1. أَجارَتَنا أَخطَأتِ حَظَّكِ فَاِخرُجي

    وَلا تَدخُلي بَيني وَبَينَ المُشَمرِجِ

    O our neighbor, you have missed your chance—so leave,

    and do not come between me and al-Mushamrij.

  2. أَخي لامَني أَو لُمتُهُ ثُمَّ نَرعَوي

    إِلى ثابِتٍ مِن حِلمِنا غَيرِ مُخدَجِ

    My brother rebuked me—or I rebuked him—then we return

    to our steadfast, undiminished forbearance.

  3. نَعودُ إِذا اِعوَجَّت سَبيلٌ بِأَهلِها

    حِفاظاً وَلَيسَ الحَقُّ فينا بِأَعوَجِ

    We turn back when a path turns crooked for its people,

    out of loyalty; the truth among us is not crooked.

  4. فَأَبقي عَلى وُدٍّ كَرَهطِكِ عِندَنا

    وَلا تَذهَبي في التيهِ يا اِبنَةَ مَغنَجِ

    So keep affection with us, as your clan does,

    and do not stray into arrogance, daughter of Maghnaj.

  5. أَنا الشاعِرُ المَشهورُ في كُلِّ مَوطِنٍ

    أَحُلُّ بِمِثلِ السَيفِ غَيرَ مُلَجلَجِ

    I am the poet renowned in every land;

    I arrive with the like of a sword, never faltering.

  6. تَرَكتُ اِبنَ نِهيا ضُحكَةً لِاِبنِ سالِمٍ

    وَأَضحَكتُ حَمّاداً مِن اِستِ المُعَفَّجِ

    I left Ibn Nihya a laughingstock for Ibn Salim,

    and made Hammad laugh at al-Mu'affaj's arse.

  7. وَإِني لَنَهّاضُ اليَدَينِ إِلى العُلى

    قَروعٌ لِأَبوابِ الهُمامِ المُتَوَّجِ

    And I indeed keep raising both hands toward the heights,

    ever knocking at the doors of the crowned, magnanimous lord.

  8. أَهونُ إِذا عَزَّ الخَليطُ وَرُبَّما

    أَمَتُّ بِرَأسِ الحَيَّةِ المُتَمَعِّجِ

    I grow meek when my companion grows proud; yet sometimes

    I have tugged at the serpent's twisting head.

  9. وَما زالَ لي جَدٌّ يَقيني مِنَ الرَدى

    وَيَسمو عَلى رَغمِ العَدُوِّ المُزَلَّجِ

    And I have always had good fortune guarding me from death,

    and it rises in spite of the contemptible enemy.

  10. وَما ذاكَ مِن حَولٍ وَلَكِن كَرامَةٌ

    مِنَ اللَهِ يَرعاني بِها كُلَّ مَنهَجِ

    That is not from my own strength, but an honor

    from God, through which He guards me on every path.

  11. يَرى لي ذَوو الأَحسابِ فيهِم جَلالَةً

    وَلَيسَ خَليلي بِالدَنيِّ المُلَهوِجِ

    Those of noble lineage recognize my eminence among them,

    and my close friend is no base, rash fellow.

  12. وَعَيرِ أُناسٍ قَد كَوَيتُ عِجانَهُ

    إِذا ما كَوَيتُ العَيرَ يَوماً فَأَنضِجِ

    And some people's ass—I have branded his perineum;

    if ever I brand an ass, let him be well roasted!

  13. وَإِنّي وَمَدحي هَيثَماً أَبتَغي النَدى

    لَكَالمُبتَغي المَعروفَ في اِستِ اِبنِ دَعلَجِ

    And I, in praising Haytham as I seek bounty,

    am surely like one seeking kindness in Ibn Da'laj's arse.

  14. وَلَيلَةِ خُرطومٍ وَصَلتُ نَعيمَها

    بِحَوراءَ تَستَحيي إِذا لَم تَحَرَّجِ

    And a night of choice wine—I joined its bliss

    with a dark-eyed woman, bashful when she did not hold back,

  15. لُباخِيَّةِ الأَردافِ لَم تَرعَ ثِلَّةً

    بِفَيءٍ وَلَم تَركَب بَعيراً بِهَودَجِ

    ample-bottomed, who had never tended a flock

    in the shade, nor ridden a camel in a howdah.

  16. وَبَيضاءَ يَندى خَدُّها وَجَبينُها

    مِنَ المِسكِ فَوقَ المِجمَرِ المُتَأَجِّجِ

    And a fair-skinned woman whose cheek and brow glisten

    with musk above the blazing censer.

  17. فَباتَت مِزاجَ الكَأسِ حَتّى تَبَيَّنَت

    تَباشيرُ مُنشَقٍّ عَنِ الصُبحِ أَبلَجِ

    She spent the night as the cup's admixture, until there appeared

    the first gleams of a bright rift revealing dawn.

  18. فَلَمّا دَنا وَجهُ الوَداعِ تَفَجَّعَت

    عَلى لَيلَةٍ طابَت وَسِرٍّ مُوَلَّجِ

    Then, when the face of farewell drew near, she grieved

    for a delightful night and a secret lodged within.

  19. وَقالَت لِتَربَيها اِبكِيا وَتَرَقرَقَت

    مَدامِعُ عَينَيها تَخافُ وَتَرتَجي

    She said to her two companions, "Weep," and there shimmered

    tears in her eyes, as she feared and hoped.

  20. فَيا حُسنَها إِذ نَلتَقي بِمَهايِلٍ

    مُحِبَّينَ في بَحرٍ مِنَ الحُبِّ نَلتَجي

    And oh, her beauty when we met at Mahayil,

    two lovers taking refuge in a sea of love!

  21. لَيالي قالَت أَنتَ غادٍ ضُحى غَدٍ

    وَنَبقى عَلى شَوقٍ إِلَيكِ وَنَنشَجِ

    On nights when she said, "You leave at midmorning tomorrow,

    and we will remain yearning for you and sobbing."

  22. هُناكَ اِلتَقَينا تَحتَ عَينٍ مَطيرَةٍ

    وَرَيّانُ مُلقى كَالحِمارِ المُوَدَّجِ

    There we met beneath a rain-laden cloud,

    and Rayyan lay sprawled like an ass with its jugular slit.

  23. فَبِتُّ بِبَدرٍ يَملَأُ العَينَ نورُهُ

    هَضيمِ الحَشا في الزَعفَرانِ مُضَرَّجِ

    So I spent the night with a full moon whose light filled the eye,

    slender-waisted and steeped in saffron.

  24. إِذا أَحرَقَتني الكَأسُ داوَيتُ حَرَّها

    بِمَثلوجَةٍ في نَظمِ دُرٍّ مُفَلَّجِ

    When the cup burned me, I soothed its heat

    with icy moisture amid a string of spaced pearls.

  25. وَكَيفَ بِسَلمى أَحرَمَ النَأيُ وَجهَها

    عَلَيَّ وَإِن طافَت بِنا لَم تُعَرَّجِ

    And what of Salma? Distance has made her face forbidden

    to me; and even if she came our way, she would not linger.

  26. وَقَد زُوِّجَت عُثمانَ دَرّاً غَريرَةً

    فَيا لَيتَني عُثمانُ إِذ لَم تُزَوَّجِ

    And she, an innocent pearl, has been married to Uthman;

    oh, would that I had been Uthman when she was still unwed!