ذَكَرْتُ بَلْجاءَ بالإصباحِ مُنبلِجا
وَقَدْ تنفّس عنْ أنفاسِهَا أرَجا
At dawn I recalled Baljaa radiating light
As she breathed out the scent of aromatic plants
وَما نَسِيتُ بإهزاجِ الحمامِ ضُحىً
جرْس الحُليّ وَلا وسواسَهُ الهَزِجا
I did not forget the warbling of doves in the morning
The tinkling of anklets, nor their restless bustling
غَداةَ زارَتْ وَللخَلْخالِ من خَرَسٍ
ما للوشاحِ من الإفْصاحِ مُعْتَلِجا
One morning she came, and her anklet of jingling bells
Had no eloquence against the silence of grief
نَجْديّة أتْهَمت تَقْضي مَناسِكَها
فَلم تدَعْ يَوْمَ طافَتْ للحَجيجِ حِجَى
A Najdi woman determined to complete her pilgrim rituals
She did not neglect a single rite on the day she circumambulated
وَضّاحَةٌ بَلَجاً نَفّاحةٌ أرجا
حَسّانةٌ فَلَجاً فتّانَةٌ دَعَجا
Dazzling is Baljaa, exhaling fragrance
Captivating is Faljaa, stirring up longing
تَفوتُ كُلّ فَتَاةٍ في محَاسِنِها
بِما تفُتُّ بهِ الأرْوَاح والمُهجَا
Every charming girl surpasses her peers
In that which enchants souls and hearts
فالخصْرُ يُنْهضُها ظَمآنَ مُندمِجاً
والرِّدف يُنْبِضُها رَيَّانَ مُنْتَفجا
Her waist arousing thirst quenched and sated
Her hips provoking desire, lush and abundant
ضِدٌّ لِغُرّتِها بادٍ بطُرّتِها
للّهِ رَأْدُ الضُّحى يَغْشاهُ جُنحُ دُجى
Her cheek dimpling, her brow serene
By Allah! The light of dawn covers it in protective veils
كَلفْتُ لِلْحُسنِ فيها بِالغرامِ فَما
قَرّ المَلام عَلى سَمعِي ولا وَلَجا
I fell passionately in love with her beauty but no
Blame clung to my hearing or seeped inside
قَد عَلّمَتني الغَواني أن أدينَ لَها
ولَيسَ يجْهدُ عوُدٌ يحملُ الغُنُجا
The girls taught me to surrender to them
No withered branch can carry fruit so plump
حُبّي صُرَاحٌ فلا أبْلَلْتُ منْ دَنَفٍ
إنْ شِيبَ يوماً بِسُلْوان وَإن مُزِجا
My love is candid so I haven’t wept from remorse
Whether my hair one day grays or stays raven
هَذي التّباريحُ لَم تَبرَح محرّمَةً
عِلاج ما شَفّني مِنها وَما لَعَجا
These charms have remained forbidden to me
Neither healing me nor responding to my fervent call
لاَ أرْتَضي غَدْر ساجِي الطَرْف غَادَرَني
أَرْعَى النجومَ إذَا الليْلُ البَهيم سَجَا
I won’t accept the betrayal of her fickle glances
I tend the stars when the gloomy night falls
حَمَى القَرارَ فُؤادِي وَالكَرَى بَصرِي
وأزعَجَتْه دَواعي البَيْنِ فانزَعَجا
My heart’s ardour and the blurring of my vision
Were troubled by the pangs of separation so I became distressed
طَفِقْتُ ألهج فيه بالنسيبِ وإن
عَهِدْته باجتِنابي مُولَعاً لَهِجا
I started to whisper my lineage to her though
She was addicted to avoiding me, stubbornly unresponsive
كأنّه الزّمنُ العَادِي عَلى أدَبي
يَسومُني الصّبرَ فيما شَجّني وَشَجا
As if time in its way sought to teach me patience
For what saddened me and caused me anguish
إذَا اسْتَرحتُ إليهِ زادَني وَصَبا
كأنّ ذاك على مِنوالِ ذَا نُسِجا
When I sought comfort in her, she increased my agony
As if she followed the precedent of one who entrenched it
يا شِدّةُ اليأسِ إن يُئِّست فيك فَقَد
أضحَى رَجاءَ وَلِيِّ العهد لي فرَجا
Oh the intensity of despair! If you lose hope in her
Then the hope of the heir apparent has brought me relief
سَلِيلُ يَحيى بنُ عبدِ الواحِدِ بنِ أبي
حَفص بن يَحيى فَيا للسؤْدَدِ اتشَجا
Grandson of Yaḥyá ibn 'Abd al-Wáḥid ibn Abí
Ḥafṣ ibn Yaḥyá - what sublime solace!
مَلْكٌ تَبَحْبَحَ في العَلياءِ مُقْتَفِياً
مَا سَنَّ آباؤه فيها ومُنْتَهجا
A king who confidently follows the noble ways
Laid down by his forefathers, guided and well-trodden
بيْنَ السماحِ وبَينَ البأسِ مُنقَسمٌ
فالعَالَمونَ عَلى خَوْفٍ لَهُ وَرَجا
He divides justly between leniency and severity
While the people fear him but have hope in him
سِرُّ المَكَارِم يَبْدو في أسِرّتِه
وعادَة الشمسِ ألا تَعدُو الوَهَجا
The secret of nobility appears in his lineage
As sunlight never exceeds its limit of radiance
يَأبى وأسْعدهُ عَنْهُ مُقَاتِلَةٌ
أن يخلعَ الدِّرعَ حتَّى يلْبسَ الرَّهَجا
Though fortune favours him, he refuses to shed
His coat of mail until donning the garb of peace
لا يَحْسبُ الحرْبَ إلا رَوْضَةً أُنُفا
ماجَتْ دِماءُ الأَعادِي وسطَها خُلُجا
He reckons war only a meadow where
Enemy blood churned violently in its midst
كالمُشتَري أسعُداً لكِن مَكانَتُهُ
فَاتَتْ مَدى زُحَل يا شَدّ ما عَرَجا
Though eminent, his station falls short
Of Saturn - oh how far it climbed and rose!
مُدّتْ عَن البَحرِ من يُمناهُ قاذِفَةٌ
بِكُلِّ عارِفَةٍ جُسْمَى وَلا حرَجا
On his right, fleets cast from the sea
All sorts of knowledgeable captains, without dispute
حَسبُ الخِلافَةِ تَفْويضٌ لذِي حَسب
مُؤَثّلٍ سَبقَ الأحْقَابَ والحِجَجَا
The caliphate was entrusted to one of noble lineage
Preceding eras and pilgrimages, well-protected
مُخاصِماً عَنه بِالبيضِ الحِدادِ وَمَنْ
يَخصِمْ بِألسُنِها في لُجة فَلَجا
Challenging on his behalf the white-robed pilgrims, even if
Their tongues dispute in the dark night of ignorance
عَليهِ أن يُثلجَ الدّينُ الحَنيفُ بهِ
قَلبا وَلولا صليُّ الحربِ ما ثَلِجا
It is incumbent upon him to gladden the true religion
A heart, even if the clamour of war had not gladdened it
هادٍ لِقَصْدِ أبيهِ المُرْتَضى عَلَماً
لِجَبر ما انهاضَ أو إِصْلاح ما مَرِجا
Guiding to his father’s purpose, an exemplar
To repair what was ruined or correct what deviated
للّهِ مَشْرُوعُ آثارٍ تَقَبّلَهَا
هُداهُ فاعْتدها أهلُ الهُدى حُجَجا
Allah has sanctioned these remarkable achievements
So let the rightly-guided people take them as proof
مُطَهّراً من بينِهِ كُلَّ مَن طَهُرتْ
أعْرَاقُه وَتَرقّتْ في العُلى دَرَجا
Purifying from among them all whose necks were impure
And whose ranks ascended loftily
يَمْشي لإعْذارِهِ ثَبْتاً وخاتِنُهُ
يَظَلُّ مُرْتَعِشاً بالذُّعرِ مرْتَعِجا
He walks steadily to excuse himself while his defenders
Remain trembling in terrible dread
كأنَّما اعتادَ صَبْراً لِلكُلوم فَلَمْ
يَجْزَع لأحْلامِ آسِيهِ وَلا نَشَجا
As if he was accustomed to show patience for affronts so
He was not shaken by disturbing dreams or distress
يَحْلُو بأفْواهِهم إيلامُهُم كَرَماً
وَقَد يَمُرُّ لِسِرّ فيهمُ انبَلَجا
Their hurting him is sweetly endured in generosity
Though perhaps concealed in them is rancid rot
مُفَهّمونَ مِن الحُسنى عَواقِبهَا
فَما يَزيغونَ عَن مِنهاجِها عِوجا
They understand the outcomes of goodness
So they do not deviate crookedly from its path
وَكَمْ تَمامٍ يَكُونُ النقْصُ أَوَّله
قَطُّ الذُّبالِ يُوَفّي ضَوْؤُهُ السرُجا
How complete is that of which deficiency is the start!
The wick fulfills the lantern’s radiance only by being snuffed
خِفْ من نَداهُم إذا قَبّلت أنمُلَهُم
فَربَّما زَخَرَتْ أيْمانُهُم لُجَجَا
Be wary of their hypocrisy if their chancred gums kiss your hand
For perhaps their oaths concealed festering wounds
وَلا يُؤَمِّنكَ من إقدامِهِم صِغَرٌ
فالسقطُ مِن شَأنِهِ أن يُحرِقَ الحَرَجا
Do not be lulled into complacency by their small size
For it is the nature of sparks to ignite tinder
هُمُ المُلوكُ وَأَبناءُ المُلوكِ فَلا
زالَ الزّمانُ بهِم يزدانُ مُبْتَهِجا
They are kings and sons of kings so time
Still adorns itself through them, joyous
