1. مُنِعْت مُقلتى لذيذَ الرقادِ

    فاستبدَّتْ من بَعْدِكم بالسُهادِ

    My eye was denied sweet slumber,

    and since your departure it has been given wholly to sleeplessness.

  2. وكذا الجسمُ لا يقر على فرْ

    شٍ كأنَّ الفِرَاش شوك قتَادِ

    Likewise, my body cannot rest upon a bed,

    as though the bedding were qatad thorns.

  3. قد أطلتمْ بعادَنا بَعْد قرب

    ما علمتم عذَابنا في البِعادِ

    You have prolonged our separation after closeness;

    you have not known our torment in separation.

  4. طالَ ما قد سعدت دهراً

    بلقياكمْ ولكن ما دامَ لي إسعادِي

    Long indeed I lived in happiness,

    meeting you, but my good fortune did not last.

  5. إنَّ صبْرِي من بَعْدِكم في انتقاصٍ

    قدْر شوقي إليكم في ازديادِ

    Since your departure my patience dwindles,

    while the measure of my longing for you grows.

  6. وحنيني عليكُمُ وأَنيني

    كيفَ أخفي هواىَ والحالُ بادِي

    And my yearning for you, and my moaning—

    how can I hide my love when my state is plain?

  7. وعجيبٌ أَهْوَى لقاكم وأنتم

    ساكِنُو مُقْلَتي مَحلَّ السوادِ

    Strange that I desire to meet you while you

    dwell in my eye, in the pupil's place.

  8. يا أهَيْلَ الغُوَيْرِ لا غرو إن أَصبحتُ

    مِن بَعْدِكم كَئيبَ الفؤادِ

    O dear people of al-Ghuwayr, no wonder I have become

    heavy-hearted since your departure.

  9. قد لَعمري حُلتم عن الوعد والعه

    د وما حُلْتُ قط عن مِيعادي

    By my life, you have turned from promise and covenant,

    yet never have I turned from my appointed pledge.

  10. آهِ وَاسَعدنا إذا ساعد الده

    رُ بلقيا بثينةِ وسعادِ

    Ah, how happy we would be if time favored us

    with a meeting with Buthayna and Su'ad!

  11. لم يزلْ قدُّها يقدِّدُ قلبي

    وكذا خدُّها يخدُّ فؤادِي

    Her figure keeps tearing my heart to shreds,

    and her cheek likewise furrows my heart.

  12. إن حَرَّ الأكبادِ والقلب والأ

    حشاءِ من جَمْر خَدِّها الوقَّادِ

    The burning of livers, heart, and entrails

    comes from the blazing ember of her cheek.

  13. ومَرَامي أن لا يفارَقني السقمُ

    لكيما تكونَ من عوَّادِى

    My wish is that sickness never leave me,

    so that she may be among those who visit me.

  14. إن دائي هِجرانُها بعد مَطْلٍ

    والتجنِّي والبعدُ بعدَ التمادِي

    My illness is her desertion after delay,

    her unjust blame, and estrangement after long persistence.

  15. ودوائي من السقامِ ارتشافُ

    الربق مع ضمِّ غُصنها الميَّادِ

    My cure for sickness is to sip

    her saliva while embracing her swaying bough,

  16. واعتلاقُ الخدودِ شمّاً وضمّاً

    واعتناقُ الأجيادِ بالأجيادِ

    to cling to cheeks, smelling and embracing,

    and to entwine neck with neck,

  17. والتفافُ القدين عركاً وتقبيلاً

    وضمُّ الأكبادِ بالأكبادِ

    to entwine our two figures, rubbing and kissing,

    and to press liver against liver.

  18. فتنة للأنامِ لولا هَواها

    ما غدا في الهوى صلاحُ فسادِ

    A temptation to humankind—were it not for love of her,

    no corruption would be set right in love.

  19. قد كَوَتْ مهجتي بجمرةِ خديها

    وأضنتْ جسمي بِسُمْرٍ حِداد

    She has seared my heart's core with the ember of her cheeks,

    and wasted my body with sharp, dusky spears.

  20. فاحتويتُ الغرامَ دونَ البرايا

    واستبدَّتْ بالحسنِ دون الخرادِ

    So I alone among creatures possessed passion,

    while she alone among maidens possessed beauty.

  21. تتهادَى تيهاً وتمشِى رُويْداً

    وتثنَّي بالحَلْى والأبرادِ

    She sways proudly and walks slowly,

    and bends gracefully in jewelry and robes.

  22. أرَجُ المسكِ والرياحينِ طبعاً

    والشذَى في ارتدائها والجسَادِ

    Her natural scent is musk and sweet herbs,

    with fragrance in her attire and saffron-dyed cloth.

  23. غضةٌ بضّةٌ مَيُودٌ رَدَاحٌ

    طَفْلَةُ الجسمِ قلبُها كالجمادِ

    Fresh, soft-skinned, swaying, full-hipped,

    tender of body, her heart like lifeless matter.

  24. واستمرتْ على الجفاءِ وإنِّي

    لم أحُلْ عن مودتي وودَادِي

    She persisted in coldness, while I

    never turned from my affection and love.

  25. أخلفتْ ودَّها طِوالَ الليالي

    فمحاهُ الزمانُ محوَ المِدادِ

    She betrayed her affection through the long nights;

    time erased it as ink is erased,

  26. محوَ بأس الإمام ذي العدل سلطان

    بن سيف شحرور كيْدِ الأعادِي

    as the might of the just Imam Sultan

    ibn Sayf effaces the blackbird of his enemies' guile.

  27. هو بحرُ السخاءِ والجودِ والإحس

    ان والفضلِ والهدى والرشادِ

    He is a sea of bounty, generosity, and beneficence,

    of excellence, guidance, and right conduct.

  28. يعربيٌّ مهذبٌ ماجدٌ معطٍ

    سَريٌّ كهفُ الهدى خيرُ هادِي

    A Ya'rubi, refined, illustrious, giving,

    noble, a refuge of guidance, the finest guide.

  29. أسدٌ فارسٌ جميلٌ جوادٌ

    سامك البيت طاهرُ الأجدادِ

    A lion, a horseman, gracious and generous,

    raising his house high, pure in ancestry.

  30. لَوْذَعِيُّ سَمَيذَعٌ أَرْيَحِيٌّ

    هو بحر للجودِ خيرُ جوادِ

    Keen-witted, a noble chief, open-handed,

    a sea of generosity, the finest giver.

  31. جعل اللهُ ملكه خالداً فينا

    على رغم جملةِ الحُسَّادِ

    May God make his reign everlasting among us,

    despite all the envious.

  32. عِشْ وجُدْ واسْمُ واسْتفِد وتفردْ

    وابقَ في الملكِ يا كريمَ الأيادي

    Live, give, rise, gain, and stand unrivaled,

    and remain in kingship, O generous-handed one.

  33. واحمِ واغزُ العِدى وغمَّ الأعادِي

    وارعَ واجلُ القذى وحقِّقْ مرادِي

    Protect, raid the foe, and grieve your enemies;

    keep watch, clear away the mote, and fulfill my wish.

  34. أنتَ عشْ وانتعشْ وزدْ واحم واحمد

    واسلُ واسترْ أيا طويلَ النجادِ

    You—live, flourish, increase, protect, and praise,

    find solace and give shelter, O man of the long sword-belt.

  35. أنتَ وابناك أهلُ فضلٍ وعدل

    واعتزاز وعزةٍ وسدادِ

    You and your two sons are people of bounty and justice,

    of self-respect, might, and sound judgment.

  36. ثبتَ اللهُ ملككم وارتضاكم

    واصطفاكم على جميعِ العبادِ

    May God confirm your rule and be pleased with you,

    and choose you above all His servants.

  37. وغدا مدحُكم يكررُ في كل النوا

    حِي بمصر والشام أو بغدادِ

    Your praise is repeated in every region,

    in Egypt, al-Sham, or Baghdad.

  38. وسكنتُم نَزْوَى وجندُكمُ في

    الردع والحرب في أقاصي البلادِ

    You dwell in Nizwa, while your troops are engaged

    in deterrence and war in the farthest lands.

  39. وغدَا في الصَّغَار والهون والذ

    ل أَسيراً لم يُفْدِه اليومَ فادِي

    And he has become, in humiliation, abasement, and disgrace,

    a captive whom no one ransoms today.

  40. سكنَ الوعْرَ بعد مَا قر عينا

    فتراهُ يهيمُ في كلِّ وادِي

    He took to rugged country after living contentedly;

    you see him wandering in every valley.

  41. دمَّر اللهُ ملكَه أينَ ما كان

    يُنادَي عليه في كلِّ نادِي

    May God destroy his kingdom wherever he may be,

    proclaimed against in every assembly.

  42. قد طلعتم عليهم طلعةً تعرف

    بالبيض واللدان الصِّعادِ

    You came upon them with an onslaught known

    by bright blades and supple, lofty spears,

  43. بمساعيرَ في الجلادِ خفاف

    مَعْ حُلوم تميلُ بالأطْوادِ

    with fiery warriors swift in combat,

    yet with wisdom that would sway mountains,

  44. وقسىَ صُقْر بأيدي شيوخٍ

    ليس نُخطِى مَتينة الأعوادِ

    and falcon-like bows in the hands of elders—

    we do not miss—their wooden staves stout.

  45. وشباب أشدُّ بطشاً من الأُسْ

    د شداد تخالهم في الجلادِ

    And young men fiercer in assault than lions,

    mighty, as you would deem them in combat.

  46. لا يقرون جنبَهم في الحشايا

    يقطفُون الزمانَ بالاجتهادِ

    They do not rest their sides upon mattresses;

    they harvest time through diligence,

  47. في جيوشٍ تموجُ كالبحر طوفا

    ناً وترمى الأمواجَ كالأوتادِ

    in armies surging like a sea in flood,

    hurling waves like stakes,

  48. بخيول شوازبٍ ضُمرٍ قبٍّ

    كرامٍ مطهماتٍ جيادِ

    on lean horses, slender and hollow-flanked,

    noble, well-formed, excellent steeds.

  49. فكأنَّ الجيوشَ من ريح عادِ

    وكان الأعداء سِرْبُ الجرادِ

    As though the armies were of the wind of 'Ad,

    and the enemies were a swarm of locusts.

  50. فرقَ اللهُ شملَهم ورماهم

    دهرُهم بالعمَى وطولِ النكادِ

    May God scatter their ranks, and may

    their fate strike them with blindness and prolonged misery.

  51. أحرقتْهم حرارة الحقد في الصدْ

    رِ فصاروا بحقدهم كالرماد

    The heat of rancor in their breasts burned them,

    until through their rancor they became like ashes.

  52. وعذاراهم عَدت بعد لُبس

    الخز تختالُ في الثيابِ الحدادِ

    Their maidens went forth, after wearing

    silk, strutting in mourning clothes.

  53. يا فتَى سيفنا ويا ملجَأ الأ

    خلاقِ بل يا مهجن الآسادِ

    O young champion of our Sayf, O refuge of noble

    character—nay, O humbler of lions!

  54. إنَّ مَدْحي لكم به أرتجى الفو

    زَ غداً والنجاةَ يومَ المعادِ

    Through my praise of you I hope for triumph

    tomorrow, and salvation on the Day of Return,

  55. وسُروراً لنا وحزنَ الأعادِي

    هذه نيتي وهذا اعتقادِي

    for joy for us and sorrow for our enemies.

    This is my intention, this my belief.

  56. واعتمادِي أن لا أخصَّ سِواكم

    بامتداحِي لأن هذا اعتمادِي

    My resolve is to single out none but you

    for my praise, for this is my resolve.

  57. واعتيادِي مدحي لكم وثنائِي

    لستُ أهوى في الطبْع غيرَ اعتيادِي

    My habit is to praise and extol you;

    by nature I love nothing but my habit.

  58. هاكَ يا ابنَ العُلى عروساً

    تهادَى في ثيابِ الأمجادِ والإبجادِ

    Take, O son of loftiness, a bride

    swaying in robes of glory and ibjad [unclear].

  59. حاكَها ماهرٌ حليفُ القوافي

    حَزنُها الصعبُ عنده كالوهادِ

    A master wove her, a sworn companion of rhymes,

    for whom their difficult rugged ground is like low valleys.

  60. هي كالدرِّ والجُمانِ نقاء

    بنت فكرٍ كريمةِ الميلادِ

    She is like pearls and pearl beads in purity,

    a daughter of thought, nobly born.

  61. ذاتُ حسن لها على الشعر فضل

    مثل فضل الآباء والأجداد

    Possessed of beauty, she surpasses other verse

    as fathers and grandfathers surpass.

  62. زَانَها مدحكم وجودة ألفا

    ظٍ دِقاقٍ مع المعاني البوادي

    Your praise adorns her, and the excellence of

    delicate words joined to manifest meanings.