خَليليَّ مالي أُبصر الدَهر راضياً

وَحَظيَ مَوفوراً وَعَيشيَ صافيا

My beloved, why do I not see this world pleased,

With my fortune abundant and my life serene,

وَسالمني في الناس مَن كانَ دَأبُهُ

مُحارَبَتي جَهلاً وَأَصبَحَ وافيا

And my enemies make peace with me, after their habit

Was to war with me in ignorance, but now conciliatory,

وَرُحتُ قَرير العَين مَليءُ جَوانِحي

سُرور وَفِكري باتَ بِالأَمس خاليا

And I went to bed happy, my thoughts

Empty of care, my heart filled with joy,

وَعَهدي بِأَيام مضين كَأَنَّها

تَجرد مِن جفن الزَمان مَواضيا

And I recall days gone by as though

They were stripped from the eyelid of time and empty,

إِذا طَلعت شَمس النهار وَأَشرَقَت

ظَنَنت حبال الذُر فيها أَفاعيا

When the sun of day rises and shines

I imagine the ropes of light from it to be snakes,

أَواري ضَئيل الخاز باز مَهابَةً

وَأَخشى خَيالي حَيث شِمت خَياليا

I take cover, frightened, little in will,

And I fear my imagination wherever I imagined,

عَلى أَن قَومي المنجكيين قَد بَنَت

عَزائِمهم فَوقَ الثُرايا مَكانيا

Yet my resolute people have built

Their determination over the graves as my place,

وَكَم شَهدت أَعدايَ فيَّ بِأَنَّني

نَشَأت بِمَهدي لِلمعالي مُناغيا

And how my enemies witnessed about me that

I was born in a cradle inclined to high deeds,

لَئِن فاتَني ادراك ما أُدرك الأُولى

فَأَنفذت أَيامي عَلَيهِ أَمانيا

If I missed attaining what the forebears attained,

And I sent my days after it longing,

لَقَد صَدَقت مِني الظُنون وَأَصبَحَت

تَفل جُيوش العَدل عَني الأَعاديا

The suspicions about me were true and became

Armies of justice turning from me hostile,

بِمَقدَم قاضي الشام مُحيي رُبوعِها

فَحَمداً لِمَن أُحيي بِهِ الأَرض قاضيا

With the arrival of the Judge of Damascus, reviving its meadows,

So praise to Him by whom the land lives revived by its judge,

هَمام كَساهُ اللَهُ جَلَ جَلالَهُ

رِداءً مِن التَقوى بِنعماهُ زاهيا

Decisive, whom God has clothed,

With a garment of reverence by His blessing brilliant,

لَهُ قَلَمٌ كَم صَدَّ بيضاً فَواتِكاً

بِقاطع أَحكام وَسُمراً عَواليا

He has a pen that has often driven back

Straying white birds with decisive judgments and lofty poetry,

وَحُسن ثَناهُ عَطر الأُفق نَشرَهُ

وَقَد فاحَ مِسكاً أَذفَراً وَغَواليا

And the good praise of him has spread perfume whose scent

Has wafted fragrant musk and aromatic plants,

فَلو عَذُبت كُل البُحور لَما اِرتَضَت

فَضائِلُهُ تِلكَ البُحور سَواقيا

If all the seas were sweetened they would not consent

To those superior virtues being their channels,

وَمَهما اِرتَقى البَدر المُنير تَخالُهُ

لِدون مَقام حالُهُ اليَوم راقيا

And however high the brilliant full moon ascends, imagining itself,

It remains below the level his state has now attained,

وَنَدعوهُ لِلرَحمن عَبداً وَإِنَّهُ

لِيَكفيهِ فَخراً فاقَ فيهِ المَواليا

And we pray to the Merciful that he be a servant, and yet

It suffices him for pride that he has surpassed the excellent,

تَرفع شعري إِذ تَضَمَن وَصفُهُ

فَلا بدع أَن يَأبى النُجوم قَوافيا

My poetry is exalted when it includes his description,

So it is no wonder if the stars refuse rhymes,

فَيا لَيتَ إِن الفكر مِن كُل مُفكر

يُجيد بِهاتيك المَزايا مَعانيا

Oh would that every thinker’s mind

Could excel in those virtues and meanings,

وَيا لَيتَ أَني النُور مِن كُل مُبصر

فَيُبصِرُني مَن كانَ وَجهَكَ رائِيا

And oh would that I were the light to every seeing eye

That sees me when I face your countenance,

أَتيتك مِن نُعماكَ مَولايَ شاكِراً

وَقَلبِيَ مِن رَيب الحَوادِثِ شاكيا

I came to you thanking, my Master, for Your blessings,

With my heart complaining of the calamities of fate,

فَخُذ بِيَدي وَأَمنُن عَلَيَّ بِنَظرَةٍ

أَفز بِفَخار يَستَرق المَعاليا

So take me by the hand and favor me with a glance,

At which I leap with pride surpassing high deeds,

فَلا زِلت رُكناً في القَضاءِ مَشيداً

يَفوق بِعُلياهُ عَلى الدَهر ساميا

For I remain a pillar established in judgment,

Towering by its loftiness over fate sublime.