ريم رمائي من كحيل فاتر

وسطا عَلى بسيف لحظ باتر

A gazelle, my archer, shot from a languid, kohl-dark eye,

and assailed me with the cleaving sword of a glance.

رقت لما أَشكو الملاح وَلَم يزل

ما بين ناف للوصال وَنافر

The beauties grew tender at my complaint, yet he remained

somewhere between denying union and turning away.

رام اذا ما رام فتكاً في الملا

يَسطو بجيش من مها وَجآذر

An archer who, whenever he seeks slaughter in the throng,

attacks with an army of oryx and wild-cow calves.

رشق الفؤآد رَشيق قد مائس

بسهام غنج يا له من واتِر

A slender, swaying figure pierced the heart

with arrows of coquetry—what a slayer he is!

رسم العذار بخدّه سطر اليها

وَالخال حلاه بنقط باهر

The cheek-down traced on his cheek a line to her,

and the beauty spot adorned it with a dazzling dot.

رخص البنان اذا تجلى مسفراً

يَحكي ضيآء الصبح تحت دياجر

Tender-fingered, when he appears unveiled,

he mirrors the light of dawn beneath dark shadows.

رمق العَليل وَلَم يدع رمقاً به

فَغَدا يعلله بعودة زائِر

He glanced at the ailing one, leaving no spark of life in him;

then kept him hoping for a visitor's return.

رشف السلاف فقلت قوموا وانظروا

حبباً يضمَّ الى نفيس جواهر

He sipped the choice wine; I said: rise and behold

bubbles joined to precious jewels.

راقَت ورقَّ زجاجها فكأَنَّها

شفق تلهب في صباح زاهر

It was lovely, its glass delicate, as though it were

a twilight glow blazing in a radiant morning.

روح اذا نفخت بجسم بالياً

نفحت فأحيته بروح عاطِر

A spirit that, when breathed into a wasted body,

wafts forth and revives it with a fragrant breath.

رقص الحباب فقهقهت كيزانها

وَغدت تصفق في أَكف الدأر

The bubbles danced, and its cups laughed aloud,

and began clapping in the cupbearer's hands.

راح اذا لمعت بروق سنائها

تحكي حسام القرم يوم تشاجر

Wine that, when the lightning of its splendor gleams,

resembles the chieftain's sword on a day of strife.

ربّ الندا المقدام ذو الجود الَّذي

وَرث الرياسة كابراً عَن كابِر

The lord of bounty, intrepid and generous, who

inherited leadership, noble heir of noble forebears.

راقى سما العليا رشيد أَحمد ال

أَخلاق يَروي سيبه عَن جابِر

Rashid ascended the highest heaven, most praiseworthy in

character; his bounty speaks on Jabir's authority.

رحب الكفوف طَويل باع في الندا

أَجرى النوال لوارد أَو صادِر

Open-handed and far-reaching in generosity,

he made gifts flow to those arriving or departing.

ردّ العداة بغيضهم يوم الوَغى

لَم يدر أَولهم مَصير الآخر

He whom they hated repelled the foes on the day of battle;

their foremost knew not the fate of the hindmost.

راموا النزال فأَبصروا برق الظَبي

تحت العجاجة خاطِفاً للناظِر

They sought combat and saw the lightning of sword-edges

beneath the dust-cloud, dazzling the watching eye.

رقمت لدى طعن القنا أَقلامه

سطر الكلوم بطرس هام الفاجر

Amid spear-thrusts, his pens inscribed

lines of wounds on the parchment of the evildoer's skull.

رجمت أَعاديه بشهب بنادِق

يوم الهياج وَما لهم من ناضر

His enemies were pelted with meteors from guns

on the day of battle-fury, with none among them flourishing.

ربحت تجارة كل شخص أمه

بِبَديع مدح ناظِم أَو ناثِر

The trade of everyone who sought him proved profitable

with exquisite praise, whether poet or prose-writer.

رتع الوفود بروضة من ربعه

وَتَفيئوا بظلال بيت عامر

The delegations grazed freely in a meadow of his grounds,

and took shelter in the shade of a flourishing house.

رسمت بجبهته سطور جلالة

فكأَنَّها كلف ببدر نائر

Lines of majesty were inscribed upon his brow,

as though they were dark markings on a radiant full moon.

راضَت فراسته نجائب عزمه

فاذا جرت طارَت بجنحى طائِر

His discernment trained the noble mounts of his resolve,

so when they ran, they flew on a bird's two wings.

روى سرى ضيوفه بسريه

لما أَتوه لهزَّ جذع ثامِر

He refreshed his guests' night journey with his stream,

when they came to him to shake a fruit-bearing trunk.

رغمت أَنوف الماكرين أَما دروا

وقع الأَمير بكل قيل ماكِر

The schemers' noses were rubbed in dust—did they not know

the prince's onslaught upon every scheming chieftain?

ركزت عَلى هام السهى راياته

وَعلا عَلى فلك العلا بمفاخر

His banners were planted upon al-Suha's crown,

and he rose above the sphere of glory through his proud distinctions.

رفد الأَكارِم لَو يقاس برفده

لَرأَيت نهراً من خضم زاخر

If the bounty of the noble were measured against his bounty,

you would see a river drawn from a surging ocean.

راعَت عواصف بأسه جمع العدا

فتفرقوا في كل قفر غامر

The tempests of his might terrified the enemy host,

so they scattered through every uninhabited wilderness.

رقاه ربي فوق حكام الملا

ما حنّ ركب في العَقيق لحاجِر

May my Lord exalt him above the rulers of men,

so long as a caravan in al-Aqiq yearns for Hajir.