1. She embraced me, but secretly
Did that watcher realize what happened?

2. Yes he did, when he saw my cloak
Scented with ambergris.

3. A specter crossed terrifying valleys
To buy a love nest, and bought one indeed.

4. He only came at dawn,
So I say he departed, not that he crept away.

5. Oh eye, you were a city for the one you harbored,
Though ages have passed while you are in the villages.

6. By my father and mother, when I dreamed of them
And woke up, they had wandered far away.

7. I imagined her white, tan-skinned,
Did you ever hear of a white, tan woman?

8. It is wondrous that the water of her mouth
Is sweet, and pearls flow out when she smiles.

9. I love her without seeing her,
For the sun prevents its light from being seen.

10. Her pearls always startle me,
For when we embrace, I fear they will scatter.

11. I complain of my weakness so she may have mercy,
But she says, “You want me as you are now?”

12. And when I weep blood, she says, “Be happy,
You dyed your tears red the day we parted.”

13. Whoever wants can give her passion—that is her way,
She chooses evil over good.

14. Oh you who blamed passion itself for my love of a slave girl,
Be gentle with me, for my heart is no warrior.

15. You left me while my eyelids were swollen with tears
And betrayed me while my tears flowed.

16. You made my heart wrapped in worries
While your eyelids were veiled in indifference.

17. You opened the gates of sleeplessness for my eyes
And made my night starry.

18. So when can I say my wings have landed on you?
For my tears return to you over and over.

19. If the King of Syria willed with his sword,
He could relieve me—that would be the finest spectacle.

20. Sabiya derided souls unworthy of her
For she would not deride any but Caesar’s heirs.

21. For her the wild beasts roared until
A young gazelle came out, protected by lions.

22. Bent over, you see in her a crescent moon,
Erect, you see in her a young gazelle.

23. Examined, you find her feminine,
Viewed, you see her masculine.

24. Her cheek nearly denies its lineage to her,
For it sees no mole, red or yellow.

25. And my heart becomes full of life again
As playfulness makes my heart grow lively.

26. I unleash her tresses, though they are plaited,
Tired of gathering her abundant hair to braid.

27. She returns to the prison of my embrace—she is like none but those
Who are destined to be confined in an embrace.

28. She allows me to kiss her mouth, for she is one
Who believes wine should be freely tasted.

29. I rise drunkenly reciting my poetry,
For a lover's utmost joy is to express passion.

30. I delighted in the fire of her cheek, not the fire of encampments,
And I praised the dawn of her face, not the dawn of homelands.

31. I described the generosity of my father Ali alone,
Refusing to describe even a rain cloud.

32. That generous man—if you hear of another,
Take what you see and ignore what you do not.

33. When asked who is generous, the answer is
The servant of the Merciful, and master of all creation.

34. He chooses to give away riches while struggling,
Thousands upon thousands, and his words are jewels.

35. So his praises are equal to fabricated tales,
And eulogies for him are like foolish talk.

36. He hosts guests with beams of ruby red amber
And that amber is the fire of encampments.

37. Truly, I never heard of one so generous
That his gifts could ever fully be thanked.

38. Truly, I never saw one so able
That Fate itself eagerly served him.

39. A moon for whom the galaxy is a watering hole,
The horizon his abode, and the stars his company.

40. He reached the heavens in glory and kindness—
Apparent, though he will reach even higher.

41. He surpassed kings, so he is called the Excellent,
They seemed small to him, so he is named the Greatest.

42. He lowers the banners of kings—he disdains
To appear a vainglorious boaster.

43. With his words, the blades of swords are blunted,
With his view, the edges of axes are dulled.

44. Opinion is white and perspective is black;
He fiercely brandishes them in the war against the foe.

45. His skill made eloquence a slave to his words,
Yet we see it freed.

46. Dew watered resolve from his hand,
Therefore he flourishes with rhetoric and blooms with fruit.

47. With his judgment he broke the cross—
Ask the enemy who was most staunch in destruction.

48. God delighted the Prophet's eye
With one who purified Syria and cleansed it.

49. He never rested, making churches into mosques
And pulpits of the lowered crosses.

50. Syria was opened by him, and his era said,
If you opened it, it will never change.

51. O Sham, you are the abode—if you wished, you could take it
By the sword from your fathers, the sharpened blades.

52. From it you shone, though you were a brilliant full moon,
And in it you rose, though you were a radiant dawn.

53. You ruled it eternally, never ceasing to reign,
And by it you conquered, never ceasing to triumph.

54. Who can tell Bosra, the mistress of settlements,
That joy has come to you from the mother of settlements?

55. If only the House could send its stone
As a delegate, and send you greetings scented with musk.

56. You restored life to Ascalon’s soul
And raised up its towering height when it lay in ruins.

57. You gave permanence to its tranquility, so you remain immortal,
And rebuilt its domain, so you live forever.

58. Syria committed blasphemy—but Ascalon, never!
Far be it! It is its den, it could not renounce faith.

59. Just like the believer among Pharaoh’s people kept secret
Beliefs opposed to what he displayed.

60. You captivated Egypt with it, though it deserved better,
For it should not resent but appreciate your rights over it.

61. You left Egypt though it did not deserve separation,
You abandoned Egypt, the like of which shall never be abandoned.

62. Egypt longed for you, remembering, though remembering seldom
Relieves one who yearns.

63. You are not just the master of the Egyptians,
But the master of all who tread the earth!

64. Your supreme virtues competed with Yasser in excellence—
For the lesser envies the greater.

65. They aspired to catch up to you, so some fell back, helpless,
While others raced headlong only to stumble.

66. Whoever aims for your lofty eminence lives embittered,
Whether he lives or dies wretched.

67. You are the rain, the softest hand,
You are the moon, the noblest element.