الوِرْدُ يَبْسِمُ والرَّكائِبُ حُوَّمُ

والسَّيفُ يَلمَعُ والصَّدى يَتضَرَّمُ

The roses smile and the caravans hover,

The sword gleams and the echo murmurs,

بَخِلَ الغَيُورُ بِماءِ لِينَةَ فاحْتَمى

بِشَبا أسِنِّتِهِ الغَديرُ المُفْعَمُ

The jealous one was stingy with the soft water of Laynah, so he perished,

The copious pond was choked by the spittle of his harsh tongues,

والرَّوضُ ألبَسَهُ الرَّبيعُ وشَائِعاً

عُنِيَ السِّماكُ بِوَشْيِها والمِرْزَمُ

Spring adorned the garden with finery and it became brilliant,

The bulbul was busy with its warbling and trilling,

تُثْني رُباهُ على الغَمامِ إذا غَدا

عافِي النَّسيمِ بِسِرِّها يتكَلَّمُ

The branches sway with it and the morning breeze is enamored,

The doves coo softly with their lament,

حَيْثُ الغُصونُ هَفا بِها ولَعُ الصَّبا

وخَلا الحَمامُ بِشَجْوِهِ يترَنَّمُ

I listen enraptured to them complaining of their burning,

But the lover wept without shedding a tear,

وأُميلُ مِنْ طَرَبٍ إلَيهِ مَسامِعاً

يَشكو لَجاجَتَها إليَّ اللُّوَّمُ

Does the passionate one begrudge tears like this?

I have wept, and if you saw my tears,

فَبكى ولَم أرَ عَبْرَةً مَسْفوحَةً

أكذاكَ يَبْخَلُ بالدُّموعِ المُغْرَمُ

You would know which of us two is the afflicted one,

Far apart is my passion and the yearning of a dove,

ولَقَد بَكَيْتُ فلَو رأيتَ مَدامِعي

لعَلِمْتَ أيُّ الباكِيَيْنِ مُتَيَّمُ

Who shows its infatuation openly while I conceal mine,

I visit when the throng starts milling in the dwellings,

شَتّانَ ما وَجْدي ووَجْدُ حَمامَةٍ

تُبْدي الصَّبابَةَ في الحَنينِ وأكْتُمُ

Which, like me, the bees have populated and settled,

How often I paused in my travels when longing,

وأزورُ إذْ ظَعَنَ الخَليطُ مَنازِلاً

نَحِلَتْ بِهِنَّ كما نَحِلْتُ الأرْسُمُ

For an abandoned abode in Ramah gripped me,

Our caravan turned towards its yard,

كَمْ وَقْفَةٍ مَيْلاءَ في أثْنائِها

شَوْقٌ إِلى طَلَلٍ بِرامَةَ يُرْزِمُ

And followed its known route to the little garden,

I recalled a time whose steps hastened,

عَطَفَتْ رَكائِبُنا إِلى عَرَصاتِهِ

وعلى الجُنَينَةِ نَهْجُهُنَّ المُعْلَمُ

When life was green and events were lulled,

I wished that my youth had bid me farewell,

وذَكَرْتُ عَصْراً أسْرَعَتْ خُطُواتُهُ

والعَيْشُ أخْضَرُ والحَوادِثُ نُوَّمُ

And that time remained unchanged and unruined,

The homeland disgorged our loved ones, so it became empty,

فَوَدِدْتُ أنَّ شَبيبتي ودَّعْتُها

وأقامَ ذاكَ العَصْرُ لا يتَصَرَّمُ

Its sorrows and ill omens crushing their wings,

Zuheir, your brother is seeking glory,

لفَظَتْ أحِبَّتَنا البلادُ فَمُعْرِقٌ

تُدمي جَوانحَهُ الهُمومُ ومُشْئِمُ

The closest of his companions is the polished sword,

It has immersed him into the coasts of deserts and darkness,

أزُهَيرُ إنَّ أخاكَ في طلَبِ العُلا

أدْنى صَحابَتِهِ الحُسامُ المِخْذَمُ

Destriers he raised on barley and chickpeas,

He traverses the shrouds of darkness fearlessly,

خاضَتْ بهِ ثُغَرَ الفَيافي والدُّجَى

خُوصٌ نَماهُنَّ الجَديلُ وشَدْقَمُ

While his steed forgets to neigh in its gloom,

The gallant horse laments that it cannot unveil,

يَجْتابُ أرْدِيَةَ الظّلامِ بِمَهْمَهٍ

يَنْسى الصَّهيلَ بهِ الحِصانُ الأدْهَمُ

A night whose fringes are sewn together by the dawn,

He turns to the west with sadness,

ويَضيقُ ذَرْعُ المُهْرِ أن لا يَنْجَلي

لَيلٌ بأذْيالِ الصَّباحِ يُلَثَّمُ

As the memory of it makes his tears flow profusely,

It is as if with a wink of his eye lid,

ولَهُ إِلى الغَرْبِ التِفاتَةُ وامِقٍ

يُمْري تَذَكُّرُهُ الدُّموعَ فتَسْجُمُ

He bids farewell to the west and its stars,

Worries have wrapped me in an unending night,

وكأنَّهُ مِمَّا يُميلُ بِطَرْفِهِ

قِبَلَ المَغارِبِ بالثُّريَّا مُلْجَمُ

In the battleground of the stars that hover above me,

And the night subjugates the grieving one,

عَتَقَتْ علَيَّ ألِيَّةٌ سَيُبِرُّها

هَمٌّ بِمُعْتَرَكِ النُّجومِ مُخَيِّمُ

With hands that clench like that of the Deliverer,

Soon shall I bid farewell to the sand dunes, their riders,

والليلُ يوطِئُ مَن تُؤرِّقُهُ المُنى

خَدّاً بأيدي الأرْحَبِيَّةِ يُلطَمُ

Their arrows, the most acute of all arrows,

And leave a band of men from Amer,

لَتُشارِفَنَّ بيَ المَوامي أيْنُقٌ

هُنَّ الحَنِيُّ ورَكْبُهُنَّ الأسْهُمُ

In whose company the generous becomes sick and frail,

Time has gone rotten, so the people of dignity are not safe from its injustice,

وأُفارِقَنَّ عِصابَةً مِنْ عامِرٍ

يَضْوَى بِصُحبَتِها الكَريمُ ويَسْقَمُ

Nor are their children, who are darker than it,

Where did you turn and see their faces,

فسَدَ الزَّمانُ فليسَ يأمَنُ ظُلْمَهُ

أهْلُ النُّهى وبَنوهُ مِنهُ أظْلَمُ

At which the gazer frowns in dismay?

The most harmful to you when events trouble a man,

أينَ التَفَتَّ رأيتَ مِنهُمْ أوْجُهاً

يشقى بهنَّ النّاظِرُ المُتَوسِّمُ

Is one who in friendship is the oldest,

When you wronged them and tested them,

وأضَرُّهُمْ لكَ حينَ يُعضِلُ حادِثٌ

بالمَرْءِ مَنْ هوَ في الصّداقَةِ أقْدَمُ

You found them reconciled after the wrong, not regretful,

They discarded loyalty and modesty,

ومَتى أسَأْتَ إليهِمُ وخَبِرتَهُمْ

أُلْفِيتَ بعدَ إساءَةٍ لا تَندَمُ

And are now where this coin is,

I have excused every adversary whom I outdid,

نَبَذوا الوَفاءَ معَ الحَياءِ وراءَهُمْ

فهُمُ بِحَيْثُ يَكونُ هذا الدِّرْهَمُ

But my affliction is greater than those I befriended,

The taste of friendship—its face is radiant,

وعَذَرْتُ كُلَّ مُكاشِحٍ أُبْلَى بِهِ

فبَليَّتي مِمَّنْ أُصاحِبُ أعْظَمُ

With guile, while its conscience frowns,

It shows affection and is elated when chances,

مَذِقُ الوِدادِ فَوَجْهُهُ مُتَهلِّلٌ

لِمكيدَةٍ وضَميرُهُ مُتَجَهِّمُ

Present themselves to harm me like a snake,

It hopes to gain favors while refusing,

يُبدي الهَوى ويَسُورُ إنْ عَرَضَتْ لهُ

فُرَصٌ عليَّ كَما يَسورُ الأرْقَمُ

To help me when I slipped and stumbled,

So I rebuked those who brought the steeds to a brink,

ويَرومُ نَيلَ المَكْرُماتِ ودونَها

أمَدٌ بهِ انْتَعَلَ النَّجيعَ المَنْسِمُ

Which a man despoiled of his family yearns for,

I had mercy on every usurped virtue,

فزَجَرْتُ مَن جَلَبَ الجِيادَ إِلى مَدًى

يَعْنو لِحاسِرِ أهْلِهِ المُسْتَلئِمُ

Even the ode when claimed by the fraud,

If I could, I would return those who live,

ورَحِمْتُ كُلَّ فَضيلَةٍ مَغْصوبَةٍ

حتّى القَريضَ إذا ادَّعاهُ المُفْحَمُ

Safe from fear that it may convulse them, tongue-tied,

Do not devote yourself to a friend, for he,

ولَوِ اسْتَطَعْتُ رَدَدْتُ مَن يَعْيَى بهِ

عنهُ مَخافَةَ أنْ يُلَجْلِجَهُ فَمُ

Knows more than your enemy of how to harm you,

He meets you while the purest honey is extracted,

لا تُخْلِدَنَّ إِلى الصّديقِ فإنّهُ

بِكَ مِنْ عَدوِّكَ في المَضَرَّةِ أعْلَمُ

From his words, and the vilest substances from his deeds,

Added to this, many a foe clings to him,

يَلقاكَ والعسَلُ المُصَفَّى يُجْتَنَى

مِن قَولِهِ ومنَ الفَعالِ العَلْقَمُ

Whose latent hatreds are kindled by misdeeds,

So I was forbearing with him while he drank his rage,

هذا ورُبَّ مُشاحِنٍ عَلِقَتْ بهِ

شَمْطاءُ تُلْقِحُها الضَّغائِنُ مُتْئِمُ

In one gulp, choking on his snarling and wrath,

While I am full of what checks his audacity,

فحَلُمْتُ عنهُ وباتَ يَشْرَبُ غَيظَهُ

جُرَعاً ولُزَّ بمِنخَرَيهِ المَرْغَمُ

And repels the ignorance of the savage, untaught one,

I accompanied Ozeir son of Mohallem,

وأنا المَليءُ بِما يَكُفُّ جِماحَهُ

ويَرُدُّ غَرْبَ الجَهلِ وهْوَ مُثَلَّمُ

Where swords shed their sheaths of blood,

The horses disheveled, the spears devastated,

فلقد صَحِبْتُ أُزَيهِرَ بنَ مُحَلِّمٍ

حيثُ السّيوفُ يَبُلُّ غُلَّتَها الدَّمُ

The mail coats muddy, the swords Thursday-stained,

I saw him treat the enemies with forgiveness,

والخَيْلُ شُعْثٌ والرِّماحُ شوارِعٌ

والنّقْعُ أكْدَرُ والخَميسُ عَرَمْرَمُ

As his power makes him clement towards them,

Each innocent man of a people wishes,

فرأيتُهُ يَسَعُ العُداةَ بِعَفْوِهِ

وتُجيرُ قُدْرَتُهُ عَليهِ فَيَحْلُمُ

To be counted among those he confers favors upon,

I gained from his morals and gift-bestowal,

ويَوَدُّ كلُّ بَريءِ قَومٍ أنَّهُ

مِمّا يَمُنُّ بهِ عليْهِمْ مُجرِمُ

Favors that even the pouring clouds begrudge,

When matters become obscure, the sun of morning,

وأفَدْتُ مِنْ أخلاقِهِ ونَوالِهِ

مِنَحاً يَضِنُّ بها السَّحابُ المُرْهِمُ

Illuminates them, pouring its scattering light upon them,

You have elucidated the paths to glory though they were obscure,

وإذا أغامَ الخَطْبُ جابَ ضَبابَهُ

شَمْسُ الضُّحى وسَطا عَليهِ الضَّيْغَمُ

So that the seeker sees the confusing way clearly,

With your generosity you have immersed kings until each one,

ومَتى بَدا واللّيلُ ألْمَى رَدَّهُ

بِالبِشْرِ فهْوَ إذا تبلَّجَ أرْثَمُ

When you gave him the call of generosity, became generous,

You have extended a palm with plentiful gifts,

مَلِكٌ يُكِلُّ غَداةَ يُطلَبُ شَأوُهُ

مُقَلاً يُصافِحُها العَجاجُ الأقتَمُ

So the wealthy man rivals it with his sword, and the pauper,

You have extended for the weak a vast shade,

بشَمائِلٍ مُزِجَ الشِّماسُ بِلينِها

كالماءِ أُشْرِبَهُ السِّنانُ اللَّهْذَمُ

Which the radiant and the gloomy wrap themselves in,

Every virtue is attained through your qualities,

ومَناقِبٍ لا تُرتَقَى هَضَباتُها

نَطَقَ الفَصيحُ بفَضْلِها والأعْجَمُ

And with you is collected its essence and its match,

For the like of these I have composed every ode,

إنْ لُحْنَ والشُّهْبُ الثّواقِبُ في الدُّجى

لمْ يَدْرِ سارٍ أيُّهُنَّ الأنْجُمُ

Which the generous courser sensed and befriended,

Poetry is difficult to climb and many times,

يا بْنَ الإِلى سَحَبوا الرِّماحَ إِلى الوغَى

ولدَيْهِ يَغْدرُ بالبَنانِ المِعْصَمُ

The unwilling one smelled the scent of the impregnable,

Eulogy comes easily thanks to your towering character,

يتَسرَّعونَ إِلى الوغَى فجِيادُهُمْ

تُزْجَى عَوابِسَ والسُّيوفُ تَبَسُّمُ

As your magnanimity dictates it to me and I compose it,

Sometimes, the sequoia hides even when the,

وإذا الزَّمانُ دَجا أضاؤوا فاكْتَسى

فضَلاتِ نُورِهِمُ الزّمانُ المُظلِمُ

Phoenix raised its splendor and the star aspected it,

أوْضَحْتَ طُرْقَ المَجْدِ وهْيَ خَفِيّةٌ

فبَدا لِطالِبهِ الطَّريقُ المُبهَمُ

وغَمَرْتَ بالكَرَمِ المُلوكَ فكُلُّهُمْ

لمّا شَرَعْتَ لهُ الندىً يتكرَّمُ

وبَسَطْتَ كفّاً بالمَواهِبِ ثَرَّةً

سَدِكَ الغَنيُّ بِسَيْبِها والمُعْدَمُ

ومَدَدْتَ لِلعافينَ ظِلاً وارِفاً

يتوشَّحُ الضّاحِي بهِ والمُعتِمُ

كلُّ الفَضائِلِ مِن خِلالِكَ يُقْتَنى

ولدَيْكَ يُجْمَعُ فَذُّها والتَّوأَمُ

ولِمِثْلِها أعْدَدْتُ كُلَّ قصيدَةٍ

نَفَرَتْ فَآنَسَها الجَوادُ المُنعِمُ

والشِّعْرُ صَعْبٌ مُرتَقاهُ وطالَما

شمَّ الإباءَ بِمارِنٍ لا يُخْطَمُ

والمَدْحُ يَسهُلُ في عُلاكَ مَرامُهُ

فنَداكَ يُمْليهِ عليَّ وأنْظِمُ

ولَرُبَّما غَطَّ البِكارُ وإنّما

رفَعَ الهَديرَ بهِ الفَنيقُ المُقْرَمُ