سِرّي بِأَلسِنَةِ الدُموعِ يُباحُ

فَاِعجَب لَها صمتاً وَهُنَّ فِصاحُ

My secret is revealed through tears’ tongues though it be kept

So wonder at their silence, yet they loudly cry

ما كانَ أَكتَمَني لِسِرِّ هَواكُمُ

لَكِنَّ دَمعَ أَخي الهَوى فَضّاحُ

Your love was not so hidden that I would conceal it

But my brother tears’ passion made it known

عَن ناظِري سِرتُم إِلى قَلبي فَما

لَكُمُ وَلِلتَبريحِ عَنهُ بَراحُ

You hid from my eyes and entered my heart so never

Can you escape it or find relief therefrom

قَلبي يَئِنُّ كَما يَئِنُّ مِنَ الأَسى

بَينَ الأَسى مَن حَشاهُ جِراحُ

My heart moans as one who moans from misery

Between miseries is one whose wounds gape

ذِكراكُمُ اِمتَزَجَت بِقَلبي مِثلَ ما اِم

تَزَجَ القَراحُ مُصَفّقاً وَالراحُ

Thoughts of you intermingled with my heart as intermingled

Are sparks and gusts of wind in collision’s crash

خَطَبَت مَحاسِنُكُم ودادي رَغبَةً

فَأَجابَها قَبلَ النِكاحِ سِفاحُ

Your charms sought my love and affection expectantly

So before marriage, passion responded to their call

أَيفيقُ مِن سُكرِ الصَبابَةِ عاشِقٌ

دارَت عَلَيهِ مِنَ الهَوى أَقداحُ

Can a lover awaken from the intoxication of youth

When goblets of passion were brought before him round after round

هَيهاتَ أَن يُلفى لِمَن نَصَبَ الهَوى

شَرَكاً لَهُ فَاِنقَضَّ فيهِ بَراحُ

Woe to him who encounters passion and is ensnared

The snarer breaks free while the snared remains encumbered

قَلبي حَبيبٌ مُصحِبٌ لِهَواكُمُ

وَلَهُ عَلى العُذّالِ فِيهِ جِماحُ

My heart is a lover accompanying your love

And has a wing to strike those who would reproach it

أَفدِي أُناساً ذِكرُهُم رَوحٌ وَرَي

حانٌ لِقَلبي إِن غَدَوا أَو راحوا

I ransom people whose very mention is spirit and scent

Bringing joy to my heart whether they come or go

أَرتاحُ أَن يَسري إِلَيَّ خَيالُهُم

لَيلاً وَكُلُّ مُتَيَّمٍ يَرتاحُ

I find solace in their image visiting me at night

While the lovesick finds comfort in every phantom’s arrival

قَد صِرتُ مِن حُبّي لَهُم شَبَحاً وَهَل

عارٌ بِأَن تَتَزاوَرَ الأَشباحُ

I have become due to my love for them a specter so what

Shame that specters would visit each other!

أَتُرى يَهُبُّ لَنا بِقُربِ مَزارِكُم

مِنّا عَلى رَغمِ الرَقيبِ رِياحُ

Will there blow for us by your tomb, despite the watchman

Winds permitting us to meet you, and ample reward have those who pardon

إِن تَسمَحوا بِوِصالِكُم لِيَ تَربَحوا

أَجراً كَبيراً وَالسَماحُ رَباحُ

I love passion itself which painfully wastes bodies

And wearies souls until they perish

أَهوى الهَوى وَهوَ الَّذي بِعَنائِهِ

تَضنى الجُسومُ وَتَتعَبُ الأَرواحُ

If what I endured for passion were written on leaves

Wings could not carry that heavy load

لَو أَن أَيسَرَ ما لَقيتُ مِنَ الهَوى

بِالوُرقِ لَم يَنهَض بِهِنَّ جَناحُ

I sacrifice the one whose glance and stature did wield

Against me swords and spears in assaults

أَفدي الّذي مِن لَحظِهِ وَقوامِهِ

سُلَّت عَلَيَّ صَوارِمٌ وَرِماحُ

In envisioning his face at night’s darkness, I have

A lantern though he disappears from my sight

لي مِن تَخَيُّلِ وَجهِهِ إِن غابَ عَن

عَينَيَّ في ظُلَمِ الدُّجى مِصباحُ

He is a garden I prize solely for myself

While for others it lies open to be plucked

هُوَ رَوضَةٌ لَكِنَّها عِندي حِمىً

وَسِوايَ أُهملَ فيهِ فَهوَ مُباحُ

Shyness clothés his face in veils but he still has

A brazen audacity when so resolved

سَدِك الحَياءُ بِوَجهِهِ لَكِن لَهُ

وُجهٌ إِذا عَزَمَ الصُدودَ وَقاحُ

O my intended murderer by the magic of his eyelids

Fear no punishment for upon you shall be no sin

يا قاتِلي عَمداً بِسحرِ جُفونِهِ

لا تَخشَ ناراً ما عَلَيكَ جُناحُ

O branch of sweet basil whose fragrance is jasmine

Pomegranate, basil, and apple in hue

يا غُصنَ بانٍ مِنهُ يُجنَى الوَردُ وَال

رُمّانُ وَالرَيحانُ وَالتُفّاحُ

To you we complain of what your beautiful eyes have done

Which, when ill, bring healing, yet now deal harm

فَإِلَيكَ نَشكو مِنكَ ما فَعَلت بِنا

أَجفانُكَ المَرضى وَهُنَّ صِحاحُ

And to the honorable minister—the nobleman whose superiority

Poets contest to praise however tall its measure

وَإِلى الوَزيرِ الصاحِبِ الشَرَفِ الَّذي

في فَضلِهِ يَتَنافَسُ المُدّاحُ

When I looked upon the crescent of his cheeks

Good tidings flashed that brought me joy abundant

لَمّا نَظَرتُ إِلى أَسِرَّةِ وَجهِهِ

بَرِقَت بِبِشرٍ لي فَلاحَ فَلاحُ

Hope took wings to his sublime virtues by which

Success was plucked for me, its feathers outspread

طارَ الرَجاءُ إِلى مَكارِمِهِ الَّتي

مِنّي بِها راشَ الجناحَ نَجاحُ

He whose abode fame did render illustrious

Its pillar being most righteous and most high

وَهوَ الَّذي في المَجدِ أَصبَحَ بَيتُهُ

وَهوَ الرَفيعُ عِمادُهُ الفَيّاحُ

At ease if asked for bounty while he whom if asked

Would feel uneasy for he has naught to give

وَسِواهُ مُرتاحٌ إِذا سُئِلَ النَدى

وَهوَ اِمرُؤٌ لِسُؤالِهِ مُرتاحُ

Our grantor while others but deny us

Can the denier equal the granter?

منّاحُنا وَسواهُ منّاعٌ لَنا

هَل يَستَوي المَنّاعُ وَالمَنّاحُ

Humble yet his station climbs above horizons

Of loftiness—none can move him from his place

مُتَواضِعٌ وَمَحَلُّهُ يَعلو عَلى

أُفُقِ العُلا الأَعلى فَلَيسَ يُزاحُ

When the brave bow down to the ground

Their souls are filled with bliss from their Lord

لَمّا تَواضَعَتِ الجُسومُ عَلى الثَرى

حَلَّت بِها مِن رَبِّها الأَرواحُ

So too bright swords bow before the drinking vessel

That from their clinking goblets shine rays

وَتَواضُعُ الصَهباءِ لِلإِبريقِ عِن

دَ المَزجِ مِنهُ تُشَعشَعُ الأَقداحُ

Rosy cheeks bow for melody rhymes

Baring their rose and apple dyes

وَكَذا الخُدودُ مِنَ الحِسانِ تَواضَعَت

فَبدا جَناها الوَردُ وَالتُفّاحُ

Plains bow before the sorrowful rainclouds

Watering the lowlands which joy at the rainfall

وَكَذا السُهولُ عَنِ الحزونِ تَطامَنَت

فَسَقى البِطاحَ الماءُ وَهوَ قراحُ

The luster of his thoughts are lanterns with no match

Whose glass shade did burst from the flames of his minds wick

أَنوارُ خَاطِرِهِ ثَواقِبُ دونها ال

مِشكاة حَلَّ زُجاجَها المِصباحُ

Bringing forgetfulness of foregone times while sorrows

Are forgotten in their presence however packed

يُنشي فَيُنسِي من تَقَدَّمَ قَبلُ وَال

أَفراحُ تُنسَى عِندَها الأَتراحُ

As if the perfect musk were his ink

Its strong diffusion being his inkwell

وَكَأَنَّما المِسكُ الذَكِيُّ مِدادُهُ

فَمِدادُهُ النَفّاعُ وَالنَفّاحُ

In his palm, a pen whose sharp point

Is keener than Indian swords or spears

وَبِكَفِّهِ قَلمٌ لَهُ مِن حَدِّهِ ال

أَمضى سُيوفٌ أُرهِفَت وَرِماحُ

O tumultuous sea endless in bounty, the slightest ripple

Would drown any swimmer however adept

يا أَيُّها البَحرُ الخِضَمُّ نَدىً فَفي

أَدنى نَداهُ يَغرَقُ السباحُ

A sea in which ships sail pushed by sweet winds

Gladdening sailors without restraint

بَحرٌ بِهِ تَجري السَفينُ لَنا بِمَح

مودِ الرِياحِ فَيَفرَحُ المَلّاحُ

A turbulent sea whose waves drowned the Nile

Which by its side seems but drizzles

بَحر طَمى بِنوالِهِ آذِيُّهُ

فَالنَيلُ عِندَ نَوالِهِ ضحضاحُ

Shall I despair in days when means are straitened though I have

God’s gates and your palm as my key

أَأُراعِ في زَمَني بِإِعسارٍ وَلي

بابُ الإِلَهِ وَكَفُّكَ المِفتاحُ

My youth bid farewell and its smooth surface grew wrinkled

Its enlivening waters dried up by time

وَلّى شبابي وَاِستَشَنَّ أَديمُهُ

وَهريقَ ماءُ رُوائِهِ السَّفّاحُ

I buried the wound of my bygone youth in this aging frame

As one buries their beloved for whom they loudly wail

وَدَفَنتُ شَرخَ شَبيبَتي في شَيبَتي

دَفنَ الحَبيبِ فَلي عَلَيهِ نَواحُ

So my youth was replaced with old age

In the eyes of the discerning, its grey strands unsightly

فَشَبيبَتي عُوِّضتُ عَنها شَيبَةً

شَعَراتُها عِندَ المِلاحِ قِباحُ

I have grown frail and cannot visit you though I still

Possess a heart that finds comfort in your company

وَلَقَد ضَعُفتُ فَلَم أَزُركَ وَإِنَّ لي

قَلباً إِلَيكَ صَميمُهُ يَرتاحُ

O visitor to that courtyard whose blackness allows no

Squinting eyes with peering habitual tendencies

يا ناظِراً حَلَّ السَوادَ فَلَم يَكُن

طَرفٌ لِطَمّاعٍ بِهِ طَمّاحُ

For there, purposeful standing allows blessings rain

And the optimistic meets success tilling

فَهُناكَ وُفِّقَت الوُقوفُ وَحَلَّتِ ال

بَرَكاتُ مِنهُ وَأَفلَحَ الفَلّاحُ

And the stubborn bows and the defiant yields

As his haughtiness and defiance fall

وَأَطاحَ مُعتاصٌ وَأَصحَبَ شامِسٌ

وَاِنقادَ مُمتَنِعٌ وَزالَ جماحُ

So too the schools regained coherent tongues

As their confused chatter by his reforms find correction

وَكَذا المَدارِسُ بانَ لَغوُ لُغاتِها

فأَعادَ مَنطِقَها بِهِ الإِصلاحُ

You departed them of insincerity so they recoiled, each heart

Ecstatic for sincere counsel you empower

فارَقتَ جِلَّقَ فَاِنثَنى كُلٌّ بِها

وَفُؤادُهُ المُلتاعُ وَالمُلتاحُ

You entered to illuminate subtly profound ideas

Clarifying principles through lucid explanation

وَدَخَلتَها فَأَضاءَتِ اللُّمَعُ الَّتي

أَبدى بِها جُمَلَ السَنا الإيضاحُ

I ransom you from one who rewards kindness by returning evil

As if innate to him is treacherous betrayal

يَفديكَ مَن بِالسوءِ جازى مُحسِناً

فَكَأَنَّهُ في طَبعِهِ التِمساحُ

They encountered a lion, dignified yet fiercely roaring

When riled like a barking dog that would attack

أَلفاكَ لَيثاً زائِراً فَمُزَمجِراً

لما أَتى بِهَريرِهِ النَبّاحُ

You bear the prestige but not the violence of Hajjaj My master, you who tramples the neck of tyrants

Who can boast like you, purchased by mere vow

لَكَ هَيبَةُ الحَجّاجِ لا فَتَكاتُهُ

قِدماً فَأَنتَ السيِّدُ الجَحجاحُ

Of gracefully worded praise—his profits tripled

You joke in earnest while opening no doors to temptation

مَن كانَ مِثلَكَ يَشتَرى بِنَوالِهِ

حُسنَ الثَناءِ زَكَت لَهُ الأَرباحُ

As if but playing without intent to disgrace

You dispel the gloom of every dark misfortune feared

يُعطي اللُهى جدّاً وَلَم يَفتَح لَهاً

بِسُؤالِهِ فَكَأَنَّهُ مَزّاحُ

By the sparkle of your eloquent and beaming brow

Spring has come to meet you, ever fresh its tidings

يَجلو غَيابَةَ كُلِّ خَطبٍ مُظلِمٍ

يَخشى أَذاهُ جَبينُكَ الوَضّاحُ

So for us there lie restful meadows and verdant fields

The good deeds of the Benefactor blot out wrongs

وافَت رِكابُكَ وَالرَبيعُ جَنيبُها

فَلَنا مراحٌ مُمرِعٌ وَمَراحُ

Perpetrated by oppressive days once come to pass

He is the Kaaba of munificence; its pilgrims fortified

أَنسى مَساوِئَ كُلِّ دَهرٍ غاشِمٍ

إِحسانُ عَبدِ المُحسِنِ السَحّاحُ

From ruin are the destitute and downtrodden

He remains forever revered in an enduring bliss

هُوَ كَعبَةُ الجودِ الَّتي بِطَوافِها

يَستَعصِمُ المُحتاجُ وَالمُجتاحُ

Throughout days and nights since time began its track

لا زالَ في عِزٍّ يَدومُ وَنِعمَةٍ

ما جَنَّ لَيلٌ أَو أَضاءَ صَباحُ