ورد الكتاب مصرحاً ومسطراً
بحديث محبوب عشقت ولم أرى
The book arrived, clearly written
About a beloved I loved but never saw
وافى وكان وروده وردا لذي
ظلم المّ به الغرام واسعرا
It came with roses that had a delightful fragrance
Whose love pained me and set me aflame
ففضضت منه ختامه ولطالما
فاضت دموع قبله لن تكرا
So I broke its seal, and tears had often
Flowed before it, never to dry
ولثمت محياه فاشرق ثغره
ورشفت كاسا من لماه معطرا
And I kissed its pages, so its cover shone
And I sipped a scented cup from its pure water
اهدي إلى المشاق نشأة مغرم
فاحت رياح الشوق منها عنبرا
I dedicate to yearning a youth enamored
Whose longing brought a scent like ambergris
فكأن اسطره ذوائب غادة
هيفاء لاحت من ترائب قيصرا
Its lines were like the tresses of a gazelle
That shone from the braids of Caesar
وكأن صفحته صفيحة وجه من
ملك الجمال بها العذار تعذّرا
Its pages were like the cheek of a beauty
Whose coquetry adorned it with vexation
أو ان احرفه مراشف أعين
تعطي الرحيق معللا ومقطرا
Or as if its letters were pillows for eyes
That give exquisite and distilled perfume
وقلائد العقيان خلت جمانه
او ثغر محبوب تبسمّ جوهرا
The necklaces of its meanings left its prose
Like the smile of a beloved that gleamed pearls
اربى على سحبان سحب فصاحة
لو شامها الكندي عاد موخرا
I cultivated over its clouds a cloud of eloquence
That if heard by Al-Kindi, would make him return
وكذا ابن ساعدة الايادي لو رآ
ه لعاد منه مخجلا متسترا
And likewise Ibn Sa'ida al-Ayyadi if he saw it
Would come back from it ashamed and concealing
رق النسيم للطف معناه كما
شهد الفواد بفضله لما قرا
The gentle breeze was delicate in its meaning
As Al-Fawad witnessed to its merit when he read it
يا حسن برق من محياه بدا
عن نصر فتح الله لاح مخبرا
O Hasan, lightning from his cheek appeared
About Nasr Fathallah's victory shining news
نشأت ينصر الله روح صبابة
وابى الفؤاد لغيرها ان يذكرا
Nasrallah's youth arose with zeal
And my heart refused to remember another
فرع لفتح الله اينع مخصبا
بحديقة الأداب شب واثمرا
A branch of Fathallah most fertile
In the garden of literature grew and bore fruit
ولذا اسم قلبي حين اشبه قلبه
فبناه صرف الحب لما ان طرا
And so the name of my heart when it resembled his heart
The devotion of love built when it was drafted
فاليك يعزى الفضل يا من لاح لي
منه الوداد ولن يراني ويبصرا
So to you is ascribed virtue, O you whose love
Appeared to me and will never see or look at me
قربا لدار كنت فيها وحبذا
الشهباء نصر الله فيها قد سرى
Come close to the abode where you were
And Nasrallah happily walked in it
واهاً لها لما حللت ربوعها
رغداً وآها من بعادك اوفرا
Alas for it when your dwellings were vacated
Luxuriously, and alas how abundant your remoteness
يا ليت لا كان البعاد ولا النوى
يا ليت لاشط المزار ولا الذرى
If only there was no distance or intention
If only there was no crossing the shrine or treading
الواه من حر البعاد وطالما
جار البعاد على الأحبة وافترى
Alas for the heat of remoteness, and how often
Remoteness has wronged the loved ones and fabricated
خذها لقد وافت من ابن كرامة
برسائل الأشواق تهدي الأسطرا
Take them, for the son of honor has brought
Missives of longing that deliver lines
تنبيك عن حب سماعيّ الهوى
متجاوز حدّ القياس لدى الورى
Informing you of my passionate love
Beyond the limit of what minds can grasp
