أَيا ابنَ عُميرٍ أَنتَ أَول ماجِدٍ

خَطَبْتُ اليه وُدَّهُ وهو بَاذِلُ

O son of Umayr, you are the first glorious one

Whose love I sought, and he is most generous

وخضتُ اليه الجمع لما رأَيتُه

تُشِيرُ اليه بالثناءِ الأَنامِلُ

And I appealed to him when I saw him

Praised by people with the finest praise

أَعِنّى على دَهْرٍ كأَنَّ صُروفَهُ

لها دِمنٌ ما تَنْقَضِي وَطَوائِلُ

Help me against a time whose calamities

Seem endless, ceaseless in their onslaught

أَنا الغرضُ المَرميُّ دونَ شُخُوصِهِ

فما تَهتَدي الاَّ اِليَّ الغَوائِلُ

I am the target, though he remains obscure

So none can guide me, but misfortunes find their mark

وَهَمٌّ بَراني شَجْوُهُ وَدَخِيلُهُ

فلا دَاؤُهُ محيٍ ولا هو قاتِل

Melancholy's whim has struck me, and its advocate assails me

Its cure is not life, nor is it fatal

دعوتكَ لا أَرجو سِواكَ وبيننا

رجالٌ لهم عِزٌّ عزيز ونائِلُ

I called on you, hoping for none but you, while between us

Are men of great honor, exalted and attaining their goal

يَوَدُّونَ لو حَمَّلْتَهُمْ ثِقلَ حَاجَةٍ

ولا يَحْمِلُ الأَقوامُ ما أَنتَ حَامِلُ

They wish you'd take on their heavy burdens

Yet no people can bear what you have borne

اذا لم يكن اِلاَّ الجوارُ غنيمةً

فجاور كريماً حَبْلهُ لكَ واصِلُ

If nothing but generosity is the spoils of war

Then be a generous neighbor whose pact endures

اذا أَنتَ تحتَ المُرْهفاتِ دَعَوتَهُ

أَتاكَ ولم تَشْغَلهُ عنكَ الشَّواغِلُ

If beneath pressing woes you heed his call

He comes to you, undistracted by other cares

يَقيكَ من اللحظِ المريبِ وانما

تُصانُ اذا لك تَبْتَذِلْكَ المَبَاذِلُ

He shields you from the suspicious glance, but only

You are protected if you scorn contempt

وشتانُ مولىً لا يُغِبُّكَ نصره

ومولىً يُمنى نَصْرَهُ وهو خَاذِلُ

Far different is a lord whose aid is not withheld

From one whose aid is hoped for while he fails you

أَبا طالبٍ كاثِرْ بها القومَ واعتقدْ

مَضَنّةَ مشفوقٍ بها لا يُبَادِلُ

Abu Talib, burden them with it, let the people believe

The agony of a guardian who does not falter

فَانَّكَ انْ أوجبتَ شُكْرَكَ أَوجَبَتْ

لكَ المكرماتُ خيرَ ما أنا قائِلُ

For if you oblige, you oblige bounties

To requite you - the finest words I can utter

وسارتْ مسيرَ الشَّمسِ فيكَ قَصَائِدٌ

يُجَدِّدُ ذِكراهَا الضُّحَى والأَصائِلُ

And poems will journey like the sun in praising you

Their memories renewed at dawn and dusk