لقد علمت ما قد اضر بنا البعد

فراحت تمنينا بزورتها هند

She knew well how separation had harmed us,

so Hind began promising us a visit.

وكم مطلب ناءٍ يقربه المنى

وكم املٍ بالٍ يحدده الوعد

How many a distant goal wishes bring near,

and how many a faded hope a promise gives shape to!

وما بعدت عن ناظري مذ تبوأت

فؤادي واخفاني واوجدها الوجد

She has not been far from my sight since she made her home

in my heart; passion concealed me and made her present.

راعى الله طيفاً زراني من خيالها

فوافي ولكن حال من دونه السهد

May God watch over a phantom of her image that visited me:

it arrived, but sleeplessness stood between us.

وحيا الحيا ربعاً عهدناه مربعاً

وعهداً تقضى فيه من عبرتي عهد

And may rain greet an abode we knew as a spring retreat,

and a time in which a shower of my tears ran its course.

خليل لا والله لا الماء سائغ

ولا العيش محمود ولا الظل ممتد

Friend—no, by God—water does not go down easily,

nor is life pleasant, nor does shade stretch far,

عشية لا قلبي اطاع لسلوة

ولا سائل الأجفان امكنه الرقد

that evening when my heart would not yield to solace,

nor could one with streaming eyelids find sleep.

ولو ان انفاسي العظام إذاعت الغرام

لصدٍ ذاب من حرها الصلد

Were my mighty sighs to proclaim my passion

to a crag, hard stone would melt from their heat.

ولو ان ما لاقيته يوم بينهم

رآه الورى ما عاش من بينهم فرد

And if what I suffered on the day of their departure

were seen by humankind, not one among them would live.

يقولون مهلا قد قضيت تأسفاً

ورفقاً فأن الحب أيسره الصد

They say, “Gently! You have perished of grief;

be gentle with yourself: rejection is love’s lightest ordeal.”

فقلت لغير الحب لم يألف الحشا

كذاك لغير النار ما صحب الزند

I said, “My heart has befriended nothing but love,

just as the fire-stick has kept company with nothing but fire.”

وعاتبته والدهر عضب صروفه

يقد وفي الأحشاء من عينها وقد

I reproached it, while Time was a sword whose reversals

cut, and their very essence kindled a blaze within my breast.

لقد راعها ما راعني من حوادث

ولم تدر ان الصبر آخره شهد

The calamities that terrified me had terrified her,

and she did not know that patience ends in honey.

تقول اطلب العلياء عن درك الدنا

وهل ضعف للمرء ان فقد الجد

She says, “Seek the heights, away from the depths of baseness;

is a man powerless merely because he lacks good fortune?”

فقلت لها لا تيأسي وتصبري

إذا حكم المولى فما يصنع العبد

I said to her, “Do not despair; be patient.

When the Master decrees, what can the servant do?

واني للمفضي الجفون على القذى

لعلمي به ان كل شيء له حد

Indeed, I am one who closes his eyelids over grit,

for I know this: everything has its limit.”

وليل كأن الزهر في دجن فوده

مصابيح من تبر فتائلها ند

And a night: the stars in its dark temple-locks seemed

lamps of gold, their wicks fragrant incense.

تدرعت ضا في برده بعصابة

رماحهم لدن واعطافهم ملد

With a band of men, I put on its ample mantle as armor,

their spears pliant and their limbs supple.

إذا انزوا البيداء حنوا إلى السرى

كأن الحنايا القود من تحتهم مهد

When they withdrew into the desert, they yearned for night travel,

as though the long-necked, arched-backed mounts beneath them were a cradle,

إلى ان دهى سلك النجوم بحمرة

كأحداق اتراك محاجرها رمد

until a redness assailed the string of stars,

like Turkish eyes in sockets sore with inflammation,

وصدع جيب الليل من صديعه

كسيف بين سيفا حين فارقه الغمد

and night’s collar was split by its cleaving dawn,

like a sword revealed when its sheath parted from it:

أجلالوري المحمود اسماً وسيرة

ويوم الندى والجود ليس له ند

the noblest of men, Mahmud—praised in name and conduct—

who has no peer in bounty and generosity.

زكافي الورى فعلاً ومجداً ومحتدا

وقد يثمر المعروف ما اينع المجد

He excelled among humankind in deeds, glory, and lineage,

and kindness indeed bears fruit as glory ripens.

مهاب تراع الحادثات بعزمه

ومن حزمه تنبو نوائبها الربد

An awe-inspiring man: calamities tremble at his resolve,

and their dark disasters recoil from his firmness.

حسام لدى البأسار كام لدى الندى

حرام على الأعدا همام إذا عدوا

A sword in battle, a massed raincloud in generosity,

untouchable to enemies, a valiant lord when they attack;

كريم إذا ضن السحاب بقطره

حليم إذا ما اوقد الغضب الحقد

generous when the clouds withhold their rain,

forbearing when rancor kindles anger.

إذا امه السارون الفين ناره

سلاماً وللعافين من بره برد

When night travelers seek him, they find his fire

a source of peace; his goodness brings cool relief to supplicants.

يميت الندى عمداً فينشره الثنا

وعود الكبا مهما خفا نشره يبدو

He deliberately puts bounty to death, but praise revives it;

and incense wood, however hidden, reveals its fragrance.

إذا ام جيشاً خلت نور جبينه

هلالا واستراب النجوم له جند

When he leads an army, you would think the light of his brow

a crescent, and the hosts of stars his troops.

تخوض دم الاعداء جرد جياده

فأعراقها سحم وارجلها ورد

His sleek steeds wade through the blood of enemies,

so their veins are black and their legs rose-red.

تقول العدا ان سار يطلب اثرها

ازعزعت الأفلاك ام فتح السد

If he marches to pursue them, his foes say,

“Have the heavens been shaken, or has the barrier been opened?”

من القوم يوم الحلم شيب وفي العلا

كهول وفي البأساء غمرة مرد

He is of a people gray-haired in forbearance, and in high deeds

mature men, yet in battle’s tumult beardless youths.

إذا شهدوا الهيجاء خلت سيوفهم

بوارق في دجن يصول بها رعد

When they enter battle, you would take their swords

for lightning in the murk, with thunder wielding them.

وان سئلوا الأعطاء احيت اكفهم

من الدهر موتى ما تضمنهم لحد

And if asked to give, their hands bring back to life

those slain by Time, though no grave contains them.

وما الموت فقدان النفوس وانما

ممات الفتى فقر ورمس الثرى فقد

Death is not the loss of life; rather,

a man’s death is poverty; burial in earth is merely disappearance.

إليك ابر الناس في الجود راحةً

تشير بآمالي القصايد والقصد

To you, most generous of men in the bounty of your palm,

my odes and my purpose direct my hopes.

وتغدو بأعباء المطالب والرجا

إليك ولكن لا تعود كما تغدد

They set out bearing the weight of petitions and hope

toward you, but do not return as they set out.

عقلنا الأماني في ذراك وطالما

اضربها سبرٌ وطال لها وخد

We tethered our wishes in your shelter, though long

testing had worn them down, and their swift travels had been long.

وصنا القوافي عن سواك ولا أرى

لغيرك يا ليث العلا يصلح العقد

We guarded our rhymes from all but you, and I see

their necklace fitting no one else, O lion of the heights.

فدم في العلا ركنا منيعا عن العدى

وعضباً ذلوقا لا يفل له حد

Remain a pillar of high honor, impregnable against foes,

and a keen, swift-cutting sword whose edge cannot be blunted.

وسر اينما ازمعت عزمك قاطع

وحيث قدمت الجيش يقدمك السعد

March wherever you resolve: your determination is decisive;

wherever you lead the army, good fortune goes before you.

فأمرك والأقدار طوعا توافقا

وعضبك والأعداء هذا لذا ضد

Your command and destiny have willingly agreed,

while your sword and your enemies stand opposed to one another.

ولا زلت مقصوداً بكل قصيدة

هي الغل في عنق الحسود والقيد

May you always be the one whom every ode seeks,

each a collar on the envier’s neck, and a shackle:

محكمة النضيد ضافية الثنا

يضم عليك الوشي من حليها برد

finely strung, abundant in praise,

a mantle wrapping its jeweled embroidery around you.

الا انما حلى الثنا خير حلة

وابقى من التشييد ما شيد الحمد

Indeed, the jewels of praise are the finest robe,

and what praise builds outlasts all building.

وصون ثراء المرء ما كان باذلا

له وجزيل الوفر ما حمد الوفد

A man’s wealth is protected so long as he is generous

with it; true abundance is what the visiting delegation praises.

فداؤك يا مولى الندى البدر في الدجى

وبيض الظبا تفديك والسمر والجرد

May the full moon in darkness be your ransom, O lord of bounty,

and may bright blades, tawny spears, and sleek steeds ransom you.

وما دمت فالآمال زهر طوالع

وخوض المنى ما شابه كدر بعد

As long as you remain, hopes are bright, rising stars,

and wading into wishes has not yet been marred by murk.

فأنت بهذا من عثرة لعا

ومن علة برء ومن غلة برد

Thus you are a call to rise after a stumble,

a cure for illness and cool relief for burning thirst.

تضيء بك الأيام نور فأنت من

غياهبها بدر ومن غيها رشد

Through you the days shine with light; you are, in

their darkness, a full moon, and amid their error, right guidance.

ويأبى بما يختاره الدهر طائعا

ففي راحتيك الحل للأمر والعقد

And he refuses what Time freely chooses,

for in your hands lie the loosening and binding of affairs.