بَكَرَت لِتُحزِنَ عاشِقاً طَفلُ

وَتَباعَدَت وَتَخَرَّمَ الوَصلُ

The child wept to sadden a lover

And the union faded and cracked

أَوَ كُلَّما اِختَلَفَت نَوىً وَتَفَرَّقوا

لِفُؤادِهِ مِن أَجلِهِم تَبلُ

Or whenever they differed in intention and parted

For his heart's sake they shed tears

وَإِذا تُكَلِّمُنا تَرى عَجَباً

بَرَداً تَرَقرَقَ فَوقَهُ ضَحلُ

And when we converse you see wonder

A coldness trickling above which lies a mirage

وَلَقَد أَرى ظُعُناً أُخَيِّلُها

تَخدي كَأَنَّ زُهاءَها نَخلُ

And I see burrows I imagine

Creeping as though their beauty is a palm tree

في الآلِ يَرفَعُها وَيَخفِضُها

ريعٌ كَأَنَّ مُتونَهُ سَحلُ

In the family it raises and lowers them

A torrent as though its waves are arid plains

عَقماً وَرَقماً ثُمَّ أَردَفَهُ

كِلَلٌ عَلى أَطرافِها الخَملُ

Barren and rough-hewn then lined

With baldness along its edges

كَدَمِ الرُعافِ عَلى مَآزِرِها

وَكَأَنَّهُنَّ ضَوامِراً إِجلُ

Like blood stains on its waterskins

As though they were containers patched

وَلَقَد رَأَيتُ الفاعِلينَ وَفِعلَهُم

وَلِذي الرُقَيبَةِ مالِكٍ فَضلُ

And I saw the doers and their deeds

And the excellent favor of the guardian Malek

كَفّاهُ مُخلِفَةٌ وَمُتلِفَةٌ

وَعطاؤُهُ مُتَخَرِّقٌ جَزلُ

His protection and unification sufficed

And his generosity ripped asunder and plentiful

يَهَبُ الجِيادَ كَأَنَّها عُسُبٌ

جُردٌ أَطارَ نَسيلَها البَقلُ

He grants steeds as though they were hyraxes

A barefoot herd scattered by the wind

وَالضامِراتِ كَأَنَّها بَقَرٌ

تَقرو دَكادِكَ بَينَها الرَملُ

And the she-camels as though they were cows

Chewing dates amidst which is the sand

وَالدُهمَ كَالعَيدانِ آزَرَها

وَسطَ الأَشاءِ مُكَمَّمٌ جَعلُ

And the smoke like rods backed them

And hooded amidst the thickets an ibex

وَإِذا الشَمالُ حَدَت قَلائِصَها

رَتَكاً فَلَيسَ لِمالِكٍ مِثلُ

And when the north wind bares its fangs

With spittle, Malek has no equal

لِلضَيفِ وَالجارِ الغَريبِ وَلِل

طِفلِ التَريكِ كَأَنَّهُ رَألُ

For the guest, the strange neighbor, and the

Helpless orphan child it is as though he is a meadow

وَلَقَد تَناوَلَني بِنائِلِهِ

فَأَصابَني مِن مالِهِ سَجلُ

And he has afflicted me with his gifts

And from his money I received a flood

مُتَبَعِّجُ التَيّارِ ذو حَدَبٍ

مُغرَورِبٍ تَيّارُهُ يَعلو

Sinuous in current, humpbacked

Western in flow, his currents rise

فَلَأَشكُرَنَّ فُضولَ نَعمَتِهِ

حَتّى أَموتَ وَفَضلُهُ فَضلُ

I will thank his abundant favor

Until I die while his excellence remains excellence

أَنتَ الشُجاعُ إِذا هُمُ نَزَلوا

عِندَ المَضيقِ وَفِعلُكَ الفِعلُ

You are the brave one when they descended

At the strait, and your deed is the deed