أَعرى مِن المَدحِ الطِّرفَ الَّذي رَكِبا
لَمَّا جَرَى في مَيادِينِ الصِّبا فَكَبا
I leave unpraised the steed that he once rode,
when it raced through the fields of youth and stumbled.
تَمُرُّ وَثباً بهِ خَيلُ الشَّبَابِ فَلا
يَسطِيعُ مِن مَربِطِ الخَمسينَ أن يَثِبا
Youth’s horses bound swiftly past him, and he
cannot leap from the tethering-place of fifty.
ورُبّما شَقّ أسدافَ الظّلام بِهِ
رَكضاً وَشَقّ بِهِ الأَستارَ والحُجُبا
Many a time he cleft the veils of darkness upon it,
racing, and with it rent the curtains and the screens.
يَلقَى الغَوَانِي بِإِنكَارٍ مَعَارِفَهُ
وَهُنّ أقربُ خَلقٍ مِنهُ مُنتَسَبَا
He meets the beauties, and they deny knowing him,
though of all creatures they are closest kin to him.
إن كُنَّ سَمّينَهُ عَصرَ الشَّبَابِ أخاً
لَهُنّ فَاليَومَ أحرَى أن يَكونَ أبَا
If in the days of youth they called him brother,
today it is more fitting that he be their father.
رَعَينَهُ خَضِراً رَطباً فَحينَ عَسَا
أَتَينَ يَرعَينَ ذَاكَ الإِلَّ وَالنَّسَبا
They grazed upon him when he was green and tender; when he hardened,
they came to tend that bond of intimacy and kinship.
لابدّ أَن يَنصُرَ الآدابَ مُشتَرِطٌ
لِلمَجدِ أن يَنصُرَ العَليَاءَ وَالحَسَبَا
Whoever binds himself to glory must champion letters;
he must champion high renown and noble lineage.
نَدبٌ لآلِ صَنَادِيدٍ لَهُ رُتَبٌ
فَاتَت بِرِفعَتِهَا الأقدَارَ وَالرُّتَبَا
A champion of a house of mighty lords, possessing stations
whose loftiness surpassed every measure and rank.
تَقدّمت بِهِمُ مِن فَضلِهِ قَدَمٌ
دَاسُوا بِأَخمَصِهَا الأَقمَارَ وَالشُّهُبَا
Through his bounty, their foot advanced so far
that beneath its sole they trod the moons and meteors.
نَالُوا بِسَعيِ أبِي إسحَاقَ مَا طَلَبُوا
وَنَالَ عَفواً أبو إسحَاقَ مَا طَلَبَا
Through Abu Ishaq’s endeavor, they attained all they sought,
and Abu Ishaq attained effortlessly all that he sought.
يَا ضَاحِكاً لِلمُنَى مِن مَبسِمٍ لَقَطَت
مِن لَفظِهِ الدُّرَّ واشتَارَت بِهِ الضّرَبا
O you whose smile makes hopes themselves laugh—hopes that plucked
pearls from his words and drew honey from them;
وَمُفصِحاً بِنَعَم فِي كُلِّ مَسأَلَةٍ
إلا لِمَن لامَهُ فِي الجُودِ أَو عَتَبا
O one who clearly pronounces “yes” to every petition,
except to whoever blames or reproaches him for generosity.
كُن لِي كَمَا أنتَ فِي نَفسِي فَقَد عَقَدَت
بَينِي وَبَينَكَ أَسبابُ العلا قُرُبا
Be to me as you are within my soul, for
the bonds of high aspiration have drawn us close.
وَذَاكَ أنَّكَ تُهدِي البِرَّ منتخَباً
نَحوي وَأُهدِي إِلَيكَ الحَمدَ مُنتَخَبَا
That is: you send chosen kindness
toward me, and I send chosen praise to you.
وَسَامِعٍ بِكَ فِي أقصَى مَنَازِلِهِ
أفَادَ مِن رَفدِك الأموالَ والنّشبَا
Many a man who heard of you in his farthest dwelling
gained through your bounty wealth and possessions.
رَجاكَ فَامتَلأَت أرجَاؤُه بدَراً
وَلَم يَشُدّ لَهَا رَحلا ولا قَتَبا
He placed his hope in you, and all his horizons filled with a full moon,
without cinching for the journey a riding-saddle or packsaddle—
سِوَى قَصَائدَ وَالاها مُنَقّحَةً
أدّت إلَى رَاحتَيهِ ثَروةً عَجَبا
save for polished odes he dispatched one after another,
which brought a wondrous fortune into his two palms.
صَاغَت لَهُ كَيمِياءُ الجودِ إِذ وَرَدَت
مِنهَا نُضاراً وَكَانَت قبلَهَا كُتُبا
When they arrived, generosity’s alchemy fashioned for him
pure gold from them, though before then they had been writings.
فأشبَهَت حالَ بِنتِ الكَرم إِذ خلصَت
في الدَّنِّ خَمراً وكَانَت قَبلَهُ عِنَبَا
Their state resembled the Daughter of the Vine when she is refined
into wine in the vat, though before it she was grapes.
