أيا شقيقَ الرَّوْضِ حَيَّاه الْحَيَا

فاحْمَرَّ وردُ خَدِّه من الْحَيَا

O companion of the garden, greetings give life

So the rose of his cheek reddened from bashfulness

لأنتَ تِرْبُ الغُصْنِ نَشْوانَ إذا

أدارت السُّحْبُ له خَمْرَ النَّدَى

For you are the soil of the branch, delighted when

The clouds give it the wine of dew

وامْتلأتْ كاسُ الشَّقِيقِ سُحْرَةً

فاحْمَرَّ من خَجْلَتِه خَدُّ الطِّلاَ

And the anemone's cup filled with magic

So it blushed from its shyness, the cheek of the young gazelle

شِفاءٌ وَجْدِي لَثْمُ خالِ خَدِّه

والْحَبَّةُ السَّوْداءُ للدَّاءِ شِفَا

A cure for my love-sickness is to kiss his cheek

And the black mole is a remedy for illness

يتْركُنِي تَرْكَ الظلِيمِ ظَلْمُه

وهذه شِيمةُ آرامِ الْفَلاَ

He leaves me like the oppressor leaves the oppressed

And this is the nature of the calm phoenix

تعلَّمتْ منه الليالي غَدْرَها

فأنْجَزتْ باليأْسِ مِيعادَ الرَّجَا

The nights learned his betrayal from him

So they fulfilled the tryst with despair

غَمائمٌ لُعْسُ الشِّفاهِ ابْتسَمتْ

عن ثَغْرِ بارِقٍ إذا الثَّغْرُ بَكَا

Clouds whose lips of affliction smiled

From a scintillating mouth when it wept

تفُكُّ مِن مَحْلٍ وجَدْبٍ أسْرَهُ

وتنْثُرُ الدُّرَّ على هامِ الرُّبَى

It unleashes from a barren, dry place

And scatters the pearls on the foreheads of the hills

يسُوقها الرعدُ بصوتٍ مُذْهَبٍ

من بَرْقِه وهْي بَطِيَّاتُ الخُطَا

The thunder drives them with a melting voice

From its lightning while they are the brides of the meadows

لا يَلِجُ الطَّيْفُ إليه فَرَقاً

وفيه ليستْ تهتدي كُدْرُ القَطَا

The specter does not enter it in fear

And in it the turbid stars cannot find their way

بالتُّرْسِ تسْرِي الشمسُ فوق أُفْقِهِ

والصُّبْحُ يلْقاه بعَضْبٍ مُنْتضَى

With a shield the sun flows over its horizon

And the dawn meets it with a drawn sword

مَجَرَّةٌ في شَفَقٍ كأنها

والزهرُ فيها ذاتُ مَنْظرٍ زَهَا

A galaxy amidst the sunset as if

The flowers in it are of a delightful view

نَهْرٌ به كَفُّ الشَّمالِ نثَرتْ

وَرْداً ونَسْرِيناً جَنِيّاً قُطِفَا

A river in which the hand of the north has scattered

Roses and narcissi, freshly plucked

على أغَرِّ أدْهَمٍ قد طلَعتْ

مِن وجهِه في ظُلْمةِ الليل ذُكَا

On the neck of a ruddy dark steed that rose

From its face in the darkness of night, spirit

غُرَّتُه من تحت هُدْبِ شَعْرِهِ

طُرَّةُ صُبْحٍ تحت أذْيالِ الدُّجَا

Its pride under the forelock of its hair

Is like the dawn under the fringes of gloom

أدْهَمَ قيِّدِ كُلِّ وَحْشٍ شارِدٍ

قبَّلَه الليلُ فكُلُّه لَمَى

O tamer of every roaming wild beast

The night kissed it so it was completely darkened

نجائِبُ قد طفِقَتْ أخْفافُها

في الرَّملِ تُبْدِي لي ضمائرَ الثَّرَى

She-camels whose footsteps

In the sand reveal to me the secrets of the ground

قد سترَ الجمالُ حُسْنَ وَجْهِهِ

صَوْناً لأبْكارِ العُقول والنُّهَى

Beauty has hidden the beauty of its face

To protect the chastity of minds and prohibition

فوقَف الحُسْنُ عليه حائِراً

مُتيَّماً وَلْهانَ في ذاك الْبَهَا

So beauty halted before it confused

Yearning and delirious in that enchantment

تَهْوَى الصَّبَا شَمائلَ اللُّطْفِ به

فلا تُداوِي سُقْمَها أيْدِي الأُسَا

The morning breeze craves its gentle features

But the hands of healer cannot cure its sickness

إلاّ إذا ما لَمَستْ ضَرِيحَه

فكم سَقامٍ من تُرابِه اشْتفَى

Except when it touches his tomb

For so many illnesses were cured from its dust

سَرَى إلى السَّبْعِ الطِّباقِ جسمُه

في صُحْبةِ الرُّوحِ الأمينِ ورَقَى

His body ascended to the seven spheres

In the company of the Trustworthy Spirit and climbed

إن قطَع الأفْلاكَ سُرْعَةً فلا

بُعْدَ فإن ذاتَه شمسُ الضُّحَى

If it crosses the heavens in swiftness, still no

Distance, for its essence is the sun of daylight

حَوافِرُ البُراقِ مِن آثارِها

قد ظهرَتْ فيه أهِلَّةُ السَّمَا

The tracks of al-Buraq from its steps

Have appeared in it, worthy of the sky

يُغْنِي عن المدحِ رَفِيعُ قَدْرِهِ

فيُمْدَح المدحُ به وما دَرَى

The Sublimeness of his worth makes praise needless

So praise is praised through him and none knows

كلُّ لِباسٍ للمديح قاصِرٌ

عنه يُحَلَّ رَحْلُه دون المَدَى

Every garment is too short for his praise

It sets its course below the goal

سال لُعابُ الشمسِ ممَّا تشْتهِي

لَذِيذَ هاتِيك المَعاني إذْ حَلاَ

The saliva of the sun flows from craving

The deliciousness of these meanings when they meet

فصاحةٌ ما الشِّعر منها بالغٌ

ببَحْرِه قطرةَ وَصْفِ ذِي صَفَا

An eloquence that poetry cannot attain

With its ocean the drop of describing the pure

لذلك قد قَطَّعَه الناسُ وقد

دارتْ به دَوائرُ القومِ الأُلَى

For that the people segmented it and

Its circles went around the intimate group

بين يَدَيْها ابنُ دُرَيدٍ حاجِبٌ

وألِفاتُ شِعْرِه مِثْلُ الْعَصَا

Before it Ibn Duraid is a guard

And the thousands of its verses like staffs

ذَيْلُ الدُّجَى بِعَرْفِها مُمَسَّكٌ

مُضَمِّخٌ خَلُوقُها بُرْدَ الضُحَى

The train of gloom with its bouquet held fast

Dyed by its coldness at the time of afternoon nap