أُشْكُرْ لِمَنْدُوصَةٍ خَيْرِ الأَخَايِيرِ

مِنْ كُلِّ فَارِسِ مَنْظُومٍ وَمَنْثُورِ

I thank the best of virtuous brothers

Give thanks to Mendoza, the finest of the excellent,

Of every eloquent poet in verse or prose

among every knight of poetry and prose,

وَصِفْوَةِ الصَّيْدِ مِنْ أَعْيَانِ أَنْدَلُسٍ

وَبُلَغَائِهِمُ الُّلسْنِ الْمَشَاهِيرِ

And the elite of the hunt from the nobles of Andalusia

the elite among the noble lords and notables of Andalusia,

And their eloquent tongues of great renown

and their most eloquent, articulate, and famous figures.

قَدْ نَزَعَتْ بِهِ أَعْرَافُ السَّرَاةِ عَلَى

مَرِّ الزَّمَانِ وَتَجْدِيدِ الأَعَاصِيرِ

She has snatched away the customs of night wanderers

The traditions of noble leaders have been drawn to him over

Over the course of time and the renewal of storms

the passage of time and the turning of eras.

وَكَوْنُهُ فيِ ذُرَى تِطْوَانَ مَطْلَعِهِ

بَدْرَ عَلاَءٍ حَبَاهَا خَيْرَ تَنْوِيرِ

And his being in the offspring of Tetouan his emergence

His rising point is upon the high peaks of Tetouan,

A full moon of loftiness endowed with the best illumination

a full moon of eminence endowing it with the finest light.

فَجَاءَ أَشْعَرَ مَنْ يَجْرِي عَلَى سَنَنٍ

مِنَ الْقَرِيضِ قَوِيمٍ غَيْرِ مَهْجُورِ

So he came more eloquent than those who follow

Thus he became the most poetic of those who tread the path

A course of coherent, robust verse not forsaken

of upright verse that is never left abandoned.

فَجَارِهِ في سَبِيلِ الْقَوْلِ مُتَّئِداً

شِعْراً بِشِعْرٍ وَتَحْبِيراً بِتَحْبِيرِ

His neighbor in the path of words hosted

So match him upon the path of speech, with careful deliberation,

Poetry with poetry and composition with composition

poem for poem, and embellishment for embellishment.

وَجَازِهِ عَنْ قَرِيضٍ كَانَ مِنْهُ سَناً

لِوَالِجٍ نَفَقاً فِي جُنْحِ دَيْجُورِ

And surpassed the verse which had been a tradition

And reward him for poetry that shone forth like a brilliant light

For a night visitor on the wing of starlings

for one entering a tunnel in the pitch-black darkness of night,

وَصِلَةٍ مِنْ حَبِيب ٍلَيْسَ يَرْقُبُهَا

مُحِبُّهُ الْمُصْطَلِي نِيرَانَ مَدْحُورِ

And the connection from a beloved who is not awaited

and for a connection from a beloved, unexpected by

By his ardent lover, fires long extinguished

the lover who burns in the fires of forsaken despair.

أَذَاكَ أَجْلَى مِثَالٍ لِمَدِيحِكَ لِي

أَمْ أَبْرَدُ الْعَذْبِ يَشْفِي قَلْبَ مَحْرُورِ

Is that the finest example for praising me

Is that the clearest metaphor for your praise of me,

Or the coldest fresh water soothing an anguished heart

or is it the coolest sweet water that heals a fevered heart?

وَمُحْسِبُ الْيُسْرِ بَعْدَ الْعُسْرِ يُدْرِكُهُ

أَبُو بَنَاتٍ ضَعِيفَاتٍ مَكَاسِيرِ

And the one who expects ease after hardship reaches him

Or is it sufficient ease after hardship, finally reaching

The father of weak, little girls

a father of frail and broken daughters?

فَاللهُ يُجْزِيكَ لاَ شِعْرِي وَتَزْوِيرِي

عَلَى جَمِيلِ ثَنَاءٍ غَيْرِ مَكْفُورِ

So may God reward you, not my poetry and rhyming

May God reward you—not my poetry nor my embellishments—

For the kindness of praise not recompensed

for beautiful praise that shall never be denied.

لَهِنَّكَ الْمَرْءَ أَهْدَى الدُّرَّ مُنْتَثِراً

فِي سِلْكٍ مُنْتَظِمٍ إِلَى ابْنِ زَاكُورِ

For you have gifted the man scattering pearls

By God, you are the man who gifted scattered pearls

In a consistent string to the son of Zakour

upon a well-ordered string to Ibn Zakour,

زَاكِرْ عَيْبَاتِ أَفْعَالٍ لَهُ قَبُحَتْ

بِالْعَيْبِ بِالْغَيْبِ ذَا جِدٍّ وَتَشْمِيرِ

Remember the ugly deeds which disgraced him

one who recalls the flaws of his own ugly deeds,

In private, in absentia, serious and determined

finding fault in secret, with deep earnestness and diligence.

وَقَدْ يُجَاهِرُ بِالْفَحْشَاءِ مُنْتَهِجاً

نَهْجَ الْمُهَاجِرِ دَارَ اللهِ وَالْحُورِ

And he may brazenly indulge in vulgarity

And he may commit sins openly, adopting the path

Taking the path of the Emigrant, the house of God and the maidens

of one who abandons the abode of God and the heavenly maidens.

لَمْ يَجْدِهِ الْعِلْمُ حِينَ حَصَّلَهُ

بِالدَّرْسِ لِلنَّفْسِ لاَ لِلَّهِ بِالنُّورِ

Knowledge did not find him when he sought it

Knowledge did not benefit him when he acquired it

For the education of the self, not for God with light

by studying for the ego, not for God through divine light.

فَمَا نَضَارَةُ أَقْوَالٍ مُزَخْرَفَةٍ

بِخَاطِرِ مُخْطَرٍ لِكُلِّ مَحْظُورِ

So what is the vitality of embellished words

For what is the radiance of embellished words,

With a creative mind for everything forbidden

within a mind drawn to every forbidden thing,

إِلاَّ كَنَضْرَةِ جِسْمٍ لاَ حَيَاةَ لَهُ

بَيْنَ الْجُسُومِ وَسُورٍ دُونَ مَادُورِ

Except like the verdure of a body without life

but like the glow of a lifeless body

Amongst the bodies behind walls beyond what is encircled

among bodies, or a wall guarding empty space?

إِيهٍ هُدِيتَ فَدُرُّ الشِّعْرِ أَنْفَسُ مَا

يُهْدَى إِلَى عَالِمٍ بِالشِّعْرِ نِحْرِيرِ

Alas! The pearls of poetry are the most precious

Come now, may you be guided! For the pearls of poetry are the most precious gifts

Gifted to a learned man of poetry, prolific

presented to an erudite scholar of verse.

لَقَدْ أَنَلْتَ بِذَاكَ الْقَوْسَ بَارِيهَا

وَالطَّرْفَ مُجْرِيَهُ بَيْنَ الْجَمَاهِيرِ

You have gained through that the bow, its strings

You have thereby given the bow to its master carver,

And the gaze flowing between the throngs

and the steed to its rider among the racing crowds,

وَالْعَضْبَ مَنْ يَعْتَلِي هَامَ الْكُمَاةِ بِهِ

وَالتِّبْرَ دَهْقَانَ نَقَّادِ الدَّنَانِيرِ

And the arrow that ascends the zeal of archers

and the sharp sword to the one who strikes the warriors' heads,

And the blade that executes the critics of dinars

and pure gold to the master assayer of coins,

وَالْمِسْكَ مَنْ لَيْسَ مُزْكُوماً وَقَدْ سَطَعَتْ

مِنْهُ الْفَوَاغِمُ تَشْفِي كُلَّ مَصْدُورِ

And the musk whose scent has shone

and musk to one whose nose is not stopped, as its rich fragrance

Healing every breast in pain

radiates from it to heal every ailing chest.

لاَ غَرْوَ أنَّا وَقَدْ قَلَّدْتَنَا مِنَناً

نُدْلِي إِلَى شًكْرِهَا قَسْراً بِتَقْصِيرِ

No wonder that we, when you have bestowed gifts upon us

It is no wonder that we, though you have garlanded us with favors,

Reluctantly lower to thank for the inadequacy

can only offer our thanks with forced inadequacy.

فَأَنْتَ مِصْقَعُ أَهْلِ الْعَصْرِ قَاطِبَةً

تَقْضِي عَلَيْهِمْ بِتَقْدِيمٍ وَتَأْخِيرِ

For you are the file that destroys all contemporaries

For you are the most eloquent orator of this entire age,

Elevating and debasing them in order

passing judgment over them, advancing some and holding others back.

فَهُمْ لَدَيْكَ وَأَنْتَ اللَّيْثُ يَذْعُرُهُمْ

زَئِيرُ شِعْرِكَ أَشْبَاهُ السَّنَانِيرِ

Thus they are to you whilst you are the lion, roaring at them

They stand before you, and you are the lion that strikes fear into them;

The roar of your poetry like hissing snakes

the roar of your poetry turns them into mere cats.

يَمْعُونَ يَبْغُونَ شَقّاً مِنْ غُبَارِكَ فِي

شَأْوِ الْعُلاَ مَا مُعَاءُ الْهِرِّ مِنْ زِيرِ

They throng seeking a portion of your dust

They meow, seeking just a wisp of your dust in

In the plight of ascension, what bellowing of the donkey against braying

the race for glory—what is the meowing of a cat compared to a lion's roar?

أَعَاذَكَ اللهُ مِنْ عَيْنِ الْحَسُودِ فَنَلْ

عَيْنَ الْحَسُودِ بِأَشْبَاهِ الْمَسَامِيرِ

May God protect you from the evil eye

May God protect you from the envious eye, so pierce

And nail the eye of the envious with nail-like objects

the envious eye with words as sharp as nails,

مِنْ فِعْلِكَ الْمُرْتَدِي بِكُلِّ صَالِحَةٍ

تُغْرِي الْجَلِيلَ بِتَعْزِيزٍ وَتَوْقِيرِ

From the actions of the scoundrel wearing each righteousness

through your deeds that are cloaked in every virtue,

To deceive the eminent with honor and esteem

compelling the greatest of men to honor and revere you.

فَأَنْتَ رَبٌّ جَمِيلٍ غَيْرَ مَكْفُورِ

وَأَنْتَ حِلْفُ صَنِيعٍ جِدُّ مَشْكُورِ

For you are a Lord of beauty not recompensed

For you are a master of beautiful deeds that shall not be denied,

And you are an oath of sincere work, serious and appreciated

and an ally of favors worthy of the deepest gratitude.

فَاللهُ يَكْفِيكَ كَفَّ الضَّيْمِ مِنْ حَرَدٍ

لَمْ يَتَرَقَّبٍ رَقِيباً لِلْمَقَادِيرِ

So may God protect you from the injustice of a brute

May God suffice you in repelling the injustice of the wrathful,

Who did not anticipate a watcher over destinies

who fear no watcher over the decrees of fate.

وَاللهُ يُرْقِيكَ أَوْ يُبْقِيكَ مُرْتَقِباً

عَلَى الْعِدَى فَهُمْ شَرُّ الأَشَارِيرِ

And may God elevate or maintain you anticipating

May God elevate you and preserve you as a watchful guardian

The transgression for they are the worst of villains

over your enemies, for they are the most wicked of the wicked.

وَاللهُ يَرْعَاكَ فِي مَسْعَاكَ مُرْتَدِياً

بِالصَّوْنِ عَنْ كُلِّ مَحْظُورٍ وَمَحْذُورِ

And may God protect you in your hearing, wearing

May God watch over you in your endeavors, cloaked

The protection from all prohibitions and hazards

in protection from all that is forbidden and feared.

وَاللهُ يُصْحِبُكَ التَّأْيِيدَ مُعْتَصِماً

بِعِزَّةِ اللهِ فِي دَهْرِ الدَّهَارِيرِ

And may God accompany you with support, adhering

And may God accompany you with His support, holding fast

To the might of God in the time of turmoil

to the might of God throughout the eternal ages.