لِمَن دِمَنٌ تَزدادُ حُسنَ رُسومِ
عَلى طولِ ما أَقوَت وَطيبِ نَسيمِ
To whom belong these ruins that grow in the beauty of their traces,
Despite the length of their desolation and the sweetness of the breeze?
تَجافى البِلى عَنهُنَّ حَتّى كَأَنَّما
لَبِسنَ عَلى الإِقواءِ ثَوبَ نَعيمِ
Decay has turned away from them, until it seems as if
They have worn, amidst their emptiness, a garment of bliss.
وَما زالَ مَدلولاً عَلى الرَبعِ عاشِقٌ
حَسيرُ لُباناتٍ طَليحُ هُمومِ
And a lover remains constantly guided to this campsite,
Exhausted by yearnings, worn down by heavy cares.
يَرى الناسَ أَعباءً عَلى جَفنِ عَينِهِ
وَلَو حَلَّ في داري أَخٍ وَحَميمِ
He perceives people as a burden upon his very eyelids,
Even were he to settle in the home of a brother or close friend.
فَوَدَّ بِجَدعِ الأَنفِ لَو أَنَّ ظَهرَها
مِنَ الناسِ أَعرى مِن سَراةِ أَديمِ
He would wish, at the cost of severing his nose, that the earth’s surface
Were more stripped of people than a smooth leather hide.
أَلا حَبَّذا عَيشُ الرَجاءِ وَرَجعَةٌ
إِلى دُفِّ مِقلاقِ الوَضينِ سَعومِ
Oh, how beloved is the life of hope and a return
To the flank of a swift she-camel with a loose saddle-girth,
تَرامَت بِها الأَهوالُ حَتّى كَأَنَّها
تَحَيَّفُ مِن أَقطارِها بِقَدومِ
Which dangers have tossed about until she appears
To be whittled down at her sides by an adze.
وَكَأسٍ كَعَينِ الديكِ باتَت تَعُلُّني
عَلى وَجهِ مَعبودِ الجَمالِ رَخيمِ
And a cup, clear as a rooster's eye, kept quenching my thirst,
Served by the face of one worshipped for beauty and gentle grace.
إِذا قُلتُ عَلَّلني بِريقِكَ أَقبَلَت
مَراشِفُهُ حَتّى يُصِبنَ صَميمي
When I said, "Refresh me with the nectar of your mouth," there approached
His sipping lips until they struck my heart's core.
بَنَينا عَلى كِسرى سَماءَ مُدامَةٍ
مُكَلَّلَةً حافاتُها بِنُجومِ
We built over Chosroes a sky of wine,
Its edges crowned with a wreath of stars;
فَلَو رُدَّ في كِسرى ابنِ ساسانَ روحُهُ
إِذَن لَاصطَفاني دونَ كُلِّ نَديمِ
And were the spirit returned to Chosroes son of Sasan,
He would surely have chosen me above all drinking companions.
إِلَيكَ أَبا العَبّاسِ عَدَّيتُ ناقَتي
زِيادَةَ وُدٍّ وَامتِحانَ كَريمِ
To you, Abu al-Abbas, I have directed my mount,
To increase our bond and test the generosity of the noble.
لَأَعلَمَ ما تَأتي وَإِن كُنتُ عالِماً
بِأَنَّكَ مَهما قُلتَ غَيرِ مَليمِ
That I might witness what you do, though I already know
That whatever you say, you are beyond all blame.
