هل هوى تلك العراص

جاذب أيدي القلاص

Does longing for those courtyards

draw the forelegs of the young she-camels?

فأراها تشفع الأر

قال منها بأرتقاص

So I see them pairing their swift trot

with a dancing gait.

ومزجوها كأمثا

ل براها في الخماص

And their drivers are like

their nose-rings in thinness.

والتهاب الشوق ما ان

حل من دان وقاص

And the blaze of longing has not

abated in those near or far.

والذي ملك حبّي

ه قلوبا ونواصي

And by him, my love for whom has mastered

hearts and forelocks,

كالذي ملّك أيدي الن

نار أطراف الرصاص

like him who gave the hands of

fire mastery over the tips of lead.

يا ظبا الشهباء والظب

ي عزيز الاقتناص

O gazelles of al-Shahba—and a gazelle

is hard to capture.

إن يكن حالت بنا عن

كن أطم وصياصي

If we have been kept from you

by fortresses and strongholds,

وتناءينا فعن غير

انتقاض وانتقاص

and we have grown apart, it is not through

any breach or diminution.

فأنا المختص في حف

ظ الهوى أي اختصاص

For I am uniquely devoted to guarding

love, with the utmost devotion.

اخلص الحب ولا اح

سن من حب خلاصي

I give love sincerely, and do not know

how to escape from love.

وإذا أقدمت في أمر

فعن غير انتكاس

And when I venture into a matter,

it is without turning back.

ومتى حاولت تشبي

ه لمي ذات العقاص

And whenever I seek a likeness

for Mayy, the braided one,

فألي العذب ورودي

وعلى الدر مغاصي

then I come to sweet water,

and dive for pearls.

وعلى عبد الكريم الن

دب مدحي كالدلاص

And for Abd al-Karim, the noble

man, my praise is like polished chain mail:

سابغ الذيل منيع ال

سرد من غير انخصاص

long in the skirt, strong in its

linked weave, without a gap.

الحكيم الحاكم العد

ل بعفو وقصاص

The wise judge, just

in pardon and retribution;

والبرى البر في دن

ياه من صم المعاصي

and the pious man, free in his earthly

life from grievous sins.

عمنا جوداً وقد ام

سى وجوداً في الخواص

He has embraced us all in his bounty, and has come

to be, in person, among the select few.

خير مولى ولي الشهبا

ء على حين ارتعاص

The best lord to take charge of al-Shahba

at a time of turmoil.

فأرانا بمغاني

ها الغنى بعد التحاص

So he showed us, in her dwellings,

abundance after the scramble for shares.

وبه أمرع ناد

يها بخصب لا عناص

And through him her gathering place grew lush

with abundant growth, not scant tufts.

بعد ما أهلكها القح

ط بداء كالعقاص

After drought had laid her waste

with a malady like murrain.

وهدي الحاكم بالح

ق كشؤبوب النشاص

And the judge’s conduct, grounded in

justice, is like a downpour from towering clouds.

لم يحد عنه ومن حا

د عن المشروع عاص

He has not strayed from it, and whoever strays

from the ordained law is disobedient.

وبه فرق بين الم

ماء حكما والخلاص

And through him a distinction was drawn between the adulterated

and the pure, in judgment.

فهي في أمن ومن

منه من غير مناص

Thus she enjoys security and bounty

from him, without recourse to flight.

لا يرى الطاغون والبا

غون فيها من محاص

The tyrants and aggressors find no

way of escape within her.

ويد البر ذون لا تم

تد مع أيدي شناص

And a packhorse’s foreleg cannot keep pace

with the forelegs of a spirited steed.

هاكها مولاي في الأف

واه كالماء القلاص

Take it, my lord: in people’s mouths

it is like water welling up.

دأبها الحمد ولا يد

فع طرف عن قماص

Its habit is praise, and none can restrain

a noble steed from bucking.