رفقا بأسيرك يا أسما

فالجسم لقد أضحى رسما

Be gentle with your captive, Asma.

For his body has indeed become a mere outline.

ورضيع هواك في وله

وبعادك أورثه سقما

And the nursling of your love is lost in yearning,

and your absence has bequeathed him sickness.

تذري بالبدر إذا ابتسمت

فكأن الشمس لها أمّا

She puts the full moon to shame when she smiles,

as though the sun were her mother.

هيفاء إذا ظهرت ليلا

تجلي بمحياها الظلما

Slender-waisted, when she appears at night,

she dispels darkness with her face.

تسبي الألباب إذا خطرت

وإذا نطقت تسبي الهما

She captivates minds when she sways past,

and when she speaks, she takes sorrow captive.

مني القرب لذي شجن

يرضى بالوصل ولو وهما

Grant nearness to one who grieves,

content with union, even if imagined.

ما ضر جمالك لو عطفت

عطفاك على المضنى يوما

What harm would your beauty suffer if you turned

your two sides toward the languishing lover one day?

للَه حواجبك اللاءي

من جفن اللحظ رمت سهما

How wondrous, by God, your eyebrows, which

shot an arrow from the eyelid of your gaze!

وجبين الصلط وطرته

نعمان الخد به نمّا

And the broad, smooth forehead and its forelock,

where the cheek's anemone-redness showed;

وعقارب صدغ قد درجت

لدغت لفؤادي يا أسما

and the scorpions of her temple-lock, which crept,

have stung my heart, Asma.

وبلؤلوء ثغر منتظم

عقد المرجان له نظما

And by the ordered pearls of her mouth,

for which coral has strung a necklace;

ومحيّاها وثناياها

وبعطر الفم إذا نمّا

and by her face and her front teeth,

and by her mouth's fragrance when it wafts;

ومدامة ريق قد عصرت

من مسك في ثغر المي

and by the wine of saliva pressed

from musk within a dark-lipped mouth;

وهلال الصدر وليل الشعر

ولين الخصر إذا انضما

and by the crescent of her breast and the night of her hair,

and the softness of her waist as it draws together:

ما همت بغير هواك ولا

اشتاق لميّ أو سلمى

I have yearned for no love but yours, nor

do I long for Mayy or Salma.

أو همت بظبي أو بدر

فجمالك كلهما عمّا

Nor have I pined for a gazelle or a full moon,

for your beauty encompasses them both.

كفي الهجران فكم تبدي

ن بصدك يا اسما ظلما

End this estrangement—how often you inflict

injustice through your rejection, Asma!

فدموع الصبّ لقد هطلت

كنداء عليّ لمن امّا

For the lover's tears have indeed poured down,

like Ali's dew-like bounty for whoever seeks him.

الأسعد قوما ان نسبَت

أمرا الافاق له العظمى

Al-As'ad in lineage, if you trace his descent;

among the princes of the horizons, highest rank is his.

بلغ العلياء بهمته

وسما بمعاليها حزما

He reached high glory through his ambition,

and rose, resolute, through its lofty honors.

بثنا أوصاف مآثره

اطنب يا صاح وقل مهما

In praising the qualities of his noble deeds,

speak at length, friend, and say whatever you will.

شهم بسماحته هطلت

سحبان النعمة والنعما

A noble man, through whose generosity have poured

clouds of blessing and prosperity.

لو حاتم ابصر بعضا من

جدواه لا طرق ذا غما

Had Hatim seen even a little of

his bounty, he would lower his head, grief-stricken.

أسدٌ لكن لقاصده

يبدي بمكارمه حلما

A lion, yet to whoever seeks him

he shows forbearance through his noble gifts.

عرّج يا صاح لروضته

ان مسّك ضيم او تضما

Turn aside, friend, toward his garden,

if oppression touches you or you thirst.

تلقى الأمراء بساحته

وترى الشعراء بها جما

You will meet princes in his courtyard,

and see poets there in great numbers.

وعميم البذل ينيل الجزل

وكم ذي الفضل أتى لما

And, lavish in giving, he bestows rich gifts;

and how many men of merit have come in throngs!

يروي الظمأن براحته

وبكرّته يروي الشما

He quenches the thirsty with his palm,

and with his charge gives lofty spears their drink.

كم أردى الضد محل الجد

ورمح رد به خصما

How often he felled the foe when it came to earnest combat,

and with a spear drove back an adversary!

ليث ان جال لدى الأعدا

بكعوب لاتسأل عما

A lion, when he ranges among the enemies

with jointed spear-shafts—do not ask what follows!

أين العبسيّ وما عمرو

رجج يا صاح له قسما

Where is al-Absi, and what is Amr beside him?

Give him the greater share, friend.

كم فخر نال إذا ما صا

ل وجمع مال لدى المرمى

How much glory he won whenever he charged,

and how many a host faltered within range!

ان الأعداء له شهدت

مذ كر بموكبهم رغما

Indeed, his enemies have borne witness for him

since he charged their ranks in spite of them.

من فوق جواد منجرد

فتخال الريح له عمّا

From atop a sleek steed,

you would think the wind its uncle.

ويريك البرق بعدوته

وبغرته طرق النجما

It shows you lightning in its running,

and with its forehead blaze has knocked upon the stars.

فهو اليعبوب ولا عجب

وأبو العرقوب كما يسمى

For it is the swift courser—no wonder—

and Abu al-Arqub, as it is called.

ان جال لدى الهيجاء فلا

تلقى الأعداء به سلما

If it charges amid battle, you will not

find the enemy unharmed by it.

وعلي ليث الفتك وكم

بحسام السفك بري عظما

And Ali is the lion of slaughter; how often

with a blood-shedding sword has he hewn bone!

كم أفنى جمعا باتره

بالنقع وكم بطل أرمى

How many a host his cleaving blade destroyed

in battle-dust, and how many a champion he laid low!

يا شمس السعد وعزته

يا بدر جمال قد تما

O sun of good fortune and its might,

O full moon of beauty now complete!

مولاي الى علياك بدت

بكر بثناك حلت نظما

My lord, toward your lofty glory appeared

a maiden, made sweet as verse by your praise,

عذراء تمادت في خجل

بمقامك ذا القدر الأسمى

a virgin lingering in shyness

before your station of highest worth.

لكن بمدحك قد فاقت

مني بخيالك يا اسما

Yet in praising you it has surpassed

my verse inspired by your image, Asma.