رَبْعُ الْمَوَدَّةِ بِالْحَشَا مَأْنُوسُ
بِهَوَى الأَحِبَّةِ مَا عَرَاهُ دُرُوسُ
The abode of affection within the heart is a familiar comfort,
Sustained by love for the dear ones, untouched by ruin or effacement.
وَلَدَيَّ لِلْأَحْبَابِ ذِكْرُ مَعَاهِدٍ
رَوْضُ الْفُؤَادِ بِحُبِّهَا مَغْرُوسُ
And I hold for my beloveds the memory of familiar meeting places,
The garden of the heart is planted with their love.
وَلَئِنْ كَبَا طَرْفُ الْقَرِيحَةِ عَنْهُمُ
لِحَوَادِثٍ مِنْهَا الْحَشَا مَخْلُوسُ
And even if the steed of poetic inspiration stumbles away from them,
Due to calamities that snatch the heart away,
فَهَوَايَ صَبٌّ فِيهِمُ وَمَوَدَّتِي
إِنَّ الْمَوَدَّةَ لِلْوَفَا تَأْسِيسُ
My passion for them remains ardent, and my affection—
For indeed, affection is the very foundation of loyalty.
سَنَدِي أَبَاحَسَنٍ أَمِثْلُكَ وَهْوَ مَنْ
أَرْسَى لَدَيْهِ الْعِلْمُ وَالتَّقْدِيسُ
My support, Abu Hasan, is someone like you—the one
In whom knowledge and sanctity are firmly anchored.
وَتَشَعْشَعَتْ أَنْوَارُهُ إِذْ أَشْرَقَتْ
مِنْهُ بُدُورُ مَعَارِفٍ وَشُمُوسُ
Whose radiant lights gleamed when there shone forth
From him the full moons and suns of knowledge.
وَبِهِ عَلَى تِطْوَانَ صَابَتْ أَسْعُدٌ
وَلَقَدْ هَمَى مِنْ قَبْلُ فِيهَا الْبُوسُ
Through him, fortunate stars rained down upon Tetouan,
Where before, only misery and hardship had poured.
يَنْمِي إِلَى مِثْلِيَ غَدْراً وَهْوَ مَنْ
مَا زَالَ أَفْرَاسَ الْوَفَاءِ يَسُوسُ
Would he attribute treachery to one like me, while he is the one
Who has never ceased to groom the steeds of loyalty,
وَيَذُمُّ مَنْ نَبَذَ الْعُهُودَ وَحَادَ عَنْ
سَنَنِ الْعُلاَ إِنِّي إِذَنْ لَخَسِيسُ
And who condemns anyone who discards covenants and deviates from
The paths of nobility? If so, I would truly be despicable.
غَيْرِي قََتِيلُ الْوُدِّ مَرْمُوسُ الْهَوَى
تَثْنِيهِ عَنْ سَنَنِ الْكِرَامِ عَرُوسُ
Let someone else be the casualty of affection, buried by passion,
Diverted from the path of the noble by a bride.
أَيَصُدُّنِي عَنْ نَشْوَتِي بِخِطَابِكُمْ
وَهْوَ الْمُنَى رُودٌ زَهَتْ وَلَبُوسُ
Could anything turn me away from the intoxication of addressing you—
While it remains my ultimate desire, more than a tender maiden or fine garments?
لاَ وَالذِي أَعْلاَكَ سُمْتَ الْعُلاَ
عَرْشاً عَنَتْ لِسَنَائِهِ بَلْقِيسُ
No, by the One who elevated you as you sought the highest ranks,
Towards a throne whose brilliance would humble Bilqis,
وَكَسَا بِلاَدَكَ مِنْ سَنَاكَ مُلاَءَةً
وَلَقَدْ كَسَاهَا قَبْلَكَ الْحِنْدِيسُ
He clothed your land in a radiant mantle of your light,
Though before you, utter darkness had enshrouded it.
مَا حِدْتُ عَنْ سَنَنِ الْكِتَابَةِ عَنْ رِضىً
لَكِنْ لِوَاءَ عَزَائِمِي مَنْكُوسُ
I did not stray from the path of writing to you willingly,
Rather, the banner of my resolve has been lowered.
وَرَوِيَّتِي مَشْغُولَةٌ وَقَرِيحَتِي
أَوْدَى بِهَا الإِقْرَاءُ وَالتَّدْرِيسُ
For my mind is deeply occupied, and my poetic inspiration
Has been exhausted by the demands of reciting and teaching.
وَإذَا أَرَدْتَ حَقِيقَتِي فَأَنَا الذِي
مَا حَدَّ طِبَّ هَوَايَ جَالَيْنُوسُ
And if you wish to know my truth, I am the one
Whose passion is a malady that even Galen could not cure.
وَلَرُبَّ مَحْرُوقِ الْجَوَى بِلَظَى الْهَوَى
يَثْنِيهِ عَنْ بَثِّ السَّقَامِ رَسِيسُ
And many a soul, its core scorched by the blazing fire of love,
Is held back from spreading its sickness by a lingering feverish ache.
فَمِنَ الْمَعَانِي خُرَّدٌ دَلَّهْنَنِي
عَقْلِي بِسِحْرِ جَمَالِهَا مَأْلُوسُ
Among the meanings are coy maidens who have left me bewildered;
My mind, bewitched by the magic of their beauty, is driven mad.
وَمِنَ الْبَيَانِ مُدَامَةٌ وَكُؤُوسُ
وَمِنَ الْبَدِيعِ حَدَائِقٌ وَغُرُوسُ
And from eloquence there arises fine wine and flowing cups,
And from poetic invention bloom lush gardens and new plantings.
إِنْ كُنْتُ أَخَّرْتُ الْكِتَابَةَ لاَهِياً
لاَ خَامَرَتْنِي بِالسُّرُورِ كُؤُوسُ
If I have delayed writing to you out of frivolous distraction,
May no cups of joy ever mix with my spirit,
وَتَبَرَّأَتْ مِنِّي السُّرَاةُ وَخَانَنِي
أَدَبِي وَلاَ اشْتَمَلَتْ يَدِيَّ طُرُوسُ
May the noblemen disown me, may my literary skill betray me,
And may my hands never again embrace the parchment.
