نظري إِلى لمع الوميضِ حنينُ

وتنفُّسِي لصَبا الأصيلِ أنينُ

My sight to the glimmer of lightning yearning

And my breath for the pure morning breeze moaning

ما كنتُ أعلمُ قبلَ نازلةِ الحِمَى

أنَّ الحبائلَ والسهامَ عيونُ

I did not know before the fever's descent

That tendrils and arrows were eyes

ركزوا بأبوابِ القبَابِ رماحَهمْ

ووراءَهُنَّ أهِلَّةٌ وغصونُ

They positioned their spears at the gates of domes

And behind them, a crescent moon and twigs

آسادُ ملحمةٍ وأُدْمُ صريمةٍ

تحت الأكِلَّةِ فالكناسُ عرينُ

Lions of an epic and blood of clamor

Under the fortresses, so the foxes are in their dens

ومضَوا يَشيمونَ الوميضَ وقد هَفَا

بخفوقِه خَضلُ الربابِ هتونُ

They went extinguishing the lightning, and it

Shook with its throbbing the tent's curtains, fallen

إِلّا يكنْ نَعَبَ الغرابُ ببينهمْ

أُصُلاً فقد نَعَبَتْ سحائبُ جُونُ

Unless the crow had carved out between them

A lineage, so the clouds of sadness carved

باتوا ونجوى البين بينَ رِحالهمْ

فوضَى ومُستَرَقُ الحديثِ شجونُ

They spent the night with the distance's whisper between their encampments

Chaos and stolen conversation lamentations

وتحمَّلوا سَحَراً وحشوُ حُدوجِهمْ

صُوَرُ الجَآذرِ والظِباءُ العِينُ

And they endured a pre-dawn raid and the appearances of their steeds

Were like timid gazelles, and the doe-eyed gentle

ووراءَ أصدافِ الحُدوجِ يهزُّهَا

هُوجُ الركائبِ لؤلؤٌ مكنونُ

And behind the armor of the steeds it shakes

The determination of the mounts, a hidden pearl

إِنّ الأُلى أقوتْ ربوعُهمُ لهم

بين الأضالعِ منزلٌ مسكونُ

The family strengthened their souls for them

Between their ribs, an inhabited abode

نُشِرَتْ ربوعُهمُ بعَودِ قَطينها

ونشورُ ربعٍ أن يعودَ قطينُ

Their souls were scattered by the firewood of her coquetry

And the soul of the loved one, that it return coquettish

وَمَليحةٍ بكرتْ عليَّ مُليحةً

سَحَراً وقد صبغَ الخدودَ جفونُ

And a smooth-faced one, she appeared smooth-faced to me

At dawn, and kohl had dyed her eyelids

قالت عهِدتُكَ لا تُراعُ لحادثٍ

وحصاةُ قلبكَ لا تكادُ تلينُ

She said, "I knew you do not care for misfortune

And your heart's pebbles scarcely soften"

فاليومَ مالك مستكيناً يمتري

مخزونَ دمعكَ قلبُكَ المحزونُ

So today I saw you miserable, borrowing

The reserve of your tearful, saddened heart

تبغي سُلُوِّي وهو أعوزُ مطلبٍ

وطِلابُ ما لا يُستطاعُ جنونُ

You want my flirtation, and it is the most lacking desire

And seeking what cannot be attained is madness

فأجبتُها كُفِّي الملامَ وأقصري

كلٌّ بما كسبتْ يداهُ رهينُ

So I answered her, stop blaming me, and shorten

Each gets what their hands have bound, a hostage

لم يُبقِ عندي للتجلُّدِ موضعاً

بينٌ بتفريقِ الجميعِ قمينُ

No scope remains in me for endurance

It is clear with the separation of all, the winnower

ولقد أثرتُ العيسَ ما لظهورها

مما أضرَّ بها السِّفارُ بطونُ

And I have chosen the best mounts; for their backs

Nothing like the saddles' wounding of their abdomens

مشَقَ السهوبُ لحومَهُنَّ وعرَّقَتْ

أشلاءَهُنَّ فكلُّ حرفٍ نونُ

The plains cracked their meat, and

Their legs sweated, so each letter is bent

يرسُفْنَ في قيدِ الكَلالِ كأنما

حركاتُهنَّ وقد جَهِدنَ سكونُ

They race in the fetter of emaciation as if

Their movements, exhausted, are stillness

ولقد تَرى والريحُ راسفةٌ إِذا

قِيستْ إليها والوميض حَرُونُ

And you can see, when the wind is raging, if

Compared to it, the lightning is scorching

وكأنّها والليلُ وَحْفٌ فاحمٌ

عوجُ المدارى والظلامُ قرونُ

It is as if it and the night are a darkness, packed

Bent roads and gloom are spears

يرمي بهنَّ نياطَ كلِّ تنوفةٍ

همٌّ وهمٌّ في الضلوعِ كمينُ

It hurls at them the stars of every ascent

Concerns and concerns in the ribs lying in wait

هممٌ تعاورُها الهمومُ وعزمةٌ

عذراءُ شيَّبَها الخطوبُ العونُ

Ambitions, worries exchange them, and determination

An unsullied that has been whitened by life's calamities helper

وإِذا طغَى بحرُ الزِماع فما لهُ

إِلّا القِلاصَ اليعملاتِ سَفِينُ

And if the sea of time overflows, it has

None except the slender spindly trees, a boat

وإِذا نبا الوطنُ العسوفُ بأهلهِ

فظهورُهنَّ لمن حملنَ حُصونُ

And if the homeland calls out longingly for its people

Then their backs are for those who carried fortresses

يَخبِطنَ أحشاءَ الدياجي أو يُرَى

للصبحِ خدٌّ واضحٌ وجبينُ

They beat the ribs of darkness or the dawn appears

With a cheek visible and a bright forehead

ولقد سلبتُ مِراحَهنَّ إِلى حمَى

ملكٍ له ربُّ السماءِ مُعينُ

And I have taken their aspirations to the love

Of a king for whom the Lord of the Heavens is helper

مسعودٍ الميمونِ طائرهُ الذي

جَدُّ المُنيخ ببابِه ميمونُ

Auspicious, fortunate, its bird

The forebears of the constellation at his door fortunate

ملكِ الملوك ابنِ السلاطين الألى

ملكوا رقابَ العالمينَ ودَينُوا

King of kings, son of sultans sublime

Who ruled over the necks of all the worlds and judged

ركزوا ببرقةَ والصعيدِ رماحَهمْ

والهندُ مربطُ خيلِهم والصينُ

They positioned their spears in Damascus and the countryside

And India is the pasture of their horses and China

ملكوا الأعنَّةَ والأسنَّةَ والظُبَى

والخيلُ تنزو في الوغى وتلينُ

They ruled over Nubia and Abyssinia and the gazelles

And the horses flow into the fray and are gentle

فكأنَّها تحتَ الفوارس والظُبَى

تحتَ العجاجِ بوارقٌ ودجونُ

So it is as if beneath the horsemen and the gazelles

Are canopies and carpets

مجدٌ تُوُورِثَ كابراً عن كابرٍ

والدهرُ مقتَبلٌ وآدمُ طِينُ

A glory inherited from great to great

And fate is welcoming and Adam is clay

فالعزُّ أقعسُ والجنابُ ممنَّعٌ

والمجدُ أتلعُ والفِناءُ حصينُ

So honor is most chaste, and repute made inaccessible

And glory most respected, and perishing a citadel

شُغِفتْ بدعوَتِهِ المنابرُ يافعاً

وصبا إِليهِ المُلكُ وهو جنينُ

The minbars were infatuated with his youthful call

And kingship inclined to him while he was a fetus

شَرِقُ البنانِ بجوده غَدِقُ الندَى

كلتا يديهِ للعُفَاةِ يمينُ

Dawn's clarity by his generosity pouring rain's bounty

Both his hands to the destitute are a right hand

للملكِ مأوى في ظِلالِ لوائهِ

يأوي إِليه النصرُ والتمكينُ

For the king, there is refuge in the shadows of his banners

Victory and empowerment take refuge in it

طرِبُ الشمائل حين تنآدُ القنا

ثمِلاً ويَشْرَقُ بالدماء وتينُ

A sphere revolves around the knob of his crown

And moves wherever it moves

ينجابُ عنه النقعُ وهو كأنَّهُ

قَمرٌ له سعدُ السُّعودِ قرينُ

Kings hunt under his feet

And the Gabriel shades him with his wing

والمشرفيّةُ في العجاج لوامعٌ

والأعوجيةُ في الصفوفِ صُفونُ

The well-bred horses, necks burdened

The effort of the delicate ones in their necks and tendons

وعليه نشرُ مظلةٍ مكنونةٍ

بالدرِّ والياقوتِ وهو ثمينُ

Their hooves outstripped sights

So the outstripping of their goals and eyelids is equal

سوداءُ حمراءُ الحِفاف كأنَّها

زهرُ الشقائقِ في الرياض تبينُ

Were it not for the two goals being so distant I would swear

No one sees their movement as stillness

رُفعتُ تردُّ الشمسَ عن شمسٍ لها

نورٌ إِذا اعتكرَ الظلامُ مبينُ

The lightnings almost resemble them, if only

Eyes and conjectures had not caught them

شمسان يكتنفانها من فوقِها

شمسٌ وآخرُ تحتها مدجونُ

Of all the slackening of the reins when it flows

On the day of the wager, its outstripping is guaranteed

فبنورِ تلك أضاءتِ الدنيا إِذا

ضاءتْ به الدنيا وعزَّ الدينُ

Whether it climbs the towering mountain or rides the billowing sea

فلكٌ يدورُ على ذؤابةِ تاجهِ

ويكون أنَّى دار حيثُ يكونُ

It is fires and talents

With his brother Allah strengthened his mighty arm

تمشي الملوكُ الصِيدُ تحت ركابِه

ويُظِلُّه بجناحِه جِبرينُ

And his minister, one of his folk, is Aaron

Two flints, events sprouted from them

والجردُ مثقلةُ الرِقابِ يؤُودُها

حَمْلُ النُّضارِ بكدِّها ويرينُ

So the wood is firm and the sparks years

Together despite the enemies' injustice, supporting each other

سبقتْ حوافرُها النواظرَ فاستوى

سبقٌ إِلى غاياتِها وشفونُ

For both of them, the channel of truth is sturdy

The prayer leader and the one who prays behind him are preceded by him

لولا ترامي الغايتينِ لأقسمَ ال

راؤونَ أنَّ حَراكَها تسكينُ

And behind him, all of humanity is beneath

O king, by whose majesty

قد كادَ يُشبهها البُروقُ لَوَ اَنَّها

لم يعتلقْها أعينٌ وظنونُ

The ordainment is fulfilled and creation is instituted

His pleasure revives and his anger ruins

من كل جيَّاشِ العِنان إِذا جَرى

يومَ الرِّهانِ فسبقُه مضمونُ

So they are life for creation and bliss

The wolves have wreaked havoc on the flock, and it has

إِن يفرعِ الطودَ الأشمَّ فأجدلٌ

أو يركبِ البحرَ الخِضَمَّ فنونُ

No shepherd, and the thief, while trusted, is a traitor

And a gang has contested the kingdom's authority

بأخيهِ شدَّ اللّهُ أزرَ جلالهِ

ووزيرُه من أهلِه هارونُ

None know which of them is infatuated

And they have seized what neither The One of the Two Horns

قِدحانِ قد نَبَتِ الحوادثُ عنهما

فالعودُ صُلْبٌ والغِرارُ سنينُ

Nor Korah owned, ruling

So in every land, a banner and a gang

جُمعا على رغم العدَى وتسانَدا

فكلاهما صَدقُ القناةِ متينُ

Were gathered, and a war unendurable, heavy

Ready your sturdy resolve, for they

سبق المجلِّي والمصلِّي دونه

ووراءهُ كلُّ البريةِ دونُ

Are civil strife that has settled in their plains, mournful

So its kindling is sudden, and its embers

يا أيها الملِكُ الذي بجلالِه

قُضِيَ القضاءُ وكُوِّنَ التكوينُ

Are a fire that flames, and its fuel is a dragon

It is as if religion, having been loaded with it

مرضاتُهُ تُحْيِي ويُرْدِي سُخْطُه

فهما حياةٌ للورى ومَنُونُ

Is a sea whose laden ship has capsized

And unleash upon them ranks like them, and provoke them

عاثت ذؤالةُ في القطيع ومَا له

راعٍ وأضحى اللصُّ وهو أمينُ

A pouring that makes two armies forgotten

And strengthen your hands with your uncle's rope, for he

وتنازعَ الملكَ الشَّعاعَ عِصابةٌ

لم يُدْرَ أيهُّمُ به المفتونُ

Is your master, so he is privy to what you love

And emerge under it a banner granting victory

وتناهبوا ما لم يكنْ من قبلُ ذو ال

قرنين يملِكُه ولا قارونُ

Its rise paired with its emergence

O sons of the kings who hunt, behind you

فبكلِ أرضٍ رايةٌ وعصابةٌ

جُمعتْ وحربٌ لا تُطاقُ زبونُ

Are grave matters, if you address them, they become simple

Before, the trustee betrayed his brother

جرِّدْ عزيمتَك المتينةَ إنّها

فتنٌ ركَدنَ سهولهُنَّ حُزونُ

So the trusted one was removed from him, the secured

The slaves have overcome the position of your throne

فبغاثُها مستنسِرٌ وشرارُهَا

نارٌ تُشَبُّ ودودُهَا تِنِّينُ

And the slave is the link's betrayer, disgraced

These are the rounds of fickleness that have afflicted

وكأنما الدينا وقد شُحِنتْ بها

بحرٌ تَكَفَّأَ فُلكُهُ المشحونُ

All the people, so where are the unique ones?

So rise up against it with resolve, enveloped by gazelles

وارم الصفوفَ بمثلهنَّ وشُنَّها

شعواءَ يُنسَى عندَها صِفِّينُ

And thoroughbreds, their composition hidden

And storm against them with warships stormingly

واشدُدْ يديكَ بحبلِ عمِّكَ إِنَّهُ

مولاكَ فهو بما تحبُّ ضمينُ

Scattering the necks' usurpation while they are lowly

Measure them with the bushel, bushel for bushel, and recompense them

واطلَعْ عليه برايةٍ منصورةٍ

إِقبالُه بطلوعِها مقرونُ

For their transgressions, for transgressions are debts

My ambitions and opinions have inclined toward you

أبَني الملوكِ الصيدِ إنَّ وراءكمْ

خطباً إِذا دبَّرْتُموهُ يهونُ

With my mounts, and the men's passions are talents

I seek the limits of sublimity, and my temperament

من قبل ذا خانَ الأمين شقيقه

فأُديل منه لبغيه المأمونُ

Refuses moderation, for moderation is baseness

So submit, that I may attain in you what I hoped

غلب العبيدُ على مقرِّ سريرِكم

والعبدُ خَوَّارُ القناةِ مهينُ

Supposing, and the supposition of the brilliant is certainty

هي جولةُ الضْحَّاكِ عمَّ بلاؤُها

كلَّ الأنامِ فأين أفْرِيدُونُ

فانهضْ لها بالعزم تكنفُه الظُبَى

والسابغيّةُ نسجُها موضونُ

واعصِفْ عليهم بالقواضبِ عصفةً

تذرُ الرِقابَ الغُلْبَ وهي درينُ

كايلْهُمُ بالصاعِ صاعاً واجزِهمْ

بِتراتِهم إنّ التِراتِ ديونُ

إِنَّ الهَوى والرأيَ مالا نحوكمْ

بركائبي وهوى الرجالِ فنونُ

أبغي نهاياتِ العُلى وسجيتي

تأبى التوسُّطَ فالتوسطُ هونُ

فاسلمْ لأدركَ فيك ما أمَّلْتُهُ

ظنَّاً وظنُّ الألمعيِّ يقينُ