يا رُبَّ ليلٍ عَطِرِ الأَرْدانِ

مِنْ نسِم النرَّجسِ والسُّوسانِ

O Lord of the fragrant night,

With the breeze of narcissus and lily,

كأنَّما أَنْجُمه الدَّواني

في أُفِقْهِ رَوْضةُ أقْحُوان

As if its stars are the lights of lanterns

In a horizon, a garden of basil.

باتت به ساقِيَّتي نَدْماني

وبات رَيَّا رِيحِها رَيْحاني

My two cups have spent the night sorrowful,

And the scent of its wind spent the night perfumed,

حتَّى إذا امتدَّت يدُ الإدجانِ

والْتَحَفَ الجوّ بطَيْلَسان

Until the hand of night stretched out

And darkness covered the atmosphere,

وأَشبَهَ الهلالُ نِصفَ جان

قامت كما قام قضِيبُ بانِ

And the crescent resembled half a goblet,

She arose as the erect spear arises,

ظاهرةَ المِنْديل والخَفتان

في هيئةِ المُرْدِ من الغِلْمانِ

Revealing the handkerchief and the slippers,

In the stance of the well-built young men.

شاطرة ساحرة اللِّسان

ترفَّعتْ عن شَبَهِ النِّسْوان

A mischievous, charming speaker,

She rose above the semblance of women,

وعن خِضابِ الكفّ والبَنان

واعتقلتْ عَواليَ المراّنِ

And the henna on palms and fingers,

And she wore men’s accessories,

زِيَّ شُجاعٍ ولِقَا جبَانِ

حتَّى إذا ما دارتِ الكأْسانِ

Dressed like a brave or a coward man,

Until when the cups are passed around,

وارتفَع المَثْلَثُ والمَثاني

وحُثَّت الأَقداحُ بالأَغاني

And the triangles and zills rose,

And the glasses were stirred with songs,

وشيّعتْها نَغَمُ القيانِ

والتَفتَ النَّشْوانُ للنَّشْوانِ

Accompanied by the tunes of the lutes,

And the singers turned to the singers,

بتنا ضَجيعَين على مكانِ

ومالتِ السَّكْرَى على السَّكْرانِ

We two remained laying in our places,

And drunkenness leaned toward the drunkards,

واختَلَطا بالضَّمّ والتَّداني

لَفَّ الصَّبا الأغصانَ بالأَغصان

And we mingled with cuddling and hugging.

The morning breeze wrapped the branches around the branches.

يا لك من نَوْمَي ومن نَوْمانِ

عُلاَّ بِصرْفٍ من دَم الدِّنانِ

What a sleep of mine, and what a slumber!

Spending the night intoxicated with wine,

فاضطجَعا مَيْتَيْن في أَوانِ

واندَرَجا للوَرْدِ في أكفان

We fell dead at that time,

And rolled into rose petals in our shrouds.

لو نُبِّها قاما يحدِّثانِ

عن عَجَب الفِرْدَوْس والجِنان

If awakened, we would have talked,

About the wonders of Paradise and the gardens,

وكم سَبقتُ الصبحَ غيرَ وانِ

عند مَمِيل الجَدْي والمِيزانِ

And how often I preceded dawn while stable and balanced,

At the inclination of the bucket and the scale,

والفجرُ يَحكي ذَنبَ السِّرْحان

بِأكلُبٍ تَمرَح في الأَشْطَان

And dawn tells the tale of the hunting falcon,

With dogs frolicking in the meadows,

صَوادقِ الألحاظ والأجفان

تَجمع في الَعدْوِ مِن الإمعان

Truthful glances and eyelids,

Gathering in running with exertion,

بين شَبَا الأظفار والآذان

مختلفات الصِّبْغ في الألوان

With the claws and ears,

Variegated in colors,

مِن فاقع الصُّفْرة كالعِقْيان

وأبلَقٍ يَجمعُه لَوْنان

Golden yellow like chicks,

And piebald with two colors,

وحالكٍ نُقْبَتُه يَقْظانِ

كأنّما الساعدُ منه اثنان

And dark brown with watchful eyes,

As if its forearm was double,

خالي الحَشا مجتمع الجُثْمان

سامي الجِرِشَّى يَقِظِ الجنَانِ

Smooth flanked and stout bodied,

Tall, awakening the heavens,

كأنّ في فيه من الأسنان

كلَّ حُسامٍ صارمٍ يماني

As if its mouth had the teeth

Of every unsheathed Yemeni sword,

يَختالُ في المَشْي اختيالَ الرّاني

لا تَسِمُ التُّربَ له رِجْلانِ

Strutting in its walk like a beautiful gazelle,

Dust does not touch its legs,

كأنّما يخطو على صَوَّانِ

يَملكِ ما يُدرَك بالعِيانِ

As if it walks on carpets,

It possesses what is seen by the eye,

كأنَّه نادرةُ الزّمان

حتى إذا أَصْحَرَ في المَيْدَان

As if it is the rarity of time,

Until when it raced in the battlefield,

عَنَّ له عَشْرٌ من الغِزْلان

بين الرُّبا والكُثْبِ والقِيعانِ

Ten virgins were displayed for it,

Between coquetry, leaping, and running,

فانسابَ يَبغي فُرصةَ الإمكان

كالبَرْق في مُغْلَوْلِبٍ جِنّان

It flowed seeking the opportunity,

Like lightning in gathered clouds,

أسرَعَ في التَّحريك والإسْكان

من أَنمُل الحُسّاب في الدّيوان

Faster in motion and stillness

Than the ant moving in the registry,

كأنّه حِدّةُ أُفعُوانِ

وأَرْسَلَ الصَّقْرَيْن قانصانِ

As if it is the sharpness of snakes,

And it released the two hawking falcons,

فَحلَّقَا في الجَوِّ يَعْلُوانِ

حتى إذا ساواهما كَلبان

They flew high in the air,

Until when two dogs equaled them,

صوّب هَذان وكَرّ ذَانِ

كما التقَى في الزَّحْف فَيْلقَانِ

It aimed them and attacked those two,

As the armies clash in battle,

وارتَفَع القَسْطَل كالدُّخَانِ

وارتجّت الأصواتُ بالإرنانِ

And spears rose like smoke,

And voices were raised with the clanking of spears,

وحان حَيْنُ الظَّبيْ والأَتانِ

واهاً له مِنْ طَرَدٍ مُعانِ

And it was time for the deer and camels,

Woe to it from a tiring raid,

بكلّ طرْفٍ سابحٍ حِصانِ

يَخْطو على أربعةٍ مِتانِ

With every swimming tip a horse,

Stepping with four pillars,

متَّسِعِ المَنْخِر واللَّبانِ

ممزوجةٍ كَمْتَتُهُ بثانِ

With wide nostrils and incisors,

Its body dappled with scattered white,

من البيَاض اليَقَق الهِجان

فاحمرّ أعلاه إلى السِّيقان

So its upper part is red to the flanks,

And its hands and legs are white,

وابيضّت اليدان والرِّجْلان

والوجهُ ثم اسودّت العَيْنان

While its face, then its eyes turned black,

It is the garden of the beautiful gazelle,

فهو رِياضُ الحَدَق الرَّواني

شَعْرٌ صَقيلٌ وأَديم قاني

Smooth haired and soft skinned,

As if there is the flame of fire in it,

كأنّ فيه لَهَبَ النِّيرانِ

مُقابَلٌ يَمرَح في العِنانِ

Opposing, frolicking with the bridle,

More confident in composition than a building,

أوثَقَ في التركيب منْ بُنْيان

كأنّما يداه طائران

As if its hands are two birds,

The motive connected to darkness,

مرتبط الحافز بالظِّلْمان

وبالمَهَا والأُتْن في الغِيطانِ

And panic and refuge in the valleys,

Like the connection of words to meanings,

مثلَ ارتباط اللَّفظ بالمعاني

طِرْفَ العزيزِ الملِك المَنّان

The gaze of the mighty king,

And its horses raced for betting,

وخَيْلُه السُّبَّق للرِّهان

كلُّ جَوادٍ ثابت الأركان

Each steady and stable steed

More intelligent when moved than a human,

أذْكَى إذا حُرِّك من إِنْسانِ

ضَوامِنٌ في الرَّوع للفُرْسان

Deterrents of fear for the horsemen,

Leaving the far as the near intimate,

تَرْكَ الأَقاصي كالقريب الدّاني

كأنهمْ منها على عِقْبانِ

As if they are on its heels,

O son of the religion and faith,

يا بن معزِّ الدِّين والإِيمان

وابنَ الملوك الشُّمِّ مِن عَدْنان

And son of kings of glorious Adnan,

And the noble Hashimites of high rank,

والهاشميِّين العظامِ الشانِ

ذوي المعالي وذوي السلطان

With ascension and authority,

And son of guidance, righteousness and the Criterion,

وابن الهدى والبِرّ والفُرْقان

كم مَرَّ بين الضَّرْب والطِّعان

How many times between striking and stabbing

Were days of war in which you chose

من يومِ حربٍ لك أرْوَنانِ

آثَرْتَ فيه طاعةَ الرّحمان

Obedience to the Merciful,

Until you supported the law of the Quran,

حتى نصرتَ شِرْعةَ القرآن

نصرَ علىٍّ جَدِّك الدَّيّانِ

Supporting your ancestor the Judge

For the religion at Badr over idols,

للدِّين في بَدْرٍ على الأوثان

لولاك كان الناس كالعميان

Were it not for you, people would be blind,

And Islam would be disgraced,

وأصبح الإسلامُ كالمُهانِ

وارتجع المعروفُ كالبهتان

And good would revert to falsehood,

And the innocent would be tortured with deprivation.

وعُذِّب العافُون بالحِرْمان

يا غايةَ العافي وفَكّ العاني

O peak of health, untying knots,

And shining star, and aid of the distressed,

وكوكبَ الساري وغَوْثَ الجاني

عادت بك الأيّامُ كالغَواني

With you days have returned flourishing,

Passing between beauty and benevolence,

يَخْطِرْن بين الحُسْن والإحسان

وأصبح المُلْكُ قليلَ الشاني

And the kingdom has become insignificant of its detractors,

Vast in meaning, towering in buildings,

رَحْبَ المَغاني مُشْرِفَ المبَاني

عَفَوْتَ حتّى عن ذوي العِصْيان

You pardoned even the disobedient,

And refrained even from the aggressive,

ولنْتَ حتّى لذوي العُدْوان

سياسةً بيّنةَ الرُّجْحان

With clear, evident wisdom,

Mixed with severity and leniency,

مخلوطة الشِّدّة باللِّيان

والخَلق من عدلك في أمانِ

And people are safe from your justice,

You prevented them from the sorrows of grudges,

منعتَهمْ مِن إحَن الأضْغان

بِسيرةٍ راجحة المِيزانِ

With conduct weighing heavy on the scale,

And wisdom with clear proof,

وحكمةٍ واضحةِ البُرْهان

فكلُّ من والاك في غُنْيانِ

So every ally of yours enjoys abundance,

And every opponent of yours loses,

وكلُّ مَن عاداك في خُسْران

يا من به أَدفعُ ما دَهاني

O you through whom I repel what harms me,

And through whom I aspired over planets,

ومَن به طُلْتُ على كِيوانِ

متى أؤَدّي شكَر من كَفاني

When will I fulfill gratitude to one who sufficed me,

And favoured me with affection and chose me,

وخصّني بالوُدِّ واصطفاني

ومن بنُعمَى فضلِه حَباني

And from whose grace he gifted me,

And from whose protection he shepherds me,

ومن بعينِ حِفظِهِ يرعاني

في السِرّ مِن نَجْواه والإعلانِ

Secretly through his whispers and publicly,

And he who when he sees me, brings me near,

ومن إذا أبصَرَني أدْناني

ومَن إذا سألتُه أرضاني

And he whom when I ask, pleases me,

As if he is a loving father to me,

كأنّه أبٌ عليَّ حاني

ومَن به سعادتي تغْشاني

And through whom my happiness overwhelms me,

Were it not for him, I would not have attained my hopes,

لولاه ما نِلْتُ مَدَى الأماني

ولا احتلَبْتُ دِرّةَ الزّمان

Nor milked the pearl of time,

O best hope and source of help,

يا خيرَ مَرْجُوٍّ ومستعانِ

عليكَ في كلِّ ثأىً تُكْلاني

Upon you I rely in every absence,

You are my request and through you my riches,

وأنت سَؤلي وبِك ازدياني

وهاكَها واضحةَ التِّبْيان

It appeared in the morning in the form of clouds,

Non-existent, the miracle of existence,

بِكراً بدت في هيئةِ الغواني

معدومةً معجزَة الكيان

Too narrow for it the perceptions of minds.

تَضِيق عنها سَعَةُ الأذهان