إِذا عَنَّ مَجدٌ أَو تَعَرَّضَ سُؤدُدٌ
تَسامى لَهُ ضَخمُ الهُمومِ هُمامُ
When glory appears, or high honor presents itself,
a high-minded man of mighty aspirations rises to meet it.
إِذا اِهتَزَّ لِلهَيجاءِ فَهوَ مُهَنَّدٌ
أَوِ اِهتَزَّ لِلإِفضالِ فَهُوَ غَمامُ
When he stirs for battle, he is a sword of India;
and when he stirs to bestow favors, he is a rain cloud.
تَواضَعَ وَهوَ النَجمُ عِزّاً وَرِفعَةً
وَخَفَّ عَلى الأَرواحِ وَهُوَ شَمامُ
He is humble, though a star in honor and eminence,
and gentle upon souls, though he is a towering mountain.
أُرَجّيهِ يَوماً أَو أُلاقيهِ ساعَةً
فَيَخصُبُ لي عامٌ وَيَمرَأُ عامُ
Whether I place my hope in him for a day or meet him for an hour,
a year grows fertile for me, and a year becomes pleasant.
يُريدونَ مِنهُ أَن يَضِنَّ وَإِنَّما
أَرادوا جُمودَ الغَيمِ وَهُوَ رُكامُ
They wish him to be stingy, but they merely
wish a massed rain cloud to withhold its rain.
وَلا عَيبَ فيهِ غَيرَ أَنَّ ذَوي النَدى
خِساسٌ إِذا قيسوا بِهِ وَلِئامُ
There is no fault in him, except that men of generosity
seem mean and ignoble when measured against him.
بَلَغتَ مِنَ العَلياءِ ما فاتَهُم مَعاً
كَأَن لَم يَروموا ما بَلَغتَ وَراموا
You have reached heights that all of them together failed to attain,
as though they had never sought what you reached—though seek it they did.
فَمَن مُبلِغٌ عَنّي الأَكارِمَ أَنَّهُم
إِذا اِستَيقَظوا لِلمَكرُماتِ نِيامُ
Who will convey from me to the noble that they,
when they awaken to noble deeds, are asleep?
Sol 5.6