني منه أبيض أبلجا

منيع الحمى رحب الذرى شامخ الذرى

In him, hopes visit one fair and radiant,

Impregnable in his domain, spacious in shelter, towering in his heights.

تصافح إيمان المنى منه راحة

غمامية تنزى بها راحة الثرى

The right hands of hopes clasp a palm from him,

Cloudlike, making the earth's palm leap.

إذا ابتسمت أجفانه وجفانه

رأيت جبين المجد أبلج مسفرا

When his scabbards and his bowls smile,

You see glory's brow radiant and shining.

وقور النهى حتى إذا شهد الوغى

نهى طائش الأرماح أن يتوقرا

Grave in judgment, until, when he enters battle,

He forbids the unruly spears to grow sedate.

إذا اشتعلت خرصاته في عجاجة

تمد مذاكيها على الجو عثيرا

When his spearheads flare within a dust-cloud,

Its seasoned steeds spreading dust across the air,

توهمت سقط النار في كل صعدة

تصعد في أطرافها فتسعرا

You imagine sparks of fire in every spear-shaft,

Rising at their tips and bursting into flame.

وإن هزها كف الشجاع وزنده

ورى زنده بالطعن في ثغر الورى

And if the brave man's hand and forearm shake them,

His firestick kindles through thrusts into the mouths of men.

وأسكرها خمر النحور فأظهرت

عواملها سراً من النار مضمر

The wine of throats intoxicates them, and there is revealed

By their points a hidden secret of fire.

عتاد لمنصور العزائم لم يزل

إذا صار منصور اللواء مظفرا

Arms for a man victorious in resolve, ever

Triumphant whenever his banner wins victory.

تروع قلوباً أو تروق نواظراً

كذاك الحسام العضب مرأى ومخبرا

You terrify hearts or delight gazing eyes;

Such is the keen sword, seen or put to the test.

حسام بكف الصالح الملك لم يزل

تطير فراش الهام عنه إذا فرى

A sword in the hand of King al-Salih: always

Skull-fragments fly from it whenever it cleaves.

إذا سامه يوم الردى كان ماضياً

وإن سامه قسر العدى كان قسورا

When he called on it on death's day, it proved keen;

And if he called on it to subdue the foes, it was a lion.

مصون إلى وقت الجلاد وإنما

يعرى ذباب السيف إن حادث عرا

Kept safe until the time of combat; and only

If calamity befalls is the sword's point bared.

إن اختط معمور الرقاب أعادها

خراباً ويختط الربوع ليعمرا

If it marks out the inhabited realm of necks, it leaves them

Desolate, yet it marks out dwellings to make them flourish.

أقام به سوراً على حوزة الهدى

وحلى به المجد الرفيع وسورا

With it he raised a wall around the domain of guidance,

And with it adorned lofty glory and clasped bracelets upon it.

فتى جمل الدنيا بغر محاسن

غدت من جبين الشمس أبهى وأبهرا

A young man who adorned the world with radiant virtues,

Which became more splendid and dazzling than the sun's brow.

رأى الصالح الهادي الكفيل بمجدها

وأوصافها الحسنى أحق وأجدرا

He deemed al-Salih, the guide and guardian of its glory

And its fairest qualities, more worthy and deserving.

فبرأ منها نفسه وأضافها

إليه لكي يثنى عليه ويشكرا

So he disclaimed them for himself and attributed them

To him, that he might be praised and thanked.

وكم نشأت من لج بحر غمامة

سرى وبلها في لجة البحر ممطرا

And how many a cloud has risen from a sea's depths,

Its downpour sweeping into the depths of the sea as rain.

وفرع زكت فيه صنيعة أصله

فأورق بالشكر الجميل وأثمرا

And many a branch in which its root's nurturing flourished

Leafed with gracious gratitude and bore fruit.

يغرك صفو الود فيه فلا تقل

بجهل صفا من وده ما تكدرا

His affection's clarity may deceive you; do not say

In ignorance, “What was clouded in his affection has become clear.”

بنيت أبا الماضي بسيفك والندى

لمجديك من قيس وغسان مفخرا

You have built, Abu al-Madi, with your sword and generosity,

A monument of pride for your two glories from Qays and Ghassan.

وقدمك السعي الجميل إلى العلى

ومن لم تقدمه المساعى تأخرا

Your noble striving has brought you forward to the heights,

And whoever is not advanced by his efforts falls behind.

إذا رام عز الدين غاية سؤدد

فكل أمام عند همته ورا

When Izz al-Din seeks the utmost height of lordship,

All that lies ahead is behind his ambition.

أما وأبي ماضي لقد قال مجده

دع الخبر الماضي وخبر بما ترى

Indeed, by Abu Madi, his glory has declared:

“Leave past reports, and tell of what you see.”

فتى طرفه في الحرب محراب جيشه

وساحته مأوى القراءة والقرى

A young man whose steed in war is his army's prayer-niche,

And whose courtyard is a haven for recitation and hospitality.

ترحب عنه بالوفود رحابه

وتغدو لمن يلقاه بالشعر مشعر

His spacious courts welcome delegations on his behalf,

And become a sacred precinct for those who greet him with verse.

لئن أحسنت فيه القوافي فإنه

رآني بعين لا يراني بها الورى

If my rhymes have praised him well, it is because

He saw me with an eye through which no one else sees me.

أضاف إلى الجود الكرامة فاستوت

نيابته عني مغيباً ومحضرا

He added honor to generosity, so equal was

His advocacy for me, whether I was absent or present.

وهذب فكري نقده وانتقاده

وأثنى على شعري وإن كان أشعرا

His appraisal and critique refined my thought,

And he praised my verse, although he was the better poet.

وألبسني الموشى من حبراته

فألبسته وشي الثناء محبرا

He clothed me in embroidered fabric from his patterned robes;

So I clothed him in praise's richly adorned embroidery.

وخالفني فالجود منه مكرر

ومني له المدح الذي ما تكررا

Yet he differed from me: his generosity was repeated,

While the praise I gave him never repeated itself.

وإني وإن أهديت من حسناته

إلى سمعه القول الذي ليس يفترى

And although, drawing on his good deeds, I offer

To his ears words that are not fabricated,

أذم إليه خاطراً كلما جرى

إلى شكر ما أولى من الجود قصرا

I blame before him a mind that, whenever it races

To thank him for the generosity he bestowed, falls short.

ولو بلغتني ما أريد بلاغتي

نظمت له نثر الكواكب جوهرا

And had my eloquence brought me what I desire,

I would have strung the scattered stars as jewels for him.