سرى وحجاب الليل يلمس باليد

وأين الغضا يا طيف من شعب ثهمد

It traveled by night, while the veil of darkness could almost be touched by hand.

And where, O phantom, is the ghada grove from the pass of Thahmad?

وهبك تسنمت الفراقد ضائراً

بجنح الدجى كيف اهتديت لمرقدي

Suppose you climbed to the stars, making your way as a visitor:

How did you find my resting place in the heart of darkness?

ألم بنا وهنا وللنجم بهتة

كبهتة عين النرجس الخضل الندى

It came to us at a frail hour, while the star was dim,

Dim as the eye of a narcissus heavy with dew.

تخالطه من سفعة الليل مذقة

كأن بجفنيه نفاضة أثمد

A trace of the night's darkness mingled with it,

As though a dusting of antimony lay on its eyelids.

أزارك هذا الطيف أم أنت زرته

ففكرك للأحباب حلف التعهد

Did this phantom visit you, or did you visit it?

Your thoughts have pledged themselves to remember the beloved.

أفق إنما استهوى حجاك زخارف

من الحلم لم تنقع بها غلة الصدى

Awake: ornaments of dreams have captivated your mind;

They cannot quench the thirst that longing brings.

فدون ذرى الشهباء جرد تنائف

يجوز القطا أجوازها غير مهتدي

Before the heights of al-Shahba lie bare, empty wastes,

Whose broad reaches even the sandgrouse crosses without finding its way.

أجيرتنا تلقاء جوشن انه

فراق اضطرار لا فراق تعمد

O our neighbors toward Jawshan, this is

A parting forced upon us, not one we chose.

ولولا نضوب العيش ما سبحت بنا

طلائح في بحر من الآل مزبد

Had life's means not run dry, we would not have sailed

On worn-out mounts through a foaming sea of mirage.

ولكنها نفس متى شاب وردها

قذى تخذت من عزمها خير مورد

Yet when trouble clouds the water sought by a soul,

It makes its own resolve the best place to drink.

وهل يتحلى عقد مجد منضد

من الناس إلا رب شمل مبدد

And who among men wears a finely strung necklace of glory

Except one whose company has been scattered?

وقد آذنت أن تنطوي شقة النوى

وأوشك أن يدنو اللقا وكأن قد

The long stretch of separation has signaled that it will fold away;

Our meeting is about to draw near—as though it already had.

فدونك فاهتف بالوزير وعرفه

ونبه لها أجفان أحمد وأرقد

So go: call upon the vizier and make it known to him;

Rouse Ahmad's eyes to it, and then rest.

وناد الوزير بن الوزير يصخ لها

خلال أغر مبرق العزم مرعد

Call to the vizier, son of a vizier, and he will listen to it,

A brilliant man whose resolve flashes and thunders.

فما شقت الآمال عنك ببابه

بأقصى مدى من أن تقوم فتجتدي

At his door, your hopes need not travel far

Before you rise to make your appeal.

به در ضرع المكرمات وثقفت

قنا الفضل وانهلت عواد به للصدى

Through him the udder of generous deeds flows with milk, and the spears

Of excellence stand straight; through him, fresh bounty pours out for the thirsty.

يساقط منثور المعاني كأنها

فرائد در في ترائب خرد

He scatters lucid meanings as though they were

Pearls set upon the breasts of young women.

ومن كل سطر فوق طرس كأنه

عذار تدلى في عوارض أمرد

And each line upon the page seems like

A first beard descending along a young man's cheeks.

إلى منزع العليا ومبزغ شمسها

وموردها الصافي ومرتعها الندي

Toward the source of high honor and the rising of its sun,

Its pure watering place and its dewy pasture;

إلى أسد الدين الذي دون غابه

كواعب أطراف الوشيج الممدد

Toward Asad al-Din, before whose thicket

Stand the budding tips of long, supple spears.

هو القائد الضمر الشواذب فوقها

سراحين غاصت في الحديد المسرد

He leads lean, hardy horses, and upon them

Ride wolves of war encased in linked armor.

خميس يقل النصر عالي لوائه

متى سار يقفو جيش رأى مسدد

He commands an army whose high banner victory bears;

When it marches, an army of sound judgment follows.

سليل رجالات قد استوطنوا العلى

وذكر علاهم بين نسر وفرقد

He descends from men who made the heights their home;

The fame of their eminence reaches the Eagle and the Pole Star.

فساروا وما غابوا وناموا وأيقظوا

مآثر ما يفنى الزمان تجد

They passed on but did not vanish; they slept, yet awakened

Deeds of honor that time renews without end.

فلا غرو أنتم آل مجد مؤثل

يخلى لهم عن كل فخر وسؤدد

No wonder: you are the family of an ancient glory;

Every claim to pride and eminence yields to you.

ترقرق أمواه العلى في وجوههم

أجل ويروح المجد فيهم ويغتدي

The waters of high honor shimmer in their faces;

Indeed, glory comes and goes among them day by day.

أبا المكرمات الغر دعوة ضارع

إليك انتمى يرجو إجابة مسعد

O father of shining acts of generosity, a supplicant's plea

Has come to you, hoping for a heartening answer.

فهل لك في إنعاشه من وطئت على

معيشته الأيام وطأ المقيد

Will you revive one whose livelihood the days have trampled

With the crushing tread of a fettered man?

فما ثم بعد اللَه غيرك ملجأ

ولا للأماني بعد ذي اليوم من غد

For after God, there is no refuge for him but you,

And after this day, his hopes have no tomorrow.

ودم منجح الأقبال ماذر شارق

وحن غريب نحو ألف ومعهد

May you prosper in all your undertakings as long as the sun rises,

And long for a loved one and a familiar home as a stranger does.