دليلٌ عَلى أن سوف يُرْدِيه ما لَقِي

بأنَّك لو قد شئْتَ بُقْياه ما بقي

Evidence that what he encountered would undo him

Is that had you wished his survival, he would have survived

ومُنبِئهُ أن التّصابِي والهوى

أتاه بكُرْهٍ لا بطبعِ تَخَلّق

And inform him that chance and passion

Came to him reluctantly, not by nature's making

محاجِرك القاضي لهَا الحسنُ أَنّها

مَتَى يَرها خَالٍ من العشق يَعْشقِ

Your reproaching eyes are beautiful in that

When seen by one free of love, enflame desire

أَمَا والخدودِ النّاعمات أَلِيَّةً

ونَبْلِ العيون الفاترات الْمُفَوَّقِ

By the soft cheeks, languid eyes

And gleam of white breasts in the gathered shirt

وبرقِ الثنايا البيضِ في حُوَّة اللّمى

وَصِحَّةِ رُمّان الصُّدور المُعَلَّقِ

And freshness of pomegranate breasts suspended

Passion for me made departure a calamity

لقد هاجَ لي وشكُ الوَداع صَبابةً

تُمَزّقُ عنّي الصبرَ كُلَّ مُمزَّقِ

Tearing asunder all patience

When distance expanded and bonds were severed

ولما اسْتَحَرَّ البينُ وانشقت العصا

وأَيقن أُلاَّف الهوى بالتفرّق

And those who reproached us for our love became

Strangers once intimate, burdens once dear

وشطّ بمن نهواه بَيْنٌ وأَصبحوا

ضَمائِرَ أحداج وأَثقالَ أَينقِ

We stood exchanging glances, messages flashing between us

Then from the wall's side, a gazelle appeared

وقفنا ندارِي الكاشِحين ولحظُنا

رسائلُ بَثٍّ بَيننا وتشوّقِ

As though the morn borrowed splendor from her grace

May I die for you, slain by a glance you deftly mixed

وقد برزت من جانب الخِدر غادةٌ

كأنّ الضحى مِنها استعان برونقِ

With a flickering beam in your eyelashes

And if you left nothing of me but a burning liver, a sleepless eye

فداؤكِ مقتولٌ بلحظٍ خلطتِهِ

بِشِبه كَرىً في مقلتيك مُرَنَّقِ

As though the nights did not allow us the sincerity of delightful company

We did not beg youth for water from his spring

وإن كنتِ ما أبقيتِ مِني بقيّة

سوى كبِدٍ حَرّىً وطَرْفٍ مُؤَرَّقِ

Or open from his gates what was shut

I made my wine from the meadows' wine, taking the place

كأن الليالي لم تكن سمحت لنا

بِجِدّة عيشٍ في ذراهنّ مُؤنِقِ

Of aged wine, better than the decanted

And yellow, uncooked by fire, I drank it

ولم نك نَسْتَسْقِي الصِّبا ماءَ مُزْنِهِ

ونفتح مِن أبوابِهِ كلّ مغلقِ

On the cheeks of the beloved marked with down

As though the bubbles of the cup were from his mouth's verse

وابيضَ من خَمرِ الثّغورِ جعلته

غبوقِي مكان البابِليّ المعتّقِ

Its radiance from his shining cheek

True regret whose nature cannot be known

وصفارَ لم تُطْبخْ بنارٍ شرِبتها

على وجهِ معشوق السجايا مُقَرْطق

To the purity of strained wine

I gave him the cup of my regret which raises him

كأنّ حَباب الكأسِ من نظم ثغرِهِ

وإشراقها مِن خدّهِ المتألّقِ

and provides him my care and grace

From woe and bounty I attained, but my fortune

ونَدْمان صِدقٍ ليس تنبو طِباعه

بحيث صفا صَفْوَ الشّرابِ المُرَوّقِ

Did not bend, nor did I show excess strain

With glorious deeds I will defend myself from fate's blows

بذلت له كَأْسَي ندامى تَعُلُّهُ

ورِفِدِي وإيناسي وحسن تملقي

Fate fears him and is wary of his blows

An imam - when he extends his hands to the dew

مِن البؤس والنعماءِ نلتُ فما انْحَنَتْ

قناتِي ولا أَبديت فرط تضيّقِ

They gush like pouring rain

His proof guided every lost soul

سَأَثْنِي خطوبَ الدّهرِ عني بماجدٍ

تخاف خطوبُ الدّهرِ منه وتَتّقِي

His palm's bounty enriched every beggar

The heights connected to his loftiness and descended

إمام إذا حنَّتْ يداه إلى النَّدَى

تَفَجَّرتا كالعارِض الْمُتَدَفِّقِ

By his precedence, the verses of the book confirmed true

Noble through him the caliphate of Hashim

هَدَى بِسَنا بُرْهانِهِ كُلَّ حائِرٍ

وأغنى بجَدْوَى كفّه كُلَّ مُمْلِق

Every blossoming branch thrived

He surpassed the limits of praise to a point

وصَلَّتْ لعَلْياه العُلا وتَنَزَّلت

بتفضِيلِه آيُ الكتابِ الْمُصَدَّقِ

Beyond which all thought and speech fall short

With the favor of a palm beneath which every granter

عزيزٌ بِهِ عَزًَّتْ خلافُة هاشم

وأَوْرَقَ مِن أغصانِها كُلُّ مُورِقِ

And radiance of a face beneath which all radiance falls

Were it not for care for the people, since I

تجاوزَ غاياتِ المديح لغايةٍ

يُقَصِّرُ عنها كُلُّ فِكْرٍ ومَنْطِقِ

Among men, know best what you have attained

I would praise you with the praise you deserve

بإفضالِ كَفٍّ دونها كُلّ مُفْضِلٍ

وإِشراقِ وجهٍ دونَه كُلُّ مُشْرِق

And avoid these hollow words

For you are the essence of all greatness demands

ولولا مداراةُ الأنامِ لأنني

من الناسِ أَدْرَى بالذِي أَنت مرتقِي

Who does not say what I say babbles emptily

You embody all the perfection you contain

مدحْتُك بالمدحِ الذي أنت أهلُه

وعدّيت عن هذا الكلامِ المنمَّقِ

While many who speak it do not fulfill it

We wronged you when we compared you to the sea in bounty

لأنك مَعْنَى كلِّ ما تَقْتَضِي الْعُلاَ

ومن لم يَقُلْ ما قُلته يَتَزَنْدَقِ

However much your current overflows, the sea drowns

He who compared the full moon at its perfection

تُحَقّقُ ما تَحْوِيهِ من كلّ سؤددٍ

وكم سؤددٍ بالقولِ لم يَتَحَقّق

To the star Suhail strays in analogy and perishes

And who is he that called you to generosity, and despaired

ظلَمناك إذ قسناك بالبحرِ في الندى

ومهما يخَض تَيَّارَكَ البحرُ يَغْرقِ

Of attaining success and provision through your call?

Are you not the son of the best of all people, father and grandfather

ومن قاس بَدْرَ التّمّ عند كمالِه

بنجم السها يَضْلِلْ قياساً ويَزْهَقِ

When lineages rise above every hill

And most resembling them in glory, scion and origin

ومن ذا الذي ناداك للجودِ واعتفى

نَداك فلم يَظْفَرْ بنُجْح ويُرْزَقِ

When they ascend above all creation?

So excel the kings of earth in eminence

ألستَ ابنَ خيرِ النّاسِ جداً ووالداً

إذا عَلَتِ الأنساب من كل مُعْرِقِ

And outrace them in pride, prevail and outdo

Fight them and you will gain, avoid them and you will be safe

وأَشْبَهَهم في المجد فَرعا وعُنصراً

إذا ركبوا مِنه على كل مُخْلَق

Seek vengeance on them and you will reach and overtake

For enemies know you have raided them

ففاضِلْ ملوكَ الأَرض تَفْضُلْهُم عُلاً

وسابقْهُمُ في الفخرِ تَظْفَر وتَسْبِقِ

And met you in battle, blow after blow

You cast only the arrows of doves

وحاربْهُمُ تَغنم ويَمِّمْهُمُ تُعَنْ

وطالِبْهُمُ بالثأر تُدْرِكْ وتَلْحَقِ

And walked only on prone necks

Had you come to them alone, you would quench their fires

فقد علم الأعداء أنك زرتهم

ولاقَوك حرباً زَرْدَقاً بعد زَرْدَقِ

With a fire - when sparked by you - that burns

For by the fortune of your advance, with spears

ولم تَرمِ إلا بالحِمامِ أَسِنّةً

ولم تمشِ إلا فوق هامٍ مُفَلّقِ

And your protected view, amidst the regiments

So say to the kings of earth, fear him for he is

ولو زرتَهم فرداً لأَخمَدت نارَهم

بنارٍ متَى يَصْلَوْا بها مِنك تُحْرِقِ

When you fear an unforeseen event, himself prepared

Thus are God's friends - if others seek their place

لأنك من إقبالِ سعدِك في قَناً

ومن رأيك المعصومِ في ظِلِّ فيلقِ

They obtain but disgrace and slip

Indeed, you see birds in the sincerity of their hunting

فقلْ لملوكِ الأرضِ خافوه إِنه

متى ما اتقيتم حادِثاً غيرُ متّقِي

And begin their poetry with none but you, the adorned neck

Oh land of Baghdad, cry out at the battle

كَذَا أولياءُ اللهِ إن رام غيرهم

مرامَهُمُ يَظْفَرْ بخِزيٍ ويَزلَقِ

That will be his, between Euphrates and Jaljul

The white swords will sing in it of his victory

نعم وتراه الطّير في صدق صيدها

ويشدو بها غَيْرَ الحمامِ المُطَوَّقِ

And the earth will be watered by his spilt blood

If fate intends betrayal by a traitor

فيا أرضَ بغدادٍ أصِيخِي لوقعة

تكون له بين الفراتِ وجلّقِ

Its betrayal, by you, is folly and stupidity

Yes, its good fortune smiles since its stars

تغنِّي السيوفُ البِيضُ فيها بنصرِه

وتُروِي الثرى من دمعِهِ المترقرقِ

In your constellation, continue in ascendance

You are a feast that outshines all feasts in beauty

إذا رامتِ الأقدار غَدراً بخائنٍ

رماك بِهِ بَغْيٌ وغِرّةُ أَحمقِ

And meets barefoot generosity in excellent garb

I will clothe you in the perfume of praise whenever

ليهنَ سعودَ العيد أَنّ نجومها

ببرجِك ما زالت على السعد تلتقِي

Your great deeds fall upon it and scent the air

وأَنك عيدٌ يَغْمُرُ العيدَ حُسْنُه

ويلقَى عُفاةَ الجودِ في زِيّ شَيِّقِ

سأكْسُوك من طِيبِ الثناءِ قوافياً

متى ما تَقَعْ فيها معاليك تَعْبَقِ