مقصودُهُ أَعصي الهوى وأُطيعُهُ

هذا لعمرُ هواكَ لا أستطيعُهُ

His purpose is to disobey passion yet obey it

By your passion! I cannot do this

سمعي أَصَمُّ عن العذولِ وعذله

فعلامَ يقرعُ مسمعي تقريعُهُ

My hearing is deaf to blame and its blamer

Why then does its rebuke knock at my hearing?

غلبَ النّزاعُ إلى الحسانِ تجلُّدي

والقلبُ مغلوبُ العزا منزوعُهُ

Strife has overcome my patience towards beauty

While my heart is an overpowered prisoner stripped of will

لا تنزِعَنَّ إلا ملامِ متيَّمٍ

لا يستتبُّ عن النّزاعِ نزوعُهُ

Do not blame except a reproacher who is uncontrollable

His inclination to strife cannot be curbed

وملاحةُ الرشأِ المليحِ تروقُهُ

وملامةُ اللاحي الملحِّ تروعُهُ

The saltiness of the fresh saliva makes it delicious

While the saltiness of the briny makes it repugnant

يا عزَهُ لو لم يعزُّ عزاؤه

يا ذلّهُ إنْ لم تُعنه دموعُهُ

Oh his might! If his might did not strengthen him

Oh his humiliation! If his tears did not help him

وبمهجتي حلو الشّمائلِ عذبُها

لكنّه مُرُّ الصُّدودِ شنيعُهُ

In my darling she has a sweet nature and charm

But she has a repulsive aloofness and disdain

نشوانُ من خمرِ الصبا قلبي به

أَفديهِ مخمورُ الغرامِ صريعُهُ

The wine of youth intoxicates my heart with joy

Helpless, overcome with passion, drunk

غصن على حقفٍ يميلُ ويستوي

فكأَنّما يعصيهِ حينَ يطيعُهُ

A branch leaning and straightening on an emerald surface

As if it disobeys it when it obeys it

رئمٌ وفي قلبِ المحبِّ كناسُهُ

قمرٌ وفي ليلِ العذارِ طلوعُه

Bored, yet in the heart of a lover is its equal

A moon, though in the night of estrangement is its rising

وكأَنَّ قلبَ محبِّه إقطاعُهُ

وكأَنَّ خطَّ عذارهِ توقيعُهُ

As if his lover's heart is his fiefdom

As if his darling's handwriting is her signature

مساوبُ سهمِ اللّحظِ منه محبُّه

ملسوبُ عقربِ صدغهِ ملسوغُهُ

His lover is wounded by the arrows of her glances

The writhing of his cheek excused by her twisting

للهِ عيشٌ بالحمى أَسلفته

والشّملُ غير مفرَّقٍ مجموعُهُ

By God, I have a life on credit that I lived

And my days are not dispersed but gathered

أَيامَ دارتْ للشّبابِ كؤوسُهُ

فينا ودرَّتْ بالسُّرورِ ضروعُهُ

Days have passed in youth and its cups

In us, and its joys oozed with bliss

رويتْ بأَنواءِ العهادِ عهودُهُ

وزهتْ بأَنوارِ الرَّبيعِ ربوعُهُ

I lived its covenants in the bosoms of intimacy

And its meadows flourished in the lights of Spring

أَفراجعٌ ما مرَّ من أَيامهِ

هيهاتَ لا يُرجى إليَّ رجوعُهُ

Can I return to days gone by?

Alas! I cannot hope for their return

وجدي مقيمٌ ما يزالُ بظاعنٍ

توديعُ قلبي أُنسه توديعُهُ

My love remains constant with misfortunes

To bid farewell to my heart's company is to bid it farewell

مُلاَّكُ مهجتهِ عليكم حفظها

فالملكُ ليس لمالكٍ تضييعُهُ

I entrust the guarding of my darling's affection

For the angel cannot lose what he possesses

لا تنسبوا قلبي إليَّ فإنّه

لكمُ وفيكمْ جرحُهُ وصدوعُهُ

Do not ascribe my heart to me, for it

Is yours, and in you are its wounds and brokenness

وبيوسفِ المستنجدِ بنِ المقتفي

دينُ الهدى سامي العمادِ رفيعُهُ

In Yusuf the Rescuer, son of the Chaser

The religion of guidance, sublime pillar, lofty is its aspiration

ضافي رداء الفخرِ صافٍ روحه

نامي ضياءِ البشرِ زاكٍ رُوعُهُ

Covered in the gown of pride, pure of soul

Towering the light of humanity, fertile are its meadows

حالي الضَّمائر بالعَفافِ وبالتُقى

للهِ ما تحنو عليه ضلوعُهُ

My state with hearts is chaste and pious

To God yearns what my ribs contain

محمرُّ نصلِ النّصرِ في يومِ الوغى ال

مغبرِّ مبيضُّ العطاءِ نصوعُهُ

Red is the blade of victory on the day of battle

Dusted white is the giver of gifts, abundant are its gifts

في الأَمن إلا ماله وعدوّه

فكلاهما في الحالتينِ مروعُهُ

In peace but what belongs to him and his enemy

Both are fearful in either case

للّهِ أَصلٌ هاشميٌّ طاهرٌ

طابتْ وطالتْ في العلاءِ فروعُهُ

To God belongs a Hashimite core, pure

Its branches have flourished and towered in nobility

لكَ نائلٌ محيٍ وبأسٌ مهلكٌ

فلأَنت ضرّار الزَّمان نضوعه

To you belongs attainment, protection, and formidable might

For you are the bane of the times, fertile its meadows

يا أَفضلَ الخلفاءِ دعوةَ قانعٍ

برضاكَ ما كشف القناع قنوعُهُ

O best of caliphs, the request of a content man

With your approval, though modesty does not reveal his contentment

أَيكونُ مثلي في زمانكَ ضائعاً

هيهاتَ يا مولايَ لستَ تضيعُهُ

Can one like me in your time be lost?

Never my master, you will not forsake him

أَودعْ جميلاً لي أُذعْهُ فخيرُ مَنْ

أَوْدَعْتَهُ منكَ الجميلَ مذيعُهُ

Entrust me with a favor that I may spread

For the best one to entrust is you, its spreader

حسبُ المؤمِّل منجحاً في قصدهِ

أَن الرَّجاءَ إلى نداكَ شفيعُهُ

The hopeful considers his purpose accomplished

If to you is his hope an intercessor