جَلا سُدفَ المفارق نور شيْبٍ

كما يجلو دُجى الليلِ النَّهارُ

The light of white hair shone, dispelling the gloom of night,

As dawn dispels the darkness of night.

ولم تشب الخواطرُ والقوافي

واِنْ عقبتْ همومٌ وانكسارُ

Though worries and sorrows may follow,

My thoughts and rhymes have not grown old.

فقالَ القومُ تأييدٌ قديمٌ

له نبأ عظيمٌ واشْتهارُ

The people said it was an ancient divine support for him,

News of greatness and fame.

مقالك كالنُّضارِ الصَّفْوِ أصلاً

ولن يبلى على القِدَمِ النُّضارُ

Your words are originally like pure nectar,

Which will not wear out with time.

وأنت السيف لا يُفنْي شَباهُ

تَقادُمهُ ولا ينْبو الغِرارُ

You are the sword that does not fade with age,

Nor tarnished by time's passage.

فقلتُ وحُبِّ أبْلَجَ من تميمٍ

له في كل منقبةٍ مَنارُ

I said, with a heart brimming with love for Tameem,

In every battle he has a beacon.

تُفوَّهُني وتُنْطقني عُلاهُ

فاسهابي واِنْ طالَ اخْتصارُ

It inspires and makes me speak, his sublime state,

Though my outpouring be brief.

وزيرٌ للعُلى اِلْفٌ أنيسٌ

وعند العارِ وحْشيٌّ نَوارُ

A companion to the exalted, a thousand intimate friends,

And a protector from shame, a trustworthy ally.

لبيقُ العِطْفِ بالنَّعماءِ زَوْلٌ

وليثُ وغىً اذا جَدَّ المغارُ

Gentle when life is serene,

A lion when war's drums beat.

ومِطْعانٌ اذا فَرَّ المُحامي

ومِطْعامٌ اذا حُبِسَ القِطارُ

A shelter, when the lawyer flees,

And food, when the train is delayed.

يُسِرُّ نجومَ ليلتهِ دُخانٌ

ويسكفُ شمس ضحوته غُبارُ

His smoke makes serene the stars of his night,

And his dust obscures the sun of his morning.

ويشكو سيفهُ سلْماً وحَرْباً

كماةُ الرَّوْعِ والكومُ العِشارُ

His sword complains whether sheathed or drawn,

Like a roaring lion or swarm of locusts.

سجاياهُ أوانَ رِضا وسُخْطٍ

على اِنْصافه ماءٌ ونارُ

In times of acceptance or anger, his ways

Are water and fire in their fairness.

جوادٌ أحرز العليْاءَ سَبْقاً

فلا بُهْرٌ يَشينُ ولا عِثارُ

A steed who won sublime heights by speed,

No defect diminishes him, no stumbling blocks.

أرى تاجَ الملوكِ ظِلالَ ضاحٍ

وقد سَفَعَ الوديقةُ والقِفارُ

I see the crown of kings as mirage-like shadows,

While the land and ruins have risen high.

ووِرْداً بعد عِشْرٍ عند مَرْتٍ

يَعُزُّ به التَبَغُّمُ والعِرارُ

A bouquet after ten years with a beloved,

Which wards off gloom and dejection.

وتهْنيهِ المدائحُ مِنْ عَشيرٍ

به وبشعْرهِ يُحْمى الذِّمارُ

Eulogies from his clan extol him,

By them and his verse all bounds are protected.

يُرَجَّى النَّصرُ منه على الرَّزايا

وبالهْنديِّ يُرْجى الاِنتصارُ

Victory over misfortunes is hoped from him,

And with his sword, triumph is expected.