فديناك طرق الجدا جدى من الهزل

فلا ترتضي لي البعض عن طلب الكل

May we be your ransom: the paths of bounty are my earnest pursuit amid jest.

So do not settle for a portion for me instead of seeking the whole.

وإن أمست العلياء عني شرودة

فآق مجد الندب يعقل بالعقل

Even if high honor has become elusive to me,

the noble man's glory is tethered by reason [opening unclear].

أظنك لم يسهل عليك تعمدي

بقطع من الظلماء قطع بلا سهل

I think my deliberate undertaking was no easy matter for you,

across a stretch of darkness, rugged ground without a plain.

ذربني ولو أمسيت للنفس باذلاً

ألم تعلمي أن الصيانة في البذل

Let me be [uncertain reading], even if I offer up my life;

do you not know that preservation lies in giving?

فمن لم يجد لوجد ما وجد العلا

وأي الورى نال المحامد بالبخل

Whoever does not give for love has not attained high honor;

and who among humankind has won praise through stinginess?

وما أنا والعلياء إلا كغادة

ممنعة عند الزفاف على البعل

High honor, with me, is only like a maiden

who keeps herself from her husband at the wedding.

فقبلك ما لبت لبيني وأسعدت

سعاد ولم يحمل بحالي حلا جمل

Before you, Lubayna never answered, nor did

Su'ad bring happiness; nor did Jumal's charms carry my burden.

بلوت الغواني وابتليت بهجرها

فلم يغنعني ما بلوت بما يلي

I tested lovely women and was tested by their desertion,

yet what I experienced did not spare me what followed.

عقائل للمستوفز الأمر عقلة

وان كن لي اشهى من العقل والنقل

Noble ladies are a fetter to one eager for action,

though to me they are sweeter than reason and transmitted lore.

تمنعن لا بعداً واعرضن لاقلى

وفارقن حيث القرب مجتمع الشمل

They withhold themselves, not from distance, and turn away, not from hatred,

and part where closeness would gather loved ones.

واتعب ما عاني المحب من الهوى

وعيد على وعد وهجر على وصل

The most exhausting thing a lover suffers from passion

is threat in place of promise, and estrangement in place of union.

إذا كنت أرضى بالقريب من المدا

واقنع من كثر المآرب بالقل

If I were content with the nearer end of the range,

and satisfied with little out of many aims,

فما حاجتي بالجرد أبغى اقتناءها

وما أربى بالزاغبية ولا نصل

what need would I have to seek possession of sleek steeds,

or what use would I have for Zaghabi spears or a blade?

نصحتك يا قلبي لا تطع طرق الهوى

فتطغى ولن تصغى لعذرٍ ولا عذل

I counseled you, my heart: do not obey the paths of passion,

lest you run wild and listen to neither excuse nor reproach.

ولا تبغ خلا من زمانك إنه

أعز وأنأى من مصادقة الخل

Nor seek a friend from your age, for that

is rarer and more remote than befriending vinegar.

ولا ترضى منه عذره بعد غدره

وإن خلته أمسى خلياً من الختل

Do not accept its excuse after its betrayal,

even if you think it has become free of deceit.

إذا صلح المفسود أفسد ذاته

مقايسةً المطبع بالخمر والخل

When what is spoiled becomes sound, it destroys its own nature—

by comparing native character with wine and vinegar.

وإن قيل إن الضار يأتي بنافع

كشهدك من نحل وطلعك من نخل

And if it is said that what harms can bring benefit,

like your honey from bees and your blossom from palms,

فدون جنى هذي ومجناك هذه

تعنيك بالتأبير أو إبر النحل

then, before gathering from that one or harvesting this,

pollination—or the bees' stings—will trouble you.

ولا ترين البؤس إلا تنعما

ففي الناس من يرجو الحياة من القتل

Regard hardship as nothing but enjoyment,

for some people hope to find life through being killed.

وان نال منك الغمر مع ضعفه منى

فكم من شجاع مات من نظرة الصل

And if a fool, despite his weakness, gains his wishes at your expense,

many a brave man has died from a viper's glance.

ورب دعي يدعى ان يسوءني

ويقبح بالإنسان قول بلا فعل

Many a pretender claims he can harm me,

but words without deeds disgrace a person.

تمنى انقضاي لا سواه وان امت

فأني حيي الأريحية والفضل

He wished for my end, and nothing else; though I die,

I live on in generosity of spirit and virtue.

وما الناس إلا ذاهب اثر ذاهب

أأسرع أم ولي بطيئاً على مهل

People are only one departing after another,

whether he hastens or turns away slowly, at leisure.

وناظرني جهلا ففلت غروبه

على ان هذا الدهر حلف أولى الجهل

He debated me in ignorance, and I blunted his sharp edges,

though this age is allied with the ignorant.

إذا اعتدلت عيدان اسحل والقنا

وقيست شياة الأعوجية بالبغل

When rods of the ashal tree are set equal to spears,

and the markings of A'waji steeds are compared with the mule,

وجارى لسان الببغا بفصاحة

غداف إذا جوري تقيد بالشكل

and the parrot's tongue is matched in eloquence

by a raven that, when challenged, becomes fettered with shackles;

وقال لأسد البيشة العير اقبلوا

إلي لألقي فوق كاهلكم ثقلي

and the wild ass says to the lions of Bisha, 'Come

to me, so I may cast my weight upon your shoulders';

ودانت مقاليد الدنا لدنيها

وعهدي بالدنيا ممنعة القفل

and the reins of the world submit to its basest,

though I knew this world to have an unyielding lock—

فيا أملي ساء اختبارك بالمنى

ويا أجلي طال انتظارك من أجلي

O my hope, your trial by wishes has gone badly;

O my appointed death, long have you waited on my account!

فإن أنا جرّعت الحياة بذلة

وساغت مذاقاً والمنية كالمهل

If I am made to swallow life in humiliation,

and it tastes pleasant while death is like molten metal,

فلا بلغتني نجل سيفا محمداً

قلوصي ولا ثارت بأيد ولا رجل

then may I never be brought to Muhammad, Sayfa's son,

by my she-camel, nor may she rise on forelegs or hind legs;

ولا صحبتني من أياديه أنعم

تقوم مقام الخصب في البلد المحل

nor may blessings from his favors accompany me,

which take the place of plenty in a barren land.

أمير إذا كلفت حصر نواله

تكلفت عد القطر والنبت والرمل

An emir: if I were charged with reckoning his gifts,

I would undertake to count rain, plants, and sand.

وإن قلت إن الدهر يأتي بمثله

تحملت أوزار البرية مع حملي

And if I said that time could bring his equal,

I would bear all humanity's sins along with my own.

ولو وهب اللَه الأنام صفاته

لما اقتسمو غير النباهة والنبل

If God bestowed his qualities upon humankind,

they would divide among themselves only distinction and nobility.

ولو كان في الأيام معشار حلمه

نزعنا به ما تحتويه من الغل

If the days contained a tenth of his forbearance,

with it we would remove all the rancor they hold.

ولو ان في صوب الغمام يمينه

وسايلتها طلا اجابتك بالويل

And if his right hand were in the downpour of clouds,

and you asked it for dew, it would answer with woe [possibly: a downpour].

من القوم أو في الناس عهداً واوفر

العهاد منالا من نوالهم الجزل

[Wording unclear:] of his people, or among humankind, in fidelity—and the most abundant

rains draw their yield from their lavish bounty.

أناروا منار العدل والدهر جائر

وارفقنا الساري على سنن العدل

They lit the beacon of justice while time was unjust,

and the night traveler kept us company along the paths of justice.

وواصلني حتى على البعد برّهم

وقاطعني حتى الأقارب من أهلي

Their kindness reached me even across the distance,

while even my relatives cut me off.

ورب قريب الدار ناء مناله

ورب بعيد النبت اقربي للأكل

Many a neighbor's benefit is far out of reach,

and many a distant-grown plant is nearer to me for eating.

فلذت بهم حتى شهدت حنوهم

حنو أب كهل على ولد طفل

So I sought refuge with them, until I witnessed their tenderness,

the tenderness of a mature father toward a young child.

ويوم وغى داج أطلت بأفقه

سحائب نقع تمطر القوم بالنبل

And on a dark day of battle, there loomed along its horizon

clouds of dust raining arrows upon the warriors.

أعاد محياه به الشمس فانجلت

غياهبه واحتيج فيه إلى الظل

His face brought back the sun there, and dispersed

its darkness, until shade was needed.

فلما أنار الأفق قالت عداته

أيوشع في هذا المصاف وذو الكفل

When he lit the horizon, his enemies said,

'Are Joshua and Dhu al-Kifl in this battle line?'

فقلنا لهم بل نجل سيفا محمد

سلسل على الليث والليث كالشبل

We told them, 'No: Muhammad, Sayfa's son,

[unclear epithet] against the lion, while the lion is like a cub.'

ففروا بحيث المرء يجهل سبله

وقد يجهل المذعور واضحة السبل

Then they fled where a man cannot know his paths;

the terrified may not recognize even the clearest roads.

وقد شهدوا منه سليمان عصره

يحطم جمعاً بالجنود من النمل

They had seen in him the Solomon of his age,

crushing a throng of ants with his armies.

ومن كان بالتقوى على الأمر مقدماً

تولى رقاب المعتدين بلا عُزل

Whoever takes the lead in command through piety

masters the necks of aggressors without being deposed [uncertain reading].

له هندواني كأن مضاءه

يقسم منه السحر للحدق والنجل

He has an Indian-forged sword whose keenness seems

to distribute its enchantment to pupils and wide eyes.

إذا هزه في مأزق فرجاله

حظوظ المنايا والعقايل المثكل

When he brandishes it in a tight place, its men become

death's allotted shares, and noble women are bereaved.

يجول على متنيه ماء فرنده

مجال رقيق الدمع في الأعين الشهل

The luster of its damascening plays over its two faces,

as delicate tears flow in gray-blue eyes.

ويسطع اشرافاً كلبة كاعب

تحلت دم القتلى قلائد من لعل

It flashes aloft like a young maiden's breast,

adorned with the slain men's blood in necklaces of ruby.

لك الخير لا تعطى مثابة منطقي

لمن كله يعيي ببعض الذي يملى

May good be yours; do not grant the standing of my speech

to one whose whole self is unequal to part of what is dictated.

من الظلم ان يسهي عن البدر بالسها

وان يؤخذ الندب المهذب بالنذل

It is unjust to be distracted from the full moon by Suha,

or to judge the refined nobleman by a lowly wretch.

واني المسهل المدل قياده

لدى العز والصعب الأبي على الذل

I am easy to lead, readily yielding my reins

in honor, but difficult and proud in the face of abasement.

ولم يرض للمرء الإهانة خطة

على حالة إلا الدناءة في الأصل

Nothing approves humiliation as a man's course,

under any circumstance, save baseness at the root.

وان سبقتني الأولون تقدما

لديك فأن لو بل يسبق بالطل

If those before me have preceded me in advancement

with you, a downpour is preceded by dew [uncertain reading].

وكم بل صادي القلب من نهل ظمما

وراق ولكن اللذاذة في العل

Many a first draught has moistened a heart parched with thirst

and pleased it; yet delight lies in the second draught.

ولو كان في أولي سبوق كفاية

تفيد تمام الخلق ما احتيج للمثل

If the earliest forerunner alone were sufficient

to bring creation to perfection, there would be no need for another like it.

وما الف الاضداد بعد نفارها

تصاعد مولود بلا زاكن كهل

Opposites, after their estrangement, were never reconciled

by a newborn's growth without a discerning elder.

وتم لرأي ما رمزت شواهد

تقدم بعض البعد فضلا عن القبل

The view I hinted at has ample proofs:

some later things take precedence, let alone earlier ones.

ولي فيك اشعار تبلبل بابلا

وتذهل من الفاظهن بنو ذهل

I have poems about you that throw Babel into confusion,

and whose words astound the sons of Dhuhl.

قصائد ان اضمر لغيرك قصدها

عقمت ولم ينتج ضميري بالنسل

Poems: if I harbor an intention to aim them at anyone but you,

they become barren, and my inward thought yields no offspring.

إذا انشدت لم تعرب الورق لحنها

نواحاً بمخضر الأراكة مخضل

When recited, the doves cannot give voice to their melody

in lament amid a green, dew-soaked arak tree.

فدونكها مولاي افخر حلة

وجلبب بها اعطاف مجدك أو حلّى

Take them, my lord, as the finest robe,

and clothe the shoulders of your glory in them, or adorn it.

ودم كلما رق النسيب لسامع

وما راق معتل النسيم لمعتل

And endure as long as love poetry moves a listener,

and as long as a languid breeze delights an invalid.

ولا زلت ماضي العزم والحزم والسطا

مضيء المحيا والخلائق والشكل

May you ever be resolute in purpose, prudence, and might,

radiant in countenance, character, and form.

وكن لي مقيلا من عثار اصابني

وان لم تكن لي عند نائبة من لي

Be one who lifts me from a stumble that has struck me;

if you are not there for me in calamity, who will be?

ولا تبلني بالبعد عنك فطالما

رحلت ولا قلبي صحبت ولا عقلي

Do not try me with distance from you; so often

I have departed without taking either my heart or my mind.

وما أنا بالقالي الوداد على النوى

ولا أنا بالسالي وبعض النوى يسلى

I am not one who loathes affection because of separation,

nor one who forgets, though some separations bring forgetfulness.

أنا ابن أياديك التي ان كفرتها

كفرت حقوق الوالدين على النجل

I am the son of your favors; if I deny them,

I deny the parents' rights over their child.

وان بت في شك على شكر فضلها

شككت بحكم الله والكتب والرسل

If I spend the night doubting the gratitude due for their bounty,

I doubt God's decree, the scriptures, and the messengers.

وما اشتغلت نفسي بغيرك والسوى

ولكنها عن غير ودك في شغل

My soul has not busied itself with anyone but you or with others;

rather, your affection leaves it no time for anything else.

أخا الجود خدن المجد نجل أولى النهى

حليف العلا بيت الفخار أبا الفضل

Brother of bounty, companion of glory, son of the wise,

ally of high honor, house of pride, Abu al-Fadl,

أبثك ما في الدهر مثلك ذو علاً

علا ذروة الشعرى ولا شاعر مثلي

I tell you: none in this age has eminence like yours,

rising to Sirius's summit; nor is any poet like me.