من رأَى المجدَ يُثير القِلاصا

والعُلا تُزجى العِتاقَ الخِماصا

He who saw glory inciting the brave,

And loftiness donning the garb of courage,

والقِبابَ البيضَ قد وعَدُوها

بالمعالى فاستطالتْ خِراصا

And white domes which were promised

High glories, so they wore long robes,

بعميد الدولةِ الأرضُ تُطوَى

حين لا ترجو النجومُ خَلاصا

With the pillar of state the land folds up

When the stars have no hope of deliverance,

وفجِاجُ السعى بين يديه

تشترِى الآمالَ منه رِخاصا

And the ardors of endeavor before him

Buy from him hopes cheaply,

مذ رأيناهُ سحابا عجِبنا

كيف يحتلُّ ويأوِى العِراصا

Since we saw him as a cloud we marveled

How he settles and houses the bare hills,

كرمٌ فاضَ فما اختصَّ أرضا

دون أرضٍ بنداه اختصاصا

Generosity overflowed so no land

Was set apart for him by limitation,

من يحبّ العزّ يَدأبْ إليه

وكذا من طلب الدُّرَّ غاصا

Whoever loves glory keeps at it

And likewise whoever seeks pearls will dive,

قرّت الأعينُ بالقربِ منه

فأراد البعدُ منها القِصاصا

Eyes were delighted being near him

So distance from them sought revenge,

لو مَلكنا الأرضَ أو لو أطقنا

لسَددنا برُباها الخَصاصا

If we owned the land or if we could endure

We would block its passes with barriers,

وعقَلنا الناجياتِ خلاءً

وربَطنا المُقْرَباتِ ارتهاصا

And we tied up the neighborly relations

And secured the friendly connections,

فهِمتْ ما حمَلتْ في ذُراها

من جمالٍ فارتقصنَ ارتقاصا

It understood what beauty it carried

In its flowers, so it swayed gently,

ماجدٌ إن خاف أسهمَ ذمٍّ

لبس الجودَ عليه دِلاصا

Majid, if afraid of reproach’s arrows,

Wore generosity over them as armor,

أدواتُ الفخرِ ألقَّنَ فيه

حسَبا عِداًّ وعِرقا مُصاصا

The tools of pride cast in him

Enough lineage and lifeblood absorbed,

رُبَّ عزمٍ إ يُحَكَّمْ له لم

تجد الأقدارُ عنه مَناصا

Many resolves which no one can dissuade

The fates cannot find any way out,

ساهر القلب إذا رامَ عُظمَى

إن كَرى النومِ للأعينِ حاصا

Sleep’s drowsiness, if the heart seeks glory,

The eyes repel though it craves repose,

قذفتْ منه الليالي بِقرنٍ

تنكُص ألأبطالُ عنه انتكاصا

The nights cast at him a horn that makes

The valiant recoil and draw back,

محسنٌ بالرأي ضربا وطعنا

يُخجل البيضَ ويُخزِى الخِراصا

Handsome in judgment, in words and in lance,

Shames the whites and disgraces the blacks,

ساحر الألفاظ ولو شاء ظبيا

أسر الوحش بهنَّ اقتناصا

Charmer of lyrics, if he wished, a gazelle,

He could captivate wild beasts to hunt,

كلما أبصرَه حاسدوه

كُلِّلتْ تلك العيونُ حُصَاصا

Whenever his enviers saw him

Their eyes brimmed over with tears,

كشعاع الشمسِ ترجِع عنه

مَضْرِحيّاتُ العيون عِماصا

Like the sun’s rays they turn back from him

Eyes of maidens blinking blindly,

ففداه كلُّ جَهم المُحيَّا

مانعٌ عسجدَه والرَّصاصا

May each hotheaded hater sacrifice himself

Blocking those who would shoot at him,

كالشَّموسِ الصَّعبِ إن ذلَّلوه

زادهم ذُعرا ولَجَّ قِماصا

Like the formidable sun, if they tried to humble him,

It increased their fright and their shirt fronts cracked,

مستهامٌ بالغوانى إذا ما

صقَلتْ خداًّ وأرختْ عِقاصا

Imperious in amours, when he frowns

And loosens a tress and reveals a dimple,

أين تبغى قد زحَمتَ الثريّا

في مَداها وانتعلتَ النَّشاصا

Where do you want to go, crowding the doe

Into her range, wearing the slippers of one who limps,

غايةٌ لو ذو جَناحٍ إليها

طار لاعتاصت عليه اعتياصا

A goal, if one had wings to reach it,

He would fly but desires would cling to him,

أنتمُ آلُ جَهِيرٍ عديدٌ

لا رأتْ فيه البنانُ انتقاصا

You are the many scions of Juheir

In whom time never noticed a decrease,

كلّما قيل الرحيلُ قريبٌ

غَصَّ بالبادر حَلْقى اغتصاصا

Whenever it is said the departure is near

My throat is blocked with suppressed sobs,

وأرى قلبي سيقتصُّ إمّا

سرتَ آثارَ المطىِّ اقتصاصا

And I see my heart will claim compensating

If you erased the tracks of the riding beasts,

اِقْضِ في أمري بما أنتَ قاضٍ

فبأنعامك أرجو الخَلاصا

Fulfill in my affair what you are judge of

Through your favors I hope for deliverance,

ردَّك الله إلينا سليما

بك أيامُ الزمان تَواصَى

May God restore you to us unharmed,

Through you the days of time endure,