إِمّا أَلَمَّ فَبَعدَ فَرطِ تَجَنُّبِ
أَو آبَهُ هَمٌّ فَمِن مُتَأَوِّبِ
Whether grieved, after avoiding excess,
Or worried by cares, so I seek refuge;
هَجَرَ المَنازِلَ بُرهَةً حَتّى اِنبَرَت
تَثني عَزيمَتَهُ مَنازِلُ زَينَبِ
He deserted the abodes for a while, until
His determination folded up Zeinab’s abodes.
وَهوَ الخَلِيُّ وَإِن أُعيرَ صَبابَةً
حَتّى يُطالِعَ مَشرِقاً مِن مَغرِبِ
He is verily the smooth-cheeked one, even if
Lent for a while, so he’d face an eastern horizon from the west.
إِنَّ الفِراقَ جَلا لَنا عَن غادَةٍ
بَيضاءَ تَجلو عَن شَتيتٍ أَشنَبِ
Verily parting spared us not from departure
Of a white, radiant one from a frowning, slender one.
أَلوَت بِمَوعِدِها القَديمِ وَآيَسَت
مِنهُ بِلَيِّ بَنانَةٍ لَم تُخضَبِ
She lost hope of the old appointment and despaired
Of him, with the blackness of a date palm untouched by dye.
وَأَرى عُهودَ الغانِياتِ صُبابَتي
آلٍ جَرى وَوَميضَ بَرقٍ خُلَّبِ
And I see the covenants of the singing girls as my youth
A course that passed, and a flashing gleam that blinked.
فَعَلامَ فَيضُ مَدامِعٍ تَدِقُ الجَوى
وَعَذابُ قَلبٍ بِالحِسانِ مُعَذَّبِ
Why then this torrent of tears that pounds the cheeks?
And the torment of a heart tortured by beauty?
وَسُهادُ عَينٍ مايَزالُ يَروقُها
أَجيادُ سِربٍ أَو نَواظِرُ رَبرَبِ
And the wakefulness of an eye that still pleases it
Horses of a flock, or gazes of a wavering mirage.
جُزتُ البَخيلَ وَقَد عَثَرتُ بِمَنعِهِ
صَفحاً وَقُلتُ رَمِيَّةٌ لَم تُكثِبِ
I blamed the miser and stumbled due to his refusal,
I pardoned and said “An arrow that hit not the target.”
وَعَذَرتُ سَيفي في نُبُوِّ غِرارِهِ
أَنّي ضَرَبتُ فَلَم أَقَع بِالمَضرَبِ
And I excused my sword for the flash of its blade,
That I struck yet did not hit with the sword.
كَم مَشرِقِيٍّ قَد نَقَلتُ نَوالَهُ
فَجَعَلتُهُ لي عُدَّةً بِالمَغرِبِ
How many gifts of my eastern friend I transported
And made it my own equipment in the west!
وَأَحَبُّ آفاقِ البِلادِ إِلى الفَتى
أَرضٌ يَنالُ بِها كَريمَ المَطلَبِ
And the horizons of lands most beloved to the gallant man
Are a land where he attains his wish and quest;
وَلَدى بَني يَزدادَ حَيثُ لَقيتُهُم
كَرَمٌ كَغادِيَةِ السَحابِ الصَيِّبِ
And in the company of the Beni Yazid, wherever I met them,
Generositymultiplied, like the pouring clouds’ rain.
فَإِذا لَقَيتَهُمُ فَمَوكِبُ أَنجُمٍ
زُهرٍ وَعَبدُ اللَهِ بَدرُ المَوكِبِ
When you meet them, they are a procession of stars
Blossoms, and Abdullah the full moon of the procession.
قاسي الضَميرِ عَلى التِلادِ كَأَنَّما
يَغدو عَلى تَفريقِ مالٍ مُذنِبِ
Cruel at heart over the relatives, as though
He attacks dividing wealth, a guilty aggressor;
حاطَ الخِلافَةَ ناصِراً وَمُدَبِّرا
بِوَفاءِ مُجتَهِدٍ وَحَزمِ مُجَرِّبِ
He assumed the caliphate, aiding and planning
With the loyalty of one who strives and the wisdom of the experienced;
وَلَوَ انَّهُم نَدَبوهُ لِلأُخرى إِذاً
دُفِعَ اللِواءُ إِلى الشُجاعِ المِحرَبِ
If they summoned him to battle, the banner would be handed
To the brave, tested warrior.
أَفديكَ مِن عَتَبِ الصَديقِ فَإِنَّهُ
لَأَشَدُّ مِن كَيدِ العَدُوِّ المُجلِبِ
I ransom you from the dear friend’s rebuke,
Which is stronger than the enemy’s cunning traps.
لاقَيتُ جودَكَ بِالسَماعِ وَدونَنا
شُغلُ المَهاري مِن فَضاءٍ سَبسَبِ
I attained your generosity by hearsay while between us
Is the mirth’s preoccupation, from a wide plain.
وَرَأَيتُ بِشرَكَ وَالتَنائِفُ دونَهُ
وَاللَيلُ يَكشِفُ غَيهَباً عَن غَيهَبِ
And I saw your partnership, while behind it
Is the night disclosing uncertainties beyond uncertainties.
وَتَبَسُّماتِكَ لِلعَطاءِ كَأَنَّها
زَهرُ الرَبيعِ خِلالَ رَوضٍ مَعشِبِ
Your smiles for giving are like
Spring flowers in the midst of a verdant meadow.
هَل أَنتَ مُبلِغِيَ الَّتي أَغدو لَها
بِمُقَلِّصِ السِربالِ أَحمَرَ مُذهَبِ
Are you my messenger, the one I set out to
In short robe, red and gilded?
لَو يوقَدُ المِصباحُ مِنهُ لَسامَحَت
بِضِيائِهِ شِيَةٌ كَضَوءِ الكَوكَبِ
If the lantern were lit from it, its light
Would pardon, with its glow, the glow of planets.
إِمّا أَغَرُّ تَشُقُّ غُرَّتُهُ الدُجى
أَو أَرثَمٌ كَالضاحِكِ المُستَغرِبِ
Deludingly beautiful, its beauty deluding the darkness,
Or inclining, like one laughing in wonder.
مُتَقارِبُ الأَقطارِ يَملَأُ حُسنُهُ
لَحَظاتِ عَينُ الناظِرِ المُتَعَجِّبِ
Its sides drawn-together, its beauty fills
The glances of an eye in awe.
وَأَجَلُّ سَيبِكَ أَن تَكونَ قَناعَتي
مِنهُ بِأَشقَرَ ساطِعٍ أَو أَشهَبِ
And the finest of your swords is that my contentment
Would be with one glittering white or grayish.
وَإِذا التَقى شِعري وَجودُكَ يَسَّرا
نَيلَ الجَزيلِ وَثَنَّيا بِالمَركَبِ
And if my poetry and your generosity come together, both facilitate
Attaining abundant flows, both riding the ship.
