عَلامَ فَدَتكَ النَفس تَجفو وَتَهجرُ
وَحتّامَ أُغضي وَالعَواذل تَهجرُ
Why does my soul sacrifice itself for you though you spurn and abandon it?
For how long will I be patient while the slanderers abandon you?
فَيا مرخصي في الحُبّ غالي جماله
إلامَ اِحتِساباً نار وَجدي تسعّرُ
O you whose beauty grace is dear, why do I reckon my burning love and agony as nothing?
O you who resemble the new moon yet are faithless like the night!
وَيا مشبه الأَيمان وَاللَيل كافِرٌ
سَناءً هَداك اللَه شعرك أَكفرُ
May God guide you, your poetry makes me more faithless.
Does not Caesar fear breaking your eyelids?
أَلا يَتّقي كِسرى جُفونك قَيصَرٌ
وَخَدّك نعمان وَلَحظك منذرُ
Is not your cheek Nu'man and your glance Munzir?
O eyes of the doe, your gaze makes me lose my wits,
فَيا أَعيُن الأَحداق لَحظك أَدعَجٌ
وَيا أَوطف الأَجفان طَرفُكَ أَحوَرُ
And o most charming of eyelids, your glance is cross-eyed.
With the swords of your eyelashes that keep
أَما وَنصالٍ مِن جُفونك لَم تَزَل
صحاحاً عَلى القَلب الشَجي تَتَكسَّرُ
Stabbing at my smitten heart and shattering it.
Your face has led many astray while I knew
بِوَجهك قَد ضلَّت أُناس وَطالَما
هديت لعلمي أَن حُسنك أَزهرُ
That your beauty was the brightest.
I did not know your cheek was a paradise
وَما كُنت أَدري أَن خَدّك جنّةٌ
إِلى أَن بَدا لي أَن ريقك كَوثَرُ
Until your saliva appeared to me like the heavenly Kauthar.
In the kingdom of beauty which you belong
وَفي دَولة الحُسن الَّذي أَنتَ لَم تَزَل
بِأَعوانها دَوماً تعزُّ وَتنصرُ
You are always aided to prevail and conquer.
Perplexed between despair that pains you
تَحيّر بَين اليَأس مضناك وَالرَجا
فَطرفك مَسرور وَخَدّك جَعفَرُ
And hope, your eyelash is joyous, your cheek Ja'far.
So neither you are safe nor I wise in love,
فَلا أَنتَ مَأمون وَلا أَنا في الهَوى
رَشيد فَهَل لا مِنكَ يا ظَبيُ أَحذرُ
O gazelle, shall I not beware of you?
Your charm is basil, your mole is amber,
عذارك ريحان وَخالك عَنبَرٌ
وَثَغرك ياقوت وَجيدك جَوهَرُ
Your lips ruby, your cheek a gem.
How strange that the dark man, on seeing
وَمِن عَجبٍ أَن الطعين إِذا رَأى
قَوامكَ يَصبو وَهوَ لا شَكَّ أَسمرُ
Your stature, melts though undoubtedly he is dark.
They said, 'Show patience,' I said, 'I am his victim,
وَقالوا تَصبّر قُلت إنّي قَتيله
وَهَل من قَتيل يا لقومي يصبّرُ
Do victims show patience, O my people?'
She displayed her wrist to me but her glances ensnared me.
رَنا لي فَصادَتني حَبائل دلّه
فَواعجَباً هَل يَقنص اللَيث جؤذرُ
How amazing! Does the lion hunt the rat?
It is no wonder that since it has been using
وَلَيسَ عَجيباً أَنَّ هاروت لَحظه
مُذ اِستخدم الأَلباب ما زالَ يسحرُ
Human minds, Harut's glance keeps bewitching.
O comfort of souls, do not tease much
فَيا راحةَ الأَرواح لا تُكثر النَوى
فَإِنّيَ بِالعُشّاق فيكَ مُحَيّرُ
For in love of you I am confused.
How many Iraq-bound caravans from Hijaz have hailed,
وَكَم قَد صَبا الرَكب الحِجازيُّ مُنشِدا
عراقاً وَأَوج الحُسن أَبهى وَأَبهَرُ
The zenith of beauty as most splendid and dazzling!
Abu Tahir, my Husaini heart has strung together verses,
أَبا طاهر قَلبي الحسينيّ قَد شَدا
بَياتاً فَهَل بِالرَصد نجمك يَظهَرُ
Will your star, I wonder, appear to those who lie in wait?
You appeared a moon at night on a bent bough
بَدا قَمَراً لَيلاً عَلى غُصن بانةٍ
عَلَيهِ حَمام الحلي يَشدو وَيَهدرُ
As the necklace-adorned pigeons sang and cooed around you.
I wish I were to be buried beneath the branch
وَمن فرعه لَمّا لَهُ عقد اللوا
وَددتُ لَو اِنّي تَحتَهُ كُنت أُحشَرُ
From which hangs the new moon's necklace.
I say to the cheek denying its mole,
أَقول لِخالٍ راحَ يُنكر خالَه
لَكلّ شَقيق نقطة لَيسَ تُنكرُ
'Every twin has a spot, do not deny it.'
O fellow reveller, keep mentioning it for I have often
أَخا العَذل كَرّر ذكرَهُ فَلَطالَما
سَكرت بِهِ فَهوَ المدام المكرَّرُ
Got drunk on it, it is wine oft-repeated.
Who will protect my lips from kissing him,
وَمَن لي بِلَثمي مِعصَماً دون لَمسِهِ
ظُبى أَعيُن وَهوَ المَنيع المسوَّرُ
The gazelle-eyed one, aloof and inaccessible?
He is water which, were it not for his crystal body
هُوَ الماء لَولا أَنَّ بلّور جسمهِ
لَهُ ممسك مِن لُطفِهِ كادَ يقطرُ
Restraining it, its subtlety would drip.
The guards noticed the radiance of his cheek
وَمِن خَفرٍ لَما زَها وَرد خَدّه
تَولّى عَلَيهِ قيّم القَدِّ يَخفرُ
And charged the keeper of the wine to guard it.
Unlike what philosophers say, his slender waist
فَخالف ما قال الفَلاسف خصره
لَطيفاً بِهِ المَعنى الكَثيف مُؤثِّرُ
Makes the abstruse meaning eloquent and effective.
And when the charms of his cheek blossomed anew,
وَإِذ جَدَّدَ الأَفراح رَوض عذارهِ
فَإِنّا عَلى خَلع العذار سنعذرُ
We will pardon shedding the veil from it.
We are men whose souls disdain
وَإِنّا أُناس لا تشان نُفوسهم
بِرَيب وَعَن حَمل الدَناءَة تَكبرُ
Suspicion and who scorn baseness,
The nobility of man lies in guarding his honor and chastity,
وَمن شَرف الإِنسان صَون وَعفّة
وَبَذل سَخاءٍ وَالحُسام المشهّرُ
Dispensing generosity, and drawing a sharpened sword.
Some people's minds are pebbles to avoid
وَبَعض حلوم الناس حَصباء يتّقى
لَهُ عرضٌ وَالبَعض لا ريبَ جَوهَرُ
While others' are undoubtedly gems.
But by my life, the gem of wisdom is rare
وَلَكن لعمري جَوهَر الحلم نادر
كَحلم أَمين الملك بَل هُوَ أَندَرُ
As your wisdom, O Trustee of the Nation, rather, it is rarer.
A prince who recites verses of an opinion made eloquent,
أَميرٌ تَلا آيات رَأيٍ أخالها
مسدّدةً عَن مَهبط الوَحي تَصدرُ
Revealed from the place of revelation.
A prince whose eternal wonders of wisdom
أَميرُ على أَبدى بَدائع حكمة
يَنابيعها مِن حلمه تَتَفجّرُ
Gush forth from his wisdom.
A prince under whom is the stewardship of favors
أَميرٌ بِهِ للمكرمات إِمارة
بِها تشرف العَلياء عزّاً وَتَفخَرُ
By which the elite are honored and prideful.
A prince under whose banner the elite submit
أَميرٌ بَنو العَلياء تَحتَ لِوائِهِ
بِإِذعانِها تَعنو لَما هُوَ يَأمرُ
In obedience to what he commands.
A prince, he is the sword the King has prepared
أَمير هُوَ السَيف الَّذي قَد أَعدّه
لِطارقة الخَطب المَليك المظفّرُ
For the audacious who covet the kingdom.
He has the nature of generosity, his judgment is decisive
لَهُ كَرم الأَخلاق خلق مُحكَّم
لَهُ العَفو حكم لازم لا يغيّرُ
For him, pardon is a lasting rule, it does not change.
His virtues are thriving like a lush meadow,
مَناقب كَالرَوض الأَريض نَضارَةً
تَسامَت عَن التَشبيه بَل هِيَ أَنضَرُ
They transcend metaphor, rather they are greener.
His ranks are mighty due to his excellent achievements,
مَراتبُ قَد عَزّت بِحُسن مَآثر
عَلى حَمدِها تِعدادُها لَيسَ يُحصرُ
To enumerate them, praise cannot suffice.
So excellent is he whom a caller calls out to for praise,
فَيا لَكَ مِن مَولىً يناديهِ لِلثَنا
مُنادٍ يُنادي إِنّ حَظَّكَ أَوفَرُ
A caller calling out, 'Indeed your fortune is greater!'
When we recall among us the kindnesses of his disposition,
إِذا ذكرت فينا شَمائل لُطفهِ
وَمَرَّت بِنا ريح الصبا تَتَعطَّرُ
And the morning breeze passes by us carrying his fragrance,
If it is said a sea, I say even the sea rages,
فَإِن قيل بَحر قُلت وَالبَحر صارم
وَإِن قيل بَدر قُلت وَالبَدر قسورُ
And if it is said a full moon, I say even the full moon can be eclipsed.
The elite rise above only three things:
تَرَفّع فَما العَلياء إِلّا ثَلاثة
يَد وَلِسان وَالفواد المُطَهّرُ
A hand, a tongue, and a pure heart.
I do not see lasting glory for the glorious
وَلَست أَرى مَجداً يَدوم لِماجد
سِوى اللَه إِلّا ما بِهِ المَرءُ يُذكَرُ
Apart from God except what man is remembered for.
The noblest of men in the world is he who
أَعَزُّ بَني الدُنيا فَتىً ما لِنَفسِهِ
عَلَيهِ يَد إِلّا بِما عَنهُ يُؤثرُ
Owes nothing to himself except what he sacrifices.
The most foolish of creation is he who blamed his soul
وَأَغبى الوَرى من علّل النَفس بِالمُنى
مِن الدَهر وَالأَيّام تُطوى وَتُنشَرُ
For the days' inconstancy as they fold and unfold.
I see striving to gain praise leads
أَرى السَعي في نَيل الثَناء مُسَبّباً
لِنَيل العُلى إِذ كُلّ شَيءٍ مُقَدَّرُ
To attaining nobility as all is predestined.
Why should I not strive to seek exaltation
وَما ليَ لا أَسعى إِلى طَلب العُلى
وَأسري وَجنح اللَيل منّي مقمرُ
And set out, my wings spreading in the starry night?
I will spur on my steed, wasting away,
سَأفري الفَلا جوباً عَلى مَتن ضامر
لَهُ تضمر الأَيّام حيناً وَتظهرُ
On its back days conceal and reveal themselves.
Whether I attain what I hoped to attain
فَإما بُلوغاً ما رَجَوت بُلوغه
مِن اللَه أَو أَني سَعيت فَأعذرُ
From God or I strived and am excused.
My friends, do not rest except with company
أَصاحيَ لا تَرتح إِلى غَير معشرٍ
بِهِ لَكَ عزٌّ في الأَنام وَمفخرُ
In which you have honor and pride.
By God, the circumstances of kingship have changed
لَكَ اللَه أَحوال المَلا قَد تَغيّرت
وَمَن ذا الَّذي يا عزّ لا يَتَغيّرُ
And who is there, O Honored One, that does not change?
So do not mention a matter whose time has passed
فَلا تَذكرن أَمراً تَغيَّبَ أَمرُهُ
وَلا تُنكرنَ فَضلاً بِهِ أَنتَ أَخبَرُ
Nor deny a merit you know more about.
Weigh each person by the measure of his merit
وَزن كُلّ إِنسان بِمقدار فَضله
فَأَنتَ عَلى الإنصاف وَالعَدل أَقدَرُ
For you are more capable of fairness and justice.
Not everyone who gained affability is Hatim
فَما كُلُّ مَن حازَ السَماحة حاتم
وَلا كُلُّ مَن نالَ الشَجاعة حَيدَرُ
Nor everyone courageous, Haydar.
Not everyone who showed valor is a writer
وَلا كُلُّ مَن قَطَّ اليَراعة كاتب
وَلا كُلّ مَن خَطَّ البَراعة يَشعرُ
Nor everyone skilled at writing, a poet.
How many a poem an amateur recited
وَربّ قَصيد قالَها مُتشاعر
إِذا ما تَلاها مُؤمن كادَ يَكفُرُ
Which if a believer repeated would nearly disbelieve!
Houses whose dwellers have left lie empty and desolate
بُيوت عَن السُكّان بانَت فَأَقفَرت
وَكَم مثلها فارقتها وَهيَ تصفرُ
While the like of them we inhabited turn yellow!
Come let us guide praise to the refuge
هَلمَّ بِنا نهدي الثَناء لِمُنتَدى
أَمين المَعالي فَهوَ بِالحَمد أَجدَرُ
Of the Trustee of Sublimities, for he is most deserving of praise.
Suffice him for pride the mention of the traces of his merit
كَفاه اِفتِخاراً ذكر آثار فَضله
إِذا ما سواه ظلَّ بِالعَين يَفخرُ
When all else casts a shadow in the eye boasting.
My Lord, the days of the fasting month have passed
أَمَولاي شَهر الصَوم أَيامه اِنقَضَت
فَفز بِجَزيل الأَجر فَالمَرءُ يوجرُ
So obtain abundant reward, for man is recompensed.
By my life, it is the blessed month, but
لعمري هُوَ الشَهر المُبارك إِنَّما
فِراقي لَهُ عيد بعزِّك أَنوَرُ
Parting from you is a feast, your might makes radiant.
So receive the crescent of Eid with a glance
فَقابل هِلال العيد مِنكَ بِنَظرةٍ
يَصير بِها بَدراً تَماماً فَيُسفرُ
That makes it a full moon complete and beaming.
And break the fast of the hearts of the envious for they
وَأَفطر قُلوب الحاسِدين فَإِنَّها
تَكادُ إِذا ما عاينتك تفطَّرُ
Nearly crumble when they behold you.
And let the joy continue that was sung by the doves above the nests
وَدُم بِالهَنا ما غَرّدت فَوق أَيكة
حَمامة أَفراح لَها العزُّ منبرُ
As peace-signing doves for which might is a pulpit.
The caller of conviviality did not stand reciting:
وَما قامَ داعي الأنس يُنشد قائِلاً
عَلامَ فَدَتكَ النَفس تَجفو وَتَهجرُ
Why does my soul sacrifice itself for you though you spurn and abandon it?
