مَا تقولانِ في شقيقِ الخدود

وتشيرانِ في لُدين القدود

What are you two saying about the rosy-cheeked one,

And hinting about the smooth cheeks?

مَا تديران في العيون السواجي

ما تظنان في الطُلا والعقُود

What are you glancing at with dreamy eyes,

What are you thinking about bracelets and necklaces?

سَامراني فقد تطاول لَيلي

ساهراني فقد عدِمتِ هجُودي

My night has grown long, so rouse me from my slumber!

I am sleepless, so revive my languor!

هل سبيلٌ إلى زَرُودٍ واهليه

وهيهاتَ أينُ الهُ زرود

Is there a way back to my family in Zaroud,

Alas! Where is the tribe of Zaroud?

قال لي صَاحبي غداة راني

يومَ نجدٍ حليفَ وجدٍ شديد

My friend said to me one morning,

On the day of battle at Najd, a severe test:

لَوْ تجُلّدتَ قلتُ لو تم لي ذاك

ولكن أمرتَ غيرَ جليد

“If you had persevered...” I said, “If only that were possible!”

But you ordered otherwise than steadfastness.

ظلّ يهدي لي الرشادَ فأعْصى

وبعيد رشادُ غيرُ رشيدِ

He kept counseling me rightly but I disobeyed,

And the counsel of another is far from the right path.

يا أهيل الخيام لم أنس عهداً

مذ بعدتم فَلِمْ نَقضتم عهودي

O people of the tents! I have not forgotten the past,

So why did you break your vows after you left?

قد وعدتم بأن تزُوروا فماذا

عاقكم عن نجاز تلك الوعود

You had promised to visit, so what prevented

You from fulfilling those promises?

لا تقولوا سلوت بعد افتراقٍ

فدُموعي على هواكم شهودي

Do not say: “He asked us long after we parted.”

My tears for your love bear witness!

كبدي طوعُ أمركم والقوافي

كلّها في سُهيلٍ بن الوليد

My heart obeys your commands, and my poems

Are all ascribed to Suhayl ibn al-Walid.

وإذا القصدُ والقصيدُ أصيْغا

فهو للقصد موضعٌ والقصيد

And when I compose a verse and a poem,

It is for that purpose and that poem.

مَا وفدنا إليه إلا أفدنا

منه لا زالَ مَنْجعاً للوفود

We did not visit him without gaining from him;

He continues to be a haven for visitors.

ما وردنا حياضَ نعماه إلاّ

قال أهلاً ومرحباً بالورود

We did not enter his meadows of bounty without him saying,

“Welcome and greetings to the flowers!”

تنظرُ الطالعَ السعيدَ إذ لاَح

في ذلك الجبينِ السعيدِ

Good fortune smiles when his auspicious forehead appears,

On that auspicious brow.

وتحطُّ الرحالُ منه بسَوْحٍ

كل كثبانِه جفان ثريد

The encampments depart from it happily,

While its every dune is barren and vacant.

عندَ رحبِ الذراع والصدر نقع

لِوَدُوْدٍ وَعُضَّةٌ لحسود

In the expanse of his arms and chest we take refuge

From the worms and bites of the envious.

عندَ مَنْ لا يزال في عقوتيه

نجْعةُ المعتفي وأمن الطريد

With him who continues to be in his strongholds

A sanctuary for the protected and security for the hunted.

تنظر الخيلَ في المرابطِ حوليْه

وسُمْرَ القنا وخفقَ البنودِ

You look at the horses in his garrison around him

And the stallions pawing and the tethered camels.

والعطايا على العطايا فَمنَها

تبر مصرِ وعبقري البُرود

Gifts upon gifts from him, among them

The produce of Egypt and the perfume of Brouda.

كُلّمَا عَجَتِ الجنائِبُ حوليه

أجابت عُفاتُه بالنشيد

Whenever the armies gathered around him,

His chastity answered with song.

ذاك ردفُ الملوك طفلاً وكهلاً

وَعميدُ القبائل ابن العميد

He is the cherished one of kings, as a child and grown,

And the pillar of the tribes, son of the pillar.

طاهر الصدرِ والطويةِ لمَّا

يَسْرِ في صدره ظلامُ الحَقودِ

Pure in heart and in nature, whenever

The darkness of hatred stirred in his breast,

يَتِّقِ اللهُ في الأمور وتخشاه

ويُخشى إذا مشى في الحديد

He fears God in all matters and stands in awe of Him,

And he is feared when he walks in armor.

ساد في مهده وجادَ ففِكرٌ

أيُّ فرع أناف من غير عود

He ruled in his cradle and was generous, so how

Can any branch excel without a root?

يا فريدَ العلا إليك من المدحِ

فريداً يفوق نظمَ الفريد

O unique in knowledge, to you this praise

Is uniquely superior to the verse of the unique.

نقّحَتْه قريحةٌ أنتجَتْها

فكرةُ تستقلُ شعرَ لبيد

It was polished by a talent that produced it

From a thought that independently rivals Labid's poetry.

أنا ذا واقفٌ وصحبي يثنى

عن معاليك كلَّ يومٍ جديد

To sing your glories, each new day.

Among chanters, singers and poets

بينَ مُنش ومُنشدٍ ومُغَنٍّ

ومَهَنٍّ لكل صومٍ وَعيد

Who fast and feast for every festival.

Your gifts have made us your slaves,

قد تملكتنا عبيداً بنعماك

وشرط الكرام بِرُّ العيد

And kindness to slaves is the true mark of nobility.

So repeat that kindness you showed in the past,

فاعِدْ ذلك الجميلَ الذي كان

فما زلت خيرَ مُبدٍ مُعيد

For you remain the best starter and repeater of favors.

All gains are destroyed by the passage of fate,

كل كَسبٍ يبيدُه قِدَمُ الدَّهرِ

ويَبقى الثناءُ في تجديد

But praise is made new again through renewal.

We ask God to protect you and maintain you

نسألُ الله أني قيك ويبقيك

ويكفيك كلَّ دهرِ عنيد

And suffice you against every stubborn age.