1. رحمَ اللهُ مَنْ نأَى ورمَانِى

    بصدودِ منه وشَطَّتْ دِيارُهْ

    May God have mercy on him who went far away and struck me

    with his rejection, while his dwellings grew distant.

  2. وبنفس الذي استقرَّ بقلبي

    وفؤادي لا يستقرُّ قرارُهْ

    And by the soul of him who has settled in my heart,

    my heart can find no settled repose.

  3. كلَّما قُلت قد تبرّد قلبي

    نظرةٌ منه زاد قلبي استعارُهْ

    Whenever I say, ‘My heart has cooled,’

    a glance from him makes my heart blaze still more.

  4. وحَبيبٍ إذا أردت اقتراباً

    منه كَيما أفوزَ زادَ فرارُهْ

    And a beloved—whenever I seek closeness

    to him, hoping to win him, his flight increases.

  5. بأبي مَنْ أضْنَى فؤادِى وجسمى

    ودهَانِى إعراضُه ونفارُه

    My father be his ransom—he who wore out my heart and body,

    and whose rejection and aversion afflicted me.

  6. ومن العجبِ منه قال تسلّى

    كيفَ أسلو والوجدُ تَسْعُرُ نارُه

    And how strange of him to say, ‘Take comfort!’

    How can I forget, while longing’s fire is blazing?

  7. ضاقَتِ الأرضُ بي غراما كما ضَ

    اقَ بُرْدٌ فيه ثوبه وإزارُه

    The earth grew narrow around me with passion, just as

    a striped cloak grew tight, with his robe and waistcloth inside it.

  8. إن دائى وعلَّتى ودوائِى

    وسَقامِى مما حَواه خمارُهْ

    Indeed, my illness, my malady, and my cure,

    and my sickness, come from what his veil contains.

  9. يا لَوردٍ في خدِّه كلما رمتُ

    جنَاهُ ويا للحظِّ زادَ احمرارُه

    Oh, what a rose upon his cheek! Whenever I sought

    to pluck it—oh, what fortune!—its redness deepened.

  10. وقضيبِ عليه من نظرهَ الحس

    ن ابتهاجٌ أضنى فؤادى انتظارُه

    And a bough upon which, from his lovely gaze,

    there is delight—waiting for him has worn out my heart.

  11. إنّ دائى قَوَامُه والمحيَّا

    ولَماهُ وخدُّه وعِذَارُه

    Indeed, my illness is his stature and his face,

    his dusky lips, his cheek, and his cheek-down.

  12. قد حَكَوْا مُهْجتى بحمرةِ خدي

    ه فأصمَى قلبي وعزَّ اصطبارُه

    They have mirrored my lifeblood in the redness of his

    cheeks; he pierced my heart, and it could scarcely endure.

  13. لستُ أدرى بأنْ يكون رضاهُ

    في هلاكِي وأن هذا اختيارُه

    I do not know whether his contentment lies

    in my ruin, and whether this is his choice.

  14. كلما زادَ جفوةً زدتُ حبّاً

    هكذا فعل من يعزُّ اقتدارُه

    Whenever he grows colder, I grow more loving;

    such is the conduct of one whose power is mighty.

  15. لم أَزَلْ في هواهُ طولَ زماني

    وهو في ذلتي يزيدُ انتصارُه

    I have remained in love with him throughout my life,

    while, in my humiliation, his triumph increases.

  16. كلما أراني أهيمُ اشتياقاً

    في الهوى زادَ تِيهُه وافتخارُه

    Whenever I see myself wandering with longing

    in love, his conceit and pride increase.

  17. ضِقْتُ ذرعاً من حبِّه مثل ما ض

    اقَ اتساعاً بساعديه سِوَارُه

    His love has left me helpless, just as

    his bracelet grew too narrow around his forearms.

  18. لم أُطِلْ في شرحِ الغرامِ فخ

    يرُ الوَصْفِ في علّة الغرامِ اختصارُه

    I have not prolonged my account of passion, for the best

    description of passion’s malady is a concise one.

  19. إنّ خيرَ الأوصافِ في مدح خ

    يرِ الخلقِ طُرّاً كفَاكَ عني اختيارُه

    Indeed, choosing the finest description in praise of the best

    of all creation is all you need from me.

  20. ذاكَ ابنُ الإمام ذِى العدل سلطا

    ن بن سيف مشهورةٌ أخبارُه

    That is the son of the just Imam, Sultan

    bin Sayf; his deeds are widely known.

  21. ذاكَ الكاملُ الجوادُ الهمامُ

    العادلُ العامل العزيزُ جِوارُه

    That is the perfect one, the generous, the high-minded,

    the just, the diligent, whose protection is unassailable;

  22. الهِزَبْرُ القَرم القوامُ القوىّ

    البأسِ عالى العلى وفيٌّ ذِمَارُه

    the lion, the chief, the steadfast upholder, strong

    in battle, high in glory, faithful to those in his care;

  23. الوليّ الوالى الزكيّ المحامِى

    القائلُ الفاعلُ المكرّم جارُه

    the protector, the ruler, the pure, the defender,

    the speaker, the doer, whose neighbor is honored;

  24. الشجاعُ الذمر الجوادُ المفدَّى

    العالم العاملُ الكريمُ تجارُه

    the brave, the valiant, the generous, the one we would ransom,

    the learned, the diligent, whose merchants are noble.

  25. قد عَلا الناسَ رتبةً وفخاراً

    واقتداراً طالَ البرايَا افتخارْه

    He has surpassed people in rank and glory,

    and in power; his pride towers above humankind.

  26. يا كريماً أليفُه العُرْف والمعروفُ

    والجودُ والندى شعاره

    O generous one, whose companions are kindness and good deeds,

    and whose emblems are generosity and bounty!

  27. هو غيثٌ وليس يُحصى قطارُهُ

    بل خِضَمٌّ لا ينتهى مِقدارُه

    He is rain, and his drops cannot be counted;

    rather, a vast sea whose extent has no end.

  28. هَاكِها من أخى صفاءِ وودٍّ

    لم يخالِف إعلانَه إسرارُه

    Take it from a brother of sincerity and affection,

    whose private thoughts never contradicted his public words;

  29. من محبٍّ لا يَزْدهى بمقالٍ

    ليس تُهْدَى لغيركم أشعارُه

    from a lover who does not boast with words,

    whose poems are offered to none but you;

  30. بقوافٍ كأنها اللؤلؤُ المنظ

    ومُ نظماً تلألأتْ أنوارُه

    with rhymes as though they were pearls strung

    in an array whose lights have gleamed;

  31. أو كحزنٍ قد باكرته سوارى

    المزن جوداً فأشرقَتْ أزْهارُه

    or like upland visited at dawn by night-roaming

    rainclouds pouring generously, so its flowers shone.