1. أُلامُ بِحُبّه فَأَزيد وَجداً

    وَأَطلب قُربه فَأَنال بُعدا

    I am blamed for loving him, so my longing grows,

    and I seek his nearness, only to gain distance.

  2. وَأرغب أَن يَكون عَليَّ مَولىً

    فَيَأبى أَن أَكون لَدَيهِ عَبدا

    And I wish him to be my master,

    yet he refuses to let me be his slave.

  3. وأمنحهُ الوَفا فَيَراهُ غَدرا

    وَيوليني الجَفا فَأَراهُ ودّا

    And I offer him loyalty, but he sees it as betrayal,

    and he gives me coldness, but I see it as affection.

  4. وَأحمل من تهدّده ثِقالاً

    تَكاد لَها الجِبال تَخرُّ هَدّا

    And I bear heavy burdens from his threats,

    beneath which mountains almost crumble to ruin.

  5. وأعذب ما أَرى تَعذيب قَلب

    يمدّ لَهُ العذابَ هَواهُ مَدّا

    And the sweetest thing I see is the torment of a heart

    whose passion keeps prolonging its suffering.

  6. بِنَفسي ذا دَلال ما تَصدّى

    لِرَحمة عاشِقٍ لَو ماتَ صَدّا

    My life for that coquettish one, who never deigns

    to pity a lover, even if he dies of rejection.

  7. تَمايل قدّه فاِهتزَّ رُمحاً

    فَراحَ يَقدّ درع الصَبر قَدّا

    His figure swayed, then quivered like a spear,

    so it began to cleave patience's armor apart.

  8. وَأنعم ردفهُ وَالخصر رِفداً

    فَمال بِنا الهَوى غَورا وَنَجدا

    And his hips and waist bestowed their bounty,

    so passion swept us through lowlands and highlands.

  9. وأسفرَ وَجهه عَن بَدر تمٍّ

    وَلَكن فَوق غُصن نقاً تبدّى

    His face unveiled a full moon,

    yet it appeared above a bough upon a sand dune.

  10. وَأطلع جيده كعمودِ فجرٍ

    تقلّدَ أنجمَ الجوزاءِ عقدا

    And he revealed his neck, like a column of dawn,

    wearing Orion's stars as a necklace.

  11. وَدبَّ عِذارهُ كَالنمل يَسعى

    لمبسمه ليرشف مِنهُ شَهدا

    And his cheek-down crept like scurrying ants

    toward his smiling mouth, to sip honey from it.

  12. وآنس خَدّه ناري فَكانَت

    سَلاماً فَوقَ وَجنته وَبَردا

    And his cheek sensed my fire, and it became

    peace and coolness upon his cheek.

  13. هِيَ النار الَّتي لكليم قَلبي

    بَدَت فَرَأَت هُناك هُدىً وَرُشدا

    It is the fire that, to the Moses of my heart,

    appeared, then beheld guidance and right direction there.

  14. إِذا نَزل الحَيا أَذكى لَظاها

    وَأَنبت حَولَها آساً وَوَردا

    When rain falls, it kindles its blaze

    and makes myrtle and roses grow around it.

  15. فَوا عَجَباً لِنارٍ بَينَ ماءٍ

    وَثلج لا تَزال تَزيد وَقدا

    Oh, what a marvel—a fire amid water

    and snow, that keeps burning more intensely!

  16. وَظَبيٍ طَرفه الوَسنان أَضحى

    عَلى شرك الجُفون يَصيد أُسدا

    And a gazelle whose drowsy gaze has come

    to hunt lions with the snare of his eyelids!

  17. إِذا ما سلَّ سَيف اللَحظ عَمداً

    أَشار إلى الفُؤاد فَكانَ غمدا

    Whenever he deliberately draws the sword of his glance,

    he points it toward the heart, which becomes a sheath.

  18. عَذيري مِن غَزالٍ ذي دَلالٍ

    تَفرَّد بِالمَلاحة وَاِستبدّا

    Who will defend me against a coquettish gazelle

    who stands alone in beauty and rules as a tyrant?

  19. أغالط فيهِ عذّالي وَأَهلي

    فأذكر زَينباً وَأريدُ هِندا

    I mislead my reproachers and my family about him,

    so I mention Zaynab, though I mean Hind.

  20. وَما عايَنت أَلين مِنهُ عَطفاً

    وَلا شاهَدت أَرشق مِنهُ قَدّا

    And I have seen none more supple of flank than he,

    nor beheld any more slender of stature than he,

  21. سِوى قلم تَحرّى مَدح حُرٍّ

    فَكانَ لِعابد الرَحمَن عَبدا

    save a pen that sought to praise a noble man

    and became a slave to the worshipper of the All-Merciful.

  22. نَقيب السادة الأَشراف أَتقى

    فَتىً بلغ السُها شَرَفاً وَمَجدا

    Chief of the noble sayyids, the most devout

    young man, who reached al-Suha in honor and glory.

  23. همام كانَ واسطةَ اللآلي

    بِجيد المَجد وَالأَقرانُ عقدا

    A man of resolve, who was the centerpiece among pearls

    on glory's neck, while his peers were the necklace.

  24. أَبرُّ بَني الكِرام يَداً وَقَولاً

    وَأَتقى المنتمين أَباً وَجَدّا

    The most benevolent of noblemen's sons in deed and word,

    and the most devout of men of lineage, through father and grandfather.

  25. وَأَسنى الأَذكياء نُهىً وَحلماً

    وَأَصفى الأَغنياء تُقىً وَزُهدا

    And the most illustrious of the intelligent in reason and forbearance,

    and the purest of the wealthy in piety and asceticism.

  26. وَأَعلى حزبنا همماً وَحزماً

    وَأَوفى قَومنا عدة وَعَهدا

    And the loftiest of our company in aspiration and resolve,

    and the most faithful of our people in promise and covenant.

  27. وَأَولى الأَقرَبين بِكُلّ فَضل

    وَأَكرَمهم يَداً وَأَحَقّ حَمدا

    And the most deserving among close kin of every distinction,

    and the most generous-handed of them, the worthiest of praise.

  28. وَأَمنَعهُم حمىً وَأَعزّ جاراً

    وَأَرفَعهُم ذرىً وَأعمُّ رفدا

    And the strongest of them in guarding his domain, the mightiest protector of a neighbor,

    and the loftiest of them in eminence, the most expansive in bounty.

  29. تَولّى نصرَتي لَم يَلوِ عَزماً

    وَحاول نَجدَتي لَم يَألُ جُهدا

    He undertook to support me, never wavering in resolve,

    and sought to rescue me, sparing no effort.

  30. وَشمّر عَن يَمين اليمن زنداً

    وَأَورى في الوَرى لِلعَزم زِندا

    And he bared the forearm of good fortune's right hand,

    and kindled resolve's firestick among mankind.

  31. وَفى وَأَخو الوَفاءِ أَخو المَعالي

    وَمَن أَوفى بِعَونك مِنهُ وَعدا

    He kept faith; fidelity's brother is the brother of high honors,

    and who is truer than he to a promise to help you?

  32. فَتىً عشق المُروؤَة وَاِهتوته

    جَوىً وَتَجاوزا في العشق حَدّا

    A young man who loved chivalry, and she loved him

    with burning passion, and both surpassed the bounds of love.

  33. تَغَنَّت باِسمه طَرَباً وَفَخرا

    وَشبّب باِسمها كلفاً وَوَجدا

    She sang his name with delight and pride,

    and he sang her name in love-verses, with passion and longing.

  34. شَمائل مِن نَسيم الرَوض أَذكى

    وَطَبع مِن زُلال الماء أَندى

    Virtues more fragrant than a garden's breeze,

    and a nature more dewy than limpid water.

  35. يَنمّ ثَناؤُها كَرَماً وَطيباً

    وَيَنمو عزّها شَرَفاً وَسَعدا

    Praise of them reveals generosity and fragrance,

    and their glory grows in honor and good fortune.

  36. بذا تَمتاز رُتبة كُلِّ شهم

    إِذا اِختَبَر اللَبيب الناس نَقدا

    By this each noble-hearted man's rank is distinguished,

    when the discerning man critically examines people.

  37. فَإِنّ الناس واحدهم بألفٍ

    وَألف في الحِساب يعدُّ فَردا

    For among people, one is worth a thousand,

    and a thousand, in the reckoning, count as one.