أخا الانس هل أبصرت صبا مولعا

يجيب نداء الشوق مثلي إذا دعا

O brother in fellowship, have you seen an enraptured lover

who answers longing's call as I do whenever it calls?

وهل عاينت عيناك قلبا هيامه

يحن لفقد الألف وجدا إذا وعى

And have your eyes beheld a heart that, in its passion,

yearns in anguish for its absent beloved whenever it wakes?

تجاوبني الورقا أصيلا وغدوة

إذا سمعت مني حنينا مسجعا

The gray dove answers me at evening and at dawn,

whenever she hears my rhyming cry of yearning.

ولما دعاني البين صبرا أجبته

ولبيته لما دعاني تطوّعا

And when separation summoned me to patience, I answered it,

and willingly heeded it when it called me.

وحققت أن الصبر للصب شيمة

فعاقبني شوقي وقلبي تمنعا

And I affirmed that patience is a lover's virtue;

so my longing punished me, and my heart resisted.

بني الود رفقا في فتى ذي صبابة

فيكفيه من كاس النوى ما تجرعا

O sons of affection, be gentle with a lovesick youth;

for he has drunk enough from the cup of separation.

خليليّ من فيحاء وادي معذبي

أديرا على سمعي الحديث واسمعا

My two friends from Fayha, my tormentor's valley,

pour your tale into my ears, and listen.

ولا تذكر نجدا ولا بارق اللوى

سوى دارة الفيحاء يا صاحبي دعا

Mention neither Najd nor the lightning of al-Liwa;

leave aside all but Fayha's precinct, my two friends.

ولا تذكرا ليلى ولا قيس عامر

ولا تذكر الخنساء ولا صخرها معا

Mention neither Layla nor Qays of Amir,

nor speak of al-Khansa and her Sakhr together.

بلى فاذكرا من حل في لاذقية

بقوم كرام لا يلام الذي سعى

Rather, speak of him who settled in Latakia,

among noble folk: none can blame the man who sought them.

أناس حكوا زهر النجوم وصاحبي

بموكبهم بدر فيا سعد من رعى

A people like the radiant stars, and my companion

is a full moon in their procession—how fortunate whoever beholds them!

لقد طاب مغناه البهيج ودوحها

ووجه الصبا في جانبيها تمرتعا

Lovely indeed were his cheerful home and her spreading trees,

and the face of the east wind roamed freely along her sides.

وهبّت نسيمات الصفاء بعرفها

تصافح زهرا بالرياض تنوعا

And gentle breezes of serenity blew with her fragrance,

clasping hands with varied flowers in the gardens.

سقى اللَه ذاك الحي صوب مسرة

وحيى صحاريه السحاب توسعا

May God water that quarter with a downpour of delight,

and may the clouds revive its deserts abundantly.

غدا في حماه ابن الغريّب ساكنا

هنيئا لذاك الحي اخصب مربعا

Ibn al-Ghurayyib has come to dwell within its shelter;

joy to that quarter, now a flourishing spring abode!

فريد تسامى في مآثرها التي

بمفردها جمع الكمال تجمّعا

Peerless, he rose high among her glories, through which

alone he gathered all perfection into one.

نديمٌ يحاكي لفظه رقة الصبا

وفي روضه غصن البراعة أينعا

A boon companion whose speech echoes the east wind's softness,

and in his garden the bough of eloquence has ripened.

نديمي لا تذكر أياساً لأنني

علمت بأن اليأس اذكى وأبرعا

My companion, do not mention Iyas, for I

have learned that Ilyas [apparently intended] is cleverer and more accomplished.

رضيع لبان الفهم حبر مودب

بمربع فضل قد نشا وترعرعا

Nursed on understanding's milk, a cultivated scholar,

he grew up and flourished in virtue's springtime meadow.

فمنزله قلبي وعهد وداده

بطيّ فؤادي كامن ما تضعضعا

So his dwelling is my heart, and the covenant of his affection

lies hidden in my heart's folds, never shaken.

ألا ربّ يوم زارني خطه الذي

كثغر حبيب بالرضاب تلمّعا

Ah, on many a day his handwriting came to visit me,

like a beloved's mouth, gleaming with sweet saliva.

ضمت لما ضمّ المحب حبيبه

كتاب حبيبي ثم قبّلت أربعا

I clasped, as a lover clasps his beloved,

my beloved's letter, then kissed it four times.

فهمت به كما فهمت خطابه

وكررته رجعا لشوقي ترجعا

So I was enraptured by it as I understood his words,

and repeated it, echo upon echo answering my longing.

فلله كم أهدي إليّ معانيا

تفوق على الدر الثمين ترفعا

God be praised—how many meanings were gifted to me,

surpassing precious pearls in loftiness!

اساطير أداب تضمّن جوهرا

بأسودها المسبج عقدا مرصعا

Literary lines containing gems,

in their jet-black script, a gem-studded necklace.

وقبلت محياه الشهي مصافحا

فطاب نسيم من شذاه تضوّعا

And I kissed his alluring face, clasping hands,

and a breeze grew sweet, diffusing his fragrance.

لقد كنت قبلا ذا التياع لبعده

فاشفى التياعي حين وافى واسرعا

Before, I had been consumed by anguish at his absence,

then he healed my anguish when he arrived in haste.

فغازلني الحب المقيم وعهده

وناولني كاس المسرة مترعا

Then abiding love and its covenant courted me,

and handed me a brimming cup of joy.

أخا المدح أني قانع في كتابكم

ورب كتاب جاء يشفي التلوعا

O companion in praise, I am content with your letter;

and many a letter has come to heal the burning ache.

فلا تهجرن صبّا لغيرك ما صبا

ولا تنس مضنى بالسوى ما تولعا

So never forsake a lover who has yearned for none but you,

nor forget a love-worn soul enamored of no other.