إِذا حَدَتِ الرِّيحُ عِيَس الحَيا

وَهَتَّكَ بِالبَرقِ سِترَ الدُّجا

When the wind stirs the branches of the trees

And lightning tears through the veil of darkness

وَظَلَّ يُفَوِّقُ جَوَّ الرِّياضِ

وَيَصقُلُها بِنَسيمِ الصَّبا

And continues to excel the atmosphere of the gardens

Polishing it with the morning breeze

فَمَنطَقَ مِنها خُصورَ الوِهادِ

وَتَوَّجَ مِنها رُؤوسَ الرُّبا

It unleashes the bellies of the valleys

And crowns the peaks of the hills

وَقَبَّلَ فيها ثُغورَ الأَقاح

مُداعَبَةً لِخُدودِ المَها

And kisses in it the lips of the meadows

Flirting with the cheeks of the plains

فَجَلَّى الغُوَيرَ بِأَوضاحِهِ

وَنَجَّدَهُ بَرقُهُ المُنتَضى

So it purified the thickets with its lights

And energized it with its flashing lightning

وَزارَ عُذَيبَةَ زَورَ الخَيا

لِ يُعَثِّرُ بَينَ فُروجِ الكَرى

And visited Udhaibah to provoke the virgin sands

To trip amidst the crests of the dunes

فَراحَ عَلى تُربِها باكِياً

بِجَفنِ الرِّياضِ وَدَمع النَّدى

Then it wept over its soil

With the eyelids of the gardens and the tears of dew

وَأَصبَحَ رائِدُنا بَعدَهُ

يُقَبِّلُ أَجراعَها وَالثَّرى

And after it our guide remained

Kissing its knolls and land

كَأَنَّ ابنَ نَصرٍ هَمى كَفُّهُ

عَلَيها فَأَخجَلَ صَوبَ الحَيا

As if the son of Nasr set his palm upon it

And made the direction of life blush

فَتىً جادَ بِالمالِ قَبلَ السُّؤالِ

وَعاجَلَ بِالبِشرِ قَبلَ المُنى

A young man who gave wealth before being asked

And brought good news before death

وَقادَت مَواهِبُهُ الطَّالِبينَ

فَأَنضى المَطِيّ وَسَدَّ الفَلا

And his gifts guided the seekers

So the journey was made easy and the road was paved

كَأَنَّ لَهُ غَفَلاتُ الزَّمانِ

يَجودُ بِهِنَّ وَعَصرُ الصِّبا

As if he had the oversights of time

To be generous while still young

إِذا ما ذَكَرناهُ خِلنا المَطِيَّ

عَرَفنَ مَكارِمَهُ وَالعُلا

When we remember him, we spare the journey

We know his virtues and greatness

فَهُنَّ صَوادٍ إِلى قُربِهِ

تُسابِقُ أنساعَها وَالبرى

They are hunters competing

To reach him, racing their steeds across the land

مِنَ القَوم إِن خَطَروا لِلنَّوالِ

رَأَيتَ الرَّدى في نُحورِ الثَّرى

If that tribe set out to get something from him

You would see carnage in the bosoms of the land

تَدُلُّ صَوارِمُهُم في الصَّباحِ

عَلى نارِ لَيلِهِمُ لِلقِرى

Their swords in the morning

Show the fires of their night upon the villages

لَهُم كُلُّ أَجرَدَ مِلء العَنانِ

رَحيبُ اللّبانِ سَليمُ الشَّظا

For them are all well-bred and obedient horses

Spacious, safe, hardy

تَميلُ بأَعطافِهِ هِزَّة

تُعَرِّضُ بِالبَرقِ لَمّا جَرى

Inclining with their movement, a gentle swaying

Turning with lightning wherever it went

وَنازَعَهُ اللَّيلُ أَوضاحَهُ

فَقَبَّلَهُ الصُّبحُ لَما نَجا

And the night contested its lights

But the dawn kissed it when it emerged

وَيَأنَفُ مِن عِزِّهِ أَن يذلَّ

بِغَيرِ وُجوهِهِمُ في السُّرى

And it disdains to be humiliated

By any but their faces in confidential talk

فَيا عِزَّ دَولَتِهِم قُدهُمُ

فَإِنَّ الأَباطِحَ دونَ الذُّرى

So oh glory of their state, preserve it

For the open deserts are beneath the palaces

وَشَمِّر فَمِثلُكَ أَنضى الجِيادَ

وَثَلَّمَ بِالضَّربِ بيضَ الظُّبا

And roll up your sleeves, for the like of you

Energized the steeds and split the eggs of the ostriches

وَنِل بِالمُعِزِّ عَليّ الأُمور

كَما تَبِعَ البَدوَ شَمسَ الضُّحى

And attain with glory the highest of matters

As the Bedouins followed the sun of morning

فَلَو هَرَبَ البَدرُ مِن خَوفِهِ

وَمالَ عَلى صَوبِهِ ما اهتَدى

For if the moon fled in fear of it

And inclined toward it, it would not be guided

أَلَيسَ أَبوكَ أَبا كامِلٍ

فَهَل فَوقَهُ لِلعُلا مُنتَهى

Is not your father the perfect Abu Kamil?

Then does supremacy have a limit above him?

فَتىً وَجَدَ العِزَّ حَيثُ الحِمامُ

وَمِن دَوحَةِ المَجدِ يَجني الرَّدى

A young man who found honor where pigeons nest

And the harvest of glory grows from the corn husk

وَجاوَدَهُ الغَيثُ جَهلاً بِهِ

فَلَمّا رَأى جودَهُ ما هَمى

The rain approached him in ignorance of him

But when it saw his generosity, it did not waver

سَقاهُ نَداكَ إِذا ما العُفاةُ

مَلأنَ إِلَيكَ فُروجَ المَلا

It quenched your fertility, so when the floodwaters

Filled toward you, the expanses of the course

فَكَم مَوقِفٍ مِثل حَدِّ الحُسام

يَغِضُّ بِهِ الجَوُّ سُمرَ القَنا

So how many stands like the edge of a sword

With which the air turns crimson with blood

تَلَقَّى السِّنانُ بِهِ خاسِراً

كَأَنَّ عَلَيهِ قُلوب العِدى

The spear meets it and is defeated

As if it had the hearts of enemies

وَقَد غَنَّتِ البيضُ في نَقعَة

فَما شَرِبَ الرُّمحُ حَتّى انتَشى

And the egg whites have already sung in the waterskin

But the spear did not drink until it revived

عَلَوتَ فَخَيَّلتَ أَنَّ النُّجو

مَ مِن نورِ وَجهِكَ فيها السَّنا

You ascended so you imagined

The stars were from the light of your face within them

وَجُدتَ فَأعلِمتَ أَنَّ الغَما

مَ يَشكو إِلى راحَتَيكَ الصَّدى

You were generous so you taught

That the clouds complain of your rest to the echo

مَدَحتُكَ أَخطُبُ مِنكَ الوِدادَ

إِذا حاوَلَ القَومُ مِنكَ الغِنى

I praise you, though I ask your love from you

When people seek riches from you

وَلي في فَخارِكُمُ شُعبَة

وَفي الأُفقِ بَدرُ الدُّجا وَالسُّها

And I have in your pride a path

And in the horizon, the full moon and radiance

إِذا عامِرٌ فَرَعَت في العُلا

وَلَم يَبقَ مِن فَوقِها مُرتَقى

When Aamir ascended the heights

And no elevated spot remained above it

عَلِقتَ بأَطرافِ ذاكَ النِّجارِ

وَحَلَّت بِعادِيِّ ذاكَ اليَنا

You clung to the edges of that carpenter

And settled with the enmity of that assistant

وَقورٌ إِذا طَرَّقَتني الخُطوبُ

وَحَلَّ مِنَ الخَوفِ عِقدَ النُّهى

Calm when misfortunes strike me

And the knot of prohibition is loosened from fear

بِعِشرينَ أَنفَقتُها في الصُّدودِ

وَجُدتُ بِها في زَمانِ النَّوى

With twenty I spent in blocking them

And I found during the time of resolve

وَإِنّي عَلى شَغَفي بِالقَريضِ

لأَذخُرُهُ عَن جَميعِ الوَرى

And though I crave poetry

I store it from all people

وَلَكِنَّ حُبَّكَ نادَى بِهِ

وَلَم يَزَلِ المَرءُ طَوعَ الهَوى

But your love called it out

And man is ever slave to passion

وَقَد جَلَّ قَدرُكَ عَن نَظمِهِ

وَلَكِنَّها سُنَّة تُقتَفى

Your worth has risen above my verse

But it is a course that must be followed