النُّجْحُ تَحْتَ خُطا المَهْرِيَّةِ النُّجُبِ

وَالعِزُّ فَوْقَ ظُبا الهِنْدِيَّةِ القُضُبِ

Success lies under the lines of my poetry

And glory above the clouds of my prose

وَالعَزْمُ يُوقِظُ داعِي الحَزْمِ نائِمهُ

وَهَل تَدورُ الرَّحَى إلا على القُطُبِ

Determination awakens the voice of wisdom sleeping

Does the millstone not turn but around the pole?

فَما الثَّواءُ بِأَرْضٍ لِلْمُقيم بِها

إِلى الهُوَيْنى حَنينُ الوُلَّهِ السُّلُبِ

So what is the point of a land where one stays

If yearning for the homeland makes the seeker turn back

أَقْذَى الزَّمانُ بِها شِرْبي وَرَنَّقَهُ

ماذا تُريدُ اللَّيالي مِنْ فَتىً غُرُبِ

Time has quenched my thirst and refined it

What does the night want from a stranger like me?

مَتى أُرَوِّي غَليلَ السُّمْرِ مِنْ ثُغَرٍ

يَمِدْنَ فيهنَّ كَالأشْطانِ فِي القُلُبِ

When will I quench the thirst of wine from a mouth

That reaches into my heart like spears?

فَهُنَّ أَزْوَيْنَ إِبْلي وَالمِياهُ دَمٌ

وَقَدْ تَوَشَّحَتِ الغُدْرانُ بِالعُشُبِ

For they have folded my camels, and the water is blood

And the valleys have been adorned with grass

أُزْهَى بِنَفْسي وَإِنْ أَصْبَحْتُ في مُضَرٍ

أَلْوي على العِزِّ مِنْ بَيْتي قُوى الطنُبِ

I take pride in myself, though I wake in Mudar

I lean on honor and strength from my firm house

فَالعُودُ مِنْ حَطَبٍ لولا رَوائِحُهُ

وَالنَّخْلُ تُكْرَمُ لِلأَثْمار لا العُسُبِ

For wood is nothing without its fragrance

And palm trees are valued for their fruit, not their husks

وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُ مَرادَ الطَّرَفِ غَيْر مَهاً

يَهْزُزْنَ في المَشْي أَغْصانَاً على كُثُبِ

And I have made the object of my gaze worthless

Swaying their branches as they walk on the dunes

إِنَّ العُيونَ عَنِ العَلْياءِ نابِيَةٌ

وَمَسْرَحُ العَيْنِ مِنّي مَسْبَحُ الشُّهُبِ

Eyes are aloof from the arrogant

And my gaze is a comet flaming through the sky

هِيَ الّتي لا تَزالُ الدَّهْرَ ناظِرَةً

إِلى عُلاً وَلِسُؤَّالٍ وفي كُتُبُ

She who still looks through time

At glory, questions, and books

وَقَدْ شَكَتْ فَشَفاهَا اللهُ وَارْتَجَعتْ

لَحْظاً أَحَدَّ مِنَ المَأْثُورَةِ الرُّسُبِ

She complained, so God healed her and restored

A glance sharper than famed blades

وَالشَّمْسُ تَرْنو بِعَيْنٍ لا يُغَيِّضُ مِنْ

أَنْوارِها ما يُوارِيها مِنَ السُّحُبِ

The sun gazes with an eye that will not shade

From its light what clouds try to conceal

وَالمَشْرَفِيّةُ لا تَنْبو مَضارِبُها

فيها المَضاءُ وَإِن رُدَّتْ إِلى القُرُبِ

And Al-Mashrafiya’s windows do not hide

Their brightness even if shuttered and enclosed

فَأَصْبحَ المَجْدُ مَسْروراً بِعافِيةٍ

أُلاعِبُ الظِّلَّ في أَثْوابِها القُشُبِ

So glory awoke happy with wellness

Playing with its shadows in their veiled clothes

وَأَشْرَقَ الدَّهْرُ حَتّى خِلْتُ صَفْحَتَهُ

تُقَدُّ مِنْ وَجَناتِ الخُرَّدِ العُرُبِ

And time shone until I saw its page

Brought out from the cheeks of pretty maidens