تنَّسك شَيْطانِي فَيَا ليْتَه غَدا

فِدَا مَلِكٍ لِلْحُسنِ فِيه تَمرُّدَا

My devil has turned devout—would that he might become

a ransom for a king in whom beauty itself rebels.

وما زالَ في مَيْدَانِ لَهْوِيَ مُطْلَقاً

فصارَ بِحَبْلِ الشَّيبِ مِنِّي مُقَيَّدا

He had never ceased to roam unbridled in the field of my revels,

but now the rope of my gray hair has bound him.

وما الشَّيْبُ إِلا ثَوبُ شَعْرٍ جَعَلْتُه

لِباساً لشيطانِ الصِّبيَ إِذْ تَزهَّدَا

Gray hair is nothing but a garment of hair I fashioned,

clothing for youth’s devil when he embraced abstinence.

وأَصبَحَ إِبْريقُ المُدامَةِ صَائِماً

عَلى أَنَّه فِي صَوْمه مَا تَهجَّدَا

The wine-flagon too has begun to fast,

though in all its fasting it has kept no night vigil.

وَلِي عَنْ وِصَالِ الحَاجِبيَّةِ حَاجِب

مِن الْعَيْشِ صَدَّ الْقَلْبَ أَنْ يَنْقَع الصَّدى

A barrier now bars me from union with al-Hajibiyya;

life has turned the heart away from slaking its thirst.

وقلتُ ارْقُدِي يا ربَّةَ الْخَالِ سَاعَةً

فَما نَعِستْ عيناكِ إِلاَّ لَتَرْقُدَا

I said, “Sleep, O mistress of the beauty-mark, for an hour”;

your eyes grew drowsy only so that they might sleep.

سلوتُ فما أَرْنُو إِلى الظَّبْي إِنْ رَنَا

إِليَّ ولاَ أَبْدو إِلَى الْبَدْرِ إِنْ بَدَا

I have forgotten love: I no longer gaze at the gazelle when it looks

toward me, nor show myself to the full moon when it appears.

وتُهتُ عَلى الطَّيْفِ الَّذِي كَانَ زَائِري

فقَبَّلْتُه خَدّاً وقَبَّلنِي يَداً

I even lorded it over the phantom that once came visiting:

I kissed it as a ruse, and it kissed my hand.

وشِبتُ فَما لي لا أَرى الصُّبحَ أَشْيباً

وعِشْتُ زَمَاناً لا أَرى اللَّيلَ أَسْودَا

I scanned the sky—why should I not see dawn gray-haired,

while I have lived through a time when night did not look black?

وقد كانَ لِي عصرُ الشَّبيبةِ جنةً

فيا أَسَفِي لو كُنْتُ فيها مُخَلَّدَا

My season of youth was once a garden;

alas, if only I had lived in it forever.

رأَى النَّاسُ لكنْ مَا رَأَوْا كَتَجَلُّدِي

وما كُلُّ من يَهْوَى يُطيقُ التَّجَلُّدا

People have witnessed endurance, but never endurance like mine;

not everyone who loves can bear such fortitude.

تَجلَّدْتُ حتَّى قلتُ لِلدَّمْع لاَ تَفِضْ

وحتَّى نهيتُ الصَّدْرَ أَنْ يَتَنَهَّدَا

I steeled myself until I told my tears, “Do not flow,”

and forbade my breast to sigh.

عليَّ زَمَانِي قَدْ تَعدَّى جَهَالَةً

وقد كُنتُ أَعْدَى مِنْ زَمَانِي إِذَاعَدَا

Time, in its ignorance, has trespassed against me,

though I once outdid Time in aggression whenever it attacked.

وجَارَ كأَنِّي لَم أُجَرْ مِنْ صُروفهِ

وحَتَّى كَأَنِّي لَسْتُ عَبْداً لأَحْمَدا

It dealt unjustly—as though its very letters gave me no refuge,

and as though I were not a servant of Ahmad.

وحسبيَ عِزّاً أَنْ أُرَى مِنْ عبيده

وحَسْبيَ فَخْراً أَنْ يُرى لِيَ سيِّداً

Honor enough for me to be counted among his servants,

and pride enough that he should be seen as my lord.

يقولون مَنْ مَولاَك قُلتُ مَنْ اسْمُه

شقيقُ الْعُلاَ وابْنُ النُّهىَ وأَبُو النَّدى

They ask, “Who is your master?” I answer, “He whose name is:

Brother of Glory, Son of Wisdom, Father of Bounty;

ومَنْ فِي صِبَاهُ أُوتِيَ العِلْمَ والحجَا

ومَنْ في صِباهُ أُولِيَ الحُكْمَ والنَّدَى

who in boyhood was granted knowledge and discernment,

and in boyhood was invested with judgment and generosity.

تلُوح عَلَيْهِ مِنْ أَبيه شمائلٌ

يَظَلُّ بِها شَمْلُ الخطوبِ مُبَدَّداً

His father’s noble traits shine upon him,

and by them calamity’s gathered ranks remain dispersed.

لقد خافَ مِنْه وهو في المهد دَهْرُنا

فوطَّأَ أَكْنَافاً له وتَمَهَّدَا

Time feared him even while he lay in the cradle,

so it smoothed its flanks before him and made itself ready.

وأَظهرَ فينا الفضل قبل ظهوره

وقد يقطع الصمصام بالحد مغمداً

He displayed among us virtue before its appointed appearance:

the keen sword may cut with its edge even while sheathed.

وأفضى إِلَيه الفَرْقَدانِ محبَّةً

لأَنَّهما قد أَبْصَرا مِنْه فَرْقَدا

The two Firqad stars drew near to him in love,

for in him they had beheld a Firqad.

وحازَ كَمالَ الفَضْلِ قَبْلَ كَمالهِ

وجَازَ الْمَدى مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَبْلُغَ المَدى

He attained the perfection of virtue before its fullness,

and passed the farthest bound before reaching that bound.

وذاكَ المَدى أَفْضَى إِليَّ بِسرِّه

وسِرُّ المَدى أَنْ يمْلِكَ الخلْقَ سرمَدَا

That very bound confided its secret to me:

its secret is that he shall rule creation forever.

أَراد أَبُوه حين سمَّاه أَحمداً

لِيُذْكَرَ حمدُ اللهِ فِيه فَيُحْمَدا

In naming him Ahmad, his father intended

that God’s praise be recalled in him, and that he be praised.

تهيَا له دَسْتُ الوَزَارةِ مِثْلَما

تَهيَّأَ للعافِين مِنْ لغه الجدا

The dais of the ministry has readied itself for him,

just as bounty in his words stands ready for petitioners.

كأني بنفسي وهو في الدست جالس

أقوم بمدحي في مَعَالِيه مُنْشِدا

I can see him already, seated upon the dais,

while I stand reciting praise of his high virtues.

تَشَرَّفْتُ لمَّا كُنْتُ أَوَّلَ قَاصِدٍ

إِلَيْهِ أَتَاهُ بالمَديح وَقَصَّدا

I was honored to be the first seeker

to come to him with panegyric and purpose.

سأَمْدَحهُ كَهْلاً وشَيْخاً وطَالَما

مَدَحْتُ أَباهُ قبل ذلك أَمْرَدا

I shall praise him in maturity and old age, as long

as I praised his father before him when he was still beardless.

سكنتُ إِلى ظِلِّ الشَّبابِ وظِلِّه

فأَلفَيْتُه أهدى وأندى وأرغد

I sheltered beneath youth’s shade—and beneath his;

I found him more guiding, more bountiful, and more gracious.

أو الده يا أكرم الخلق والداً

وأكرم مَوْلُوداً وأَطهرَ مَوْلداً

You begot him, O noblest of all fathers:

the noblest son, of the purest birth.

سُرِرْنا بأَن أَمَّرْتَه ونصبيتَه

لنا عَلَماً يأْوِي إِلى ظِلِّه الهُدى

We rejoiced that you appointed him and raised him up

as a banner for us, beneath whose shade guidance takes refuge.

إِذا أَعجبَتْك اليومَ مِنْه خليقَةٌ

مهذَّبَةٌ أَعْطَاك أَمْثَالَها غَدا

If a refined trait of his delights you today,

tomorrow he will grant you others like it.