قَسَماً بِمَنْ بِالصَّدِّ قَدْ أَضْنَانِي

وَسَقَانِ كَاسَاتٍ مِنَ الْهِجْرَانِ

I swear by the one whose love has tormented me,

I swear by the one who has exhausted me with his aversion,

And made me drink cups of estrangement,

And made me drink from the cups of abandonment,

وَغَدَا يُمَزِّقُ مُهْجَتِي بِلِحَاظِهِ

وَكَسَانِ ثَوْبِيَ ذِلَّةٍ وَهَوَانِ

In the morning he tears my spirit with his glances,

Who began to tear my very soul apart with his glances,

And the fabric of my garment with humiliation and disgrace.

And clothed me in the garments of humiliation and disgrace—

مَا أَنْتَ إِلاَّ حَائِزٌ خَصْلَ الْعُلاَ

مُتَضَلِّعٌ بِلآلِئِ التِّبْيَانِ

You are the embodiment of eloquence,

That you are none other than the master of noble virtues,

Adorned with the pearls of expression.

Brimming with the pearls of eloquence.

يَا ابْنَ الأُلْى هَمَعَتْ سَحَابُ أَكُفِّهِمْ

وَتَوَشَّحُوا بِمُثَقَّفِ الْمُرَّانِ

O son of nobility, their gathering clouds have roared,

O son of those whose hands poured forth bounty like rainclouds,

And they donned the learned and refined attire.

And who adorned themselves with straightened spears of Murran wood,

وَعَدَوْا عَلَى الأَبْطَالِ فِي صَهَوَاتِهِمْ

وَنَمَوْا إِلَى عَدْنَانَ أَو ْقَحْطَانِ

They marched against the champions arrogantly,

Charging against champions upon the backs of their steeds,

And grew close to Adnan or Qahtan.

Tracing their noble lineage back to Adnan or Qahtan.

مِنْ كُلِّ قَرْمٍ بَاسِلٍ يَوْمَ الْوَغَى

بَادِي السُّرُورِ إِذَا الْتَقَى الْجَمْعَانِ

From every courageous tribe on the day of battle,

From every valiant chieftain on the day of battle,

Showing joy when the two armies meet.

Who radiates joy when the two armies clash.

هِمْنَا بِشِعْرِكَ بَلْ بِسِحْرِكَ فَانْثَنَتْ

أَلْبَابُنَا سَكْرَى بِخَمْرِ بَيَانِ

We swooned intoxicated with the wine of your eloquence,

We were captivated by your poetry—nay, your magic—so that

Bent by your poetry, nay, by your magic.

Our minds swayed, intoxicated by the wine of your eloquence.

مَا شِئْتَ مِنْ لَفْظٍ أَرَقَّ مِنَ الْهَوَى

وَأَلَذَّ فِي الأَسْمَاعِ مِنْ عِيدَانِ

Whatever word you chose was gentler than love,

Commanding whatever words you desire, more delicate than passion,

And sweeter to the ears than fresh branches.

And sweeter to the ear than the melodies of lutes,

وَبِدِيعِ مَعْنًى كَالنَّسِيمِ لَطَافَةً

أَحْلَى مِنَ الرَّشَفَاتِ مِنْ غِزْلاَنِ

With excellent meaning like a delicate breeze,

With wondrous meanings, as gentle as the breeze,

Sweeter than gazelle drafts from a meadow.

Sweeter than stealing sips from the lips of gazelles.

مَالْبُحْتُرِي وَأَبُوفِرَاسٍ وَالْبَهَا

بِأَرَقَّ مِنْكَ وَلاَ الْفَتَى الْهَمَذَانِي

Al-Buhturi and Abu Firas and Al-Mutanabbi

Al-Buhturi, Abu Firas, and Al-Baha' are not

Are not as subtle as you, nor the young Hamadani.

More refined in verse than you, nor is the youth of Hamadhan.

حُزْتَ الْبَرَاعَةَ وَالْيَرَاعَةَ وَالْعُلاَ

وَسَبَقْتَ فِي مِضْمَارِ هَذَا الشَّانِ

You have won brilliance, excellence, and greatness,

You have mastered brilliance, the pen, and high nobility,

And preceded in the field of this lofty affair.

And outpaced all others in the racecourse of this art.

وَإِلَيْكَهَا تُسْدِي إِلَيْكَ تَحِيَّةً

أَذْكَى شَذاً مِنْ نَفْحَةِ الْبُسْتَانِ

To you this ode sends the freshest greeting,

So receive these verses, offering you a greeting

More fragrant than the scent of a garden.

More fragrant in scent than the breath of the garden,

مَا اهْتَاجَ قُمْرِيٌّ بِأَفْنَانِ الرُّبَى

وَتَمَايَسَتْ هَيْفَا غُصُونِ الْبَانِ

Qumri did not boast of the beauties of maidens,

Enduring as long as the turtledove stirs upon the branches of the hills,

Nor did the branches of Al-Ban pine.

And the slender boughs of the ban tree gently sway.