ألا مرحبا يا من ألم فراعا

بغرته نفسا عليه شعاعا

O welcome, O you who brought joy

With your radiance to a soul longing for you

لقد جددت عهد الصبا لى خريدة

أتتنى فكانت للسرور جماعا

You have renewed the pact of youth for me newly

You came to me and brought abundant joy

وكنت ثنيت العزم عن معهد اله

وى وان كنت عند الغانيات مطاعا

And I had bent my will from the abode of passion

Though I was obeyed among the lovely ladies

فلما بدا لى طالع السعد بالتى

حبيت بها عاد النزوع نزاعا

But when the auspicious star shone for me with her

Whom I loved, the inclination returned insistently

ولم لا أكن فيها خليعا وانها

هدية من فى المجد أطول باعا

Why should I not be devoted to her, though she

Is a gift from one most glorious and of vast renown

أجل نعم ما قد زارنى من مهذب

فتى ذكره فى الأرض عم وشاعا

Yes indeed, the polite youth who visited me

Whose mention on earth remains and spreads

ألا يا ابن ودى ان درا نظمته

تأرج سمط الشعر منه فضاعا

O son of my love, if I compose a poem about him

The poetry will spread its aroma and be lost

فمن للغوانى أن يقلدن مثله

وهيهات در القول ليس مباعا

For how can singers emulate the likes of him

Alas, none can equal his words in song

ملكت به منى القياد واننى

لاجدر من لبى المحب وطاعا

I am enthralled by him and indeed

I am most deserving of the lover's devotion

ومازلت حفاظا لمحض ودادكم

ولما يكن منى الوداد خداعا

I still keep safeguarding your pure affection

And my affection was never false

لك الله يا من قد حبانى بغادة

عليها كمال الحسن صار قناعا

May God favor you, O you who granted me a love

On which the perfection of beauty became a veil

لك الله قد أوليتنى منك نعمة

لها قل جهدى فى جزاك وضاعا

May God favor you, for you have bestowed on me a blessing

For which my effort to reward you was lost

فشرفت قدرى اذ عفا الدهر رسمه

ونوهت باسمى حين كان مضاعا

You have ennobled my worth, when time effaced its law

And glorified my name when it was disgraced

وأوجدت ذكرى بعدما كان عادما

وأسكنته بعد الوهاد تلاعا

You gave me remembrance after I had none

And settled me after being unsettled

إلى الله أشكو ضعف عجزى عن الجزا

وهيهات لو بعت الحياة بياعا

To God I complain of the weakness of my inability to repay

Alas, even if I sold my life it would not suffice

ولكن علمى أننى عنه عاجز

شفيعى لديكم والضعيف يراعى

But I know that I cannot requite you

So my intercession with you - and the weak are considered

فهاك مقالا من محب ملكته

وألبسته منك الثناء قناعا

And whom you clothed with your praise as a veil

With greetings of peace, O companion of the heart after

ودم سالما يا مؤنس القلب بعدما

غدا موحشا فى ذا الزمان مراعا

It became desolate in this time of pasturage