1. لَئِنْ عَدانِي زَمانٌ عَنْ لِقائِكُمُ

    لَما عَدانِيَ عَنْ تَذْكارِ ما سَلفَا

    Though time has kept me from meeting you,

    it has surely not kept me from recalling what is past.

  2. وَإِنْ تَعَوِّضَ قَوْمٌ مِنْ أَحِبَّتَهَمْ

    فَما تَعَوَّضْتُ إِلاَّ الْوَجْدَ وَالأَسَفا

    And though some people find replacements for their loved ones,

    I have found in their stead only longing and sorrow.

  3. وَكَيْفَ يَصْرِفُ قَلْباً عَنْ وِدادِكُمُ

    مَنْ لا يَرى مَنْكُمُ بُدّاً إِذَا انْصَرَفا

    And how could one turn a heart away from loving you—

    one who cannot do without you, even when he departs?

  4. ما حقُّ شَوْقِي أَنْ يُثْنى بِلائِمَةٍ

    وَلا لِدَمُعِيَ أَنْ يُنْهى إِذا ذَرَفا

    My longing should not be curbed by reproach,

    nor should my tears be restrained when they flow.

  5. ما وَجْدُ مَنْ فارَقَ الْقَوْمَ الأُلى ظَعَنُوا

    كَوَجْدِ مَنْ فَارَقَ الْعَليْاءَ وَالشَّرَفا

    The grief of one parted from people who journeyed away is not

    like the grief of one parted from eminence and honor.

  6. لأَغْرَيَنَّ بِذَمِّ الْبَيْنِ بَعْدَكمُ

    وَكَيْفَ تَحْمَدُ نَفْسُ التَّالِفِ التَّلَفا

    In your absence, I shall surely be bent on condemning separation;

    and how could the soul of one perishing praise destruction?

  7. أَمُرُّ بِالرَّوْضِ فِيهِ مِنْكُمُ شَبَهٌ

    فَأَغْتَدِيَ بارئاً وَأَنْثَنِي دَنِفا

    I pass by the garden, where there is a likeness of you;

    so I go out in the morning healthy and return sick with longing.

  8. وَيَخْطِرُ الْغَيْثُ مُنْهَلاًّ فَيَشْغَفُنِي

    أَنِّي أَرى فِيهِ مِنْ أَخْلاقِكُمْ طَرَفا

    And rain appears, pouring down; what enthralls me

    is that I see in it a glimpse of your character.

  9. أَعْدَيْتُمُ يا بَنِي عَمَّارَ كُلَّ يَدٍ

    بِالجُودِ حتّى كَأَنَّ الْبُخْلَ ما عُرِفا

    You have infected every hand, O sons of Ammar,

    with generosity, till it seems miserliness was never known.

  10. ما كاَنَ يُعْرَفُ كَيْفَ الْعَدْلُ قَبْلَكُمُ

    حَتّى مَلَكْتُمْ فَسِرْتُمْ سِيرَةَ الْخُلَفا

    Before you, the ways of justice were unknown,

    until you ruled and followed the way of the caliphs.

  11. ما أَحْدَثَ الدَّهْرُ عِنْدِي بَعْد فُرْقَتِكُمْ

    إِلاَّ وِداداً كَماءِ الْمُزْنِ إِذْ رُشِفا

    Since parting from you, time has stirred in me nothing

    but affection like rainwater when sipped,

  12. وَشُرِّداً مِنْ ثَناءٍ لا يُغِبُّكُمُ

    مُضَمَّناً مُلَحَ الأَشْعَارِ وَالطٌّرَفا

    and far-roaming verses of praise that never cease to visit you,

    filled with the delights and rarities of poetry.

  13. كَالوَرْدِ نَشْراً وَلكِنْ مِنْ سَجِيَّتِهِ

    أَنْ لَيْسَ يَبْرَحُ غَضّاً كُلَّما قُطِفا

    Like roses in fragrance, yet by its nature,

    it never loses freshness, however often it is plucked.

  14. مَحامِدٌ لَيْسَ يُبْلِي الدَّهْرُ جِدَّتَها

    وَكَيْفَ تَبْلى وَقَدْ أَوْدَعْتُها الصُّحُفا

    Praises whose freshness time cannot wear away;

    how could they fade, when I have entrusted them to pages?

  15. غُرٌّ إِذا أَنْشِدَتْ كَادَتْ حَلاَوَتُها

    تُرْبِي الْقَصائِدَ مِنْ أَبْكارِها نُتفَا

    Radiant verses: when recited, their sweetness almost

    outdoes odes with mere fragments of their maiden creations.

  16. يَغْنى بِها الْمَجْدُ عَنْ عَدْلٍ عَلَيَّ وَمَنْ

    يَبْغِي الشُّهُودَ عَلَى مَنْ جاءَ مُعْتَرِفا

    Through them, glory needs no upright witness against me; and who

    seeks witnesses against one who comes confessing?

  17. ما أَنْتُمُ بِالنَّدى إِذْ كَانَ دِينَكُمُ

    أَشَدُّ مِنِّي عَلَى بُعْدِي بِكُمْ شَغَفَا

    You, whose creed is generosity, are not

    more enamored of it than I am of you, despite my distance.

  18. مَنْ راكِبٌ وَاصِفٌ شَوْقِي إِلى مَلِكٍ

    لا يَخْجَلُ الرَّوْضُ إِلاَّ كُلَّما وُصِفَا

    Who will ride out and tell my longing to a king

    whose description alone makes the garden blush each time,

  19. يُثْنِي بِحَمْدِ جَلاَلِ الْمُلْكِ عَنْ نِعَمٍ

    عِنْدِي بِما رَقَّ مِنْ شُكْرِي لَهُ وَصَفا

    and extol Jalal al-Mulk for the favors

    I have received, with my tender, pure thanks to him?

  20. قُلْ لِلْهُمامِ رَعى الآمالَ بَعْدَكُمُ

    قَوْمٌ فَرُحْتُ أَسُوقُ الْعُرَّ وَالْعُجُفا

    Tell the noble lord: after you, my hopes were tended

    by others, so I went off driving scabby and emaciated beasts.

  21. إِنْ كانَ يَخْشُنُ لِلأَعْداءِ جانِبُهُ

    فَقَدْ يَلِينُ لرِاجِي سَيْبِهِ كَنَفَا

    Though his side is harsh toward enemies,

    it softens into shelter for one hoping for his bounty.

  22. حاشا لِمَنْ حَكَّمَتْ نُعْماكَ هِمَّتَهُ

    أَلاَّ يَبِيتَ مِنَ الأَيَّامِ مُنْتَصِفا

    Far be it that one whose ambition your bounty has empowered

    should pass a night without getting his due from the days.

  23. كَمْ عَزْمَةًٍ لَكَ فِي الْعَلْياءِ سابِقَةٍ

    إِذا جَرى الدَّهْرُ فِي مَيْدانِها وَقَفا

    How many a resolve of yours races ahead toward eminence—

    when time runs upon its racecourse, it comes to a halt!

  24. وَبَلْدَةٍ قَدْ حَماها مِنْكَ رَبُّ وَغىً

    لا تَسْتَقِيل الرَّدى مِنْهُ إِذا دَلَفَا

    And many a town a lord of battle has guarded against you—

    you seek no reprieve from death at his hands when he advances.

  25. إِنْ أَقْلَقَ الْخَطْبُ كَانَتْ مَعْقِلاً حَرَماً

    أَوْ الْمَحْلُ طبق كَانَتْ رَوْضَةً أُنُفا

    If calamity brings unrest, it is a stronghold and sanctuary;

    or if drought blankets all, it is a fresh, ungrazed meadow.

  26. إِنَّ النَّعِيمَ لِباسٌ خَوَّلَتْهُ بِكُمْ

    فَدامَ مِنْكُمْ عَلَى أَيَّامِها وَضَفا

    Indeed, prosperity is a garment it was granted through you,

    so, thanks to you, it has stayed ample throughout its days.

  27. إِنْ كُنْتَ غادَرْتَ في دُنْياكَ مِنْ شَرَفٍ

    فَزادَكَ اللهُ مِنْ إِحْسانِهِ شَرَفا

    If you have left any honor unclaimed in your world,

    then may God add more honor to you from His beneficence.