1. لعلَّها واليأسُ منها أغلبُ

    إن نأتِ اليومَ غداً تستقربُ

    Perhaps it may—though despair of it prevails—

    if distant today, be brought near tomorrow:

  2. حاجةُ صدرٍ لك لا ملفوظةٌ

    ولا تَسوغُ حُلوةً فُتشرَبُ

    a heart's desire for you, never voiced,

    nor sweet enough to swallow and drink.

  3. أَضْحَكُ من مواعِدِ الدهرِ بها

    ممّا يجيءُ باطلاً ويذهبُ

    I laugh at Time's promises concerning it,

    at what comes in vain and passes away.

  4. ودونها أن ينتهِي لجَاجُها

    ذو صِبغتْين دِينُه التقلُّبُ

    Before its stubborn pleading can reach an end stands

    a two-faced one whose creed is fickleness.

  5. في كلّ يومٍ مُرسَلٌ مغالِطٌ

    لي عنده وشافِعٌ محبَّبُ

    Each day there is a deceitful envoy

    of mine with him, and a favored intercessor,

  6. وحَلفةٌ كاذبةٌ وفي فمي

    شكيمةٌ مِن أن أقولَ تكذبُ

    and a false oath; while in my mouth

    a bridle keeps me from saying, 'You lie.'

  7. مُلَّ فلا الحصاةُ من فؤاده

    تلينُ لي ولا اللسانُ يَرطُبُ

    He has grown tiresome: neither the stone within his heart

    softens for me, nor does his tongue grow moist.

  8. اللهَ يا هيفاءُ لي في زمنٍ

    نعيمُهُ بعدَكُمُ معذَّبُ

    For God's sake, Hayfa, pity me in a time

    whose bliss, since your departure, is torment,

  9. وكبِدٍ يصدَعُها كلُّ أسىً

    بها الكبودُ القَرِحاتُ تُشعَبُ

    and a liver that every sorrow cleaves,

    while through it ulcerated livers are mended.

  10. لا سلوةُ البعدِ المُريحِ عِصمةٌ

    منك ولا الهمّ المُراح يعزُبُ

    Neither the solace of restful distance shields me

    from you, nor does grief depart, though dismissed.

  11. وكلَّما أطمَعَ فيكِ سببٌ

    آمُلُهُ أَيأسَ منكِ سببُ

    Whenever some prospect awakens hope for you,

    one I cherish, another makes me despair of you.

  12. يعيشُ قلبي وهو عيشٌ مؤلمٌ

    ثم يموتُ وهو موتٌ طيِّبُ

    My heart lives on, and that life is painful;

    then it dies, and that death is sweet.

  13. نَفْسَكَ يا مُعطي الهوى قِيادَه

    إنك في خَيط الهوانِ تُجنَبُ

    Guard yourself, you who give passion your reins:

    you are being led on humiliation's tether.

  14. وإن هَوِيتَ فانتصرْ بغَدرةٍ

    عن ثقةٍ أنَّ الوفاءَ العطبُ

    If you fall in love, win through treachery,

    certain that fidelity is ruin.

  15. قالت على البيضاء أختُ عامرٍ

    أسفرَ في فَودَيك ذاك الغيهبُ

    Amir's sister said about the white hair,

    'That darkness has turned to dawn at your temples.'

  16. ومن بلاياكِ وإن عبتِ به

    شبابُ حُبِّي وعِذاري الأشيبُ

    Among the afflictions you bring, though you reproach me for it,

    are my love's youth and my gray-streaked cheek-hair.

  17. غدرُكِ والخمسونَ أيّ روضةٍ

    قشيبةٍ بينهما لا تُجدِبُ

    Your treachery and fifty years: what garden,

    however fresh, could lie between them and not grow barren?

  18. وما الذي أنكرتِهِ من ليلةٍ

    يطلُعُ فيها قمرٌ أو كوكبُ

    What do you find strange about a night

    in which a moon or star rises?

  19. ما نَصَلَتْ إلا بماءِ مقلتي

    فليتها بماءِ قلبي تُخضَبُ

    Its color faded only through the water of my eye;

    if only it could be dyed with the water of my heart!

  20. وعاذلٍ لا سُقِيَتْ غُلَّتُهُ

    بالغَور ما يُرْوى ولا ما يَعذُبُ

    And a reproacher—may his thirst never be quenched

    in the lowlands, with anything thirst-quenching or sweet—

  21. يزعمُ أن كلَّ دارٍ رامةٌ

    وأنّ كلَّ ذاتِ حِجلٍ زينبُ

    claims that every dwelling is Rama,

    and every woman wearing an anklet is Zaynab.

  22. حلفتُ يومَ ينحرُ الناسُ بها

    ساجدةً أذقانُها والركبُ

    I swore, the day people slaughter there,

    by beasts whose chins and knees bow in prostration;

  23. يُعطَى المُنَى منها الذي يَستامُهُ

    طُلىً تَطيحُ وجُنوبٌ تجِبُ

    whoever seeks through them is granted his wishes:

    necks tumble and flanks collapse,

  24. مثل التلاعِ بازِلاً وحِقَّةً

    قامَ عليهنّ الربيعُ المخصِبُ

    mature camels and young she-camels, like hills,

    watched over by the fertile spring;

  25. والمُشرِفاتِ من مِنىً كأنّها

    على ظُهور الهَضَباتِ حَدَبُ

    and by Mina's looming heights, which seem

    like humps upon the backs of hills;

  26. وبالملبيِّنَ سعَوا فنفَضُوا

    ذنوبَهم وجمَّروا وحصَبوا

    and by those chanting 'At Your service,' who hastened and shook

    off their sins, cast ritual stones, and threw pebbles;

  27. وما حَوَى وأيُّ فضلٍ ما حوى

    ذاك العتيقُ البارزُ المحجَّبُ

    and by what it holds—what excellence does it not hold?—

    that Ancient House, manifest yet veiled:

  28. لو نُسبَ المجدُ لَمَا كان إلى

    غير بني عبدِ العزيزِ يُنسَبُ

    were glory given a lineage, it would be traced

    to none but the sons of Abd al-Aziz.

  29. مِن أرضِهم طينتُهُ وفيهِمُ

    رواقُهُ وبيتُهُ المطنَّبُ

    From their earth its clay was taken, and among them

    stand its pavilion and its firmly guyed tent.

  30. أَقسمَ لا فارقَهم وأقسموا

    ما دام خُلْداً مِن أبانَ مَنكِبُ

    It swore never to leave them, and they swore likewise,

    as long as a shoulder of Aban stands enduring.

  31. حيِّ على رغم البدورِ غُرَراً

    تَقدحُ في فحم الدجى فَتثْقُبُ

    Greet radiant faces, despite the full moons' envy,

    that strike sparks in night's charcoal and blaze.

  32. ورِدْ نفوساً حُرّةً وأيدياً

    تُحيلُ في المحلِ عليها السُّحُبُ

    Come to freeborn souls and hands

    to which clouds refer you in drought.

  33. تبادروا الجودَ فلاطوا حوضَهُ

    لهم ليالي وِردِه والقَرَبُ

    They raced to generosity and lined its pool;

    the nights of watering there and approaching it are theirs.

  34. وانتظموا سودَدَهم نظْمَ القنا

    لكن صدورٌ ليس فيها أكعبُ

    They strung their lordship like spear-shafts,

    yet all are spearheads, with no joints.

  35. داسُوا بأعقابِهمُ هامَ العلا

    واقتَعدوا ظهورَها واعتقَبوا

    Their heels trod the crowns of glory,

    and they mounted its backs, each in succession.

  36. شُمّ الأنوفِ والسيوفِ قَصُرَتْ

    دروعُهم وهي سِباغٌ تُسحَبُ

    High of nose and sword, too short are

    their coats of mail, though ample and trailing.

  37. يَمشُونَ رَجْلَى فيُخالُ أنهم

    من شَارةٍ ومن شَطَاطٍ رَكِبوا

    They walk on foot, yet one imagines them

    mounted, from their splendor and their height.

  38. توارثوا الملكَ فلا خلافةٌ

    إلا لهم سريرُها والموكِبُ

    They inherited kingship; no caliphate exists

    whose throne and procession are not theirs.

  39. ومنهُمُ في حربها وسلمها

    رمحٌ يَخُطُّ ولسانٌ يخطبُ

    Among them, in its war and peace, are

    a spear that writes and a tongue that orates.

  40. حُليُّ كلِّ دولةٍ عاطلةٍ

    وبِشْرُ كلِّ نعمةٍ تُقَطِّبُ

    The ornaments of every unadorned dynasty,

    the smile of every blessing that frowns.

  41. إذا الخطوبُ حُسِمتْ بخَدعةٍ

    أو رَدعةٍ لانوا لها وصَعُبوا

    When crises are settled through stratagem

    or deterrence, they meet them supple and stern.

  42. إن كتبوا قلتَ اصطلاماً طعنوا

    أو طعنوا قلتَ بلاغاً كتبوا

    If they write, you say, 'They thrust to annihilate';

    if they thrust, you say, 'They write eloquently.'

  43. ترى الجبالَ في الحُبَي إن جَلَسوا

    والأسدَ هِيجَ شَرُّها إن وَثبوا

    You see mountains in knee-bound wraps when they sit,

    and lions with their fury roused when they spring.

  44. لهم قُدامَى الفخرِ ما تنقُلُه

    لك الرواةُ وتريك الكتبُ

    Their ancient glories are what

    narrators convey to you and books display.

  45. وخيرُ ما استطرفْتُهُ حديثُهم

    إذا الكرامُ زانهم ما أعقبوا

    The finest novelty I have found is their new generation,

    when noble men are adorned by their offspring.

  46. وَوَلدوا أبا الحسين فرأى ال

    مجدُ به كيف نَموْا وأنجبوا

    They fathered Abu al-Husayn, and Glory saw

    through him how they flourished and begot nobly.

  47. برزتَ في عِقدِهِمُ واسطةً

    لها من الأبصار ما يُستلَبُ

    You shone as the central pearl of their necklace,

    one that plunders the eyes of their sight:

  48. بيضاءَ مما أَبغضَ الغَّواصُ في ال

    فحص عليها أنفُساً تُحبَّبُ

    a white pearl for which the diver came to hate, in his

    search, lives once held dear.

  49. ومَطَلَتهم دونها أُمنيَّةٌ

    روّاغةٌ وحِقبٌ وحِقبُ

    A hope kept putting them off from reaching it,

    ever elusive, with age upon age,

  50. حتى قضى الصبرُ لهم قَضاءَهُ

    واستحيتِ الأيَّام مما نَصبوا

    until patience passed its verdict in their favor,

    and the days grew ashamed of all their toil.

  51. فاستخرجوها تملأ الراحة وال

    عينَ فقالوا دُرَّةٌ أم كوكبُ

    They drew it out, filling both the palm and

    the eye, and said, 'A pearl, or a star?'

  52. وشَرُفَتْ فلُقِّبتْ فخرَ العلا

    لو لم يَقعْ دون سناها اللقبُ

    It rose in honor and was titled Fakhr al-Ula—

    if only the title had not fallen short of its radiance!

  53. وكيف لا تطلعُ بدراً فيهِمُ

    والشمسُ جدٌّ لك والنجمُ أبُ

    How could you fail to rise among them as a full moon,

    with the sun your grandfather and the star your father?

  54. ألقَى الكمالُ طائعاً عِنانَهُ

    إليك يُرخِي تارة ويَجذِبُ

    Perfection willingly cast its reins

    to you, now slackening them, now drawing tight.

  55. وأقعصَ الأقرانَ عنك قَلَمٌ

    ممرَّنٌ وخاطرٌ مدرَّبُ

    Your peers were felled before you by a pen,

    well-practiced, and a well-trained mind.

  56. وقمتَ قُرحاناً فتيّاً بالعلا

    قُيِّدَ عنك القارِحُ المجرَّبُ

    Young and untried, you rose to glory,

    the mature, seasoned steed held back from you.

  57. وَرثتَ فضلاً لو قَنِعتَ لكفَى

    لكن أَبيتَ غيرَ ما تكتسِبُ

    You inherited excellence enough, had you been content,

    but refused anything except what you earned,

  58. كالليثِ لا تحلو له فريسةٌ

    لا ينتقي فيها ولا يُخَلِّبُ

    like the lion, who finds no prey sweet

    unless he chooses it and claws it himself.

  59. وكم سواك لم يجُزْ حِسابُهُ

    أعدادَ ما تُملى عليه الحُسَّبُ

    How many another's reckoning has never passed

    the numbers that reckoners dictate to him.

  60. حَويتَ إعظاماً وقد مثَّلتَ لي

    رائدَ عينيَّ وقلتَ تَكذِبُ

    You inspired awe; appearing before me,

    you told the scout of my eyes, 'You lie!'

  61. أَدُميَةٌ صيغتْ أم البدرُ هَوَى

    وبَشَرٌ أم مَلَكٌ مُقَرَّبُ

    A fashioned statue, or the full moon fallen?

    A mortal, or a favored angel?

  62. معجِزةٌ جاء الزمانُ غلطاً

    بها وآيٌ كلهُّنَّ عَجَبُ

    A miracle that Time brought forth by mistake,

    and signs, every one a marvel!

  63. وكرمٌ على اللسان حاضرٌ

    يشِفُّ منه الكرمُ المُغيَّبُ

    A nobility present on the tongue,

    through which hidden nobility shines;

  64. وراحةٌ مُطَلقةٌ طارحَها ال

    عِرضُ المصونُ أن يهون النشبُ

    and an unfettered hand, to which

    guarded honor proposed that wealth be held cheap.

  65. سحرتَني ودارُ عِزِّي بابل

    وقُدتني وأمُّ رأسي تصعُبُ

    You bewitched me, though Babel is the seat of my pride;

    you led me, though my very head is unruly.

  66. ومَلَّكَتْني لك نَشوانَ الهوى

    خلائقٌ غِناؤهنّ مُطرِبُ

    And they made me your possession, drunk with love—

    qualities whose song enchants.

  67. ملأتَ بالبِشرِ وِطابَ أمَلي

    وبعضُهم بكيئةٌ لا تُحلَبُ

    You filled the waterskins of my hope with cheer,

    while some are scant-yielding she-camels, unmilkable.

  68. حتى رَقَى الحاوِي فأصغيتُ له

    وكدتُ معْ شدّةِ زُهدي أرغبُ

    Until the snake-charmer chanted and I listened,

    and nearly desired, despite my deep abstinence.

  69. وقلت عاش لزهيرٍ هَرِمٌ

    وقام في أهل الزُّبَيرِ مُصْعَبُ

    I said, 'Harim lives for Zuhayr,

    and Mus'ab has arisen among al-Zubayr's kin.'

  70. أرضيتني عن الزمان بعد ما

    حرَّقَ أضلاعي عليه الغضبُ

    You reconciled me to Time, after

    my anger at it had scorched my ribs.

  71. وعاد بَرْداً وسلاماً بك لي

    ما توِقد الدنيا وما تَحتطِبُ

    Through you, all became coolness and peace for me:

    what the world kindles and what it gathers for fuel.

  72. أغنيتني قبلَ اللهُّا مودّةً

    والودّ عندي خيرُ رِفدٍ يوهَبُ

    You enriched me with affection before material gifts;

    and affection, to me, is the finest gift bestowed.

  73. وقرَّبَتْني منك أُولَى نظرةٍ

    حتى كأنّا لم نزل نصطحبُ

    Your very first glance drew me close to you,

    as though we had always been companions.

  74. فِراسةٌ أيقظك المجدُ لها

    وفطنةٌ على سواك تعزبُ

    An insight to which glory awakened you,

    a discernment that eludes all others;

  75. وهمّةٌ إذا ركبتَ ظهرَها

    أدركتَ من أخرَى العلا ما تطلُبُ

    and an ambition, when you mount its back,

    that wins whatever farthest height you seek.

  76. فاسمع أُقرِّطْك شُنوفاً دُرُّها

    لغير آذانكُمُ لا يُثقَبُ

    Listen, then: I shall adorn you with earrings whose pearls

    are pierced for no ears but yours,

  77. من المصوناتِ التي تَعنَّستْ

    خلف الخدورِ وهي بِكرٌ تُخطَبُ

    from those guarded maidens who have remained unmarried

    behind curtains, still virgins sought in marriage.

  78. تنافسَ الملوكُ في مُهورها

    واقتَرعوا في حُبِّها واحترَبوا

    Kings competed over her bride-prices,

    drew lots for her love, and fought.

  79. عندهُم الرغبةُ والودّ لها

    وعندها الملالُ والتجنُّبُ

    On their side were longing and affection for her;

    on hers were weariness and avoidance.

  80. وزادها نزاهةً وورَعاً

    منِّي أبٌ على البناتِ حَدِبُ

    Her purity and restraint were further increased

    by me, a father solicitous for his daughters.

  81. ليس عليه للتمنِّي طاعةٌ

    ولا له في الشهواتِ أربُ

    He owes no obedience to wishful longing,

    nor has he any desire for appetites.

  82. لا يمدح الناسَ ولكن مدحُكم

    يَلزَمُ في دِين العلا ويجبُ

    He does not praise mankind; but praising you

    is binding and required in glory's creed.