سَقْياً لطِيبِ زَمانِنا وسُرُورهِ

وعَزِيزِ عَيشٍ مُسْعِفٍ بِغَزيرِه

Watering the goodness of our time and its joy,

And precious livelihood aided by its abundance,

وتكَفُّري برداءِ وَصْلِ مُقَرْطَقٍ

كَتَبُوا بِنقْسِ المِسْكِ في كافُورِه

And my atonement in a finely woven cloak

In which musk is engraved into its camphor.

مُتَلَفِّعٌ بحَريرهِ مُتَضَمِّخٌ

بعَبيرهِ مُتَرَنِّحٌ بفُتُورِه

Wearing its silk, smeared with its fragrance,

Murmuring with its lanquidness,

وَسْنانُ ناوَلَني مُدَامَةَ طَرْفِهِ

فشَرِبْتُها وسَمِعْتُ مِن طُنْبُورِه

A branch offered me a cup from its tips,

So I drank it and heard the songs of its lute.

يَدْعُو بلُكْنةِ بَرْبَريٍّ لم يَزَلْ

يَسْتَفُّ بالصَّحْراءِ حَبَّ بَريرِه

Calling out in the Berber accent that never ceased

To roam the desert, loving its expanse.

مُتَقَدِّمٌ بمَضائِهِ مُتَلَفِّعٌ

برِدائِهِ مُتَكَلِّمٌ في عيرِه

Going forth with his walk, wearing his cloak,

Speaking of his camel herd and his people.

مُسْتَفتِحٌ لبَيانِهِ بَبنانِهِ

يُهْدِي السّلامَ إِلى رجالِ عَشِيرِه

Beginning his eloquence and his clarity,

Sending greetings to the men of his tribe.

مُتَنَصِّبٌ كالغُصْنِ إِلا أَنَّهُ

يَهْتَزُّ مِن أَعْجازِه وصُدُورِه

Standing tall like a branch, except he sways

From his backbone and his chest.

طارَحْتُهُ كَلِماً وكُنْتُ زَعِيمَهُ

غَرداً أُحَرِّكُ مَنْكَبي لزَميرِه

I conversed with him while I led the singing,

Shaking my shoulders to his tune.

فَمَشَى إِليَّ فثُرْتُ غَيْرَ مُعَفِّرٍ

كالليثِ مطَّرداً إِلى يَعفورِه

He walked towards me without hesitation

Like a lion heading to its den.

وَمَلكتُه بالكفِّ ملكةَ قادرٍ

فانصاعَ مؤتَمراً لحُكمِ أميرِه

I held him by the palm with a firm grip

So he surrendered to his ruler’s command.

فَقَضَيتُ ما لم أَقْضِ فيه بِرِيبَةٍ

يَأْبَى العَفافُ وعِصْمتي بحُضُورِه

I did what I have never done without hesitation

As virtue and chastity abhorred his presence.

زَمَنٌ قَضَى ثُمَّ انْقَضَى فكأَنه

حُلُمٌ قَرأْتُ المَوْتَ في تَفْسِيرِه

A time that has passed and faded away as if

I read death in its interpretation.

ولَرُبَّ لَيْلٍ للهُمُومِ تَهَلَّلَتْ

أَستارُه فَمحا الصُّوى بِسُتُورِه

And many a night whose curtains

Were drawn for worries and erased the walls.

كالبَحْر يَضْربُ وَجْهَهُ في وَجْههِ

صَعْبٌ على العُبّار وَجْهُ عُبُورِه

Like a sea slapping its face with its face,

Difficult for sailors to cross.

طاوَلْتُهُ مِن عَزْمتي بمُضَمَّرٍ

أثْبَتُّ هَمِّي في قَرارَةِ كورِه

I challenged it with my intent and perseverance

To establish my worries in the depth of its burrows.

وعليَّ للصَّبْر الجَمِيلِ مُفاضةً

تَلْقَى الرَّدَى فتَكِلُّ دُونَ صَبُورِه

And I have an abundance of beautiful patience

That faces adversities and falls short of its threshold.

وبراحتي مِن فِكْرتي ذُو ذُكرَةٍ

عَهِدَتْ تُذاكِرُني بطَبْعِ ذَكِيرِه

And at my leisure my recurring thoughts

Remind me of their mark with its reminder.

فَرْدٌ إِذا بَعَثَتْ دَياجي صَرْفِهِ

هَوْلاً عليَّ خَبَطْتُ في دَيْجُورِه

Solitude when the obscurity of its diversion overcomes me

And I fumble in its darkness.

حتَّى بَدا عبْد العَزيز لناظِرَيْ

أَمَلِي فمَزَّقْتُ الدُّجَى عن نُورِه

Until Abdulaziz appeared to my eyes—

My hope—so I tore away the fog from his light.

مَلِكٌ تَبَقَّى المَجْدَ ناصِرُهُ لَهُ

وتَقَيَّلَ العَلْيَاءَ عن مَنْصُورِه

A king whose glory victory backs

And the most High fell short of its support.

طَلَبَ الحَوادِثَ مُعرِباً عن ثأْرِهِ

فجَرَتْ دِماءُ الخَطْبِ في مأْثُورِه

Seeking events to avenge

So the blood of war flows in its legends.

ورَأَى الزَّمانَ يَحِيدُ عن تَأْمِيرِهِ

فسَقَى سهامَ المَجْدِ مِن تامُورِه

And he saw time deviate from his rule

So he watered the arrows of glory from his quiver.