عسى طيف ذات الخال يطرق زائره

فيسكن قلب طار بالشوق طائره

May the mole-marked beauty's phantom visit its visitor by night,

and soothe a heart whose bird has flown with longing.

وهيهات ماذا يصنع الطيف إن نوى

زيارة من لا يعرف النوم ناظره

But how far-fetched! What can the phantom do if it intends

to visit someone whose eye knows no sleep?

يبيت سمير النجم حران لم يجد

حبيبا إذا جن الظلام يسامره

He spends the night companion to the stars, burning with longing, having found no

beloved to converse with him when darkness falls.

ملا الدمع عينيه فلما تتابعت

له زفرات أسلمته محاجره

Tears filled his eyes, but when

his sighs followed one another, his eyes forsook him.

ويخفى الهوى خوفا وتضحى دموعه

تنم بما تخفيه منه ضمائره

He conceals his love in fear, yet his tears come

to betray what his innermost thoughts conceal of it.

ومن كان في جفنيه أخبار قلبه

فغير عجيب أن تبين سرائره

Whoever bears his heart's news in his eyelids,

it is no wonder that his secrets come to light.

له أنة من شوقه بعد أنة

إذا الليل جاشت بالهموم عساكره

He has groan after groan from his longing

when night's armies surge with cares.

خليلي نام الليل من أهل حاجر

أخو سلوة لم يدر أني ساهرة

My two friends, among Hajir's folk there slept through the night

one free of longing, unaware that I lay awake.

رعى الله من لم يرع عهدي ولو رعى

له حرمة ما كان ذلك ضائره

May God care for him who did not keep my pledge; had he respected

its sanctity, that would have done him no harm.

وخير الورى أرعاهم لعهوده

وأحمد أرعاهم لعهد خواطره

And the best of mankind is he who best keeps his pledges,

and Ahmad best honors his heart's pledge.

فمن كان منهم بالوزير اعتصامه

يبت آمناً من كل شيء يحادره

So whoever among them takes refuge in the vizier

passes the night safe from everything he dreads.

وكيف يخاف الدهر أو حدنا به

فتى وشهاب الدين أحمد ناصره

How could he fear Time or [its vicissitudes],

a young man whose champion is Shihab al-Din Ahmad?

سعيد عظيم الجد يجرى له القضا

بما يشتهي مما يوافق خاطره

He is fortunate, greatly blessed with luck; destiny unfolds for him

as he desires, in ways that accord with his wishes.

يبيت قرير العين سال وسعده

يقاتل عنه المعتدي ويكاسره

He spends the night content and carefree, while his good fortune

fights his aggressor on his behalf and grapples with him.

جرى خلفه الأعداء حتى تقطعوا

إِلى مورد تعيى الحليم مصادره

His enemies ran after him until they were spent,

reaching a watering place whose exits baffle the wise.

وما زال مأثورا حديث فخاره

تسير به كل أرض سوائره

The tale of his glory has always been handed down;

its traveling bearers carry it through every land.

ومالك لا يهدى لك المدح أهله

وباطنه وقف عليك وظاهره

Why should the masters of praise not offer it to you,

when its inner meaning and outward form are devoted to you?

زهى الملك لما أن تجلت أموره

برأيك والتفت عليك عشائره

The kingdom gloried when its affairs became clear

through your counsel, and its clans rallied around you.

ففي كل ثغر منك رأى تحوطه

إذا غره من عظمه من يساعره

Thus, at every frontier, you have counsel with which to guard it,

when its assailant beguiles it with his might.

كأن رقيبا منك ينبيك ماجرى

بأقطارها حتى كأنك حاضره

As though a watchman of yours informs you of what happens

throughout its regions, as though you witnessed it yourself.

ومن كان في فرعي معيبد أصله

رأى قلبه مالم يشاهده ناظره

And he whose roots lie in Muʿaybid's two branches—

his heart sees what his eye has not witnessed.

ولا عجب إن أصبح الفرع ساميا

إذا رشحت في المكرمات عناصره

Nor is it strange if the branch grows lofty

when its very elements well forth in noble deeds.

تهابك بيض الهند وهي صوارم

ويخشاك من سمر القنا متشاجرة

India's bright blades fear you, sharp-cutting though they are,

and a tangled thicket of dusky spears dreads you.

وتصدر عن أقلامك الأمر نافدا

فيصدر عنهن القضا وأوامره

You issue the command from your pens, binding,

so Fate and its decrees issue from them.

فحال سرير الملك تثنى لسانه

عليك كما أثنت عليك منابره

Thus the royal throne's very state turns its tongue

to your praise, just as its pulpits have praised you.

فدم يا شهاب الدين للملك عاضدا

وسعدك ميمون على الناس طائره

So remain, O Shihab al-Din, a support to the realm,

and may your fortune's bird be auspicious for the people.

تنال الذي ترضى ويلقى بك الرضى

أكابر أبنا دهرنا وأصاغره

May you attain what pleases you, and through you may contentment be found

by the great and small among the sons of our age.