أكوكبُ بِشرٍ من جَبينكَ لائحُ

وصيّبُ يُسْرٍ من يمينكَ سائحُ

A star of good omen gleams on your serene brow,

And a youthful fortune-teller roams freely at your right hand.

وإلا فما ذا البرقُ والغيمُ مقشِعٌ

وهذا النّوالُ السّكْبُ والجوّ واضحُ

Else, why does the lightning flash and the clouds pour down rain?

This abundance of rain, the atmosphere, and the sky are all so clear.

لقد علمَ الأقوامُ شرقاً ومغرِباً

سواءٌ قريبُ الدارِ منهم ونازح

The people in East and West have realized,

Whether near or far from your abode,

بأنك أهلٌ للسؤالِ مهذّبُ ال

فِعالِ مُبيدٌ للنوال مُسامِحُ

That you deserve to be asked for favors, as you are refined,

A doer of deeds that abolish scarcity and forgive freely.

فما انتسبتْ إلا إليك مفاخرٌ

ولا حسُنَتْ إلا عليك مدائحُ

None can boast but you of glorious virtues,

And none receives beautiful praises but you.

لك الله ما أنداكَ والغيثُ باخِلٌ

وأبهاكَ مرأىً والوجوهُ كوالِحُ

May God grant you all you wish, though the rain holds back,

And may He show you favor, though faces frown.

وأوفاك عهداً والحُقوق مُضاعةٌ

وأمضاكَ عزماً والخُطوبُ فوادِحُ

May He keep His covenant with you, though rights are neglected,

And may He affirm your resolve, though calamities abound.

رعاك الذي أرعاكَ كلَّ فضيلةٍ

تغنّتْ بها وُرْقُ القريضِ الصّوادِحُ

May He who has granted you every merit

Which the leaves of fluent poetry have sung, watch over you.

شددْتَ يدي بالجاهِ فهي قويّةٌ

وشدْتَ مَناري بالعطا فهو طامِحُ

You have strengthened my hand with your support, so it is powerful,

And you have raised my aspirations with your gifts, so they are lofty.

وأنقذَتَني من حبسِ فقرٍ تجرّدَتْ

على عاتِقي منه رِقاقٌ صفائحُ

You have saved me from the prison of utter poverty—

Its shackles have slipped from my shoulders.

ولي حاجةٌ حلّتْ وضامنُ نُجْحِها

لقلبي برقٌ من مُحيّاكَ لامِحُ

I have a need which, I am confident, will be fulfilled,

For my heart glimpses in your smile a flash of lightning.

دعاني إليها أني أكتسي بها

سناً عمِيَتْ منه الغوادي الرّوائحُ

It invites me to don it, though the valleys have been

Stripped of plants by the winds.

وما أنا ممّنْ يرتضي الشِّعرَ مكسباً

فخاسِرُه لا شك من هو رابِحُ

I am not one who considers poetry a livelihood—

Surely he who loses is not the winner.

ولي ماءُ وجهٍ صُنْتُه بقناعةٍ

تُجاهِدُ عنه جُهدَها وتُكافحُ

I have the water of a face veiled in contentment

Which exerts itself to protect it and struggles.

ولكن رأيتُ النّظْمَ منك فريضةً

فقامتْ به خوفَ العِتابِ القرائحُ

Yet I saw that composing verse for you is a duty,

So my heart hastened to fulfill it, fearing blame.

إذا لم يصُغْ في مُرتقى المُلكِ خاطري

مديحاً فلا ضُمّتْ عليه الجوارحُ

If my mind does not rise to praise you, O Exalted King,

The bodily parts will not be composed.

فعِشْ يا جمالَ المُلكِ في ظلِّ نعمةٍ

به غُصَّ ما دامت عدوٌ وكاشحُ

So live long, O essence of kingship, in the shade of a blessing

With which, as long as there is a hostile aggressor, you have filled the cups!