وَأَبيَضَ مِثلُ السَيفِ خادِمُ رِفقَةٍ

أَشَمُّ تَرى سِربالَهُ قَد تَقَدَّدا

White as a sword, a courteous companion,

I can smell his gown, it is smoky.

كَريمٌ عَلى غُرّاتِهِ لَو تَسُبُّهُ

لَغَداكَ رَسلاً لا تَراهُ مُرَبَّدا

Noble despite his anger, even if you insult him,

He will become a messenger, you won't see him enraged.

يُعَجِّلُ لِلقَومِ الشِواءَ يَجُرُّهُ

بِأَقصى عَصاهُ مُنضِجاً وَمُرَمِّدا

He hurries to roast meat for the people,

Turning it on the tip of his stick, cooked and crispy.

حَلوفٌ لَقَد أَنضَجتَ وَهوَ مُلَهوَجٌ

بِنِصفَينِ لَو حَرَّكتَهُ لَتَفَصَّدا

Well roasted, though it was raw,

Had he stirred it, it would have crumbled.

يُجيبُ بِلَبَّيهِ إِذا ما دَعَوتَهُ

وَيَحسِبُ ما يَدعي لَهُ الدَهرُ أَرشَدا

He responds to your call,

Believing that fate holds the best for him.

أَلا هَل أَتى لَيلى عَلى نَأيِ دارِها

بِأَن لَم أُقاتِل يَومَ صَخرٍ مُذَوِّدا

Has Layla not come to her distant home,

Since I did not fight the day we fled?

وَأَنِّيَ أَسلَمتُ الرِكابَ فَعَقَّرَت

وَقَد كُنتُ مِقداماً بِسَيفي مُغَرِّدا

I who surrendered my mount and she crippled it,

When I had been a warrior, singing my poems.

أَثَرتُ فَلَم أَسطِع قِتالاً وَلا تَرى

أَخا شيعَةٍ يَوماً كَآخِرَ أَوحَدا

I stirred but could not excel in battle,

Never again to see a brother or lonely one.

فَهَل تَصرِمَنَّ الغانِياتُ مَوَدَّتي

إِذا قيلَ قَد هابَ المَنونَ فَعَرَّدا

Will the singers now abandon their love for me,

When told the fateful one panicked and fled?

أَيا رِفقَةً مِن أَهلِ بَصرى تَحَمَّلَت

تَؤُمُّ الحِمى لُقّيتِ مِن رِفقَةٍ رُشدا

O people of Basra, you who endured

And guarded the pact, you achieved maturity.

إِذا ما بَلَغتُم سالِمينَ فَبَلِّغوا

تَحِيَّةَ مَن قَد ظَنَّ أَلّا يَرى نَجدا

When you arrive safe, convey

The greetings of one who thought he'd not see Najd.

وَقولا تَرَكنا الحارِثِيَّ مُكَبَّلاً

بِكَبلِ الهَوى مِن حُبِّكُم مُضمِراً وَجدا

And say we left Al-Harithi bound

By the fetters of love for you, suffering and ardency.

إِذا ما الثُرَيّا في السَماءِ كَأَنَّها

جُمانٌ وَهيَ مِن سَلكَةٍ فَتَبَدَّدا

When the Pleiades in the sky are like

A cluster, though made of a scattered chain.