غَرامٌ ما أُتيحَ مِنَ الغَرامِ
وَشَجوٌ لِلمُحِبِّ المُستَهامِ
A love granted of all loves,
And longing for the passionate lover,
عَشيتُ عَنِ المَشيبِ غَداةَ أَصبو
بِذِكرِكِ أَو صَمِمتُ عَنِ المَلامِ
I missed gray hair one morning,
Remembering you or ignoring blame.
أَيا قَمَرَ التَمامِ أَعَنتَ ظُلماً
عَلَيَّ تَطاوُلَ اللَيلِ التَمامِ
O moon of perfection, you have wronged
Me with the night's prolonged injustice.
أَما وَفُتورِ لَحظِكِ يَومَ أَبقى
تَصَرُّفُهُ فُتوراً في عِظامي
If ever your gaze should weaken,
Its weakness moves through my bones.
لَقَد كَلَّفتِني كَلَفاً أُعَنّى
بِهِ وَشَغَلتِني عَمّا أَمامي
You have burdened me with a burden to bear
And distracted me from what’s ahead.
سَيُقتَلُ في المَسيرِ إِذا رَحَلنا
غَليلٌ كانَ يَمرَضُ في المُقامِ
On the journey, should we depart,
An ailment nursed here would be slain.
أَساءَ لَهيبُ خَدٍّ مِنكِ تَدمى
مَحاسِنُهُ بِقَلبٍ فيكِ دامِ
The flame of your cheek, staining
Its beauty, set my heart aflame.
أُعيذُكِ أَن يُراقَ دَمٌ حَرامٌ
بِذاكِ الدَلِّ في شَهرٍ حَرامِ
I seek refuge lest unlawful blood
Be shed by that slayer in this holy month.
مُحَمَّدُ يا اِبنَ عَبدِ اللَهِ لَولا
نَداكَ لَفاضَ مَعروفُ الكِرامِ
Muhammad, O son of Abdallah, without
Your call, the noble's kindness would have ebbed.
وَما لِلنَجمِ إِلّا طولُ قَومِ
بِهِم تَسمو بِفَخرِكَ أَو تُسامي
A star owes its height but to a people
By whom it climbs, prideful, or is sublimed.
لَكُم بَيتُ الأَعاجِمِ حَيثُ يُبنى
وَمُفتَخَرُ المَرازِبَةِ العِظامِ
For you, the non-Arabs’ abode where’er built,
And the glorious tombs of the Marazib.
يَلومُكَ في النَدى مَن لَم يُوَرَّث
عُلا الشَرَفِ الَّذي عَنهُ تَحامى
In dew, he blames you who was not bequeathed
The lofty honor from which you have recoiled.
فِداؤُكَ صاحِبُ النَسَبِ المُعَمّى
مِنَ الأَقوامِ وَالخُلُقِ الكَهامِ
Your ransom is the lord of the blurred lineage
Among the peoples, and the ardent nature.
فَما اِستُجديتَ إِلّا جِئتَ عَفواً
كَفَيضِ البَحرِ أَو صَوبِ الغَمامِ
You sought nothing unless you were granted it,
Like the sea's flood, or the clouds' downpour.
وَكَم مِن سُؤدُدٍ غَلَّستَ فيهِ
وَلَم تَربَع عَلى النَفَرِ النِيامِ
How many saddlebags have you slipped into,
Yet not settled on the sleeping travelers!
أَراجِعَتي يَداكَ بِأَعوَجِيٍّ
كَقَدحِ النَبعِ في الريشِ اللُؤامِ
My she-camels recalled your hands to be bent
Like the flask of the spring, among the plumed ostriches.
بِأَدهَمَ كَالظَلامِ أَغَرَّ يَحلو
بِغُرَّتِهِ دَياجيرَ الظَلامِ
With an Adham black like darkness, alluring
In his blackness, the darkness' creatures.
تَقَدَّمَ في العِنانِ فَمَدَّ مِنهُ
وَضَبَّرَ فَاِستَزادَ مِنَ الحِزامِ
He advanced in the reins, and lengthened from them,
And kneaded, and further loosened his belt.
تَرى أَحجالَهُ يَصعَدنَ فيهِ
صُعودَ البَرقِ في الغَيمِ الجَهامِ
You see his sorrels ascending through them
Like lightning through thick and rainy clouds.
وَما حَسَنٌ بِأَن تُهديهِ فَذّاً
سَليبَ السَرجِ مَنزوعَ اللِجامِ
What beauty is there in gifting a steed
The flashy saddle-cloth with loosed cheekstrap?
فَأَتمِم ما مَنَعتَ بِهِ وَأَفضِل
فَما الإِفضالُ إِلّا بِالتَمامِ
So fulfill what you have forbidden with it,
For completion is only through perfection.
