1. خليلىّ هل بعد السنين الغوائرِ

    رجوعٌ لأيام الشباب الغوابرِ

    My two friends, is there, after the years that have slipped away,

    A return to the bygone days of youth?

  2. وهل جيرةٌ بالمنحنى شتَّ شملُهم

    أم الشملُ مجموعٌ بساحةِ حاجرِ

    And have the neighbors at the bend parted company,

    Or are they gathered together in the grounds of Hajir?

  3. وهلْ ذاكرٌ ذاك الحبيبُ الذي نأَى

    عهوداً تناساهن أمْ غيرُ ذاكرِ

    And does that beloved who went far away remember

    Pledges deliberately forgotten—or remember them no more?

  4. عهودُ هوى لم يمحُها من قلوبنَا

    كرورُ عشياتٍ ومرُّ بواكرِ

    Pledges of love that have not been erased from our hearts

    By returning evenings and passing early mornings.

  5. ولما مررْنا بالديار التي عفَتْ

    سقَينا ثراهَا من شئون المحَاجرِ

    And when we passed the dwellings whose traces had vanished,

    We watered their soil from the tear-ducts of our eyes.

  6. فظَلنَا بها نبكى وهلْ ينفعُ البُكا

    بِأرجاءِ ساحاتِ الرسومِ الدوائرِ

    So we stayed there weeping—yet does weeping help

    Around the courtyards of those fading ruins?

  7. ديارُ اللّتيَّاليس فيها مؤانسٌ

    يُرى غير غزلان الظباءِ النوافرِ

    The little beloved's dwellings, where no companion

    Is seen but the fawns of skittish gazelles.

  8. فتاةٌ لها وجهٌ يضىءُ كأنه

    إضاءةُ بدرٍ في دُجنَّةِ كافرِ

    A maiden whose face shines as though it were

    The radiance of a full moon in the darkness of night.

  9. وجفنٌ سقيمٌ فاتنُ اللحظِ فاترٌ

    كحيلٌ فما وَجْدى عليه بفاتِر

    And an ailing eyelid, captivating in its languid glance,

    Dark with kohl—yet my passion for it is not faint.

  10. وسالفةٌ كالسيفِ سُلَّ بغمده

    وجيدٌ كجيدِ الظبىِ نزهةُ ناظِر

    And the side of her neck like a sword drawn with its sheath,

    And a neck like a gazelle's neck, a delight to the beholder.

  11. وصدرٌ به حُقٌ من العاجِ قاعدٌ

    ولكن له فِعلْ القنا المتشاجرِ

    And a bosom where an ivory casket rests,

    Yet it has the effect of interlocking spears.

  12. وخصرٌ لها واهٍ ضعيفٌ كسلوتى

    وردف كَدِعصِ الرمل ملءُ المآزر

    And a waist of hers, frail and weak as my solace,

    And buttocks like a mound of sand, filling her waist-wraps.

  13. من الخِفراتِ البيضِ دُعجُ عيونِها

    إذا نظرتْ تَسْبى الوَرَى بالنواظِرِ

    One of the fair, bashful maidens, her eyes large and dark;

    When she looks, she takes mankind captive with her eyes.

  14. حياةٌ لذِى موتٍ وموتٌ لعاشقٍ

    وداءٌ لذى بُعْد وسَلْوَةُ خَاطرِ

    Life to one who is dead, and death to a lover,

    And sickness for one far away, and solace for the heart.

  15. فَدعْهَا وسَلِّ القلبَ عنكَ بمدحٍ مَنْ

    صغَى لعلاهُ كلُ بادٍ وحاضرِ

    So leave her, and console your heart by praising one

    To whose eminence every nomad and townsman inclines.

  16. هُوَ الملكُ الهادِى أبو العربِ الفتَى

    سلالةُ سلطانِ بنِ سيفِ المُنَاصِرِ

    He is the guiding king, Abu al-Arab, the noble youth,

    A scion of Sultan ibn Sayf, the champion.

  17. لهُ جوُد كفٍّ لا يقاسُ بأولٍ

    وبحرُ عطاءِ لا يقاسُ بآخِر

    His hand's generosity is unmatched by any before him,

    And his sea of giving is unmatched by any after him.

  18. سَمَا مُشْمَخِرّاً فوق هام السُّها على

    ملوكِ البرايا بالندَى المتواترِ

    He rose towering above Suha's head, above

    The kings of mankind, through his unceasing bounty.

  19. فتًى همُه كسبُ المحامدِ والعلا

    وتفريقُ مالٍ بين ناهٍ وآمرِ

    A noble youth intent on earning praises and eminence,

    And distributing wealth among those who forbid and command.

  20. له منطقٌ يعطى الرجال فَطانة

    وغرةُ وجهٍ كالشموسِ السوافرِ

    His speech gives men discernment,

    And the radiance of his face is like unveiled suns.

  21. زيارَتُه تجلى القلوبَ من الصدَى

    ورؤيا محياه جلاءُ الخواطرِ

    A visit to him polishes rust from hearts,

    And the sight of his face clears the mind.

  22. أفادَ الموالى من سَخاوَته كما

    أبادَ المعادى بالقنا والبواتِر

    He enriched his loyal followers through his generosity, just as

    He annihilated his enemies with spears and cleaving swords.

  23. إذا صالَ ما بأسُ الأسود الخوادر

    وإنْ جادَ ما جودُ البحار الزواخرِ

    When he charges, what is the might of lions in their lairs?

    And when he gives, what is the bounty of overflowing seas?

  24. شديدٌ على الأعداءِ لكنَّ دأْبَه

    إذا ما جنَى الجانى له عَفُو قادرِ

    Fierce against enemies, yet his custom,

    When a wrongdoer offends, is the pardon of one with power.

  25. زكَا عنصراً من دَوْحةٍ يغربيّة

    تعالتْ سموّاً من كرامِ العناصرِ

    Pure in origin, from a Ya'rubi tree,

    Which rose in loftiness from noble stock.

  26. فأنت الفتَى وابنُ الفتى وأبو الفتى

    أولئك تُتْلى ذكرُهم في المنابرِ

    So you are the noble youth, the son of one, and the father of one;

    Those men's remembrance is recited from the pulpits.

  27. ورئتَ العَلا والمجد والحلمَ والحِجَى

    وبذل العطايا مِن جدودٍ أكابرِ

    You inherited eminence, glory, forbearance, and reason,

    And the giving of gifts, from illustrious forefathers.

  28. عممت جميعَ الخلق عدلا ورحمةً

    فأضحى مطيعا كل برٍّ وفاجرِ

    You extended justice and mercy to all creation,

    So every righteous man and sinner became obedient.

  29. وأضحى الذي أضْحى بربك كافرا

    مقرّاً بإسداءِ الندى غير كافرِ

    And he who had disbelieved in your Lord became

    One who acknowledged the bounty bestowed, no longer ungrateful.

  30. ولا زلتُ أستقرى الخلائقَ كلهم

    فلم أرَ فيهم غير مثنٍ وشاكرِ

    And I have never ceased to question all the people,

    So I saw among them none but praisers and grateful men.

  31. فيا ابنَ الكرامِ الأولين تعطُّفاً

    لِذِى مقةٍ صافى المودةِ زائرِ

    So, O son of the noble men of old, show kindness

    To a loving visitor, pure in affection,

  32. كساكَ من المدح اللبابِ ملاءةً

    بها تاهَ حتى قال هلْ من مُفاخرِ

    Who clothed you in a mantle of the choicest praise,

    In it he gloried, till he said, 'Who will vie with me in glory?'

  33. تزيدُ على مرِّ الليالى تجدداً

    فلم يُبْلِها من صرفه المُتغَايرِ

    It grows ever new as the nights pass,

    Nor have time's changing vicissitudes worn it out.

  34. قوافٍ من الشعرِ الذى فاقَ نظمهُ

    بِطرسٍ بدتْ كاللؤلِؤ المُتنَاثِر

    Rhymed verses of poetry whose composition excels,

    On a page they appeared like scattered pearls.

  35. أتَتْك تهادَى كالعرائس قُلدَتْ

    قلائدَ دُرٍّ في عقُودِ الجواهرِ

    They came to you swaying, like brides adorned

    With pearl necklaces in jeweled strands.

  36. إذا أنشدتْ في محفلِ الجمعِ جهرةً

    تفتشُ عن مكنون سرِّ الضمائرِ

    When recited aloud in the gathered assembly,

    They probe the hidden secrets of hearts.

  37. فلو سمعتها الجاهليةُ قومنا

    أضلّت بأبصارٍ لهم وبصائرِ

    Had our people of the Age of Ignorance heard them,

    They would have bewildered their eyes and their insight.

  38. منزهةٌ تاهتْ على أخواتها

    بمعنى دقيقٍ في العبارةِ ظاهرِ

    Flawless, they glory above their sister verses,

    With subtle meaning, plain in expression.

  39. فأنتَ لها كُفءٌ وفٍ فتملَّها

    وأظهرْ لها حسن القبول وبادرِ

    You are its worthy, faithful match; so savor it,

    And show it a gracious welcome, and make haste.

  40. هي الجوهرُ الشفَّافُ لا يستحقُّها

    سِواكَ من الساداتِ يا ابنَ الأكابرِ

    It is the translucent jewel; none deserves it

    Among the lords but you, O son of the great.

  41. وهبْتُكَها أرجو بها الفوزَ في غدٍ

    من اللَّه ربٍّ خالق الخلق غافرِ

    I gave it to you, hoping through it for triumph tomorrow,

    From God, the Lord, Creator of creation, the Forgiver.

  42. ودمْ وابقَ محروسَ الجنابِ مظفراً

    وضدُّك معكوسُ المنى غيرُ ظافرِ

    And endure and remain, your person guarded, victorious,

    And your foe, his hopes overturned, without victory.

  43. وعشْ ما بدتْ شمسُ النهار وغردتْ

    حمائم في غصن من الأيكِ ناضرِ

    And live as long as the sun of day appears and there warble

    Doves on a verdant branch within the grove.