هوى بين أحناء الضلوع مخامر

وفرط غرام أضمرته السرائر

A passion dwells among the curves of the ribs,

and the inmost thoughts conceal overwhelming love.

ومشرع حب كلما قلت قد صفت

موارده أبدت قذاه المصادرُ

And a watering-place of love: whenever I say, 'Now clear

are its sources,' its outlets reveal its dregs.

خليليِّ ما بال النسيم معطَّرا

أجاور نجداً أم اضاعته حاجرُ

My two friends, why is the breeze perfumed?

Has it dwelt near Najd, or has Hajir perfumed it?

ولا تعجبا أني شعرت فانني

شممت الشذا اذ مرّ بي وهو خاطرُ

Do not marvel that I noticed it, for I

smelled the fragrance as it passed me, flitting by.

تضمن نشر المالكية طيه

وما آفة الاسرار إلا النواشرُ

Its folds contained al-Malikiyya's fragrance,

and secrets are undone only by those who spread them.

نشدتكم هل بعد عزة أعشبت

عراص الحمى أم روَّض الجزع ماطرُ

I adjure you: since Azza left, has grass sprung up

in the pasture's open grounds, or has a raincloud made the valley bend a meadow?

وهل عذبان البان صوحن بعدها

لعظم الأسى أم هن لدنَّ نواظرُ

And have the boughs of the ban trees withered since she left,

from the weight of grief, or are they supple and gazing still?

اذا أومض البرق اليماني شمته

برجع جفون لحظها متخازرُ

When Yemeni lightning flashes, I watch it

with fluttering eyelids and a narrowed, sidelong gaze.

أردد فيه الطرف حتى كأنني

الى ضؤ ثغر المالكية ناظرُ

I keep returning my gaze to it, until it is as though I

were looking at the gleam of al-Malikiyya's teeth.

تُرى تسمح الأيام يوماً بزورة

فينعم مهجور ويُنعم هاجرُ

Will the days, I wonder, ever grant a visit,

so the forsaken may rejoice and the forsaker show favor?

لئن نزحت ذات الوشاحين فالجوى

مقيمٌ بقلبٍ رسمُ مغناه دائر

Though the lady of the two sashes has gone far away, love's anguish

abides in a heart whose dwelling's traces are effaced.

تولّت ولما يقض منها لبانةً

اخو أسف يلقى النوى وهو صابر

She departed before he had obtained his wish from her—

a man of sorrow who meets separation with patience.

يحنُّ اشتياقاً إن تألق بارق

باعلام حزوى أو ترنم طائر

He yearns with longing whenever lightning flashes

by Hazwa's hills, or a bird sings.

غريبٌ ثوى بالشام كرهاً وقلبه

الى الشرق في إثر الضغائن سائر

A stranger dwelling unwillingly in Syria, while his heart

journeys eastward in the wake of grudges.

يمنّي بطيف المالكية جفنه

وكيف يزور الطيف والطرفُ ساهر

He promises his eyelid a dream of al-Malikiyya,

but how can a dream-image visit while the eye is sleepless?

وركب كأمثال السهام تقلّهم

نواصل أمثال الحنايا ضوامر

And a band of riders, like arrows, is borne

by gaunt mounts, like bows, lean-flanked.

تؤم جناباً كاملياً معظماً

لهيبته ترتدّ عنه النواظر

They make for al-Kamil's exalted court,

from which eyes turn away in awe.

الى ظلّ سلطان لعزٍ جلاله

وسطوته تعنو الملوك الجبابر

To the shade of a sultan, before whose majestic might

and power the tyrant kings bow down.

الى الكامل الملك الذي بحر جوده

لورّاده عذب المذاقة وافر

To al-Kamil, the king whose sea of generosity

is sweet-tasting and abundant for those who come to drink.

هو المخصب الاكناف والعامُ مجدبٌ

ومخجل فيض السحب والنوء هامر

Around him all is fertile, though the year is barren,

and he shames the clouds' outpouring as rain streams down.

لميتِ الندى والحلم والعلم منشرٌ

وللعدل في كل البسيطة ناشر

He resurrects dead generosity, forbearance, and learning,

and spreads justice throughout the whole earth.

كتائبه أنصار دين محمد

فطوبى لمن أضحى اليه يهاجر

His battalions are champions of Muhammad's faith;

so blessed is whoever now migrates to him.

لقد خذل الباغين منصور جيشه

ولكنه للدين في الله ناصر

He whose army is granted victory has indeed thwarted the rebels,

yet he champions the faith in God's cause.

فرد وجوه الروم سوداً ببيضه

فعاد باحزاب الصغار الأكابر

He blackened the Byzantines' faces with his white swords,

so the great returned in the ranks of the humbled.

وفي سمره حمر المنايا فمن سطا

ثعالبها تخشى الليوث الخوادر

And in his brown spears are red deaths; at the onslaught

of their 'foxes,' lions in their lairs tremble.

ولم يلقه الأعداء إلا لعلمهم

بما يقتضيه حلمه وهو قادر

His enemies have met him only because they know

what his forbearance dictates, though he holds power.

يسيء اليهم بأسه وهو غائب

ويحسن فيهم عفوه وهو حاضر

His might harms them in his absence,

and his pardon benefits them in his presence.

ويربي على الطود الاشم وقاره

وقد سئمت ضرب الرقاب البواتر

His dignity rises above the lofty mountain,

while keen blades have tired of striking necks.

اليك ابن ايوب سمت بي همة

هداها ضياءٌ من جبينك ظاهرُ

To you, son of Ayyub, high resolve has lifted me,

guided by a light shining from your brow.

وما أثبت الأخبار في الجود كلها

لدى الناس إلا جودك المتواتر

Nothing has borne out all the tales of generosity

among people except your unceasing bounty.

ولولاك ما كنا نحقق أنه

يفوق الملوك الأولين الأواخر

Were it not for you, we could not be certain that

later kings surpass the kings of old.

فما قدر وسعي ان اتيتك مادحاً

بنظم ولو أن الكلام جواهر

What is my effort worth, if I come to you in praise

with verse, even were words themselves jewels?

فلا زلت منصوراً وللدين ناصراً

وضدك مقهور وجدّك قاهر

May you ever be victorious and a champion of the faith,

with your foe vanquished and your good fortune triumphant.