1. لمن صاغياتٌ في الحبلِ طلائحُ

    تسيلُ على نعمانَ منها الأباطحُ

    Whose are these leaning, exhausted camels upon the sand-ridge?

    With them the gravelly valleys stream across Nu'man.

  2. تخابط أيديها الطريقَ كأنها

    مَوائرُ في بحر الفلاة سوابحُ

    Their forelegs strike the road wildly, as though they were

    swimmers surging in the sea of the wilderness.

  3. دجا ليلُها وهي السهام تقامُصاً

    فلم ينصرم إلا وهنَّ طَرائحُ

    Their night grew dark while they leapt like arrows,

    and it did not end until they lay cast down.

  4. كأنَّ الوجى سرٌّ تخاف انتشارَه

    فمنها مُرِمٌّ بالتشاكي وبائحُ

    As though foot-soreness were a secret they feared to spread,

    some keep their complaints silent, and some reveal them.

  5. حَملْنَ شموساً في الحُدوج غوارباً

    وليلُ السُّرَى منهنّ أبلجُ واضحُ

    They carried setting suns within the howdahs,

    and through them the night journey was bright and clear.

  6. ينوء بها أَن القدودَ خفائفٌ

    ويُظلِعها أَن المتونَ رواجحُ

    Their slender figures weigh the mounts down,

    and their weighty loins make them limp.

  7. وفيهنّ منصورُ السهام مسلِّطٌ

    لعينيه أن تَدوَى القلوبُ الصحائحُ

    Among them is one whose arrows prevail, granting

    his eyes the power to sicken healthy hearts.

  8. يطير جُبَاراً ما أراقت لحاظُه

    إذا وُفِّيتْ حكمَ القصاصِ الجرائحُ

    The blood his glances shed goes unavenged,

    when wounds receive their full due of retaliation.

  9. رماني ونسكُ الحجّ بيني وبينه

    ولم يدر أنّ الصيد في الحجّ قادحُ

    He shot me while the rites of pilgrimage stood between us,

    not knowing that hunting impairs the pilgrimage.

  10. طرحْتُ بجَمْعٍ نظرةً ساء كسبُها

    وتبعثُ شرّاً للعيون المَطارحُ

    At Jam' I cast a glance whose gain was evil,

    and the places glances fall stir up harm for the eyes.

  11. فإن سَترتْ تلك الثلاثُ على مِنىً

    هواي فيومُ النَّفرِ لاشكّ فاضحُ

    If those three nights at Mina concealed

    my love, the day of departure will surely expose it.

  12. بكيتُ ولامَ العاذلاتُ فلم تغِضْ

    على رُقيةِ العذلِ الدموعُ السوافحُ

    I wept, and the reproaching women blamed me, yet

    the streaming tears did not abate under reproach's spell.

  13. ولم أرَ مثلَ العينِ تُشفَى بدائها

    ولا كالعذول يُجتوَى وهو ناصحُ

    I have seen nothing like the eye, cured by its own malady,

    nor like the reproacher, detested though well-intentioned.

  14. أمنِك ابنةَ الأعراب طيفٌ تبرّعتْ

    به هَبَّةُ التغويرِ والليلُ جانحُ

    Was this a phantom from you, daughter of the Bedouin, freely bestowed

    by a spell of wayside sleep as night drew on?

  15. طوى الرملَ حتى ضاق بيني وبينه ال

    عِناقُ وما بيني وبينكِ فاسحُ

    It crossed the sands until, between it and me, the

    embrace grew close, though the distance between you and me is vast.

  16. فباتَ على ما ترهبينَ ركوبَه

    هَجوماً وفيما تمنعين يسامحُ

    It spent the night venturing upon what you fear to attempt,

    boldly advancing, freely yielding what you withhold.

  17. رَعى اللّهُ قلباً ما أبرَّ بمن جفا

    وأثبتَ عهداً والعهودُ طوائحُ

    God cherish a heart—how dutiful to one who shuns it,

    how steadfast in its pledge while pledges fall away,

  18. وأوسعَ ذَرعاً بالوفاء وصونِهِ

    إذا ضاق ما تُطوَى عليه الجوانحُ

    how patient in fidelity and safeguarding it,

    when what the ribs enfold grows strained.

  19. عذيريَ من دهري كأني أريده

    على الودّ سَلماً وهو قِرنٌ مكافحُ

    Who will defend me against my age? It is as though I seek

    peace and affection from it, though it is a fighting adversary;

  20. وصحبةِ خَوّانينَ بائعُهم وإن

    تَكثَّر منهم بالتوحُّدِ رابحُ

    and against the company of traitors: whoever gives them up, even if

    he has many of them, profits by solitude.

  21. أخوهم أخو الذئب الخبيثِ يَدلُّه

    على الدمِ ما تُملي عليه الروائحُ

    Their brother is brother to the wicked wolf, guided

    to blood by what the scents impart to him.

  22. وأيدٍ سِباطٍ وهي بالمنع جَعدةٌ

    تلاطمني منها اللواتي أصافحُ

    And smooth, open hands that are clenched in withholding:

    the very ones I shake slap me in the face.

  23. يضيء على أبصارهم ضوءُ كوكبي

    وموضعهُ من مطلِع الفضل لائحُ

    The light of my star shines upon their eyes,

    and its place on excellence's rising horizon is plain.

  24. قعدتُ مع الحرمانِ بينَ ظهورهم

    وطائرُ حظّي لو تعيَّفتُ سانحُ

    I sat deprived among them,

    though the bird of my fortune, had I read its flight, was auspicious.

  25. لقد كان لي عن بابلٍ وجُدوبها

    مذاهبُ يتلوها الغنِي ومَنادحُ

    Away from Babylon and its barrenness, I had

    paths followed by prosperity, and wide alternatives.

  26. تركتُ عبابَ البحر والبحرُ مُعرضٌ

    وأمّلتُ ما تَسقي الرَّكايا النوازحُ

    I abandoned the surging sea, though the sea lay open,

    and hoped for what depleted wells might provide.

  27. ولو نهضتْ بي وثبةُ الجَدِّ زاحمتْ

    على الماء هذي الآبياتُ القوامحُ

    Had a leap of fortune lifted me, they would have jostled

    for water, these reluctant, head-raised camels.

  28. إذاً لسقاها ناصرُ الدين ما استقتْ

    كُبودٌ حِرارٌ أو شِفاهٌ مَلاوحُ

    Then Nasir al-Din would have given them all the drink desired

    by burning livers or parched lips.

  29. وقد كانت الزوراءُ دارَ إقامةٍ

    ومَنْعَمَةٍ فيها المنَى والمَفارحُ

    Al-Zawra had been an abode of residence

    and ease, filled with wishes and joys,

  30. زمانَ العُلا محفوظةٌ في عِراصها

    ثِقالٌ وميزانُ الفضائلِ راجحُ

    in the days when high honors were preserved in its courtyards,

    weighty, and the scales of virtue tipped heavily.

  31. فقد حُوِّلتْ تلك المحاسنُ وانتهتْ

    إلى غيرها في الأرض تلك المَنائحُ

    Those splendors have been transferred, and those gifts

    have passed elsewhere upon the earth.

  32. وأضحتْ عمان للمكارمِ رُحلةً

    تُراحُ عليها المتعَباتُ الروازحُ

    Oman has become the destination of noble deeds,

    where exhausted, overburdened mounts are brought to rest.

  33. بها المُلكُ طَلْقٌ والمغانِي غَنيَّةُ ال

    رُّبا ومساعي الطالبين مَنَاجحُ

    There kingship is gracious, and its dwellings are rich upon the

    hillsides, and seekers' endeavors find success.

  34. يضوع ثراها بالندى فتخالها

    رياضاً وكانت قبلُ وهي ضرائحُ

    Its soil breathes fragrance with largesse, so you think it

    gardens, though before it was tombs.

  35. يدبّرها سبط اليدين بنانُه

    لمقفَل أرزاق العباد مَفاتحُ

    A generous-handed lord governs it; his fingers

    are keys to the locked store of his servants' livelihoods.

  36. صفا جوُّها بعد الكدور بعدله

    وطابت حساياها الخِباثُ المَوالحُ

    Through his justice its air cleared after murkiness,

    and its foul, salty waterholes turned sweet.

  37. فما غيرها فوق البسيطة للعلا

    مَقرٌّ على أن البلاد فسائحُ

    Nowhere else upon the earth does loftiness have

    an abode, though the lands are spacious.

  38. ولا مَلِكٌ إلا وفضلةُ ربّها

    عليه إذا عُدَّ الملوكُ الجحَاجحُ

    No king exists but its lord's superiority

    stands above him when the mighty kings are counted.

  39. بهمّة محيي الأمّة اجتمعت لها ال

    بدائدُ وانقادت إليها الجوامحُ

    Through Muhyi al-Umma's resolve, there gathered to it the

    scattered forces, and the unruly yielded to it.

  40. بأروعَ وسمُ الملكِ فوق جبينه

    إذا ارتابت الأبصارُ أبلجُ واضحُ

    Through an awe-inspiring lord, the mark of kingship upon his brow

    is bright and clear whenever eyes are doubtful.

  41. إذا نُسِبَ الأملاكُ لم يخشَ خجلةَ ال

    دعاوي ولم تدخل عليه القوادحُ

    When royal lineages are traced, he need not fear the shame of

    claims, nor do discrediting flaws attach to him.

  42. من النَفر الغرّ الذين ببأسهم

    ونعمائهم تُلقَى الخطوبُ الفوادحُ

    One of the illustrious company whose might

    and bounty confront crushing calamities.

  43. إذا ما دجت عشواءُ أمرٍ فأمرُهم

    ونهيُهُمُ شهبٌ لها ومَصابحُ

    When the blind confusion of an affair grows dark, their command

    and prohibition are its shooting stars and lamps.

  44. لهم قصباتُ السبق في كلّ دولة

    هم السرُّ منها والعتاقُ الصرائحُ

    They hold the trophies of precedence in every dynasty;

    they are its choicest essence and its pure thoroughbreds.

  45. ينالون أقصَى ما ابتغَوه بأذرع

    مَخاصرُها صُمُّ القنا والصفائحُ

    They reach the furthest ends they seek with arms

    whose batons are solid spears and sword-blades.

  46. أصولُ علاً منصورةٌ بفروعها

    إذا غاب مُمسٍ منهُمُ هبَّ صابحُ

    Roots of loftiness supported by their branches:

    when one sets at evening, another rises at dawn.

  47. ورَبَّ يمينُ الدولة المجدَ بعدهم

    كما ربَّت الروضَ الغيوثُ السوافحُ

    Yamin al-Dawla nurtured glory after them,

    as pouring rains nurture the meadow.

  48. جرى جريَهم ثم استتمَ بسبقه

    وكم وقفتْ دون الجِذاعِ القوارحُ

    He ran their race, then perfected it by surpassing them;

    how often full-grown horses have fallen short of young ones!

  49. همامٌ مع الإِصرار مُصطلِمٌ لمن

    عصَى ومع الإِقرار بالذنب صافحُ

    A bold lord, annihilating anyone who persists

    in rebellion, but forgiving when guilt is confessed.

  50. تسنَّم أعوادَ السرير محجَّبٌ

    لواحظهُ شرقاً وغرباً طوارحُ

    Screened from sight, he mounted the wooden throne,

    his glances cast eastward and westward.

  51. تُراصِدُ جَرْيَ الأرضِ رجْعاتُ طَرفه

    كما ركبَ المَرباةَ أزرقُ لامحُ

    Returning sweeps of his gaze watch the earth's movements,

    as a blue-eyed watcher mounts a lookout.

  52. ألا أيّها الغادي ليحملَ حاجتي

    لعلّك إن بُلِّغتَ بالنُّجح رائحُ

    O you who go out in the morning to carry my request,

    perhaps, if brought there, you will return at evening with success.

  53. أعد في مقرّ العزّ عني تحيّةً

    يُذَكَي النسيمَ طيبهُا المتفاوحُ

    Repeat a greeting from me in the abode of glory,

    whose spreading fragrance perfumes the breeze.

  54. وقل عبدُك المشتاقُ لا عهدهُ عفا

    ولا وجدُه إن نُقِّلَ الوجدُ نازحُ

    And say: Your longing servant—his pledge has not faded,

    nor has his passion departed, even if passion is transferred;

  55. ومن لم يُخيَّبْ قطّ عالي ظنونِه

    لديك ولم تُخدِجْ مناه اللواقح

    and one whose highest hopes have never been disappointed

    with you, whose wishes the fruitful bearers never brought forth prematurely.

  56. وأغنيتَه عمّن سواك فلم يُبَلْ

    جفا مانعٌ أو بَرّ بالرفد مانحُ

    You made him need no one but you, so he cared not

    whether a withholder was harsh or a giver generous with aid.

  57. قَليبٌ قريبٌ لي ببغدادَ ماؤها

    ومنبعُها شحطَ النوى متنازحُ

    I have a well whose water is near me in Baghdad,

    though its source is far away across the distance.

  58. لها كلّ عامٍ من سماحك ناهزٌ

    ومن عهدك الوافي رِشاءٌ وماتحُ

    Every year your generosity supplies it with a water-lifter,

    and your faithful pledge with a rope and a water-drawer.

  59. إذا ما استدرَّ الشكرُ سَلسالَ صَوبِها

    وجاءك عني تمتريها المدائحُ

    When gratitude draws forth the smooth flow of its rain,

    and praises come from me to you, milking it,

  60. أتتني وبطنُ البحر ظهر مطيِّها

    فروَّتْ غليلي والسفينُ النواضحُ

    it reaches me, the sea's belly the back of its mount,

    and quenches my burning thirst, with ships as its water-carriers.

  61. وما زادها التنقيصُ إلا غَزارةً

    وإلا صفاءً طولَ ما أنا نازحُ

    Drawing it down only increases its abundance,

    and its clarity, for all the time I remain far away.

  62. تُبلُّ ثرى أرضي وجسمِيَ وادعٌ

    وتُثمرُ لاِبني وهو ساعٍ مُكادحُ

    It moistens my land's soil while my body rests at ease,

    and bears fruit for my son while he strives and toils.

  63. كلانا سُقِي من عفوِها وزُلالها

    وإن حبستني عُقْلتي وهو بارحُ

    Both of us drink of its surplus and its pure water,

    though my tether holds me back while he departs.

  64. فللّهِ مولىً منك ما لِيَ عنده

    ومَتجَرُ من يُدلِي بجاهيَ رابحُ

    What a patron you are, by God, and how much I have with you!

    The trade of one who appeals through my standing is profitable.

  65. وها هو قد كرَّت إليك رجاءَهُ

    سوائرُ حاجٍ طيرُهنَّ سوانحُ

    Now his hopes have been turned back toward you

    by journeys on errands whose birds fly auspiciously.

  66. فأمرَك زاد اللّهُ أمرَك بسطةً

    بما عَوَّدَت تلك السجايا السحائحُ

    Give your command—may God enlarge its reach—

    in keeping with what those overflowing virtues have made customary.

  67. أَعنْ جهدَه واعرف له خَوض زاخرٍ

    يهزُّ الضلوعَ موجُه المتناطحُ

    Help his effort and acknowledge his crossing of a swelling sea,

    whose clashing waves shake the ribs.

  68. ولم أستزدْ نُعماك إلا ضرورةً

    وقد تُستزادُ المزنُ وهي دوالحُ

    I have asked more of your favor only from necessity,

    though rain clouds are asked for more even while laden.

  69. بما ثَقَّلَتْ ظهري الخطوبُ وضاعفتْ

    تكاليفَ عيشي وانتحتنى الجوائحُ

    Calamities have burdened my back and doubled

    my life's expenses, while disasters have assailed me;

  70. وما بُثَّ من زُغبٍ حَوالَيَّ كالقطا

    تَنَزِّي الشِّرارِ أعجلتها المقَادحُ

    and downy young are scattered about me like sandgrouse,

    leaping like sparks hastened by fire-strikers.

  71. أمسِّح منهم كلَّ عِطْفٍ أسفتُ إذ

    أتاني وقد بُيِّضنَ منّي المَسائحُ

    I stroke each of their little flanks, grieving when

    one came to me after my temples had grown white.

  72. نجوتُ على عصرِ الشبيبةِ منهُمُ

    وأرهقني المقدارُ إذ أنا قارحُ

    I escaped them throughout the season of youth,

    but destiny burdened me when I was full-grown.

  73. فدتك ملوكٌ ذكرُ مجدِك بينهم

    مثالبُ في أعراضهم وجرائحُ

    May kings be your ransom: the mention of your glory among them

    is blemishes and wounds upon their honor.

  74. إذا لُعِنوا صَلَّتْ عليك محافلٌ

    صفاتُك قرآنٌ لها ومَسابحُ

    When they are cursed, assemblies invoke blessings upon you;

    your qualities are their Qur'an and their prayer-beads.

  75. حَمَوا مالهم أن تُنتحَى بنقيصة

    عقائلهُ والسارياتُ السرائحُ

    They guard their wealth lest loss assail

    its precious treasures and its freely roaming herds.

  76. ومالُكَ في الآفاق شتَّى موزَّعٌ

    كرائمُهُ والباقياتُ الصوالحُ

    But your wealth is scattered far and wide throughout the horizons,

    its choicest portions and its enduring good deeds.

  77. سهرتَ ونامَ الناسُ عمّا رأيتَه

    كأنك للعلياء وحدَك طامحُ

    You stayed awake while others slept, heedless of what you perceived,

    as though you alone aspired to highest glory.

  78. وجاريتَ سيبَ البحرِ ثم فَضَلْتَه

    وهل يستوي البحرانِ عذبٌ ومالحُ

    You matched the sea's bounty, then surpassed it:

    can the two seas be equal, one sweet and one salty?

  79. أعرنِيَ سمعاً لم تزل مطرباً له

    إذا ما تغنَّته القوافي الفصائحُ

    Lend me an ear that you have always delighted

    when eloquent rhymes have sung to it.

  80. وأَصغِ لها عذراءَ لولاك لم تُجب

    خطيباً ولم يظفَر بها الدهرَ ناكحُ

    Listen to her, a virgin who, but for you, would not have answered

    a suitor, nor would any husband ever have won her.

  81. من الباهراتِ لم تُحدَّثْ بمثلها ال

    نفوسُ ولم تُوصَل إليها القرائحُ

    One of the dazzling works whose like has never been recounted to

    souls, nor have poetic talents attained her.

  82. ظهرتُ بها وحدي على حين فترةٍ

    من الشِّعر برهاني بها اليومَ لائحُ

    I alone appeared with her in a time of languor

    in poetry; through her my proof is manifest today.

  83. ومِنْ شرفِ الأشعار أنك سامعٌ

    ومن شرف الإحسان أنِّيَ مادحُ

    It is poetry's honor that you are its listener,

    and generosity's honor that I am its praiser.

  84. ومَنْ لِيَ لو أنّي مَثَلْتُ مُشافِها

    أفاوضُها أسماعَكم وأطارحُ

    Who would grant me that I might stand before you, speaking face to face,

    conveying her to your ears and exchanging verses?

  85. وأن ينهضَ الجَدُّ العَثورُ بِهجرةٍ

    تُعالَجُ أشواقي بها والتَّبارِحُ

    And that stumbling fortune might rise to a journey

    by which my yearnings and torments would be soothed?

  86. ويا ليتما ريح الشَّمال تهبُّ لي

    فتُطلعَني منها عليك البوارحُ

    Would that the north wind blew for me,

    and its gusts lifted me into your presence!

  87. وكيف مَطاري والخطوب تُحصُّني

    وأخذِيَ شَوطي والليالي كوابحُ

    But how can I fly while calamities pluck my feathers,

    or run my course while the nights rein me in?

  88. وقد كان جُبن القلب يُقعِدُ عنكُمُ

    فقد ساعدَتْه بالنكولِ الجوارحُ

    Already the heart's timidity kept me from you,

    and now my limbs have helped it shrink back.

  89. وأقسمتِ الستُّونَ ما لخروقها

    إذا اتسعتْ في جِلدة المرءِ ناصحُ

    Sixty years have sworn that for the rents they tear,

    when they widen in a person's skin, there is no mender.

  90. وإني على أنسي بأهلي وموطني

    لأَعلمُ أَنَّ العيشَ عندك صالحُ

    And though I delight in my family and homeland,

    I know indeed that life with you is good.