عَزيزُ أَسىً مَن داؤُهُ الحَدَقُ النُجلُ
عَياءٌ بِهِ ماتَ المُحِبّونَ مِن قَبلُ
Mighty is the sorrow of he whose malady is wide, lovely eyes,
A sickness by which lovers have perished ages before.
فَمَن شاءَ فَليَنظُر إِلَيَّ فَمَنظَري
نَذيرٌ إِلى مَن ظَنَّ أَنَّ الهَوى سَهلُ
Whoever wishes, let him look upon me; for my condition
Is a warning to him who deemed that passion is light.
وَما هِيَ إِلّا لَحظَةٌ بَعدَ لَحظَةٍ
إِذا نَزَلَت في قَلبِهِ رَحَلَ العَقلُ
It is but a glance, followed by yet another glance;
When it settles in the heart, all reason departs.
جَرى حُبُّها مَجرى دَمي في مَفاصِلي
فَأَصبَحَ لي عَن كُلِّ شُغلٍ بِها شُغلُ
Her love has coursed like blood through my every vein,
Until she became my sole concern, above all other cares.
وَمِن جَسَدي لَم يَترُكِ السُقمُ شَعرَةً
فَما فَوقَها إِلّا وَفيها لَهُ فِعلُ
And sickness has left not a single hair upon my frame,
But that it suffers the ravages of this wasting pain.
إِذا عَذَلوا فيها أَجَبتُ بِأَنَّةٍ
حُبَيِّبَتا قَلباً فُؤادا هَيا جُملُ
When they chide me for her sake, I answer with a groan,
Crying out: 'O beloved! O heart! O soul! O beauty!'
كَأَنَّ رَقيباً مِنكِ سَدَّ مَسامِعي
عَنِ العَذلِ حَتّى لَيسَ يَدخُلُها العَذلُ
As though a guardian sent by you has sealed my ears
Against all scolding, so that no rebuke may enter in.
كَأَنَّ سُهادَ اللَيلِ يَعشَقُ مُقلَتي
فَبَينَهُما في كُلِّ هَجرٍ لَنا وَصلُ
It is as if the sleepless night has fallen in love with my eyes,
So when she forsakes me, insomnia comes to unite with them.
أُحِبُّ الَّتي في البَدرِ مِنها مَشابِهٌ
وَأَشكو إِلى مَن لا يُصابُ لَهُ شَكلُ
I love her who bears the likeness of the full moon,
And I complain to one whose equal can never be found.
إِلى واحِدِ الدُنيا إِلى اِبنِ مُحَمَّدٍ
شُجاعِ الَّذي لِلَّهِ ثُمَّ لَهُ الفَضلُ
To the peerless one of the world, to the son of Muhammad,
Shuja', to whom—after God—all merit and grace belong.
إِلى الثَمَرِ الحُلوِ الَّذي طَيِّئٌ لَهُ
فُروعٌ وَقَحطانُ بنُ هودٍ لَهُ أَصلُ
To that sweet fruit, for whom the tribe of Tayy serves
As spreading branches, while Qahtan son of Hud is the root.
إِلى سَيِّدٍ لَو بَشَّرَ اللَهُ أُمَّةً
بِغَيرِ نَبِيٍّ بَشَّرَتنا بِهِ الرُسلُ
To a master whom, had God wished to bless a nation
With other than a prophet, the messengers would have foretold him.
إِلى القابِضِ الأَرواحِ وَالضَيغَمِ الَّذي
تُحَدِّثُ عَن وَقفاتِهِ الخَيلُ وَالرَجلُ
To the seizer of souls, to the lion whose valor
Is recounted by both the charging steeds and the foot-soldiers.
إِلى رَبِّ مالٍ كُلَّما شَتَّ شَملُهُ
تَجَمَّعَ في تَشتيتِهِ لِلعُلا شَملُ
To a lord of wealth, whose riches, when scattered by his hand,
Gather for him, in their dispersal, the entirety of glory.
هُمامٌ إِذا ما فارَقَ الغِمدَ سَيفُهُ
وَعايَنتَهُ لَم تَدرِ أَيُّهُما النَصلُ
A hero who, when his sword is drawn from its scabbard,
And you behold him, you cannot tell which of the two is the blade.
رَأَيتُ اِبنَ أُمِّ المَوتِ لَو أَنَّ بَأسَهُ
فَشا بَينَ أَهلِ الأَرضِ لَاِنقَطَعَ النَسلُ
I saw the true brother of Death; were his might
To spread among the earth's folk, all lineage would cease.
عَلى سابِحٍ مَوجَ المَنايا بِنَحرِهِ
غَداةَ كَأَنَّ النَبلَ في صَدرِهِ وَبلُ
Mounted on a steed that swims through the waves of death,
While arrows strike its chest like a driving rain.
وَكَم عَينِ قِرنٍ حَدَّقَت لِنِزالِهِ
فَلَم تُغضِ إِلّا وَالسِنانُ لَها كُحلُ
How many an adversary's eye stared him down in battle,
Yet closed only when his spearpoint became its kohl.
إِذا قيلَ رِفقاً قالَ لِلحِلمِ مَوضِعٌ
وَحِلمُ الفَتى في غَيرِ مَوضِعِهِ جَهلُ
If one pleads 'Mercy,' he replies, 'Clemency has its place,'
'But mercy shown out of place is mere folly.'
وَلَولا تَوَلّي نَفسِهِ حَملَ حِلمِهِ
عَنِ الأَرضِ لَاِنهَدَّت وَناءَ بِها الحِملُ
Were he not to bear the weight of his own forbearance,
The earth would crumble, sinking beneath such a burden.
تَباعَدَتِ الآمالُ عَن كُلِّ مَقصَدٍ
وَضاقَ بِها إِلّا إِلى بابِكَ السُبلُ
Hopes have strayed far from every other goal,
And all paths have narrowed, save the road to your door.
وَنادى النَدى بِالنائِمينَ عَنِ السُرى
فَأَسمَعَهُم هُبّوا فَقَد هَلَكَ البُخلُ
Generosity called out to those sleeping through the night journey:
'Awake! For miserliness has perished forever.'
وَحالَت عَطايا كَفِّهِ دونَ وَعدِهِ
فَلَيسَ لَهُ إِنجازُ وَعدٍ وَلا مَطلُ
The gifts of his hand outpace his very promises;
He knows neither the fulfillment of vows nor delay.
فَأَقرَبُ مِن تَحديدِها رَدُّ فائِتٍ
وَأَيسَرُ مِن إِحصائِها القَطرُ وَالرَملُ
To bring back the past is easier than limiting his gifts,
And counting the rain or sand is a simpler task.
وَما تَنقِمُ الأَيّامُ مِمَّن وُجوهُها
لِأَخمَصِهِ في كُلِّ نائِبَةٍ نَعلُ
How can Fortune spite one whose very face
Serves as a sandal for his foot in every calamity?
وَما عَزَّهُ فيها مُرادٌ أَرادَهُ
وَإِن عَزَّ إِلّا أَن يَكونَ لَهُ مِثلُ
No desire he sought has ever eluded his grasp,
Save the wish to find another who is his equal.
كَفى ثُعَلاً فَخراً بِأَنَّكَ مِنهُمُ
وَدَهرٌ لِأَن أَمسَيتَ مِن أَهلِهِ أَهلُ
It suffices the tribe of Tha'al as pride that you are theirs,
And the age itself is honored that you are among its kin.
وَوَيلٌ لِنَفسٍ حاوَلَت مِنكَ غِرَّةً
وَطوبى لِعَينٍ ساعَةً مِنكَ لا تَخلو
Woe to the soul that seeks to catch you unawares,
And blessed is the eye that never loses sight of you.
فَما بِفَقيرٍ شامَ بَرقَكَ فاقَةٌ
وَلا في بِلادٍ أَنتَ صَيِّبُها مَحلُ
No poverty remains for the pauper who sees your lightning,
Nor is there drought in any land where you are the rain.
