طرقتها والليل وحف الجناح

وما تلبست بثوب الجُناح

I came to her by night, with night's wing thickly feathered,

and did not clothe myself in the robe of sin,

في ليلة بات نجادي لها

ذوائباً يخفقن فوق الوشاح

on a night when, for her, my sword-belt became

tresses fluttering above her sash.

والحسن قد ألف أشتاته

غصن تثنى فوق ردف رداح

And beauty's scattered charms had all been gathered by

a bough swaying above a full, broad rump.

نام رقيب الصبح عن ليلتي

وبات لي كل مصون مباح

The watchman of dawn slept through my night,

and every guarded thing lay open to me that night.

أجمع من خمر ومن مبسم

بحمرة الورد بياض الإقاح

I mingled, from wine and from a smiling mouth,

the red of roses with the white of daisies.

حصلت من ريق ومن منطق

على اقتراح ونمير قراح

From her saliva and her speech I gained

spontaneous words and pure, sweet water.

ترنحت من نشوات الصبا

فبت مسروراً بنشوان صاح

I swayed with the raptures of youthful passion,

and spent the night delighted with one drunk yet sober.

وفاح من عرف الدجى عنبر

أحرقه الفجر بجمر الصباح

And ambergris wafted from night's fragrance,

burned by dawn with the embers of morning.

لاموا عليها مغرماً سمعه

كراحة الناصر عند السماح

They blamed a man besotted with her, whose hearing

was like al-Nasir's palm when he gives freely—

الناصر الحامي ذمار الهدى

وحوزة الشرك به تستباح

al-Nasir, defender of the sanctity of right guidance,

through whom the realm of polytheism is laid open.

إن عقدت آراؤه راية

تكفل الله لها بالنجاح

Whenever his counsels raise a banner,

God guarantees it success.

يقسم مابين الندى والردى

مالاً مباحاً وعدواً مجاح

Between bounty and death he apportions

wealth freely given and an enemy annihilated.

لا يبلغ الطرف مدى جيشه

والطرف يطوي الأرض بالإلتماح

No gaze can reach the extent of his army,

though the eye folds up the earth in a glance.

لا يهتدي طيف الكرى إن سرى

فيه ولا تخلص هوج الرياح

Sleep's phantom, if it travels by night, cannot find its way

within it, nor can raging winds pass through.

لو ذاب وبل النيل يوم الوغى

سقى الروابي وبطون البطاح

If the Nile's downpour melted on the day of battle,

it would water the hills and the hollows of the plains.

أو ستر الليل نجوم الدجى

سرى على هدي نجوم الرماح

Or if night hid the stars of darkness,

he would journey by the guiding stars of spears.

كأنما أسيافه روضة

لما بها من ورقات الصفاح

His swords seem a garden,

for the leaves of broad blades that it holds.

قد شهدت أعداؤهم أنهم

فوارس الحرب وأسد الكفاح

Their enemies have indeed testified that they

are the horsemen of war and the lions of combat.

ملك صلاح الدين لا قوضت

أطنابه ملك التقى والصلاح

The reign of Salah al-Din—may none pull down

its tent-ropes—is a reign of piety and righteousness.

سيرة عدل حسنت عندنا

ما كان من وجه الليالي القباح

A just rule has made fair in our eyes

the face of nights that once were ugly.

سافر في الدنيا وأقطارها

ذكر غداً عنه جميلاً وراح

Through the world and its regions has traveled

his fair renown, abroad morning and evening.

أصبحت الأيام منقادة الرأ

س إلى كفيه بعد الجماح

The days now bow their heads in submission

to his hands, after their headstrong defiance.

وسمعها يصغي إلى كل ما

يقوله من غرض واقتراح

And their hearing attends to everything

he utters as an aim or a wish.

قد بعل الدهر بأيامه

مذ سح وبلاً ووبالاً وساح

Time has been confounded by his days,

since he poured forth rain and ruin, and flowed freely.

فلو رمى كلكل سلطانه

على ثبير لتردى وطاح

Were he to cast the heavy breast of his dominion

upon Thabir, it would tumble and fall.

قل لابن أيوب وكم ناصح

أنفع ممن هو شاكي السلاح

Tell Ibn Ayyub—many an adviser

is more useful than one fully armed—

حارب على مصر نجوم السما

فملك مصر ما عليه اصطلاح

"Fight the stars of heaven for Egypt,

for rule over Egypt admits no compromise.

وقامر الدهر بضرب الطُلى

من دونها إن لم تفدك القداح

Gamble against Time by striking necks

in her defense, if the gaming arrows bring you no gain.

فالسيف لولا حده لم يعد

ما أسقطته عن تميم سجاح

For the sword, were it not for its edge, would be no more than

what Sajah waived for Tamim.

والملك لا يسكت خطابه

إن لم تكلمهم كلوم الجراح

And sovereignty's suitors will not fall silent

unless the gashes of wounds speak to them.

واصدم بها شعث النواصي ربى

غزة أو ما حولها من نواح

With them, their forelocks disheveled, storm the heights

of Gaza, or the regions round about her.

وأبق فيها مثل عاداتها

حصائد القتلى وندب النواح

And leave within her, as has been her custom,

harvests of the slain and the lament of wailing mourners."

قولا لمن في عزمه فترة

ارجع إلى الجد وخل المزاح

Say, you two, to anyone whose resolve slackens:

"Return to earnestness and abandon jesting."

والقدس قد آذن إغلاقه

على يدي يوسف بالانفتاح

And Jerusalem's closure has given notice

of its opening at the hands of Yusuf.

ملك إذا حدثت عن بأسه

قال الندى واذكر حديث السماح

A king—when you speak of his valor,

Bounty says, "Tell the tale of generosity too."

بلغ ملوك الأرض أني به

غنيت عن نيل الأكف الشماح

Tell the kings of the earth that through him

I have no need of gifts from haughty hands.

واخترته من بينهم منعماً

وليست الرغوة مثل الصراح

I chose him among them as my benefactor,

for froth is not like pure wine.

من حل في عصمة إحسانه

فليس بالطالب حسن السراح

Whoever dwells under the protection of his kindness

never asks for a gracious release.

تقول لي أنعمة كلما

هممت بالسير أقم لا براح

Blessings tell me, whenever

I think of leaving, "Stay; no departure!"

وصاحب أنشدته مدحه

فصاح زدني من قواف فصاح

A companion to whom I recited his praise

cried, "Give me more of those eloquent rhymes!"

نتائج ألقحها جوده

أي نتاج لم يكن عن لقاح

Offspring engendered by his bounty—

what offspring ever came without fertilization?

قد عبقت باسمك ألفاظها

فعرفها ينفح في الامتداح

Their words are fragrant with your name,

and their fragrance wafts through the praise.

نوافح لم أدر من طيبها

فاه بها الراوي أم المسك فاح

Fragrant breaths, so sweet I could not tell:

was it the reciter speaking them, or musk giving off its scent?

هنئت بالعام الذي سعده

على أعاديك قضاء متاح

May you be blessed in the year whose good fortune

is an appointed doom upon your foes.

تكفلت أيامه أنها

خادمة صدرك بالانشراح

Its days have pledged that they

will serve to fill your breast with joy.