قُل لِأَثيرِ الدينِ خِدنِ العُلى

أَخي النَدى نَجلِ أُسودِ الشَرى

Say to Athir al-Din, companion of eminence,

brother of generosity, scion of al-Shara’s lions:

أَنتَ شِهابُ الفَضلِ بَل شَمسُهُ

وَهَضبَةُ المَجدِ وَطودُ الحِجى

You are excellence’s blazing meteor—rather, its sun,

the hill of glory and the towering mountain of wisdom.

يا أَسبَقَ الناسِ إِلى غايَةٍ

وَياكَريمَ الفَرعِ وَالمُنتَمى

O foremost among people in attaining a goal,

O noble in branch and lineage,

يا مُهدِيَ الدُرِّ النَظيمِ الَّذي

أَحسَنَ مِنهُ مَسمَعي ما وَعى

O giver of strung pearls, finer than which

my hearing has taken in nothing—

شِعرٌ كَرَوضٍ خَضِلٍ نَبتُهُ

باتَت أَقاحيهِ تَمُجَّ النَدى

verse like a garden whose growth is lush,

whose daisies passed the night distilling dew.

فَهوَ عَلى قُوَّةِ أَلفاظِهِ

أَرَقُّ مِن مَرِّ نَسيمِ الصِبا

For all the strength of its words,

it is gentler than the passing breath of the east wind.

زِدتُ سُروراً وَاِبتِهاجاً بِهِ

كَأَنَّني راجَعتُ عَصرَ الصِبا

Through it my joy and gladness increased,

as though I had returned to the age of youth.

مِثلُكَ لا يَفدي وَهَل تُقتَدى

حَصباءُ أَرضٍ بِنُجومِ السَما

One such as you does not ransom another—and can

earth’s pebbles emulate heaven’s stars?

أَنتَ حَرىً أَن يُصبِحَ الناسُ مِن

كُلِّ مُلِمٍّ لِعُلاكَ الفَدى

You well deserve that people should become, in the face of

every calamity, the ransom offered for your eminence.

بَدَأتَني بِالفَضلِ وَالفَضلُ في ال

ناسِ لِمَن أَسلَفَهُ وَاِبتَدا

You forestalled me with favor—and favor among

people belongs to whoever first bestows and begins it.

فَاِسمَع تَخَطَّتكَ الرَزايا وَلا

مَرَّت بِناديكَ صُروفُ الرَدى

Now listen—may calamities pass you by, and may

the turns of death never pass through your gathering.

شَوائِبُ الدَهرِ وَأَحداثُهُ

غادَرنَني في كَسرِ بَيتي لَفا

Time’s afflictions and its vicissitudes

have left me with my home in ruins, utterly spent.

كَسَرنَ حاجاتي وَقَصَّرنَ مِن

خَطوي وَما كُنتُ قَصيرَ الخُطا

They frustrated my needs and shortened

my stride, though never was my stride short.

سِيّانَ صُبحي وَمَسائي فَجُن

حُ اللَيلِ عِندي مِثلُ رَأدِ الضُحى

Morning and evening are alike to me; the darkness

of nights is, to me, like morning’s broad light.

فَمَهِّدِ العُذرَ لِمُستَأخِرٍ

مَشَت بِهِ أَيّامُهُ القَهقَرى

So make ready an excuse for one delayed,

whom his days have driven backward.

فَأَنتَ لي ذُخرٌ إِذا نابَني

دَهرٌ فَنِعمَ الذُخرُ وَالمُنتَمى

For you are my reserve whenever I am beset

by Time—what an excellent reserve, and trusted one!