طالَ عهدُ الصَّب فادَّكَرا

واستهلّت عينُه دِرَرا

Long has been the time of patience, so let us remember,

His eyes began to shed tears,

عَبَرات يَستدّرُّ بها

زفراتٍ ترتمي شَرَرا

Sighs that draw out

Sparks of lamentation.

لخيال من هَواك عَرا

وخيالٍ من لديك سرَى

A fantasy of love for you

And a fantasy of one who confided in you,

ملك الحبُّ عزائمنا

لم يدعَ سمعاً ولا بَصَرا

The king of love commanded our determination;

He left no hearing or sight.

فرقةُ الأحباب تاركة

للهوى في قلبه أثَرا

The separation of loved ones leaving

In the heart an effect of passion

ومواثيقُ الأحبة لم

يُحدث البعدُ لها غِيَرا

And the covenants of loved ones,

Distance did not change them.

من حبيبٍ لا أبوح به

لم أجد لي عنه مُصطَبَرا

Of a loved one I do not speak of

I did not find in him disloyalty,

أتناسى ويجدّدُ لي

وعرفنا بعدَه السّهَرا

I forget and he renews for me,

And we knew through his absence wakefulness.

لم يزل يخلُطُ متعبُنا

بالبكا قبل النّوى حذَرا

He did not cease to mix our weariness

With weeping before drowsiness caution.

إن يوم البين أعجلنا

ما قضينا في الهوى وَطَرا

If the day of separation hurried us

We did not fulfill in passion and infatuation.

لو يَعود الوصل ثانيةً

لاقتضينا منه ما غَبَرا

If reunion comes again

We will take from it what was missed

وأخذنا بالعهود على

من أتى بالعذر لا غَدرا

And we will make covenants upon

One who came with excuses, not betrayal.

ليت شعري حين عاتبه

عنّي الطّيفُ بما اعتذَرَا

I wish I knew when the specter

Reproached me for my apology,

إنْ أصَحَّ الوصل توبته

كانَ ذنب البين مغتَفَرَا

If reunion's repentance was true

The sin of separation is forgiven.

وعهدنا الدَّارَ عامِرةً

ومحلَّ الَّلهو معتَمَرَا

And we made the house prosperous

And the place of play active,

وتَصيّدنا جآذرَها

بين أسنان الصِّبا خُمرَا

And we hunted its edges

With the teeth of youth and wine.

ولقد نقطع لَيلتَنا

باعتناق الحبّ أو سَمَرَا

And we used to split our night

With embracing passion or conversation,

ولقد نغدو على مُلحٍ

في بطالات الصّبا بُكَرَا

And we used to have sweet in the morning

In the youth’s playfulness.

بين أيّام الرّبيع وقد

بسطت فوق الثّرى حِبَرَا

Amongst spring days that

Spread papers on the ground,

علّها الطَّلُّ ورقرَقها

بَردُ أنفاس الصَّبا سَحَرَا

Dew dyed it and its twinkling

With the breath of youth's magic,

فاكتَسى بالنّبت ظاهِرُها

وتحلّى النّورَ والزَّهَرا

So its exterior was clothed in vegetation

And adorned with light and flowers.

وغدا الفتيان في مَلحٍ

يَتعاطونَ بها السُّكُرَا

And the youths had sweetness

Indulging in it intoxication,

فلهونا ثم ألزمنا

شيبُنا عن وردها صَدَرا

So we sported, then committed

Our whiteness from its roses.

أعرضت عنّا الكواعب مُذْ

رأتِ الأعلام والكِبَرا

The charmers turned away from us when

They saw the banners and old age,

فانثنينا نبتغي سبباً

في اكتساب الرّزق مختَبَرا

So we turned seeking a reason

To earn provision through experience.

قلَّ ما حاوَلَ مقتصِدٌ

حسنُ التدبير فافتَقَرا

Rarely did a manager try

Good planning and become poor,

وإذا المحرومُ أقعده

عن غنىً عجزٌ شكا القدَرا

And when the deprived sits

From wealth, inability complains of fate.

وأبو عبد الإله لَنا

راح عوناً واغتذى وَزَرا

And Abu Abdullah is for us

A helper's rest, and carried burdens.

سُحُبٌ من كَفّهِ وَكَفت

وكُفينا السّيرَ والسَّفَرا

Clouds from his palm

And palm trees shaded us from journeying and travel.

ورتّعنا في حدائقه

فحمدنا الظَّلَّ والثَمَرا

And we grazed in his gardens

So we praised the shade and fruit.

بأبي عبد الإله نَما

مَنبت المعروفِ وازْدَهَرا

With my father Abdullah we grew

The place of favors and it flourished.

ومحل الفضل يعمُره

طولُ عُمر بن أبي عُمَرا

The place of virtue he inhabits,

Length of age of the son of Abu Omara.

وهو المونةُ تهطلُ من

ذهبٍ أو ورَقٍ مطَرا

He is the stucco dripping from

Gold or sheets of rain.

وهو السَّيد طاعتُه

إن نَهى فرضٌ وإن أمَرا

And he is the master whom obedience

Is an obligation if he forbids and commands.

وهو البحر غواربُهُ

تَقذف الدُّرَ إذا زَخَرا

And he is the sea whose boats

Cast pearls when they overflow.

وهو الليث بسالته

يقهر الليثَ إذا زأرا

And he is the lion in his might

Who overpowers the lion when it roars.

ذكرُه بالحدم متّصلٌ

ولهُ الفضل إذا حَضَرا

Remembrance of him is connected to valor

And he has the merit when present.

مُطْلع في الدَّست مجلسه

بدرَ تِمّ يَهَبُ البِدَرا

Rising in his assembly a full moon,

A perfect moon giving moons.

وله النُّعمى التي سبَغَت

وله الفضل الذي بَهَرا

And for him the blessings which covered

And for him the merit which dazzled.

تملأ الأرضَ مواهبُه

وتعمُّ البَدوَ والحَضَرا

His gifts fill the land

And spread among nomads and settled peoples.

وعُفاة البَر زائرةٌ

لذَراه زُمَراً زُمَرا

And the barefoot of the land are visitors

In groups to see him in groups.

قَدّر الله له حَسَباً

وثناءً طيّباً عَطِرا

God destined for him lineage

And good fragrant praise.

لو دعُي ذو محافَظةٍ

لا يَرى في عُوده خَوَرا

If one of chastity is called

He sees no dishonor in returning.

أشبه الأعمامَ من يمنٍ

واقتفى أخوالَه مُضَرا

He resembles the uncles from Yemen

And followed his maternal uncles Mudar.

سادة يجمع مجلِسُهم

للمعالي والنَّدى صُوَرا

Chiefs whom his assembly collects

For glory and dew images.

مجلسٌ تلقى الكواكبَ في

صَحنِهِ والشمسَ والقَمَرا

An assembly where the planets meet

In its basin, and the sun and moon.

والأجلَّ ابنَ أبي عُمَرا

والمجيدَ الفعلَ والنَّظَرا

And the most majestic, the son of Abu Omara

And the most glorious, the deed and vision.

بارعٌ في كلّ مَكرُمَةٍ

لا ترى في باعِهِ قِصَرا

Skillful in every honorable deed,

You see no shortcoming in his vendition.

يا أبا عبد الإله أقِمْ

ما أقام النّجمُ مقتَدِرا

Oh Abu Abdullah remain

As the empowered star remained.

صُمْ وافطر ثمَّ ضَحِّ وكُن

خير من صلّى ومن نَحَرا

Fast, break fast, then sacrifice, and be

Better than one who prayed and sacrificed.

وإليك البكرَ حاليةً

بعقود ضُمّنت دُرَرا

And to you the virgin

With contracts embedded with pearls.

أجْزل الحَظَّ لشاعِرها

واتخذها لَكَ مُدَّخَرا

Give ample reward to her poet

And take her for you as stored.