عذيري من هم ابيت احاربه

وحيداً سوى عزم تسل قواضبه

My excuse to those I spent the night fighting,

Alone except for determination that smoothed its paths,

وماذا عسى ان يبلغ الضرب ساعدي

بلا مسعد والخصم تردي كتائبه

And what can my arm's blow avail

Without support, while the enemy marshalls its troops?

كأن الدراري الزاهرات اسنة

لوامع في ليل تخب مقانبه

As if the blooming fortresses were flames,

Gleaming in a night that conceals its features,

كأن سواد الليل صبغة غادر

بعهد وداد من خليل يصاحبه

As if the night's darkness was a treacherous dye

With the fidelity of an intimate friend accompanying it,

كأن نجوم الأفق اخلاق ماجد

سري من الفتيان زهر مناقبه

As if the horizon's stars were the ethics of a glorious one,

A secret of the youths, blossoms of his virtues,

كأن الثريا كف ابلج باسط

إلى الوفد كفاً تستهل سواكبه

As if Aldebaran stretched out a palm as white as hailstones

To the delegation, a palm that welcomes planets,

كأن سهيلا خافقاً متوقداً

حشا عاشق بالوجد تذكو لواهبه

As if Sirius ardently flickered,

A lover's passion kindled by desire igniting it,

كأن السها اختار الخمول لعلمه

بأن نبيه الذكر جم متاعبه

As if Suhail preferred laziness knowing

That its reminder grieved the eminent Prophet,

وقد شمخ العيوق كبرا بانفه

فقل سناه عندما ازورّ جانبه

And the old camel knelt with age in its knees,

Saying its youth goodbye when I visited its side,

ارى القطب حرا في الكواكب ثابتاً

على مبدء تسمو سموا مراتبه

I see the Pole fixed among the planets,

At the highest rank, lofty in its steps,

ولعت بهذا الليل اكلأ نجمه

وارقبه والنجم عان مراقبه

I fell for this night, tending each of its stars,

Watching over it while the stars kept watch over me,

ولو لم يكن هم لأدراك شأوه

لما بت ارعى سيره واصاحبه

Had it not been for the anxiety to discover its glory,

I would not have kept pace with it or accompanied it,

يقولون لي كم تركب الهول مقدماص

على الأمر لم تؤمن عليك عواقبه

They say why do you confront horrors head on

Without believing its consequences will afflict you?

فقلت لهم كم يدرك الحتف وادعاً

بخفض وقد ينجو من الحتف راكبه

I said to them how can one meet doom serenely

While survival may come to the one who confronts it?

ويحيى بعز من يخوض غمارها

فذاك الذي تصفو وتحلو مشاربه

And one with might lives through its perils,

That is the one whose paths are smooth and gentle,

وما سولت نفس الجبان فباطل

تسول ان سدت عليه مذاهبه

While the coward's soul suggests in vain,

When its courses are blocked against it,

ويحمل مني الخطب والله عدتي

فتى لا تبالي بالخطوب مناكبه

Burdens of war I carry, and God as my witness,

A lad heedless of war's calamities on its roads,

وما ذل مني جانب لملمة

إذا نزلت بالطود ذلت جوانبه

No cowardice has lessened my fervor

When I descended on the enemy, humbling their flanks,

وما الحر الا كالنضار وانما

تهذب في حر اللهيب شوائبه

True heat is like mirror glass, and only

In the fire’s blaze are its impurities refined,

افدت من الأيام رأياً وحكمة

ومن ائبات الدهر تأتي رغائبه

From the days I have gleaned counsel and wisdom,

And from time's tribulations come its inclinations,

إذا محكمات الرأي شاقتك فاتبع

هدى اشيب قد حنكته تجاربه

If the certain counsels burden you, then follow

The guidance of one aged whom experience has seasoned,

اراعك من شيبي سنا البرق في الدجى

فما لشبابي لم ترعك غياهبه

My white hair frightened you in the darkness,

While my youth, its darkness did not alarm you,

رقيت إلى أوج البهاء وهذه

بقودي يا شمس الجمال كواكبه

I have ascended to the peak of glory, and these

Are my planets, O sun of beauty, lit by my fire,

الفت مشيبي والخضاب خلابة

ومن حق الفي انني لا اخالبه

My white hair and dyed locks are adornments,

And it is my right to have no qualms about them,

أكذب نفسي وهي جد عليمة

بأمري فما شأن البياض وخاضبه

I lie to myself though it knows well

My condition, so why complain of white and blackened hair?

وللدهر اطوار فبينا تسرنا

بشائره عادت تسود نوادبه

Time has its phases, and while we delighted

In its tidings, its misfortunes returned,

ونهج المعالي واضح غير انه

مهيب ولم يبلغ من الفوز راكبه

The path to glory is obvious, except

It is formidable, with none reaching it by riding,

أخذنا إلى المجد الأثيل سبيله

فذلت لنا من بعد لأي مصاعبه

We have taken the eternal glory's path,

And after, its challenges subsided before us,

ضربنا بسيف الحق من رد حكمه

وذلك سيف لا تفل مضاربه

With the sword of truth we struck those who rejected its rule,

A blade whose strikes never fail,

ارى الحق اقوى كل شيء وانما

يعود ضعيفاً حين يضعف صاحبه

I see truth mightier than all things, but

It weakens when its people are frail,

على السيف ان يفري الضريبة ماضياً

وليس عليه ان يقصر ضاربه

The sword must charge the enemy undaunted,

Not held back because its wielder is timid,

إلى العز يا شعب العراق إلى العلى

إلى المجد تبدو شهبه وثواقبه

To glory, O people of Iraq, to the sublime,

To triumph, its meteors and planets shine,

إذا عضد الحق اتفاق تطلعت

لمن يبتغيه بالنجاح مطالبه

If truth is reinforced by accord,

Its seekers’ hopes of success are revealed,

ويخضع للشعب القوي ارادة

عدو يناويه وقرن يغالبه

And the strong people’s will prevails

Over the enemy plotting against it and resisting it,

وما لمبادي ولسن من ضمانة

لمتكل لا تستقل مآربه

My principles and unsheathed blade lack no defenses

Against one whose schemes are not independent,

نريد وفاء بالعهود وإنما

هي الرقم فوق الماء يعبث كاتبه

We want loyalty to covenants, which are only

Numbers on water the writer toys with,

أحب من الفتيان أروع ماجداً

عفيفاً شريف النفس تزكو ضرائبه

Of the youth I love best the most valiant,

Chaste, noble soul, his virtues proven,

إذا كان هم المكثرين اكتسابهم

فان المعالي همه ومكاسبه

If the pursuit of most is their gain,

Then the lofty pursuit is glory and its spoils,

ويؤثر بالأخلاص صالح قومه

على النفس علماً ان ذلك واجبه

And he prefers sincerely his people’s well-being

Over himself, knowing this is his duty,

وللوطن المحبوب يبذل واهباً

نفائس ما جادت عليه مواهبه

And for the beloved nation he freely gives,

The finest his talents have yielded,