أقمن على قلبي رقيبا من الحب

فلا تسألوني واسئلوهنّ عن قلبي

They have set over my heart a watcher born of love,

So do not ask me—ask them about my heart.

أهل جعلوه منزلاً يسكنونه

بإذن أم أستولت عليه يد الغصب

Did they make it a dwelling in which to reside

By leave, or did the hand of usurpation seize it?

وهل هجروني يوم أرخوا ستورهم

بذنب فأرجو عطفهم أو بلا ذنب

And did they forsake me when they let down their curtains

For some offense, so that I may hope for tenderness—or for none?

ففي الذنب قد يجدي العتاب إذا جرى

وليس بمجد في العلا كثرة العتب

For when there is guilt, reproach may sometimes avail,

But abundant reproach does not avail in lofty affairs.

واشقى الورى صب يذوب فؤاده

بحب امريء خالي الفوآد من الحب

The most wretched of humankind is a lover whose heart melts

For one whose own heart is empty of love.

علقت بها هيفآء تلقاك بالرضا

وقلبك مملوء لديها من الرعب

I fell in love with a slender-waisted beauty who greets you with favor,

While in her presence your heart is brimming with dread.

تبسم والآلحاظ تنضو سيوفها

عليك فلا في السلم أنت ولا الحرب

She smiles, while her glances unsheathe their swords

Against you, leaving you neither at peace nor at war.

إذا قال هذا موقف الأمن بشرها

يقل لحظها بل موقف الطعن والضرب

Whenever her glad face says, “Here is a place of safety,”

Her glance says, “No—a place of thrusting and blows.”

لها طلعة تجلو الظلام وينطفي

بها كل نور حين تبدو من الحجب

Hers is a rising face that clears away darkness, and every light

Is quenched by it when she emerges from the veils.

تجلى فيمحوا النجم والبدر ضؤها

وتحسب أن الشمس في قبضة الغرب

She appears, and her radiance effaces star and moon;

You would think the sun were held in the West’s grasp.

تنام بملىء الجفن عن ليل ساهر

تقلبه الأشجان جنبا على جنب

She sleeps soundly, heedless of a night kept wakeful,

As grief turns its sleeper from side to side.

حرام على جفني المنام وقد نأت

وخيم ركب البعد في منزل القرب

Sleep is forbidden to my eyelids now that she has gone far away,

And distance’s caravan has encamped in nearness’s own abode.

وقالت جفوني للكرى لست صاحبي

فخل دموعي تنصر الصب بالصب

My eyelids said to sleep, “You are no companion of mine;

So let my tears, by pouring, come to the lover’s aid.”

وما نصر دمع العين لي أن ناصري

هو الناصر بن الأشرف الملك الندب

Yet what help can the tears of my eyes bring me, when my champion

Is al-Nasir, son of al-Ashraf, the valiant king?

مليك له سيف وسعد تظاهرا

على كل غلاب فاغضي على الغلب

A monarch whose sword and fortune have joined forces

Against every overmastering foe, until the mighty lower their gaze.

له كل يوم نهضة تطلب العلا

من السيف في شرق البلاد وفي الغرب

Each day he rises anew in pursuit of glory

With the sword, throughout the country’s east and west.

يرينا سجايا لو سمعنا بمثلها

عن السلف الماضي وصفناه بالكذب

He shows us virtues whose like, had we heard of them

Among the forebears of old, we would have called a lie.

فكم صححت أفعاله اليوم عندنا

غرائب تروى للأوائل في الكتب

How often his deeds today have confirmed for us

The marvels told of ancient men in books.

وكم قللت ما استكثرته نفوسنا

من الجود في الماضيين والخلق الرحب

How often he has made small what our souls deemed abundant

In the generosity of bygone men and their breadth of character.

صنائع دار المجد والحمد حولها

مدار النجوم الزاهرات على القطب

His benefactions are a house of glory, with praise circling round it

As radiant stars circle the pole.

إذا سل سيفا قلت ما الليث في الشرا

وإن جاد كفا قلت ما الغيث في السحب

When he draws a sword, I say: what is a lion in the thicket beside him?

And when his hand gives freely, I say: what is rain within the clouds?

سرى خوفه والأمن يتلوه في الورى

فمن لم يبت في أمنه بات في الترب

Fear of him travels by night, while safety follows it among humankind:

Whoever does not sleep secure under his protection sleeps in the dust.

فقل لملوك الأرض خلوا عن العلا

لأحمد وارعوا فضلة الماء والعشب

Say to the kings of the earth: relinquish lofty glory

To Ahmad, and graze on the leftover water and pasture.

فما هو إلا العز والموت دونه

أو الذل إن شئتم أمانا على الشرب

For his is nothing but honor, with death before anything beneath it—

Or humiliation for you, if you wish your people to be safe.

دعوه وإياها فلستم رجالها

وليس ركوب السهل كالمركب الصعب

Leave him and glory to one another; you are not its men.

Riding level ground is not like mounting the difficult course.

فهذى سيوف لا تطاق وضارب

يطبق بالسيف المفاصل بالضرب

For glory has an irresistible sword and a champion

Who brings the blade down squarely upon the joints with every blow.

وليس بعيدا دونه ما يرومه

ولو أنه العنقاء طارت مع الشهب

No aim he seeks lies beyond his reach,

Even if it were the phoenix flying among the meteors.

قضى الشهر شهر الصوم رطب لسانه

عليك بما ينبي من الخلق الرطب

He passed the month—the month of fasting—his tongue kept moist

With praise of you, speaking of your gracious nature.

ووافاك عيد الفطر يجهد نفسه

من الشوق بالشوق المعين على القرب

And your feast, Eid al-Fitr, exhausts itself

With yearning, aided by the yearning that draws it near.

فيهينه هذا الاحتفال بشأنه

لديك وهذا السير في الموكب اللجب

May this celebration held in its honor gladden you

In your presence, and this advance in the clamorous procession.

ركبت به نحو المصلى مشيعا

بسمر العوالي والمطهمة القب

You rode with it toward the prayer ground, escorted

By tall, dark lances and fine, slender-waisted steeds.

وقد ملأت طول البلاد وعرضها

حواليك أشبال الضراغمة الغلب

They filled the land in length and breadth

Around you, like the cubs of conquering lions.

وكبّر اجلالا لوجهك من رأى

وسبح كل العالمين من العجب

Whoever saw you proclaimed the takbīr, awed by your countenance,

And all the worlds glorified God in wonder.

فهذا مشير يسأل الله نصره

إليك وهذا حائر الفكر واللب

Here one man gestures, asking God to grant His victory

To you; there another stands bewildered in thought and mind.

وجئث المصلى والمصلى وأهله

مشيرون بالتأهيل نحوك والرحب

You came to the prayer ground, and the ground and all its people

Beckoned toward you with cries of “Welcome—and ample room!”

وقمت كما يرضى الإِله مصليا

فيهنيك ما استكثرته من رضى الرب

You stood in prayer, as pleases God;

May the abundant favor you have gained from the Lord gladden you.

وعدت كعود السحب ينهل بالحيا

على الأرض من بعد الخصاصة والجدب

You returned as clouds return, streaming with life-giving rain

Upon the earth after scarcity and drought.