بدا يختال كالقمر المفدى

مليح الخصر أحسن من تبدى

He appeared, strutting like the cherished moon,

Lovely-waisted, the fairest ever to appear.

تثنى مفردا كالغصن فاعجب

لقتر بالتثني صار فردا

He swayed alone like a branch—so marvel

At [unclear word], made peerless by swaying.

غزال مقلتاه الاسد صادت

متى قالوا الظباء تصيد أسدا

A gazelle whose two eyes hunted lions—

When did they ever say gazelles hunt a lion?

يعربد سيف ذاك اللحظ منه

وقد اضحى بقيم علي حدا

The sword of that glance of his runs riot,

And now it enforces a sentence upon me.

ومن عجب تصديه لقلبي

وأعهده صقيلا ما تصدى

And wondrous is its assault upon my heart,

Though I have known it polished, never rusted.

تلثم بالهلال فلا عجيب

بشمس ضحى الجمال اذ تردى

He veiled himself with the crescent—no wonder,

When he cloaked himself in beauty's morning sun.

مليك الحسن سطان البرايا

له اضحت ملاح العصر جندا

The king of beauty, sovereign of creation;

The beauties of the age have become his troops.

له من شعره رايات حسن

وقد عقدت له الاصدغ بندا

His hair provides him banners of beauty,

And his temple-locks have knotted him a standard.

علام بها بضل كليم قلبي

وقد آنست من خديه وقدا

Why does my heart's Moses go astray among them,

Though I have glimpsed a flame from his cheeks?

له مقل صحاح ناعسات

كستني في الهوى سقما وسهدا

He has healthy, drowsy eyes

That clothed me in love with sickness and sleeplessness.

يريني حين هجران هواه

ومن فيه يريني الريق بردا

He shows me, at the hour of his love's estrangement...

And from his mouth he shows me saliva like hail.

بعارضه اقول ووجنتيه

وأجعل خضرتي آسا ووردا

Of his cheek's down and his two cheeks I speak,

And make my greenery into myrtle and roses.

نهيم بجلنار الخد حتى

يرى رمان ذاك الصدر نهدا

We dote on the cheek's pomegranate blossom, until

The pomegranate of that chest appears as a rounded breast.

حكى ظبي النقى جيدا ولحظا

ويحكي غصنه هيفا وقدا

He resembled the dune-gazelle in neck and glance,

And resembles its bough in slenderness and stature.

ولولا الخصر والارداف منه

لما اشتقت الغوير معا ونجدا

Were it not for his waist and buttocks,

I would not long for al-Ghuwayr and Najd together.

اروم وصاله فيروم هجري

واطلب قربه فيزيد بعدا

I seek union with him; he seeks to forsake me.

And I seek his nearness; he grows more distant.

فهلا رقة بعديه قلبي

كما لي خصره بالقسم اعدى

Why, then, does my heart not infect him with tenderness,

As his waist has infected me with sickness?

اذا ما زارني منه خيالٌ

وبات معانقي زنداً وزندا

Whenever a phantom of him visits me,

And spends the night embracing me, forearm to forearm,

لئمت مواطىء الاقدام الفا

والفا بعدها وازيد عدا

I kiss his footprints a thousand times,

And another thousand after that, and add still more to the count.

وان لم يرض بالاقدام لثما

لثمت فما حلا منه وخدا

And if he does not accept kisses upon his feet,

I kiss his sweet mouth and cheek.

وانثرها دموعا كالالآلي

تكاد بجيده ينظمن عقدا

And scatter them as tears like pearls,

Almost strung as a necklace upon his neck.

فمه يا مرشدي في اللوم عني

فلا بلغت فيما رمت رشدا

So desist, my adviser, from reproaching me;

May you find no guidance in what you seek.

ودعني في الغرام امت هوانا

ليحيى من زكا جدا وجدا

And leave me to die abased in passion,

So that he who thrives in fortune and diligence may live.

جواد في المكارم حاز سبقا

وكم اسدى لنا نعما ورفدا

Generous in noble deeds, he has taken the lead,

And how many favors and gifts he has bestowed on us!

يعد سؤال مستجديه ودا

كما ترك السؤال بعد حقدا

He counts his petitioners' requests as affection,

Just as he counts not asking as resentment.

اذا وفد الوفود عليه يوما

يقول لوفده حييت وفدا

Whenever delegations come to him on a given day,

He tells his delegation, 'Welcome, guests!'

على بسط الندى طبعت يداه

كما خلقت لقبض السيف قصدا

His hands were formed to open in generosity,

Just as they were made expressly to grip the sword.

بجزر عدا ومد عطا ارتنا

فديت يدا حوت جزرا ومدا

It shows us an ebb of foes and a flood of gifts—

May I ransom a hand that holds both ebb and flow!

ببالغ في الهبات لسائليه

ويعطيها مضمرة وجردا

He is lavish in his gifts to those who ask him,

And bestows them as lean, sleek steeds.

له فيما بأيدي الناس زهد

وفيما في يديه اشد زهدا

He has no desire for what lies in people's hands,

And still less attachment to what lies in his own hands.

يدور السعد حيث تشا يداه

ولا عجب له ان صار عبدا

Fortune turns wherever his hands wish,

And no wonder that it has become his slave.

هبات يمينه لم تحص عدا

وكيف القطر يحصى ان يعدا

The gifts of his right hand cannot be numbered,

And how could raindrops be numbered, were one to count them?

سداد الرأي لو رام انتسابا

لكان لرأيه يعزى ويسدى

If sound judgment sought a lineage,

It would be ascribed to his judgment and bestowed by it.

لنا ما زال يخلف ما اضعنا

ولم يخلف لنا حاشاه وعدا

He keeps replacing for us whatever we have lost,

And has never—far be it from him—broken a promise to us.

فمن ليث الشرى انضى وامضى

ومن غيث السما اسدى واندى

For he is more devastating and forceful than the lion of al-Sharā,

And more lavish and generous than heaven's rain.

فيا مولى سما درج المعالي

وساد على الورى فخر ا او مجدا

So, O lord who has ascended the steps of eminence,

And surpassed mankind in pride or glory,

وجود جداك صيرني غنيا

وكنت فتى فقير الحال جدا

And your generous bounty has made me rich,

Though I was a young man of very poor means.

فكيف اخاف بعد نداك فقرا

وقد أخذت يداك على عهدا

How, then, can I fear poverty after your bounty,

When your hands have taken on a pledge?

فحسبي من يديك عطا وبذلا

وحسبك من فمي شكرا وحمدا

So gifts and largesse from your hands suffice me,

And thanks and praise from my mouth suffice you.

وخذها قينة عذراء بكرا

عروسا لم تكن لسواك تهدى

And take her, a virgin songstress, an untouched maiden,

A bride never offered to anyone but you.

ولم تر موضعا للنقد فيها

ومن شأن العروس تريد نقدا

And you have found no ground for criticism in her,

Yet it is a bride's way to want ready cash.

بلغت الحمد فيك اليوم علماً

بأنك في العطا لم تبق جهدا

Today I have voiced praise of you, knowing

That you have spared no effort in giving.

اتتك بحسن عاقبة تهني

وعاقبة جزاها لا يؤدى

She has come to congratulate you on a happy outcome,

An outcome whose recompense cannot be paid.

فدم واسلم وعش لا زلت مولى

على العبرا تحوز المجد فردا

So endure, be safe, and live; may you always remain a lord,

Over [unclear word], winning glory peerlessly.

ولا برحت لك الرزقاء طوعا

تحد عنانها والدهر عبدا

And may the blue one ever remain obedient to you,

You rein her in, and Time is a slave.