عليها ذِمامُ الله من كُلِّ ذاعِرٍ
غداةَ أبو الفتْحِ الغياثُ عِصامُها
Protected by God from every slanderer,
Dawned Abu al-Fath al-Ghiyath, its pillar.
من الخوف تدْمى بالذَّميل خفافها
وأذْواء قفْرٍ قد نضاها سَقامُها
Fear made its meadows bleed with dewdrops
And the illness of a barren land emaciated it.
فنَجدةُ سُلطانِ الزمانِ وجُودُه
أجابا فولَّى ذُعْرُها وهُيامُها
So the generosity of the sultan of the age
Answered its call, and its fear and panic disappeared.
تخطَّت رياض الحزن وهي أنيقةٌ
وما سَرَّها أن يرْجحنَّ ثُمامُها
It leapt over the gardens of grief gracefully
And was not pleased that its price would be diminished.
لنخل قُرىً عند العراقِ بواسقٍ
شَهيٍّ إِليهَا طلعُها وكمُامها
It has date palms competing in height
With the shade of the plains, their fruits and piths attractive.
تُباري ظليمَ القاعِ شدَّاً كأنها
بمخترقِ البيداء فيها نَعامُها
As if its ostriches in the wilderness
Were its ships plowing through the desert.
إِذا ذكرت جيرانها في مُعَرَّسٍ
طوْتهُ ولم يشهد بوجدٍ بُغامُها
When it remembers its neighbors in their dwellings
It folds them, and its spy does not witness their sorrow.
وكم جاوزَتْ أحياء عذْرٍ نواكثاً
يكاثرُ رمْلَ الأنْعمَيْنِ لِئامُها
And how many traces of love has it crossed,
While the sand of al-Anamayn multiply its censurers.
شعارُ الوغى اِلباسُها وسِلاحُها
إِذا سمعت صوت الصَّريخ انهزامها
Its motto is turmoil, its dress and weapon
When it hears the shouts of battle, it takes flight.
من القوم لا يُسْتوكف النزر منهم
إِذا السَّنَة الخضراءُ أغنى غمامها
It does not spare much from its people
When the green banners enrich its clouds.
مقاديمُ في طَرْد الضيوف أذلَّةٌ
إِذا ما الوغى بالطَّرد شبَّ ضِرامها
Its chiefs are humiliated in chasing away guests
When turmoil excites its young lions.
ولما براها الوخد من دلج السُّرى
وهُدِّم من طول السِّفار سَنامُها
And when the darkness of travel unveiled it
And the long journey demolished its idols,
وأضمرها التأويبُ في كل مهْمهٍ
بعيد المدى حتى حكاها زِمامُها
And the criticism made it hide in every ordeal,
Until its rein spoke of its far-reaching goal,
أناخت بربع العز من سيف دجلة
إِلى ذروةِ أعْيا الملوكَ مَرامُها
It settled in the land of might by the Tigris
Until the peak of the kings' wish became its goal.
بحيث الندى والنجر عِدٌّ فواضحٌ
صميمٌ ووُطْفٌ مستمرٌّ سجامها
Where there is dew, basil, a clear spring
With constant flow, braided with wristlets.
تشيم من السلطان برْقَ مكارمٍ
غزارٍ إِذا الأنواءُ عَزَّ جِمامُها
It smells the lightning of the Sultan's generosity
Flooding when hopes make its clouds crowded.
رزين حصاة الحلم مَغرىً برأفةٍ
إِذا الجهلةُ الروعاءُ جلَّ اجترامها
It walks surely on the path of wisdom and mercy
When the ignorant commoners exceed in their transgression.
يلذُّ له الصفح الجميلُ اقتْدارُه
إِذا طابَ في نفس الدَّنيِّ انتقامها
He enjoys beautiful forgiveness when able
If baseness creeps into a soul bent on revenge.
رأى زُخْرف الدنيا بعينٍ بصيرةٍ
سواءٌ عليها تِبْرُها ورَغامُها
He saw the ornaments of life with insight,
Alike whether adorned or worn out.
فلا مالَ اِلا مِنحةٌ وابْتذالُها
ولا ذُخر اِلا مِدْحةٌ ودوامُها
So neither wealth except as a gift and bestowed freely,
Nor treasure except praise and its eternity.
له في المعاني والمعالي كليْهما
لَطائفُها مأثورةٌ وجِسامُها
He has mastery in meanings and noble deeds,
Its subtleties transmitted, its bodies complete.
كأنَّ أتِيّاً ذا غُثاءٍ إِذا غَزا
دماءُ الأعادي بالفلاةِ وهامُها
As if a belligerent army, when raiding,
Its enemies' blood flows in the wilderness and its zeal.
إِذا مَدَّ دُفَّاعُ الجِراحِ بقفرةٍ
فصوَّانُها مُغْروْرقٌ وسِلامُها
When its striking blades are bared
Its swords glistening and its arrows serene.
وما زالَ وطءُ الخيل تحت لوائه
متون الرُّبى حتى اطمأنت اِكامُها
And the horses' steps beneath his banner
Did not stop treading the fields until they calmed.
تعافُ زُلالَ الماء أنفسُ خَيْلهِ
فمن مطر الأرماحِ يُشفى أوامُها
The souls of his horses heal from the water of lances
As their wounds are healed by the rain of spears.
إِذا أعرضت عن جمَّةٍ ذات عرمضٍ
سَقاها من الأعْداء رِيّاً كِلامُها
When it turns away from a swollen multitude
Its drink from the enemies is ample nourishment.
تبارى إِذا جدَّ الصريخُ إِلى الردى
ويكثرُ من حرص الطعانِ عِذامها
It competes when the battle cry leads to havoc
And the spears' thirst increases their piercing.
كفيلٌ بعسَّالَيْ فَلاةٍ وغابةٍ
إِذا حميت حربٌ وطال احتدامُها
A guarantor in the desolate plains and thickets
When war rages and its flames rise high.
فسُمْرٌ ومن ماء النُّحور شرابُها
وغبرٌ وأشلاءُ الملوكِ طَعامها
So its juice is vinegar and its drink from the cisterns,
And dust and the limbs of kings are its food.
له من راح الخطِّ ما تحْطم الوغى
وأرْماحُ عزمٍ لا يُخاف انحطامها
He has a firmness of purpose that crushes turmoil
And spears of resolve safe from breaking.
عجبتُ له نقل السلاح ما تحْطم الوغى
ومن خوفه طردُ العِدى وحمامها
I am amazed by his carrying arms that crush turmoil
And his fear expels the enemies and makes them flee.
وللطِّرْفِ أنَّى يستقلُّ إِذا مشى
به وهو رضْوى أرضنا وشمامُها
That his gaze turns freely when he walks
Leading us, honored in our land, its pillar.
وكيف يقود المجْرَ وهو بنفسهِ
إِذا ما غزا مَجْرُ الوغى ولُهامها
And how he leads the flood when he himself
Is the torrent of battle and its surf.
بدا الجوْنُ تحدوه الجنوب كأنه
عِشارُ مخاضٍ حانَ منها تمامُها
Youth appeared smiling though the southern winds challenged him
As if the pangs of labor had completed their course.
يضيءُ بعُلْويٍّ الوميضِ كأنما
تألَّقَ في أيدي القُيونِ حُسامها
He illuminates the gloom's glimmer as if
Swords shone in warriors hands unsheathed.
أعاد ضياء الصُّبح غِرْبيب ليلةٍ
فلولا التماعُ البرقِ دامَ ظلامُها
He brought back the dawn's radiance after a night
Otherwise the lightning's flashes would have kept its darkness.
صوارخ رعْدٍ ما يكفُّ قَؤولُها
وظِلْمانُ جوْنٍ ما يخف ركامها
The roaring clouds do not cease their shouting
And the darkness of youth does not diminish its deposits.
كما اصطرخت والحرب شوهاء بالردى
طُبولُ ملوكٍ بالعراء خِصامُها
As the war shrieked, disfigured by havoc,
The drums of kings quarreled in the wilderness.
وما زال تمْريهِ الصِّبا وتُدِرُّهُ
إِلى أن هَمى والأرضُ بادٍ قَتامها
East wind kept aggravating it until it raged
And the earth was desolate, its surface dark.
ومَدُّ أتيٍّ ذو زُهاءٍ كأنَّهُ
طرائدُ أذْوادٍ يجيشُ لُغامُها
The swell of a magnificent army, as if
It were prey stirred, its clamor deafening.
فقلتَ لأنْدى منه في كلِّ أزْمةٍ
بنانُك يُغني المُعْتفينَ انْثجامُها
So I said to the most gentle among them in every crisis:
Your spears suffice the weak when their knots are tightened.
أبى لك وجد المجد اِحداث سلوةٍ
إِذا ما صباباتٌ تقضَّى غَرامُها
Glory's passion refused you a life of ease
When anxieties take their course unto death.
وزادك أقوالُ العواذل في النَّدى
سخاءً وقد كفَّ الكِرامَ مَلامُها
And the words of maidens increased your generosity in friendship
When the generous restrained blame.
فمنك الْتِئامُ الشعب أعيْا شتيتُه
ومنكَ صلاح الحال عَزَّ نِظامها
From you is the people's unity when dispersed
And the wellbeing of the state when order was weakened.
نقيُّ أديمِ العِرْض عن قول عائبٍ
إِذا شان أعراضَ العشائرِ ذامُها
Pure of the blemish of one who criticizes
When the honor of tribes incites their blame.
فانْ ذُكرت نُعمى فأنت جَوادها
واِنْ لقحت حربٌ فأنت هُمامُها
If my blessings are mentioned, you are their source,
And if war is ignited, you are its pillar.
