1. صدحت ورق الهنا لما أضا

    قمر السعد بأفق الشهبِ

    The doves of joy sang when there shone

    The moon of good fortune on the horizon of the stars.

  2. وجلا الدهر لنا ثغر الرضى

    فاغتنما منه سامي الأدبِ

    And time unveiled for us contentment's smiling mouth;

    So profit from it, O man of lofty refinement.

  3. عج بنا يا صاح للروض العجيب

    ننهب اللذة بالعيش الهني

    Turn with us, my friend, toward the wondrous garden;

    Let us plunder pleasure in a blissful life,

  4. حيث وافى يرتعي الظبي الربيب

    وصفا مورد أنس الزمن

    Where the hand-reared gazelle has come to graze,

    And the wellspring of time's delight runs clear.

  5. إنما الزهر حكى ثغر الحبيب

    وانجلى بالشوق قدّ الغصن

    The flowers only mirrored the beloved's smile,

    And in longing the bough's figure stood revealed.

  6. ما ترى النهر اللجيني فضضا

    بلجين الماءِ روض الذهب

    Do you not see the silvery river silvering

    With its water's silver the garden of gold?

  7. قل لمن أصبح عنه معرضاً

    كلُّ من ضيع ذا الوقت غبي

    Tell whoever has turned away from it:

    Whoever squanders this moment is a fool.

  8. أيها الساقي أدر أخت لماك

    واسقنيها بين ريحان وآس

    O cupbearer, pass round the sister of your lips' dark hue,

    And give it to me among basil and myrtle.

  9. ليس للعشاق سكر بسواك

    عندما غصن نقا قدك ماس

    Lovers have no intoxication except through you,

    When your figure sways, a bough upon a dune.

  10. ما رأينا قبل أن ننظر فاك

    قمراً أصبح للصهباءِ كاس

    Before we looked upon your mouth, we had never seen

    A moon become a cup for tawny wine.

  11. همت مذ برق المحيا ومضا

    وانجلى بالصبح ليل الحجبِ

    I fell madly in love when the face's lightning flashed,

    And dawn dispelled the night of veils.

  12. أخذ الحب فؤادي ومضى

    يتثنى بشمول العجبِ

    Love took my heart and went away,

    Swaying with the wine of self-admiration.

  13. يا نسيمات الصبا عطفاً علي

    ان مررتِ بين أطلال سعاد

    O breezes of the east, have pity on me

    If you pass among Su'ad's ruined dwellings.

  14. حبذا الوادي وذياك الشذي

    سلبت أرواحه مني الفؤاد

    How lovely the valley and that fragrant air!

    Its breezes have stolen my heart from me.

  15. هل بحالي علمت يا صاح مي

    أذنفت عن ناظري طيب الرقاد

    Has Mayy learned of my plight, my friend?

    She has banished sweet sleep from my eyes.

  16. يا بريقاً من حماها عرضا

    مخبراً عن ثغرها والشنب

    O flash that appeared from her sanctuary,

    Telling of her mouth and the cool freshness of her teeth,

  17. إن ترد مبسمها بي عرضا

    إنني ظامٍ لذاك الحببِ

    If you reach her smiling mouth, turn my way;

    For I thirst for those bubbles.

  18. غادة قد سلبت بدر التمام

    مثلما تغزو الظبا بالمقلتين

    A maiden who has robbed the full moon of its splendor,

    As gazelles conquer with their two eyes.

  19. كلما أشكو لجفنيها السقام

    عللتني بلهيب الوجنتين

    Whenever I complain to her eyelids of my sickness,

    She comforts me with the fire of her cheeks.

  20. أطلعت للصب من تحت اللثام

    بظلام الفرع نور الفرقدين

    She revealed to the lovesick one, from beneath her veil,

    In her hair's darkness, the light of the two Farqad stars.

  21. رشق الحاجب نبلاً ونضى

    جفنها المكحول ماضي القضبِ

    Her eyebrow loosed arrows, and there were unsheathed

    By her kohl-darkened eyelid keen-edged swords.

  22. حكم الحب علينا وقضى

    في هواها إن دعتنا نجبِ

    Love has ruled over us and decreed:

    In love for her, if she calls us, we must answer.

  23. علمت من لين عطفيها الأسل

    ميَساً يحسده الغصن النضير

    From the suppleness of her sides she taught the spears

    A sway that the fresh green bough envies.

  24. سحر لحظيها بهاروت فعل

    كيف لا تتخذ القلب أسير

    The magic of her glances worked upon Harut;

    How could she not take the heart captive?

  25. فتنة يحلو بعينيها الغزل

    مثلما يحلو مديحي بالبشير

    An enchantress whose eyes lend sweetness to love-poetry,

    As my praise grows sweet with Bashir,

  26. الشهابي الأمير المرتضى

    كوكب العلياءِ بدر الشهبِ

    Al-Shihabi, the esteemed emir,

    Star of high glory, full moon among the stars.

  27. من على جيد المعالي قبضا

    فاتاه طائعاً كلُّ أبي

    He who grasped the neck of lofty honors,

    So every proud man came to him obediently.

  28. سيد أصبح في الدهر علم

    بمعانيه الثي لا تحصرُ

    A lord who became a beacon in his age,

    Through his virtues, which cannot be numbered.

  29. ساد حلماً ونوالاً وشئم

    طيبها في كل حيّ ينشرُ

    He excelled in forbearance, generosity, and virtues

    Whose fragrance spreads through every community.

  30. ونضى عزماً وحزماً وهمم

    أصبحت في كل خطب تنصرُ

    And he unsheathed resolve, firmness, and high ambitions

    That bring aid in every crisis.

  31. يا لهُ شهماً به قد نهضا

    معلم العدل وصدر الرتبِ

    What a noble-hearted man! Through him have risen

    The beacon of justice and the summit of rank.

  32. وإذا هز صقيلاً أبيضا

    أسكن الأعداء بطن التُربِ

    And when he brandishes a bright, polished sword,

    He lodges his enemies in the belly of the earth.

  33. وبروحي نجله المولى الخليل

    السني اللوذعي نعم النبيه

    And my soul be the ransom of his son, Lord Khalil,

    The illustrious, quick-witted one—what a discerning man!

  34. قد غدت من كفه السحب تسيل

    بالعطايا والفتى سرّ أبيه

    From his palm the clouds have come to stream

    With gifts; the young man is his father's secret.

  35. ماجد قد زانه الخلق الجميل

    وكذا لا فضل إلا قد حبيه

    A noble man adorned by beautiful character,

    And likewise, no excellence exists but he has been endowed with it.

  36. لم يكن حسن المزايا عرضا

    فيه بل من جوهر الأصل الأب

    The beauty of his qualities was no mere accident

    In him, but came from the substance of his father's stock.

  37. وعلى النفس اعتزازاً فرضا

    ان غير المجد لم يكتسب

    And, in self-respect, he imposed upon himself

    The duty to acquire nothing but glory.

  38. إن تزره تلقه أوفى جواد

    وبروض العز نجماً زاهرا

    If you visit him, you find a most faithful, generous man,

    And a shining star in the garden of might,

  39. مشرق الطلعة مرفوع العماد

    عاطر الشئمة مولى ناصرا

    Radiant of face, his tent-pole raised high,

    Sweet in disposition, a lord who gives aid.

  40. خلته لما علا ظهر الجواد

    كوكباً من فوق برقٍ سائرا

    When he mounted his steed, I thought him

    A star traveling upon a lightning bolt;

  41. أو ترى ليثاً على سير الغضا

    إن تداعى القوم يوم الحربِ

    Or you see a lion on a path through ghada thickets

    When the men call one another on the day of battle.

  42. تأخذ الأعين منه الغرضا

    إذ ترى فيه كمال الطلبِ

    The eyes find in him what they seek,

    For they see in him desire's complete fulfillment.

  43. تتهنى يا أخا العليا بما

    جادك اللَه من الفضل العميم

    Rejoice, O brother of high glory, in what

    God has lavished on you of abundant grace:

  44. خير مولود حكى بدر السما

    وانجلى في مهده أوفى كريم

    The finest newborn, resembling the full moon of heaven,

    And revealed in his cradle as a most perfect noble soul.

  45. قد غدا ثغر الحمى مبتسماً

    عندما هلّ محياه الوسيم

    The homeland's mouth has begun to smile

    Since his handsome face appeared.

  46. يا له نجماً سعيداً محضا

    كل قلبٍ للهنا والطربِ

    What a fortunate star, who has devoted

    Every heart to happiness and delight!

  47. دام في عزك مأمون القضا

    ما جلا البدر لثام الغيهبِ

    May he endure in your glory, safe from doom,

    As long as the full moon lifts the veil of darkness.

  48. عمت الأفراح ما بين الملا

    عندما أشرق مولود سعيد

    Rejoicing spread among all the people

    When a fortunate newborn shone forth.

  49. نادت الآمال يا نجد العلى

    هنّ فيه جدّة السامي المجيد

    Hopes called, 'O champion of high glory,

    Congratulate his exalted, glorious grandfather on him!'

  50. دام مسروراً ينال الآملا

    والمنى من كل نجل وحفيد

    May he remain happy, attaining his hopes

    And wishes through every son and grandson,

  51. ما أضا الصبح بافاق الفضا

    وتغنى الورق فوق القضبِ

    As long as dawn lights the horizons of space,

    And doves sing above the branches,

  52. وشدا في مدحه مستنهضاً

    كلّ مداحٍ لسان الأدبِ

    And his praise is sung, rousing

    Every panegyrist, by the tongue of poetry.