النَّاسُ مِنْ خَوَلي وَالدَّهْرُ مِنْ خَدَمي

وَقِمةُ النَّجْمِ عِنْدِي مَوْطِئُ القَدَمِ

People shy away from me, and time is my servant,

The summit of a star is where I place my feet.

وَلِلْبَيان لِساني وَالنَّدى خَضِلٌ

بِهِ يَدي وَالعُلا يُخْلَقْنَ مِنْ شِيَمي

Eloquence is my tongue, and dew my ornament,

With it my hand excels, and glory is my nature.

فَأَيْنَ مِثْلُ أَبي في العُرْبِ قاطِبَةً

وَمَنْ كَخاليَ في صُيّابَةِ الَعَجِم

Where in all Arabia was there one like my father?

Or anyone like my uncle among non-Arabs?

وَالنَّسْرُ يَتْبَعُ سَيْفِي حِينَ يَلْحَظُهُ

وَالدَّهْرُ يُنْشِدُ ما يَهْمي بِهِ قَلَمي

The eagle follows my sword when it discerns it,

And fate recites what flows from my pen.

لَوْ صِيَغتِ الأَرْضُ لي دُونَ الوَرى ذَهَباً

لَمْ تَرْضَها لِمُرَجِّي نائِلي هِمَمِي

If the earth were remolded into gold for me,

It would not satisfy the hopes of my aspirations.

وَعَنْ قَليلٍ أُرَى في مَأْزِقٍ حَرِجٍ

بِهِ تُشامُ السُّرَيْجيّاتُ في القِمَمِ

Yet for little I see myself caught in dire straits,

With which the mounts are charged in the summits.

وَالبيضُ مُرْدَفَةٌ تَبْدو خَلاخِلُها

في مَسْلَكِ وَحِلٍ مِنْ عَبْرَةٍ وَدَمِ

The white camels appear with their litters,

On a terrain of bog and blood from weeping.

فَالمَجْدُ في صَهَواتِ الخَيْلِ مَطلَبُهُ

وَالعِزُّ في ظُبَةِ الصَّمْصامَةِ الخَذِمِ

Glory lies in the neighing of the steed,

And honor in the herds with severed humps.