ثَنَت لِوداعهِ الأعطاف يُسرا

فَكانَ هناكَ منها العسرُ يُسرا

At bidding him farewell, she bent her supple sides to the left,

and there, with her, hardship turned to ease.

وَأَقلقَها جوى الفرقا فَفاضَت

مَدامِعُها عَلى الخدّينِ قَطرا

The anguish of separation troubled her, and out poured

her tears upon both cheeks, drop after drop.

فَكانَ الدرُّ مبسمها وعقد ال

جمان وَدمعُها درّاً ودرّا

Pearls were her smiling teeth and her necklace of

pearls; her flowing tears, too, were pearls.

تَشابهن الثلاثة غير هذا

بدا نظماً وذاكً يلوحُ نثرا

The three resembled one another, except that one

appeared strung, while another gleamed scattered.

ظَللنا في اِعتباقٍ واِستِلامٍ

تجدّد من قديمِ العهدِ ذِكرا

We remained embracing and exchanging kisses,

reviving the memory of an ancient bond.

فَلَو أبصرتَنا أبصرتَ منّا

هلالاً في الوداعِ يضمُّ بَدرا

Had you seen us, you would have seen in us

a crescent at farewell embracing a full moon:

فَتاة تُخجلُ الأغصانَ قدّاً

وَتُخجل أقحوانَ الروضِ كشرا

a maiden whose figure puts the branches to shame,

and whose smile shames the meadow’s daisies.

إِذا أسررت فيها بعض وجدي

جَرى دَمعي فَكان السرّ جَهرا

Whenever I concealed some of my longing for her,

my tears ran, making the secret public.

غَزالٌ يَرتعي الأحشاء لا من

مفازاتِ الفلا شيحاً وسِدرا

A gazelle grazing upon the innermost heart—not upon

the wilderness’s wormwood and lote trees—

وَشمس ما لَها أَبداً مدارٌ

فَتنزلُ منه إِكليلاً وغفرا

and a sun that never has an orbit,

before which al-Iklīl and al-Ghafr sink low.

وربّة ليلةٍ طرقت هجوعاً

فَكانت قبلَ وقتِ الفجرِ فَجرا

Many a night I visited her while she slept,

and before the hour of dawn, she became a dawn.

فَقمتُ أضمّها حتّى إذا مجت

خلواتنا صدراً وصَدرا

I rose and held her close, until

our secluded meetings brought us breast to breast.

إِذا قبّلت والوجناتُ حمرا

تغشّاها الحياءُ فصرنَ صفرا

Whenever I kissed her while her cheeks were red,

bashfulness covered them, and they turned pale.

تُدير عليَّ مِن يدها وفيها

عَلى تَصريفها جمراً وخمرا

She passed me a cup from her hand—and within it,

as she turned it, were both fire and wine.

لَياليَ لا تزالُ رياض لهوي

بَهيجاتٍ حواشيهنّ خضرا

Nights that never ceased to be gardens of my pleasure,

radiant, with all their borders green;

وَريحُ شَبيبتي تجري رخاءً

وأَنجمُ صَبوتي يَعلون زهرا

the breeze of my youth blew softly,

and the stars of my passion rose in bloom.

عَرفتُ حوادثَ الأيّام حتّى

قتلتُ خطوبَها عزماً وَصبرا

I came to know the assaults of the days, until

I slew their calamities with resolve and patience.

إِذا ما خلتُ حادثةً تقضّت

أتَت مِن بعدها أُخرى وأُخرى

Whenever I thought one misfortune had passed,

another followed it, and still another.

وحلّ نشا وأفكاري إلى أن

رَأيتُ خفيَّ ما في الغيب فكرا

The roaming of my thoughts continued until

through reflection, I saw what lies hidden in the unseen.

بَلوتُ الدهرَ حتّى لو بعلمي

لكنتُ شفيته علماً وخُبرا

I tested Time so thoroughly that, with my knowledge,

I could have cured it through understanding and experience.

وَكيفَ يُريبهُ منّي اِختبارٌ

وَقَد عايشتُهُ مرّاً وحلوا

How, then, could any test of mine perplex it?

I lived with it in bitterness and sweetness.

وَقَد فتّشت أَهليهِ جميعاً

وَقَد قلّبتهُم بطناً وظهرا

I searched among all its people

and turned them over, belly and back.

إِذا ما العيشُ فاتَكَ فيه يسراً

فَلاحظهُ بِطرفِ العين شزرا

If ease eludes you in this life,

then look at life askance, from the corner of your eye.

رَأيت الفقرَ قبل الموت موتاً

لِصاحبهِ وقبل القبر قبرا

I saw poverty as death before death

for its sufferer, and as a grave before the grave.

وَعمرُ المرءِ حبلٌ كلَّ يومٍ

تمرّ بهِ تقصّر منهُ شِبرا

A person’s life is a rope from which, each day,

the passing day shortens a span.

قَطعت الأرضَ مِن شرقٍ وغربٍ

وَجزت تُخومها برّاً وبحرا

I crossed the earth from east to west

and passed its frontiers by land and sea,

إِلى أَن صارَ ساكنها جميعاً

هناكَ يظنّني كالخضر خضرا

until all its inhabitants, there,

came to think me as evergreen as al-Khidr.

وَلَم أرَ كالمظفّرِ مِن مليكٍ

عَلى الدُنيا منَ الأملاكِ طرّا

Never among kings have I seen one like al-Muzaffar—

not among all the kings upon the earth.

مَليكٌ أعدلُ الأملاكِ ملكاً

وَأَندى راحةً وأجلّ قَدرا

A king, the most just of kings in rule,

the most open-handed and the loftiest in rank.

فَما دار اِبن دارا في علاهُ

يُطاولهُ ولا كِسرى بن كسرى

No Dārā son of Dārā, in his glory,

could rival him, nor Khosrow son of Khosrow.

فَتىً عمَّ الأصادقَ والأعادي

عَلى اِستِحقاقهم نفعاً وضرّا

A young lord whose reach embraces loyal friends and enemies,

granting benefit or harm according to what they merit.

وخطّت فضله أَيدي الأيادي

فَأصبحَ في جبينِ الأرضِ سَطرا

The hands of benefactions inscribed his excellence,

until it became a line upon the earth’s brow.

له خلقٌ لنائلهِ يحاكي

رِياض الجرنِ إِبهاجاً ونشرا

His character, matching his largesse,

is like the gardens of Paradise in joy and fragrance.

بهِ وَبِملكهِ اِفتخرَت عمان

فعقّب شاؤها شاماً ومصرا

Through him and his reign Oman took pride,

while Syria and Egypt followed behind her eminence.

وَطاولتِ السماءَ الأرضُ حتّى

عَلَت بهرامها شرفاً وفخرا

Earth rivaled heaven itself, until

through its Bahrām it rose in honor and pride.

خضمٌّ للندا لجبٌ وليثٌ

يَكونُ عرينهُ بيضاً وسُمرا

A roaring ocean of generosity, and a lion

whose lair is white blades and brown spears.

أَلا يا مَن أَحاطَ الملك عدلاً

وَمن رَضِيت به الأعداءُ قَسرا

O you who have encompassed the realm with justice,

and whom even enemies have been compelled to accept:

إِليكَ بنا سَرت عيس الأماني

فَغدواً شهرُها وتروحُ شَهرا

toward you the white camels of our hopes have carried us,

covering a month’s journey at dawn and another month’s by evening.

تجوبُ بِنا إِلى صلةِ المُنى مِن

مفاوز بأسها سهلاً ووعرا

They traverse with us, toward you, the desert of hopes,

across wastes, whether their hardship be smooth or rugged.

وَتحملُ مِن بضائِعها جماناً

تصرّف في النظامِ فصارَ شِعرا

They carry among their merchandise strings of pearls

which, arranged upon the thread, have become poetry.