أنَوماً وَقَد بَانَ الخَليطُ تَذُوقُ

ودار كزعم العادلات مذيق

I sleep while the mixture has cleared, its taste lingers,

And the house seems, as fair ladies claim it to be, sweet,

وَهَبكَ التَمَست الطَّيفَ مِن السُّها

أرَدّاهُ غَيمٌ أم جلاهُ شُروقُ

Your phantom was gifted to me by longing,

Did a cloud conceal it or did the dawn reveal it?

وَمَن ذَا يُجَارِي الشُّهبَ فِي حَلَبَاتِهَا

إذا حَثّها نَحوَ المَغِيبِ خَفوقُ

And who can compete with shooting stars in their orbits,

When desire propels them toward the setting place?

لَقَد سَاقَ نَحوِي كُلّ سُهدٍ وَلَوعَةٍ

بُرَيقٌ إلَى ثَغرِ الحَبِيبِ يَشوقُ

Every ardent longing and fervent yearning,

Leads a gaze to the lips of the beloved and makes it yearn,

سرَى بَعد وخطِ الشَّيبِ في لِمّةِ الدُّجَى

يُخَضّبُ فَودَ اللَّيلِ مِنهُ خَلُوقًُ

It flowed after the streaks of gray in the darkness of nightfall,

Dyeing the cheek of the night with its dripping,

جَفَا وَصَفا فَاعتَزّ واكتنّ لَاعِباً

كَمَا نَبَضَت تَحتَ البَنانِ عُرُوقُ

It abandoned me and turned away, hiding and playing hard to get,

As pulses beat under the breasts,

وَجَالَ عَلَى مِسكِ الظّلامِ عَبِيرُهُ

كَمَا ذَابَ فَوقَ الآبنوسِ عقيقُ

Its fragrance roamed the musk of darkness,

As ruby melted above ambergris,

أَامرِي بِهِ طَرفِي مَحَلٌ مَدامِعِي

وَلا غَروَ أَن تَمرِي الغَمَامَ بُرُوقُ

My eyes are where it is, my tears its place,

It's no wonder that clouds pass by its lightning,

وََإنِّي بِشَيمِ البَرقِ مِن جَانِبِ الحِمَى

وشمّ الصّبا مِن حَرِّه لَخَلِيقُ

I'm fitting for lightning from the side of passion,

And the searing heat of the north wind suits me,

ذَكَرتُ بِهِ الأحبًابًَ إذ أنَا يَافِعٌ

وإذ غُصُنِي لَدنُ الفُرُوعِ وَرِيقُ

I remembered it when I was a youth,

And when my branch was supple among the boughs,

وَإِذا أنًا مَغرورٌ عَلَى الجَهلِ فِي الهَوَى

وَشَأوُ ارتِكَاضِي في النََّشَاطِ عَمِيقُ

And when I was deluded by ignorance in love,

And my vitality in liveliness was profound,

وَإِذ هِمَّتِي تُثنَى إلى غَيرِ هَمِّها

وَلا أنا مأخُوذٌ عَلَيَّ طَرِيقُ

And when my resolve turned to other than its resolve,

And I was not seized upon my path,

ولا شَيءَ إلا مَا أُرِيدُ وَأشتَهِي

ولا عَائِقٌ مِن دُونِ ذَاكَ يَعُوقُ

And nothing but what I want and desire,

And no barrier to that obstructed me,

فَجُوزيَ خَيراً من زمَانٍ مَضَى بِهِ

أخٌ لِوِصَالِ الغَانِيَاتِ شَقِيقُ

So be kind from a past time that's gone, for it

Was a brother to joining the beautiful ladies,

فَإن أنَأ لَم أُتبِعهُ لَهفاً وَعَبرَةً

فَمَأ تِلك إلا جَفوَةٌ وَعُقُوقُ

For if I don't pursue it ardently and woefully,

Isn't that nothing but coldness and undutifulness?

وَإِني لِمَاءِ اللّهوِ والزَّهوِ وَالصِّبَا

وَمَاءِ شُؤُونِي بَعدَه لَمُرِيقُ

I'm suited for the waters of play and vanity and youth,

And the waters of my affairs after it are bitter,

فَوجدِي بِهِ كاسمِي عَلِيٌّ زَفِيرُه

وَجَدِّيَ مِن نَعتِ الفُؤَادِ حَرِيقُ

So find its exhalation like my name Ali, ardent,

And find the description of my heart to be burning,

وَأحسَنُ مِن ذِكرَى شَبَاب طَوَيتُهُ

ثَناءٌ بآفاقِ البلادِ طَلِيقُ

And better than the memory of a youth I've folded up,

Is praise spreading through the horizons,

تَخُبّ بِهِ تَحتَ الرُّوَأةِ نََائِبٌ

عَلِيهنَّ من دُر الكلام وُسُوق

With it, a reproacher wallows beneath the canopy,

Selling to them pearls of speech and necklaces,

تَسيرُ بِهِ شَرقاً وَغَربا فَدَأبُهَا

رَحيلٌ وَنَصٌّ دَائِم وَخَِفيقُ

Traveling with it east and west, for its habit,

Is constant departure, text, and undertaking,

أحَيّي بهِ مِن وَجهِ يوسُفَ قِبلَةً

أحنُّ إلَى استِقبالِها وَأتوقُ

I greet with it from Yusuf's face a kiss,

I yearn for receiving it and desire it,

يُصلِّي إلَى مِحرَابِهَا الأمَلُ الَّذِي

بِهِ ألمٌ من غَيرِها فيُفِيقُ

With it, the hope that prays toward its prayer niche,

For with it, pain from other than it wakes me,

مَحيّاًَ يُعِيدُ اللَّيلَ أبيَضَ ناصِحاًَ

وَتَبدُو لَهُ شَمسُ الضُّحَى فَيَفُوقُ

It keeps the night shining white, advising,

And the sun of morning for it appears and surpasses,

مَطِلٌّ عَلَى نيقِ العلا لم يًَزل لَهُ

بِكُلِّ فِجاجٍِ المعلًُواتِ طَرِيقُ

Gazing upon the saddlebags of loftiness, it has never ceased to have,

For all dangerous roads, the routes,

إِذَا صالَ أو سارَ انتِقاماً وَعَزمَةً

تَجَرّدَ صَمصامٌ وَصالَ فَنيقُ

When it walked or traveled with purpose and resolve,

A sharp sword was unsheathed and an elegant sword was drawn,

يُسدِّدُ مِن آرائهِ سَهمَ فِطنَةٍ

لَهُ من رَمَايا المُشكلاتِ مُرُوقُ

It aims from its opinions an arrow of wit,

For it, the shots of dilemmas are feathered,

تَطيرُ بِهِ حِين البهديهَةِ قُذّةٌ

وَيَحفِزه بَعدَ الرَّوِيَّةِ فُوقُ

With it, during slow times, an arrow flies,

And after composure, it spurs wakefulness,

وَمهمَا يَغص معنًى دقيقٌ يحيلُه

عَلَيه افتِكَارٌ فِي الغُيُومِ دَقيقُ

And however much a subtle meaning seems obscured,

Reflection in the clouds makes it clear to it,

وَوَكّلَ بالأيام من فَضلِ سَيبِهِ

نَدىً لِفُتوقِ النّائباتِ رَتُوقُ

And it tasked the days with generosity of swordplay,

A call to the chiefs of troubles to be satisfied,

ظَنَنّا بِهِ من كَثرة البذلِ أنّنا

لَنا إرثُ مالٍ عِندًَهُ وحُقوقُ

We thought from its excessive generosity that we,

For it, have wealth inheritance and rights,

عَمِيدٌ عَمِيدٌ بالمَحامِدِ والعُلَى

وَمُغرىً ببنتِ المَكرُمَات مَشُوقُ

A pillar, a pillar in praises and loftiness,

And a temptation with the daughter of honorable deeds, alluring,

مَنَزِلُهُ وَقفٌ عَلَى الزَّدِ والقِرى

يَحُلُّ فَرِيقٌ إِذ يَسِيرُ فِريقُ

Its dwelling an endowment for aid and villages,

One caravan departs as another caravan travels,

فدونَكَها بِكراً مُوَفّىً صَدَاقُهَا

بِعُذرَتِها دونَ الأنامِ حَقِيقُ

So its dowry for you is an unsullied virgin,

For its chastity, beyond people, genuine,

لَهَا إمرَة عندَ الكلامِ مُطاعَةٌ

وَمُنتَسَبٌ يَومَ القَرِيضِ عَرِيقُ

For it, authority over speech, obedience,

And on the day of ode, a pedigreed lineage,

فَهَنَّأكَ الأَعياد مَن زادَ حُسنَها

بِوَجهِك مَا وَالَى الظَّلامَ شُرُوقُ

So it made holidays happy, the one who increased their beauty,

With your face, for as long as darkness turned away from the rising sun,

فَما أَخفَقَت لِلسَّفرِ نَحوَكَ رِحلَةٌ

وَلا كَسَدَت لِلحَمدِ عِندَك سوقُ

No journey to you failed to travel,

Nor any market for praise in your presence ever closed,