سَرت نفحةٌ من حيِّهم بسلام
فأَحيَت بما حيَّت صَريعَ غَرامِ
A gentle breeze blew from their abode in peace,
Reviving with its greeting my languishing passion.
لئن نَقعَت من لاعج الوجد غُلَّةً
فمن بعد ما أَورَت لهيبَ أوامِ
If it drew from the bosom of love a painful yearning,
It also later ignited the flames of desire.
أَحيَّت براحٍ أَم بريّا تحيَّةً
سكرتُ بها سُكري بكاس مُدامِ
Did it greet me with a gentle wind or a passing scent?
With it I became intoxicated, drunk from a flowing cup.
سرت قبل مَسراها الصبا بشميمها
فأَزرت بعَرفي عَبهرٍ وَخُزامِ
Before its joy, dawn breathed its fragrance,
And I was perfumed with the most splendid fragrances.
ووافى شَذاها بالشِفاءِ لمدنفٍ
من الشوق مَغلولِ الجَوانح ظامي
Its aroma brought healing to one lovesick,
Whose feelings were bound in agony.
وَلَمّا دَنت منّي حللتُ لها الحُبى
وَبادرتُ إِعظاماً لها بقيامِ
When she drew near me, I shed my bonds,
And hastened to rise up in veneration.
وَمطَّت قناعَ الطِرس عَن ضوء حسنها
فنارَ بها رَبعي وضاءَ مقامي
She unveiled the veil from her beauty’s radiance,
Illuminating my home and its dwellings.
فشنَّفتُ سَمعي من فَرائد لفظها
بجوهر أَسلاكٍ ودُرِّ نظامِ
I sharpened my hearing for the gems of her words,
With strands of pearls and perfect composition.
وَقلَّدتُ جيدي من تقاصير نظمها
عقودَ لآل فذَّةٍ وتؤامِ
I adorned my neck with the short poems of her verse,
Like choice rubies and paired pearls.
وَلَم أَدرِ ما أَهداه لي حسنُ سجعها
أَرنَّةَ شادٍ أَم هديلَ حَمامِ
I know not whether the melody of her rhyme
Was like the cooing of doves or trilling of pigeons.
كأَنَّ معانيها بحالِكِ نِقسها
بدورُ تَمام في بهيم ظَلامِ
It is as if her ideas were molded to her state,
Revolving perfectly in the darkest gloom.
كأَنَّ مبانيها مباسمُ غادةٍ
نضَت عن لآليها فضولَ لثامِ
It is as if her structure was like smiling rosebuds
That peeked from behind their protective veils.
كأَنَّ قوافيها أَزاهرُ رَوضةٍ
تبسَّمن صُبحاً عَن ثغورِ كِمامِ
It is as if her rhymes were garden flowers
That smiled at dawn from behind their masks.
وَما بالُها لا تجمع الحسنَ كلَّه
وقد بلغت في الحُسن كلَّ مَرامِ
How could such a one fail to possess all beauty,
When she has attained the height of perfection?
ولا غروَ أَن أَربت على القول أَنَّها
كَلامُ ملوكٍ أَو مُلوكُ كلامِ
No wonder I deemed her speech to be that of royalty,
Or that royalty itself was her speech.
فَيا سيِّداً مذ غالني الدَهرُ قربَه
وَقفتُ عليه لوعتي وهُيامي
O lord, since fate has denied me closeness to you,
I have stood steadfast, though lovesick and confused.
تحدَّر دَمعي مذ تذكَّر عهدَه
تحدُّر قَطرٍ من مُتونِ غَمامِ
Since remembering our pact, my tears flow down
Like drops from laden rainclouds.
وأَصبحتِ الأَحشاءُ من فرط شَوقه
تشبُّ لظى نيرانها بضِرامِ
With intense longing, my heart has become
Ablaze with fires fueled by embers.
بعثتَ بأَبيات من الشعر أَصبحَت
تَمائم جيدي بل شفاءَ سقامي
You sent verses of poetry that have become
Like amulets on my neck, healing my sickness.
أَبَنتَ بها عن لهجةٍ هامشيَّةٍ
ملكتَ بها للقولِ كلَّ زِمامِ
With them you expressed an eloquent dialect,
Grasping with your words every last rein.
توارثتها عن عصبة مضريَّةٍ
مدارهَ فصحٍ منجبين كرامِ
You inherited them from excellent, noble people,
Whose pure Arabic was their habit.
وضمَّنتها من خالص الودِّ نفثةً
شحذتَ بها عضبي ورِشت سِهامي
And you instilled in them a breath of sincere affection,
With which you sharpened my resolve and readied my arrows.
وإِن كُنتُ أَضمرت السكوتَ تحيَّة
فحسبي سكوتٌ ناطقٌ بذمامي
Though I intended to greet you with silence,
Yet my very silence speaks volumes.
فَلا برحت تغشاكَ منّي رسائلٌ
بنشر ثناءٍ أَو بطيب سَلامِ
Message after message comes from me to you,
Spreading praise or extending a warm greeting.
أحيّي به ذاك المُحيّا وإِنَّما
أحيّي به وَاللَه بدرَ تَمامِ
With it I salute the one worthy of salutations,
And by Allah, the full moon at its peak.
