أقضيب بان أم قوام أملد

وكحيل طرف أم غزال أغيد

A spear erect, or a slim waist

And kohl-lined eyes, or a delicate gazelle

ان قلت ظبي فهو ابهى منظرا

او قلت غصن فهو منه ااميد

If I say it's a gazelle, it's the loveliest sight

Or if I say it's a branch, it's the hope therein

رشأ يغار الظبي منه ان رنا

والغصن بطرف ان غدا يتأوّد

A branch the gazelle envies when it sways

And when the branch inclines, it languishes

نشوان قد مالت به خمر الصبا

فالريق يسكر واللحاظ تعربد

Alluring with its slim waist, intoxicated by youth

The saliva grows sweet, the glances languid

حلو التثني بالقوام اذا بدا

فيكاد ذاك القد منه بعقد

Sweet is the double entendre with the waist when it shows

That stature nearly shackled by a necklace

مصري لفظ بابلي ينتمي

للترك منه اللحظ وهو مهند

An Egyptian utterance, Babylonian affiliation

The glance is Turkish, and it is bendable

هو قاتلي وانا القتيل بحبه

ودمي على وجناته لي يشهد

It kills me, and I'm the slain, by its love

And my blood on its cheeks bears witness

فكأنما النعمان وجنة خده

وكأن ذاك الخال فيه الأسود

As if Nu'man and the cheek of his beloved

And as if that mole on it is black

اني لأعجب في الهوى من رقة

في خصره والقلب منه جلمد

I'm astonished by the tenderness in love

Of its waist, while the heart is frozen

نقلت صحاح الجوهري بثغره

خبرا رواه الريق وهو مبرد

I transmitted, mouth to mouth, Al-Jawhari's dictionary

A story narrated by the saliva, and it's cooling

ثغر تجانس بالمحاسن وصفه

فالدر فيه منظم ومنضد

A mouth harmonious with beauty, its description

Where pearls are strung and well-ordered

لم انس ليلة زارني فيها وقد

غاب الوشاة بها ونام الحسد

I can't forget the night it visited me, with

No spies, slumbering envy asleep

وغدا يعاطيني سلاف حديثه

وكؤوس عتب بيننا تتردد

It came in the morn, giving me its conversation

Cups of blame between us passed around

حتى اذا الاجفان ذبلها الكرى

وسرى بها كحل الظلام الآسود

Until exhaustion withered the eyelids

And kohl of black night flowed therein

باتت بمنزلة الوشاح له يدي

ضمّا وبالاخرى غدا يتوسد

My hands became like a wrap, clasping

And on the other, it went to sleep

فلثمته لتزول نار تلهبي

فاذا الخدود لهيبها يتوقد

I kissed it to quell the burning within me

And lo, its cheeks ignited

وطفقت اكتمه الهوى فوشى به

سقمي ودمعي قد غدا يتبرد

I started confiding my love, so my sickness exposed it

My tears began to cool

ثم انثنى عني وولى نافرا

وكذا الغزال اذا تانس يشرد

Then it recoiled from me, turned away

As the gazelle, when it loses its zeal, wanders

فظننت ان الطيف منه زارني

او هل يزور الطيف من لا يرقد

So I thought its phantom visited me

Can a phantom visit one who does not slumber?

يا قاتل الله العذو لالى متى

باللوم يغريني وعنه يفند

O Killer of Feelings, when will you stop

Blaming me and defending yourself?

او كيف اسلوه وعامل قده

عدل القوام وفي التثني مفرد

Or how can I blame it, with its stature

Upright, unique in double meanings?

ولنا عن الصحاح يروي بشره

خبرا لابراهيم اضحى يسند

It narrates to me from Al-Jawhari's dictionary

Stories, stronger than pillars

مولى اياديه تفيض مكارما

ونداه من جود السحائب اجود

My Master, his hands overflow with virtues

His call more generous than rains in plenty

وترى السخاء يلوح من اعطافه

وبه سجاياه المليحة تشهد

And you see generosity shine from his manners

His excellent traits bear witness

من قد بني لبني ابيه في العلا

بيتا رفيع المجد وهو مشيد

He who built, for his father's sons, on high

A house of glorious renown, constructed

وسما الى العليا ونال مكانة

كيوان دون محلها والفرقد

And ascended to the highest, attaining a position

Like a planet, unmatched in orbit

بحر سريع الجود الا انه

طابت مشاربه وراق المورد

A sea, swift to give generously, except

Its springs are pure, its fresh water delicious

واذا بنو الامال عنه بالوفا

صدروا تقول لهم اياديه ردوا

When the sons of hope seek his loyalty

His hands say to them, return fulfilled

يتعلم البحر السخا من جوده

والغيث من راحاته يتعود

The sea learns generosity from his giving

The rain learns habit from his palms

حدث وقل ما شئت عنه فانه

هو فوق ما فيه تقول وأزيد

Speak, say what you will of him, for he

Is above whatever you say, and I'll add more

اقسمت لا يأتي الزمان بمثله

ابدا وليس له نظير يوجد

I swear time will never bring his equal

Ever, nor will his peer be found

لم يثنه بالعذل عن بذل اللهى

ثان ولا يلهيه عنه مفند

Baseness did not deter him from bestowing favors

Again, nor did any critic preoccupy him from it

ما زال محسودا على عليائه

ان الكريم على علاه يحسد

He remains envied for his nobility

For the noble are envied for their ascent

مت يا حسود فان مولده اتى

في برج سعد بالهنا يتولد

Die, o envious one, for his birth came

Under a fortunate sign, at an auspicious hour

انا لست ابرح عن حماه انني

بالجود والاحسان منه مقيد

I do not cease protecting him, for I

Am bound by his kindness and grace

مولاي ابراهيم يا من كفه

بحر النوال وفضله لا يجحد

My Master Ibrahim, O you whose palm

Is the sea of fortune, your merit undeniable

خذ من ثنائي ما تضوع نشره

فلأنت اولى بالثنا من يحمد

Take from my praise what you deem fitting to spread

For you are more deserving of praise than the one who praises

لا زالت الاعياد مشرقة بكم

واليكم ايامها تتردد

The holidays continue bright with you

Their days keep returning to you

ما حرك العود النسيم وما غدت

ورق الحمى طربا عليه تغرد

The reed pipe was not stirred by the breeze, nor did

The leaves of dodder vibrate with trilling upon it