خَليلَيَّ خُوضَا غَمْرَةَ اللَّيلِ إِنَّني

لَبِسْتُ الدُّجَى وَالخَيْلُ تَنْضو مِراحَها

My friend, plunge into the darkness of night, for I

Have donned obscurity while the horses flutter their wings.

فَرُبَّ نهارٍ قاتِمٍ كُنْتُ شَمْسَهُ

وَكَمْ ليلةٍ لَيْلاءَ كنْتُ صَباحَها

How many a gloomy day have I been its sun,

And how many a dark night have I been its dawn.

وَتَحْتِيَ طَيّارُ العِنانِ كَأَنَّهُ

خُدارِيَّةٌ هَزَّتْ لِصَيْدٍ جَناحَها

Beneath me is a bird loosening its reins as though

It were a wild dove that fluttered its wings to hunt.

وَإِنّي لَتَسْمو بِي إِلى المَجْدِ هِمَّةٌ

تَوَدُّ الثُّرَيّا أَنْ تَكون وشاحَها

And lofty ambition carries me to glory,

As if it would make its robe an ornament.

فَلي مِنْ قُرَيْشٍ أَطْيَبوها وَغامِدٌ

تُعاوِنُ مِنْ يَرْبوعَ فيَّ رِياحَها

I have the finest of Quraysh, sheathed and stored,

To help the winds blow fiercely within me.

كِرامٌ يُهينُونَ العِشارَ إِذا شَتَوْا

وَقَدْ أَخَذَتْ كُومُ المَطايا سِلاحَها

Noble ones who humiliate the riffraff when they desire,

And the steeds have taken up their weapons.

بِأَيْدٍ إِذَا ما أَنْكَرَ الكَلْبُ أَهْلَه

عَرَفْتُ لَها طَعْناً يُشَظِّى رِماحَها

With hands that, when the dog disowns its people,

I know how to thrust a piercing lance.

وَها أَنا أَسْعَى لِلْمعالي فَطالَما

أَجَالَتْ جُدودِي في مَعَدٍّ قِداحَها

And here I strive for the heights, for my ancestors

Have always toasted victory in the mead-cups.

فَإِنْ نِلْتُها اسْتَخْلَصْتُ حَقِّي وَإِنْ أَخِبْ

فَخُطْوَةُ سَاعٍ لَمْ تُصادِفْ نجاحَها

If I attain it, I will have gained my right, but if I fail,

The steps of one who strives have not led to success.