لَمْ يَشْفِ طيفُكَ لما زارني أَلَمَا

وإِنما زادَني إِلْمَامُهُ لمَمَا

Your phantom did not cure my pain when it visited,

Rather, its arrival increased my suffering and sorrow.

سَرَى إِلَيَّ وطَرْفُ الليلِ مَرْكَبُهُ

والبَدْرُ إِنْ رَكِبَ الظلماءَ ما ظَلَما

It came to me while the night was still dark,

Like the moon rising amidst the gloom without illuminating it.

ولم يزل يَدَّعي زُوراً زيارَتَه

حتى تَمَلَّكَ مِنِّي الحِلْمَ والحُلُما

It kept falsely claiming it came to visit me

Until it took away my patience and forbearance from me.

نادَمْتُه فَسَقَاني كأْسَ مُرْتشَفٍ

يُفنِي النديمُ عليها كَفَّهُ نَدَما

I reproached it, so it made me drink a cup of sorrow,

That made the reveler wipe his palms in regret.

حتى إِذا شابَ فَوْدُ الليلِ وانْعَطَفتْ

قناتُه وتدانَى خَطْوُهُ هَرَما

Until when the night grew old and its stars began to fade,

And its steps grew slow due to old age,

وقمتُ أَعثُرُ والأَشواقُ تَنْهَضُ بِي

فما تقدَّمْتُ من سُكْرِي به قُدُما

I got up stumbling as passions roused me,

But I could not walk forward due to my drunkenness.

قال السلامُ على مَنْ لو مَرَرْتُ به

أَهْدَي السَّلاَم له يَقْظَانَ ما سَلِمَا

I bid farewell to the one whom if I passed by

And greeted, would return the greeting wide awake.

واهْتَزَّ كالغُصُنِ المنآدِ فانْتَثَرَتْ

مدامِعِي حَوْلَهُ العُنَّابَ والعَنَمَا

He trembled like a branch called upon, and my tears

Fell around him, violets and anemones.

ورُحْتُ أَعبدُ منه دُمْيَةً فَرَضَتْ

تقريبَ قَلْبِي في دِينِ الغرامَ دَمَا

I went on worshipping an idol that commanded

My heart’s devotion to the religion of passion.

وَجْدُ طَلَبْتُ له كَتْماً فأَردَفَنِي

شَيْباً ثَنَانِيَ أَيضاً أَطلُبُ الكَتمَا

Whenever I sought concealment, worries

Followed with gray hair, and I sought concealment again.

ولِمَّةٌ مُذْ هَفَتْ منها مُلِمَّتُهُ

عادَتْ رماداً وكانِتْ قَبْلَهُ فَحَما

An aspirations that faded when it disappeared

Returned to ashes, though it had been an ember.

وقد تَلَفَّتُ أَثناءَ الشبابِ فَمَا

رأَيتُ إِلا هموماً حُوِّلَتْ هِمَمَا

During my youth I suffered, so I did not see

Except sorrows that had been wishes.

فَالسَّيْرَ حتى تَقُولَ العِيسُ من خمر

صِرْنَا رُسُوماً وكُنَّا أَيْنُقاً رُسُما

Drink until the raven says because of wine’s traces,

“We have become habits though we were graceful birds.”

من كُلِّ منهومَةِ ما غَرثَتْ

إِلاَّ الْتَقَمْتَ عليها المَهْيَعَ اللَّقَما

You have swallowed every mouthful

Of worries except the delicious morsel.

في عُصْبَةٍ كلَّما شامَتْ صوارمَهُمُ

يَدُ الحفيظةِ في جِنْحِ الدُّجَى انْصَرَما

Among a group whose swords, whenever unsheathed

By the guarding hand in the darkness of night, were lethal.

عاطَيْتُهُمْ غَيْرَ بنتِ الكَرْمِ من سَمَرٍ

على تعاطيهِ رحنا نذكر الكَرَما

I gave them nothing for entertainment but the daughter of generosity,

As we recalled generosity over our entertainment.

فكلما قِيلَ نجمُ الدينِ قَد وَضَحَتْ

أَنوارُه فَمَحَوْنَ الظُّلْمَ والظُّلَما

Whenever it was said: “The star of the faith has shone,”

And its lights erased the darkness and gloom,

قلنا وعاد إِلى شَرْخ الشبابِ به

جودٌ مضى هَرِمٌ عنه وقد هَرِما

We would say: “Generosity has returned to the bloom of youth through him,

As old age left him though he had grown old.”

مَلْكٌ تَحرَّمت الدنيا بسطوتِهِ

فردَّها وهي حِلٌّ والنَّدَى حَرَما

A king whose authority made the world forbidden,

Yet he allowed it, though it had been forbidden like a sanctuary.

هو الغَمامُ الذي ما حَلَّ في بَلَدٍ

إِلاَّ أَفاضَ دماءً منه أو دِيَمَا

He is the rain cloud that never settled on a land

Except it poured blood from it or torrents.

وَهْوَ الحسامُ الذي قالت مضارِبُه

خيرُ الحسامَيْنِ في الأدواءِ مَنْ حَسَما

He is the sword that battlefields said:

“The best of two swords in time of distress is the decisive one.”

يطيع سامٌ وحامٌ ما يشير له

ولم يطع قَطُّ إِلاَّ من سَمَا وحَمَى

Obeyed by mighty and lowly, none disobeyed him

Except the lofty and protected.

ذو الحَزْمِ شَدَّ على عِطءفَيْهِ لأْمَتَهُ

في سَلْمِهِ وعلى أفراسِهِ الحُزُما

The prudent one restrained his nation during peace

And with his steeds during trials.

وذو الرّياحِ التي إِن أَعْصَفَتْ قَصَفَتْ

عيدانَ نَجْدٍ وجدَّت بعدها الرَّتَما

The owner of winds that if they raged, they would uproot

The pegs of Al-Najd, and then even straw mats would be useless.

كأَنما الدَّهْرُ أَفْشَيْنٌ نَخِرُّ لَهُ

وقد أَقامَ عليه سَيْفَهُ صَنَمَا

As if fate is an effigy we deflate,

And he has placed his sword on it like an idol.

إِنْ قال آل مَصَالٍ منه من يَمَنٍ

قال الأَغالِبُ من مُرٍّ ولا سِيَما

If the family of Masal said: “From it we have a supporter,”

The conqueror said: “From Murr, and that is unquestionable.”

أَمْلَى على العُرْبِ من تدبيرِهِ سِيَراً

في مِضْرَ هزَّتْ على فُسْطَاطِها الْعَجَمَا

He dictated to the Arabs through his planning ways

That made the non-Arabs tremble over their towers.

فالآنَ أَضْبَحَتِ الآباءُ واحِدَةً

والشَّمْلُ مجتمعاً والشَّعْبُ مُلْتَئِما

Now the forefathers have become united

With the community brought together and the people reconciled.

رَأْيٌ له بَذَلَ الإِقْليمُ طاعَتَه

فلو يشاءُ كفاه السَّيْفَ والقلما

His view made the region submit to him,

If he wished, his sword and pen would have sufficed.

حَسْبُ البُحَيْرَةِ أَنَّ اللَّه صَيَّرها

بحراً به زاخِرَ الأَمواجِ ملتطما

It is enough for the lake that Allah made it

A sea, foaming with the swelling waves through him.

كم خاضَ ضَحْضَاحَها من غارقٍ فَنَجَا

حتى أَفاضَ عليها سَيْبَهُ العَرما

How many who sank in it crossed it safely

Until its captor poured his bucket over it.

بالخيلِ يحملُ من فرسانِها أَسداً

والأُسْدِ يحملُ من أَرماحِها أَجَمَا

He carries on his horses lions from its horsemen

And on its spears he carries rocks from its lions.

لِلسَّيْفُ في كفِّهِ نارٌ على عَلَمٍ

إِن كنتَ يوماً سَمِعْتَ النارَ والعلما

His sword in his grip has a fire upon a flag -

If you ever heard of fire and flag then you know.

يَجْلُو البهيمَ ويحمي البَهْمَ سارِحةً

ويستجيش لكَشْفِ المُبْهَمِ البُهَما

It unsheathes the dull blade and protects the confused,

Mobilizing the efforts to dispel the confusion.

والأَرْضُ ما مَرَّ مجتازُ النسيمِ بها

إِلاَّ تغالَتْ فكادَتْ تُنْبِتُ النَّسَما

The land - whenever the passing breeze traveled through it -

Flourished, almost growing plants from the breeze.

فالحمدُ للِّه سدَّ السيفُ ثُلْمَتَها

وعاوَدَ الغِمْدَ محموداً وما انْثَلمَا

So praise be to Allah, the sword sealed its cracks,

And smoothly returned to the scabbard unharmed.

فَلْيَبْتَسمْ بكَ ثغرٌ قد جعلْتَ له

ثغراً عن الحسن والإِحسان مبتسما

Through you, a cheek smiles which you have made

Smile through beauty and kindness.

يجري النَّهارُ على أَنيابِه شنَباً

ويصبِغُ الليلُ منه في الشِّفاهِ لَمَى

The day flows on its fangs like a moustache

And the night dyes its lips from it red.

حتى نقولَ وكُنَّا قبلَ معرفةٍ

سُبْحانَ عَدْلِكَ أَضحى يَنْقُلُ الشِّيَما

Until we say - though before we were ignorant -

“Glory to You! Your justice has made passions seem vile.”