سلا ظبية الوعساء أين يمينها

وأين عهود أوثقتها يمينها

Ask, you two, the gazelle of the soft sands: where is her oath?

And where are the pledges her right hand sealed?

ترى علمت ماذا لقيت من الهوى

وما جفلت يوم الوداع جفونها

Did she, I wonder, know what I suffered from love,

though her eyelids did not flinch on the day of farewell?

وهل علمت سحارة الجفن إنني

أسير هواها والفؤاد رهينها

And did she of the spellbinding eyelids know that I

am captive to love for her, and my heart is her hostage?

ولي كبد حرّى تئن صبابةً

ولم يجدها إلا التياعاً انينها

And I have a burning liver, moaning with longing;

its moaning brought it nothing but anguish.

ومن عجبٍ ترعى السهام بمهجتي

ويطربني عند الوقوع رنينها

And wondrously, arrows graze in my heart's blood,

and their ringing delights me when they strike.

بروحي من جآت بليل غدايرٍ

فأشرق صبحاً في الظلام جبينها

My soul be her ransom, who came with a night of tresses,

so her brow shone as dawn in the darkness.

مهاةٌ لها كل القلوب منازلٌ

ونهب قلوب العاشقين شؤونها

A white oryx, for whom all hearts are dwellings,

and plundering lovers' hearts is her pursuit.

بقامتها لينٌ وفي القلب قسوةٌ

فيا ليت حظي منها كان بلينها

There is suppleness in her figure, and hardness in her heart;

oh, would that my share of her were her softness!

بروقك تحت المعطفين ذوائبٌ

نشئن وبين الفرقدين سكونها

Your lightning flashes are tresses beneath the two flanks;

they grew, and rest between the two Farqad stars.

مهفهفةٌ يروي عن الورد خدها

أحاديث خالٍ في الفؤاد شجونها

A slender-waisted beauty, whose cheek relates from the rose

tales of a beauty spot, their sorrows lodged in the heart.

إذا جيدها الحالي أذاع لآلئاً

ففي ثغرها الحالي الرضاب ثمينها

When her adorned neck displays pearls,

their precious pearl lies in her mouth, sweet with saliva.

أطالبها بالوعد وهي ضنينةٌ

به والغواني ليس تقضى ديونها

I press her to keep the promise, but she is grudging

with it; beautiful women's debts are never paid.

تسايلني عن مثل ما في لحاظها

وعن كبدٍ ما في الخدود كمينها

She questions me about the like of what is in her glances,

and about a liver where what is in the cheeks lies hidden.

فقلت دعيني والهوى ان مهجتي

مديح الشريف الاريحي معينها

So I said: leave me with love, for my soul

finds its support in praise of the magnanimous Sharif—

عليّ له العليا طريفاً وتالداً

وكل افتخارٍ خدنها وقرينها

Ali, whose exalted rank is newly won and inherited,

and every cause for pride is its companion and mate.

على فلك الآداب أشرق فضله

علوماً كأفنان الريا من فنونها

In the firmament of letters his excellence shone

in fields of learning, like fragrant boughs among its arts.

فصاحته جآت بسحبان وائلٍ

وراحته سحبان جودٍ هتونها

His eloquence has brought forth Sahban of Wa'il,

and his palm's downpour is a Sahban of bounty.

سريٌ بجمع المكرمات فلن ترى

فضيلة مجدٍ شايع لا يكونها

A noble man who gathers virtues; you will never see

a virtue of widely famed glory that he does not embody.

له من عذارى النظم كل خريدةٍ

لها الدر صدر والدراري متونها

His, among the virgins of verse, is every secluded maiden,

with pearls for her breast and shining stars for her body.

تكفلها سحر البيان معانياً

وألفاظها فصل الخطاب ضمينها

The magic of eloquence safeguards her meanings,

and decisive discourse guarantees her words.

كريم الأيادي يبذل المال للندى

وأخلاقه الغراءُ مجدٌ يصونها

Generous of hand, he gives his wealth in bounty,

and glory safeguards his radiant virtues.

وقد أودته الحلم والعلم والتقى

صفات الجدود الطهر فهو أمينها

And he has been endowed with forbearance, knowledge and piety

by the virtues of his pure forefathers; he is their trustee.

همامٌ على الأيام يقضي فترعوي

وإن تكن الأيام جن جنونها

A high-souled hero who rules the days, so they relent,

even if the days have gone utterly mad.

من السادة الغر الكرام ومن لهم

فضائل مجدٍ قد تسامت متونها

Of the radiant, generous lords, and those who possess

glorious virtues whose stature has soared.

بدورٌ لدى البيت الحرام منيرةٌ

ربوعٌ صفاها طائلٌ وحجونها

Full moons shining beside the Sacred House,

abodes whose Safa is lofty, and whose Hajun likewise.

لقد ضاء من أحسانهم وخلالهم

دجى الحادثات المكفهر وجونها

Indeed, their benevolence and virtues have brightened

the gloom of calamities with their scowling cheeks.

لبابك يا مولاي جاءت بمدحةٍ

فتاة فطامٍ والحياءُ خدينها

To your door, my lord, has come bearing a panegyric

a girl just weaned, with modesty her companion.

وإن تكُ عن در المديح قصيرةً

فدر معانيك الحسان يزينها

And though she falls short in the pearls of praise,

the pearls of your lovely qualities adorn her.

فهبها قبولاً لا برحت أخا ثنا

لقد صح في نيل القبول يقينها

So grant her acceptance; may you ever be worthy of praise.

Indeed, her confidence in winning acceptance is well-founded.