هُمْ نازلونَ بقلبي أيّةً سَلكوا

لو أَنّهمْ رفَقُوا يوماً بمَنْ مَلَكوا

They descended upon my heart however they wished

Had they shown mercy one day to whom they possessed

ساقوا فُؤادي وأبقَوا في الحَشا حُرَقاً

للهِ ما أَخَذوا منّي وما تَركوا

They drove away my heart and left burning embers in the dust

By God, they took nothing from me and left nothing

لمّا بكَوا لا بكَوا والرَّكْبُ مُرتحلٌ

من لَوعةٍ ضحكَ الواشونَ لا ضَحِكوا

When they wept, they did not weep, while the traveling group was leaving

From agony, the sleepless laughed, they did not laugh

زَمُّوا وقد سَفَكوا دَمعي ركائبَهمْ

فكدْتُ أُغرِقُ ما زمُّوا بما سَفَكوا

They packed up and shed my tears as their camel litters

I almost drowned from their packing up of what they had shed

وراعَني يومَ تَشْييعي هَوادجَهمْ

والعيسُ من عَجَلِ في السّيْرِ تَبتَرِك

And startled me the day of their departure, their litters

The night traveler, from the haste of the journey, becomes crippled

سِترانِ سِتْرٌ عنِ الأقمارِ مُنفَرِجٌ

يُبدي وآخرُ للعُشّاق مُنهَتِك

Two veils, a veil exposing the moons and another rending lovers

Then we turned back, and no trace of a traveler

ثُمّ انثَنَيْنا وما من راحلٍ أَثَرُ

إلا خيالٌ برَحْلي في الدُّجَى سَدِك

Except a mirage in my litter in the darkness, intertwined

I close my eyelid upon it when it startles me

أَضُمُّ جَفني عليه حينَ يَطْرُقُنُي

كما يُضَمُّ على وَحشيَّةٍ شَرَك

As a trapped beast is confined in its trap

No garden smiled in the morning, displaying its smiles

ما روضةٌ أَضحكَتْ صُبحاً مبَاسِمَها

دُموعُ قَطْرٍ عليها اللَّيلَ تَنسفِك

Tears of drops upon it the night caused to wash away

So the moist narcissi, their eyes all gaze

فالنّرجِسُ الغَضّ عَينٌ كلُّها نَظَرٌ

والأُقحوانةُ ثَغرٌ كُلُّه ضَحِك

And the poppies, their mouths all laugh

And for the anemones their clothes amidst are a wonder

وللشّقائقِ زِيٌّ وسْطَها عَجبٌ

إذا تمايَلْنَ والأرواحُ تأتَفِك

When they sway, and the souls wander free

The red clothes, the wind blows away their trains

حُمْرُ الثِّيِابِ تُطيرُ الرّيحُ شائلةً

أَذْيالَها وهْيَ بالأَزْرارِ تَمتَسِك

As they grasp onto their buttons and hold

When the morning breeze awakens the horizons at dawn

إذا الصَّبا نَبَّهَتْ أحداقَها سحَراً

حَسِبْتَ مِسْكاً على الآفاقِ يَنْفَرِك

You'd think musk were diffused upon the firmament

It slept perfume and trinkets when we embraced

أَنَمَّ طِيباً وحَلْياً من ترائِبها

إذا اعتَنقْنا وخَيلُ اللّيلِ تَعتَرك

As the horses of night and dawn clash

For the sky is a belt of its planets

وللسّماءِ نطاقٌ من كَواكِبها

عُقدْنَ منه على أعطافها حُبُك

Strung into a necklace around its shoulders

Gray hair lit my head quickly with whiteness

قد أشْعَلَ الشّيْبُ رأسي للبِلى عَجِلاً

والشّمعُ عند اشْتعالِ الرّأسِ يَنْسبك

And the candle near the lighting of the head melts away

So if tending to it with its color is feeble

فإن يَكُنْ راعَها من لَونهِ يَقَقٌ

فطالما راقَها من قَبْلِه حَلَك

For long it was tended with strength beforehand

I knew my fate and its people with my initiative

عَرفْتُ دهري وأهليه ببادرتي

من قَبلِ أن نَجّذَتْني فِيهمُ الحُنَك

Before they provoked me within them bitterly

So I do not blame anyone among them in my chest

فلا حَسائكَ في صَدري على أَحدٍ

منهم ولا لَهمُ في مَضْجَعي حَسَك

Nor do they scratch in my bed

And I am not fooled by the cheer in their faces

ولا أُغَرُّ ببِشرٍ في وجُوهِهمُ

وربّما غَرَّ حَبٍّ تحته شَبَك

And love underneath perhaps sets up a trap

My steeds of hope in them went astray

سارتْ مطايا رجائي فيهمُ فغدَتْ

رَزْحَي من اليأسِ حتّى ما بها حَرَك

Becoming my scaffold from despair until they lost all motion

I lead them misguided away from them to a tribe

أُنيخُها ضَلّةً منهمْ إلى عُصَبٍ

حاشا الكرامَ إذا سِيلو النّدى وَعِكوا

Far from the generous when they poured rain and gathered

Reason leaves our tongues that bite

ويَتركُ الحِلْمُ منّا لُدَّ ألسِنةٍ

وهُنّ كاللُّجمِ في الأفواهِ تَنعلِك

And they in mouths are like shackles bridled

Many a group could not restrain so they complained

ورُبَّ طائفةٍ لم يكظِموا فشكَوْا

أقلَّ شيءٍ كما لم يكْرُموا فَشُكُوا

Of the smallest thing, as they were not honorable, so they complained

Unless it be a pouch of money acting as a muzzle

إلاّ تكُنْ مُسكةٌ للمالِ مُقنعةٌ

فالعقلُ والصّبرُ عندي منهما مُسَك

For reason and patience in them I possess

How long, oh time, do I see from you

حتّى متَى وإلى كم يا زمانُ أَرى

منك الخطوبَ بجَنْبي وهْي تَنعرِك

Hardships next to me that provoke and kindle?

Beyond the justice of rule’s organization you burden me

أَبعْدَ عدلِ نظامِ المُلكِ تَحمِلُ لي

ذَحْلاً وخلْفَك منه ثائرٌ مَحِك

With abuse while behind you a protector of lawNM gets angry

I am not fooled by his envied but shared glory

أَغَرُّ لا مَجدُه المَحسودُ مُشتَرَكٌ

كَلاّ ولا مالُه في الجودِ مُشترَك

No, and not his shared money in generosity

His glory is purely his, not shared with mankind

فَمجدُه خالصاً دونَ الأنامِ له

ومالُه خالصاً للوَفْدِ مُمْتَلَك

And his money is purely for visitors, possessed

Oh you who tires himself to compete with him

يا مُتعِباً نفسَه في أن يُساجِلَه

أينَ السّماكُ إذا قايَسْتَ والسَّمك

Where are the fishes when you compare them to the fish?

Leave the ministry from you and profit from its troubles

دَعُوا الوِزارةَ عنكمْ تَربَحوا نَصَباً

فالحَبلُ في الدُّرّ مِمّا ليس يَنْسَلِك

For the rope in pearls is not what unravels

You have inherited, oh clan of Isaac, his position

وَرِثْتُمُ يا بَني إسحاقَ مَنْصبَها

فما لغَيرِكمُ في إرثِكم شِرَك

So none other has partnership in your inheritance

You are the choice of this cider, we know you

أنتمْ فَرازينُ هذا الدَّسْت نَعلَمُكُمْ

وهمْ بَياذِقُه إن صُفَّ مُعتَرَك

And they are its tasters if the line is mixed in battle

So no taster from them strays ever

فما تَفرْزنَ منهم بَيذَقٌ أبداً

إلاّ غدا رأسُه في التُّرْبِ يَنمَعِك

Except his head tomorrow is in the dust, crumbling

How many wished to partake, not of your ilk

كم رامَ أن يتَعاطى ذاك غيُركمُ

فخاضَه تائهٌ في الغَىِّ مُنهَمِك

So they entered it confused, immersed in error

And took up the matter but took it up in wonder

وقام بالأمرِ لكنْ قائمٌ عجَبٌ

كما تُريكَ خيالَ القائمِ البِرَك

As you see the mirage of the standing mirage

Until it was returned to one of true intuition, awakened

حتّى أُعيدَتْ إلى ذي مِرَّةٍ يَقِظٍ

من الّذين إذا هَمّوا بها فَتكوا

From those who, when they contemplated it, unravelled

Do you not see what the Sultan Murtaza saw

أما تَرى ما رأى السُّلطانُ مُرتَضياً

في مُلكِه كُلُّ ما يأتي وَيتَّرك

In his kingdom, all that comes and goes?

He handed over to you what your father handed over

ألقَى إليك الّذي ألقَى أبوه إلى

أبيكَ في المُلْكِ والأحوالُ تَشتَرِك

To my father in the kingdom and eras intertwined

So each remains provided with his companion

فلا يَزلْ مُمْتَعاً كُلٌّ بصاحبِه

ولا تَزلْ هذه الأنسابُ تَشتَبِك

And these lineages remain interlocked

No minister has met a king like him

فلم يُصادِفْ وزيرٌ مثلَه مَلِكاً

ولم يُصادِفْ وزيراً مثلَه مَلِك

Nor a king met a minister like him

In his hand a moon, in his armor a lion

في دَسْتِه قَمرٌ في دِرعهِ أَسد

في حَفْلِه مَلِكٌ في سرِّه مَلَك

In his assembly a king, in his secret an angel

If we count his years, he is forthcoming

إذا عَددْنا سِنيهِ فهْو مُقتَبِلٌ

وإنْ ذكرْنا حِجاهُ فهْو مُحتَنِك

And if we mention his wisdom, he is sagacious

Pens remain generous in his palm beyond dreams

تَظلُّ في كَفّه الأقلامُ من كَرَمٍ

للنّاسِ أسخَى منَ الأحلامِ تَنشبِك

To the people, more generous than wishes entangled

It runs to him as time runs to them

تَسعَى له مثْلما يَسعَى الزّمانُ لها

كُلٌّ بهامَته ماشٍ له حَرِك

Each with its purpose walking to it and its action

Young and beautiful, throwing enemies with horses rushing

جَذْلانُ يَرْمي العِدا بالخيلِ عاديةً

مُشيحةً فوقَها الأبطالُ والشِّكَك

Lofty over them the heroes and grandeur

Continuing to emit from their honor a fragrance

يَظلُّ يَنفَحُ من أعراضِهم عَبَقٌ

وللحديدِ على أثوابِهم سَهَك

And upon their clothes the iron has tracks

As if their faces and the awe they display

كأنّ أوجُهَهمْ والرَّوعُ يَبذُلُها

عِزّاً دَنانيرُ لم تُنقَشْ لها سِكَك

Are dinars of glory never minted or carved

From each blossom like a star it carries

من كُلِّ أَزْهرَ مثْل النّجمِ يَحملُه

طَودٌ له اللّيلُ مِسْكٌ والضُّحَى مَسَكُ

An aroma the night for it is musk and dawn splendor

Until they saw them as lions with no isolation

حتّى رأَوْها أُسوداً ما بِها عَزَلٌ

تُزيرُ فوق جبالٍ ما بها صَكَك

Prowling over mountains with no rugged terrain

They marched upon the homes of the enemy enveloped in sleep

طرَقْنَ حيَّ العدا في عُقْرِ دارِهمُ

والنّومُ مْلء ُجُفونِ القَومِ لو تُرِكوا

Had they been left, sleep filling the eyes of the folk

And the stab weaved the fringes of the spear shadows

والطَّعنُ يَنسِجُ أشطانَ القنا ظُلَلاً

تُلقَى على فُرَجِ الحُجْبِ الّتي هَتَكوا

Cast upon the crevices of the veils they had torn

To your standards, pillar of the faith, we marched

إلى ذُراكَ قِوامَ الدِّينِ سارَ بنا

خُوصٌ كما اصطَفَّ من نَخْلِ القُرَى سِكَك

As palm trees of the village align orderly in rows

They extended to your name the edges of ropes theirs

مُدَّتْ على اسْمِكَ أطرافُ الحبالِ لها

وأُغْشِيَتْ أُخْريَاتُ الأرحُلِ الوُرك

And the hind legs of the camels kneeled down

And kicked them the farthest of their steps a journey

وثَوَّروهُنّ أدْنَى خَطْوِها سَفَرٌ

شَوقاً إليك وأبطا مَرِّها رَتَك

Yearning to you, and the sides of their necks chafed

Their seeking hands crept with their feet

تَسْري طَوالبَ أيديها بأرْجُلِها

مَدَّ اللّيالي فلا فَوْتٌ ولا دَرَك

The nights stretched but no loss or attainment

Such that you see a king cured by seeing him

حتّى تَرى مَلِكاً تَشْفَى برَؤْيتِه

من الزّمانِ صُدوراً كلُّها حَسَك

Of hardships hearts altogether burdened

A people he dismounts and others rise by him

يَحُطُّ قوماً ويَعلو آخَرونَ به

كما يُديرُ نُجومَ اللّيلةِ الفَلَك

As the orbit rotates stars of the night

Today the system of governance lived anew

اليومَ عاش نظامُ المُلْكِ ثانيةً

وكم مَعاشر عاشوا بعدَ ما هَلَكوا

And how many groups lived after they perished

So we ask Allah that he maintain you for what remains

فاللهَ نَسألُ أن يُبقيكَ ما بَقيَتْ

آثارُه فَهْي حَبْلٌ ليس يَنْبَتِك

Of its effects, for it is a rope that does not fray

And here it subdues the envious from repression

وهاكَها تُوقرُ الحُسّادَ من كَمَدٍ

كأنّما هيَ في أسماعهمْ سِكَك

As if in their ears it were spikes

End rhymes of Bedouin verse, and not with them

قَوافياً بدويّاتٍ وما بعَثَتْ

بها من البَدْوِ لا عُرْضٌ ولا أَرَك

Were sent from the desert any shame or refusal

They came with a white hand, so it arranged

جاءتْ بهنّ يدٌ بيضاءُ فانتظمَتْ

زُهْراً تَلقَّفُ للأقوامِ ما أَفِكوا

Blossoms it gleaned for the peoples what they unraveled

Presented to Ahmed the Most Praiseworthy, and avoided

زُفّتْ إلى أحمدَ المحمودِ واجتنَبتْ

قَوماً إذا خَطَبوا أبكارَها فُرِكوا

A people, if he sought their maidens, were shunned

Oh you who attained ranks beyond its zenith

يا مُدرِكاً رُتَباً ما بعدَ ذِرْوتِها

إلاّ الدّوامُ فَدُمْ للمَجْدِ تَدَّرك

None but eternity, so continue aspiring

A sorcery of poetry I rendered the valiant helpless with

سِحْرٌ من الشِّعْرِ أعجَزْتُ الفُحولَ به

وأعجزَتْنيَ حتّى بِعْتُها الرَّمَك

And it rendered me helpless until I became feeble

When I was pushed into a fate that pounced upon me

لمّا دُفِعْتُ إلى دَهْرٍ تَنمّرَ لي

برائعاتٍ فأَمْرِي بينها لَبِك

With masterpieces, so my matter amidst them was confused

Reason in it is mad and righteousness is wantonness

العَقْلُ فيه عِقالٌ والسُّدادُ سُدىً

والفَضْلُ فيه فُضولٌ والنُّهى نَهِك

Merit in it excess and prohibition carnage

I sold my eyes and this was my bargain, and tomorrow

قد بِعْتُ طِرْفي وهذا مِطْرَفِي وغداً

أَبيعُه ولِطَرْفِي أدمُعٌ سُفُك

I sell it, and for my eye tears pour

My praise of kings and eating palmfuls content

مَدْحي الملوكَ وأكْلي الكَفَّ مُقتنعاً

هذا لعَمرُكَ في أيّامكمْ هُتَك

By your life, in your days this is ravaged

So listen to my words, may God protect you from a kingdom

فاسمَعْ مقالي رعاكَ اللهُ من مَلكٍ

واعْدِلْ فعَبْدُك دهري ظالمٌ مَعِك

And be just, your servant my fate with you is oppressive

Prolonged has the stay become and patience has met its end

طال المُقامُ ونالَ الصّبرُ غايتَه

وتاهَ في أمره حَيرانُ مُرتبِك

And wandered in his matter the confused and tangled

So show kindness, for the sanctuary of the sublime is plundered

فاعْطِفْ فإنّ حِمَى العلياء مُنْتَهَبٌ

إن لم تُغِثْ وحَريمَ المجدِ مُنْتَهِك

If you do not help, and the harem of glory violated

And command with it openly a sacrificial camel entire

وأْمُرْ بها بِدَراً يُنحَرنَ تامِكةً

كما يُقرَّبُ عند المَوسمِ النُّسك

As it is offered at the pilgrimage season

And count with your two palms celebrations recurring

واعْدُدْ بكفَّيك أعياداً مُعاودَةً

ما دام جُنحُ الدُّجَى بالصُّبحِ يَحتبِك

As long as the wing of dusk with dawn intertwines