وفىَّ السّحابُ لمغْناهُ وإنْ خانا

وواصَلَ الخصبُ مَرعاهُ وإن بانا

The clouds fulfilled their promise to the singer even if they were unfaithful

And fertility continued watering the land even if it disappeared

لا القُربُ أَكسبَني منهُ الملالَ ولا

أفادَني منهُ بعدُ الدَارِ سلوانا

Neither has nearness made me bored of it nor

Has remoteness ever consoled me

لبئسَ ما زَعموا أنَّ المُحبَّ إذا

دَنَا يَملُّ ويَشفي النأيُ أحيْانا

How miserable is what they claimed that when a lover

Comes closer, he gets bored and sometimes remoteness brings relief

سبَرتُ حاليَ في قربٍ وفي بُعُدٍ

فلا تسلني ودعني كان ما كانا

I examined my state in nearness and remoteness

It does not console me, leave me be whatever happens

يكفيكَ إن أنكرتْ نَفْسي صبابَتَها

نَحافتي حُجّةً والدمعُ بُرهانا

It is enough for you that my vigor denied its youthfulness

My emaciation argued and tears proved

جَفا فجازيتُهُ بالضِّدِّ مُعتقداً

دينَ الهَوى سادراً حَيرانَ حَرّانا

It acted arrogantly so I reciprocated with its opposite, believing

The religion of passion bereft, confused and burning

بِذا جرتْ عادةُ العُشاقِ شأنُهُمُ ال

وفاءُ لَو شَرّعوا في غيرِه شانا

That is the norm of lovers, their way is not

faithfulness, even if they legitimized something else

يَجزونَ من ظُلمِ أَهلِ الظلمِ مَغفرةً

ومِن إساءَةِ أهلِ السوءِ إحْسانا

They pardon the injustice of the unjust

And reply to the harm from the evil with kindness

يا راحةَ الروحِ حَتّامَ الجفاءُ لَئِنْ

آنَ الوفاءُ فجدِّدْ عهدَهُ الآنا

O comfort of the soul, the estrangement has lasted long, if

It is time for faithfulness, renew the pact now

قرَّبتُ جِسمي ونارُ الحبِّ تأكلُهُ

فاقبلْهُ مِنِّي وصُغ لي الطوقَ مَنّانا

I offered my body and the fire of love eats it

So accept it from me and make the necklace for me smoothly

كذاكَ فيما سمعنْا قبلُ ما قَبلوا

إلاّ الذي أكلته النار قُربانا

That is how we heard that they only accepted

What the fire has consumed as an offering

وأنتَ يا هاتفَ الطرفاء خُذْ طرفاً

منّا ولا تشكُ أشواقاً وأشجانا

And you, caller of the distant ones, take

A side of us and do not doubt the passions and sorrows

فاسكتْ فأنتَ وإن أسمعتَ جارتنَا

فقد عنيتَ بشجوِ الشَّدوِ إيّانا

So be silent, even if you heard our neighbor

You were preoccupied with singing the melody for us

ما ذاقَ طعمَ الكرى إنسانُ عَيني مُذْ

زفَّ السُّهادُ إليهِ أُمَّ غَيلانا

No human tasted the flavor of sorrow since

Youth hurried to him, mother of calamities

راعى قضيّةَ إنسانيّةٍ شرعَتْ

رعيَ العهودِ بذا سمّوْهُ إنسانا

He considered the case of humanity which necessitated

Pasturing the covenants, by that they named him a human

إن لانَ عيشُ فتىً في ظلِّ مَنشئِهِ

فإنَّ عيشيَ في ما لينَ ما لانا

If the life of a young man prospers in the shade of his caretaker

Then my life prospers in what leans and does not lean

صودرتُ فيها على مالي وغاضَ بهِ

عِزّي وفاضَ عليَّ الذلُّ تَهْتانا

I was assaulted regarding it, my honor violated

And humiliation poured over me confused

وأَوطأونيَ دارَ الحبسِ مُبتذلاً

كأنَّني كنتُ يومَ الدارِ عُثْمانا

And they made me enter the prison house disgraced

As if I was Ottoman the day they demolished the house

إنَّ مَن سلَّ عن فكّيَّ سيفهُما

ما صان حقَّ أبيهِ حقّ لو صانا

Indeed, whoever asked about my release unsheathed his sword

He did not preserve the right of his father even if he preserved a right

عداوةُ الشعرِ بئسَ المُقتنى ومَتى

أرضى إذا ما علكتُ الهجْوَ غَضبانا

The enmity of poetry is a miserable gain, and when

Have I been satisfied if I composed satire angry

كيفَ السَّبيلُ إلى إنكارِ مُعجزتي

إذا قلبتُ عصا الأقلام ثعبانا

How is there a way to deny my miracle

If I turn the pen staff into a snake

لا حبّذا البخْتُ أعياني ومالَ إلى

قومٍ يعدُّهُمُ الأرذالُ أعيانا

Good fortune did not favor my prominent ones and inclined to

A people the riffraff consider prominent

يُدرِّعُ البصلَ المذمومَ أكسيةَ

ويتركُ النَّجسَ المشمومَ عُريانا

It covers the despised onion in garments

And leaves the filthy and forbidden naked

ويُنبتُ الشَّوكَ من أرضٍ وجارَتُها

تُجني أكفَّ بُغاةِ الرِّزقِ عِقيْانا

And it grows thorns from a land while its neighbor

Reaps the fists of the rebels of livelihood ripe

سرٌّ دفينٌ نبشْناهُ فلم نَرَهُ

سبحانَ علاّمِ هذا الغيبِ سُبحانا

A secret we unearthed but did not see

Glory to the All-Knowing of this unseen, glory

يا صاحِبيَّ أَعيناني على أَرَبي

ونَبِّها جفنَ عزمٍ باتَ وَسْنانا

O my friend, help me against my opinion

And alert the eyelid of resolve which slept

فسوفَ يُورِقُ عُودي إن بنيتُ على ال

مطيِّ من شجراتِ الميسِ عيدانا

So my wood will bloom if I build on the

Saddle of the flexible trees of miss you

شوقاً إلى حضرةٍ نُصَّ الوِسادُ بِها

على سريرِ عميدِ المُلكِ مَولانا

Yearning for the presence which the pillow was appointed in

On the bed of the patron of the kingdom, our Mawla

منصورٍ الأروَعِ المنصورِ رايتُهُ

فتى محمدٍ المحمودِ أَديانا

Mansur the most wonderful, the victorious, his banner

The young man of Muhammad the praiseworthy his religions

فُطمتُ عن بابِهِ المَعسولِ درَّته

بعدَ ارتضاعيَ من نعماهُ أَلبانا

I was weaned from his sweet door after suckling

From his blessings milk

يعدُّني بيتُهُ من أهلِهِ وكذا الن

بيُّ عَدَّ من أهلِ اليتِ سَلمانا

His house counts me among his family and so the

Prophet counted Salman among the people of his house

إذا حللتَ بِواديهِ رايتَ حمىً

مُمنَّعاً ردَّ خطبَ الدَّهرِ خَزيانا

If you lodged in his valley you see protected sanctuary

Which repelled the marriage proposals of time disgraced

لم تَسْتبحْ إبلاً للائذينَ بهِ

بَنو اللّقيطةِ من ذُهلِ بن شَيبانا

The refugees were not allowed camels there

The sons of the foundling from Thuhl bin Shayban

أبوابُ اسطبلِهِ إذا قسْتَ أرفعُ مِن

إيوانِ كسرى وأعَلى منهُ بُنيانا

The doors of his stable if you measured are higher than

The porch of Chosroes and taller than its building

والأنجمُ الزُّهرُ سُوَاسٌ مُواظبةٌ

على مَراكبِهِ سِرَاً وإعلانا

And the shining stars are escorts habitual

Upon his ships secretly and openly

حقّاً أقولُ فلَولا ذاك ما نقلت

على المجرّةِ طولَ الليلِ أتْبانا

I say the truth, if it weren’t for that the stars would not

Have moved across the galaxy the length of the night certain

وماءِ بشرٍ مصونٍ في قَرارتهِ

يروي الرَّجاءَ إذا وافاهُ عطشانا

And the guarded human water in his interior

Quenches hope if a thirsty person comes to it

وطَلعةٍ زانَها الباري بقُدرتهِ

فخطّها لكتابِ الحُسنِ عُنْوانا

And a physique which God adorned with his power

So he outlined it for the constitution of beauty

وخاطرٍ كشواظِ النّارِ مُتَقدٍ

يكادُ يقدحُ منهُ الوَهم نيرانا

And a mind like the flames of fire blazing

The imagination almost ignites fires from it

مُستظهرٌ بعباراتٍ وألسنةٍ

تفنّنَتْ كالرياضِ الغُر أَلْوانا

Seeking help through expressions and tongues

Which varied like the multicolored gardens

هَدى إلى لغة الأعرابِ تُبَّعَها

وزَفَّ بالمَنطقِ التُّركيِّ خاقانا

He guided the language of nomads following it

And introduced the Turkish logic the Khagan

وإنْ تفقّهَ في نادٍ أقرَّ لَهُ

أبو حنيفةَ بالتَبريز إذْعانا

And if he studied law under a patron he approved

For him Abu Hanifa in Tabriz obediently

إذا تَفلسفَ فالاقليدُ في يدِهِ

يحلُّ إقليدِسَ المُعْتاصَ عرفانا

If he philosophizes then Euclid is in his hand

Solving Euclid the carpenter cognitively

وينسجُ الحِبرُ من مكتوبه حَبَراً

منسوجُ صنعاءَ في منسوجِهِ هانا

And he spins from his writing ink

Spun Yemen in its spinning despised

لم يخلُ من ثَمَراتِ الفَضلِ مُذ غُرست

يداهُ فيها من القصباءِ أَغصانا

The fruits of virtue did not cease being harvested since

His hands were planted in it from Qasab stems

مَجلوبةٌ جاوَرَتْنا في منازِلنا

وخلّفتْ في جوارِ الأسْدِ أَوطانا

Objects of desire resided with us in our homes

And left behind in neighborhood of lions homelands

لولا الحَنينُ إلى الأوطانِ لم تَرَها

مُصفرَّةً سَحّةَ الآماقِ مِرْنانا

If not for longing of homelands you would not have seen them

Yellow, dejected complexion

خُذها إليك أبا نصرٍ مُفوّفَةً

تخالُها أعينُ الرّائينَ بُستانا

Take them to you Abu Nasr furnished

The eyes of viewers see them as orchards

أهدى لها صُدُغُ معشوقٍ بنفسجَهُ

وخَطّ عارضُه الوَرديُّ رَيحانا

His beloved cheek presented its violet

And its rosy complexion outlined basil

كأنّما استُودعَتْ في كلِّ قافيةٍ

مقُرطقاً ساحرَ الألحاظِ فَتّانا

As if hidden in every rhyme

A winking charmer of glances a heart throb

مَمْطورةً بسحابِ الطبعِ ساحبةً

بُرداً يغطي وراءَ الذَّيلِ سحبانا

Extending with the clouds of talent rising

With coolness covering behind the tail clouds

غازِلْ عرائسَها وافتضَّ عُذرتَها

واعقِدْ بأرْؤُسها نعماك تيجانا

Flirt with its brides and pick their chastity

And tie your favors upon their heads crowns

وعشْ كما شئتَ ما ناحَتْ مُطوّقةٌ

بِلَوعةِ البَينِ وَهْناً وامتطَتْ بانا

And live however you wished a circled one has not wailed

With the anguish of separation, weakness, and complained

فأنتَ سلطانُ أهلِ المجدِ قاطبةً

وركنُهم دامَ ركنُ الدينِ سُلطانا

For you are the sultan of all the glorious absolutely

And their pillar as long as the pillar of religion is sultan