شِبْتُ وَلي قلبٌ غريمُ الغرام

شِبْتُ وَلي قلبٌ غريمُ الغرام

يهوى التثني ويحب القَوام

يهوى التثني ويحب القَوام

I have grown gray, yet my heart is a debtor to love.

I grew old, yet my heart is still enamored with love

It yearns for swaying grace and loves the graceful figure.

It inclines towards beauty and loves the well-built

وما فَتَنّى غير تلك التي

وما فَتَنّى غير تلك التي

يا قوم تحلوا بامشام امو شام

يا قوم تحلوا بامشام امو شام

And none has enchanted me but that woman who—

And I have not been tempted except by she

O people, she is lovely with amshām amū shām [unclear wording].

Who, O people, is as sweet smelling as musk or perfume

يا قوم ما فيكم فتى عارفٌ

يا قوم ما فيكم فتى عارفٌ

معبرا يعبر رؤيا المنام

معبرا يعبر رؤيا المنام

O people, is there no knowledgeable youth among you,

O people, among you there is no young man who knows

An interpreter who can explain a vision seen in sleep?

To interpret the dream I saw

رأيت في الليل كأني عاص

رأيت في الليل كأني عاص

روضة جَادَ عليها الغمَام

روضة جَادَ عليها الغمَام

At night I saw—as though I were disobedient—

I saw in my sleep as if I were in

A garden upon which the clouds had lavished rain.

A meadow on which clouds had rained

أقسمتُ إنّ الحبَ في عامر

أقسمتُ إنّ الحبَ في عامر

والجودُ في سعدِ ابن بنت الكرام

والجودُ في سعدِ ابن بنت الكرام

I swore that love dwells in ʿĀmir,

I swear that love is in Aamer

And generosity in Saʿd, son of the daughter of the noble.

And generosity is in Saad, son of the generous

وَزِنّ حيّا اللهَ بِّرَاقها

وَزِنّ حيّا اللهَ بِّرَاقها

ولام حيا الله دُحمى ولام

ولام حيا الله دُحمى ولام

And Zinn—may God bless its stony sands.

Weigh, may Allah keep her alive, her brilliance

And Lām—may God bless Duḥmā and Lām.

And blame, may Allah keep him alive, his darkness and blame

وفي السُّهيلييّن سِرُّ العُلا

وفي السُّهيلييّن سِرُّ العُلا

لولا السُّهيليّونَ ضاعت سهام

لولا السُّهيليّونَ ضاعت سهام

And among the Suhaylīs lies the secret of eminence.

And in the Suhailis is the secret of glory

Were it not for the Suhaylīs, Sihām would have been lost.

Were it not for the Suhailis, the arrows would have been lost

قبائل كالبحر مهما طمى

قبائل كالبحر مهما طمى

ما يلزم البحر وفيه التظام

ما يلزم البحر وفيه التظام

Tribes like the sea, however high it swells:

Tribes like the sea, no matter how turbulent

What can restrain the sea when it is in tumult [uncertain reading]?

The sea remains unaffected and in it is strength