آنَسنَ في الفَودَينِ وَخطَّ بَياضِ

فَرَمَينَني بِالصَدِّ وَالإِعراضِ

He charmed me in the valley and adorned its whiteness

Then spurned me with rejection and indifference

وَبَخِلنَ أَن يُسري إِلي مُسَلِّماً

طَيفُ الكَرى فَذَهَبنَ بِالإِغماضِ

And was miserly to visit me with surrender

The specter of fate turned away with disregard

أَصمَيتَني بِلَواحِظٍ يَومَ النَوى

صَحَّت وَأَجفانٍ لَهُنَّ مِراضِ

You made me deaf on the day of passion

With glances of sickness though their eyelids feign health

مَن لي بِأَسمَرَ لا يُبِلُّ طَعينُهُ

في جَفنِهِ لِلفَتكِ أَبيَضُ ماضي

Who will I find, a dark-skinned one whose temptation cannot be dispelled

In his eyelids is the white of stabbing past

أَسخَطتُ فيهِ العاذِلاتِ وَلَيتَهُ

عَنّي بِإِسخاطِ العَواذِلِ راضي

I became angry with the censurer, if only she were pleased

With my anger at the censurers and appeased

أَبرى وَأَنكَسُ في هَواهُ فَكَيفَ لي

بِشِفاءِ قَلبٍ في الهَوى مِمراضِ

I am confused and engrossed in his love, so how can I

Heal a heart engrossed in passion’s sickness

إِن يُمسِ طَيعَ قِيادَةٍ فَلَرُبَّما

أَعيَت رِياضَتُهُ عَلى الرُوّاضِ

If he undertakes leadership he may sometimes

Tire of self-discipline over leadership

لِلَّهِ أَيّامٌ بِجيرَتِنا الأولى

سَلَفَت وَلَيلاتٌ بِهِنَّ مَواضي

By God, the days of my first neighbor

Are past and the nights in them are dwellings

أَيّامَ لا سَيفُ المَلامَةِ مُنتَضىً

دوني وَلا أَنا لِلشَبيبَةِ ناضي

Days when the sword of blame cannot be drawn against me

Nor am I forgetful of youth

ما سَرَّني بَعدَ الشَبابِ مُوَدَّعاً

خَلَفٌ وَلا عِوضٌ مِنَ الأعواضِ

No successor or compensation pleased me after bidding farewell to youth

A boy left behind, no gifts as substitutes

إِن فَلَّلَت غَربي الخُطوبُ وَبَدَّلَت

غَدراً سَوادَ غَدائِري بِبَياضِ

If misfortunes turned my fortunes white

And treason changed my dark tresses to whiteness

فَلَطالَما خاطَرتُ في حُبِّ الدُمى

وَخَطَرتُ في ثَوبِ الصِبا الفَضفاضِ

For long have I fancied the love of girls

And roamed in the attire of free youth

ما لِلحِسانِ قَطَعنَ بَعدَ تَواصُلٍ

حَبلي وَفيمَ سَخِطنَ بَعدَ تَراضي

Why did she sever my connection after harmony

And why did she become angry after agreement

وَعَلامَ أَسهُمِيَ الصَوائِبُ كُلَّما

فَوَّقتُهُنَّ عَدَلنَ عَن أَغراضي

And why did my arrows of rightness go astray

Whenever I straightened them they strayed from my purposes

أَرضى بِحَظِّ العاجِزِ الواني وَقَد

جَرَّدتُ عَزمَ المُعمِلِ الرَكّاضِ

I am content with the portion of the weak repenting one

Having stripped away the resolution of the disciplined ascetic

سِيّانِ عِندي ما لَبِستُ قَناعَتي

ثَوبُ الثَراءِ وَحُلَّةُ الإِنفاضِ

The same to me if I wore the garb of contentment

Or the robe of poverty and destitution

وَإِذا جَلالُ الدينِ راضَ نَداهُ لي

حَظّي فَإِنَّي عَن زَمانِيَّ راضي

And if the glory of the religion pleases its caller to me

Then I am pleased with my time

ما ضَرَّني وَبِهِ تَتِمُّ مَآرِبي

ما تَكسِرُ الأَيّامُ مِن أَعراضي

That which does not harm me but by it my purposes are fulfilled

The days will not break my honor

بِجَميلِ رَأيِ أَبي المُظَفَّرِ عادَ لي

مُستَقبَلاً زَمَنُ الشَبابِ الماضي

By the beautiful view of my father al-Muzaffar

The bygone days of my youth returned to me

رَبِّ الصَوارِمِ وَالصَواهِلِ وَالقَنا

وَأَخي النَدى وَالنائِلِ الفَيّاضِ

Lord of the swords, spears and generous bounty

And brother of benevolence, the copious giver

يَبدو لِشائِمِ جودِهِ مِن وَجهِهِ

بِشرٌ كَبَرقِ المُزنَةِ الوَمّاضِ

To the slanderer of his munificence appears in his face

Good tidings like the flashing illuminated clouds

ما اِستَبطَأَ الراجي نَداهُ وَلا يَرى ال

سُؤالَ خَلفَ عَطائِهِ بِتَقاضي

The hopeful never wearied of his call, and he sees not

A request behind his giving with bargaining

تَحمي سَماحَتُهُ حَقيقَةَ عِرضِهِ

إِنَّ السَماحَةَ حارِسُ الأَعراضِ

His generosity safeguards the reality of his honor

For generosity is guardian of honors

إِن يُمسِ عَدلاً في قَضِيَّتِهِ فَقَد

أَمسى عَلى الأَموالِ أَجوَرَ قاضي

If he judges fairly in his decree he has then

Become wages for the wealth like an appointed judge

شَرِسُ الخَلائِقِ في الوَغى فَإِذا اِحتَبى

في القَومِ فَهُوَ المُسمِحُ المُتَغاضي

Fierce of manner in battle, but if he inclines

Towards the people then he is the easy forgiver

قَد جَرَّبَتهُ يَدُ الخَلائِقِ فَاِكتَفَت

مِنهُ بِعَزمَةِ مُبرِمٍ نَقّاضِ

The hands of people have tested him, so they sufficed

From him with the resolve of a determined decisor

فَرّاجُ كُلِّ مُلِمَّةٍ تَعرو وَفي

هَبَواتِ كُلِّ كَريهَةٍ خَوّاضِ

A soother of every crisis that arises and in

The tumults of every loathsome disaster a diver

أَلفَوهُ مَخشِيَّ المَكائِدِ يُرتَجى

لِشِفاءِ ما أَعيا مِنَ الأَمراضِ

They found him wary of plots, hoped for

To cure the frustrated by illnesses

مَلِكٌ يَبيتُ اّلوَفدُ مِن أَلطافِهِ

وَنَداهُ بَينَ مَرابعٍ وَحِياضِ

A king whom delegations spend the night for his kindness

And his calls between enclosures and gardens

فَإِذا نَحاهُ المُعتَفونَ وَعَرَّسوا

بِذَراهُ أَنقاضاً عَلى أَنقاضِ

So if those granted safety move him aside and marry

With his offspring the ruins to ruins

رَحَلوا بِها مُغتَصَّةً أَنساعُها

خِصباً وَكُنَّ حَوائِلَ الأَعراضِ

They depart with it, their bags overflowing

Fertile, though they be containers of honor

في كَفِّهِ طَيّانُ أَرقَشُ لِلعِدى

مِنهُ لِسانُ الحَيَّةِ النَضناضِ

In his palm the scribbles of Arqash to the enemy

From him the tongue of the hissing snake

ما أُنشِبَت في النائِباتِ نُيوبُهُ

إِلّا أَرَتكَ بِها نُدوبَ عِضاضِ

Not for the vicissitudes were his wolves unleashed

Except that you see their wounds as bites

وَإِذا اِنتَضاهُ عَلى الخُطوبِ تَضاءَلَت

بيضٌ بِأَيدي المُصلِتينَ مَواضِ

And if roused against misfortunes, the whites

In the hands of reconcilers become dark

مِن أَسهُمٍ بُرِيَت لِخَيرِ مُناضِلٍ

كَفّاً وَخَيرِ كَنانَةٍ وَوِفاضِ

Of arrows created for the best warrior

Palms and the best of spears and bounty

يُصمي بِهِ قَلبَ العَدُوِّ مُرامِياً

مِن غَيرِ ما نَزعٍ وَلا إِنباضِ

He makes the heart of the enemy a target, shooting

Without pulling or tension

يا طالِبي مَسعاهُ في طَلَبِ العُلى

طاشَت سِهامُكُمُ عَنِ الأَعراضِ

O you who seek his heights in pursuit of ascension

Your arrows have strayed from honor

خَلّوا لَهُ طُرُقَ المَعالي وَاِفرِجوا

لِمُدَرَّبٍ بِسُلوكِها مُرتاضِ

Leave to him the paths of glory and make way

For one trained in traversing them, intent

وَإِذا القُرومُ البُزلُ أَعياهُم تَوَ

لُّجُها فَكَيفَ يُخاضُ بِاِبنِ مَخاضِ

When the worthless rabble are confounded by them, then how

Can the son of childbirth be up to it?

يا مُنهِضي حَتّى لَطِرتُ مُحَلِّقاً

في عَصرِهِ بِجَناحَي المِنهاضِ

O you who rouse me until I was soaring

With wings of resolve in his time

أَنهَضَتني مِن كَبوَةٍ لا تَملِكُ ال

أَيّامُ مِن عَثَراتِها إِنهاضي

You roused me from a disgrace days cannot

Rally me from its stumbling

أَحيَيتَ مَيتَ الجودِ يا اِبنَ مُحَمَّدٍ

وَلقَدَ يُرى حَرَضاً مِنَ الأَحراضِ

You revived the dead of generosity, O son of Mohammed

Truly, keenness is seen from the tombs

فَأَصِخ لِنَظمِ لَآلِىءً قَذَفَت بِها

أَصدافُها مِن زاخرٍ فَيّاضِ

So grant freely pearls strewn

By their shells from a bountiful copious one

مُتَأَرِّجاتٍ بِالثَناءِ كَأَنَّما

حُمِّلنَ نَشرَ خَمائِلٍ وَرِياضِ

Swaying with praise as if they were carried

The diffusion of perfect gardens

عُفنَ المَوارِدَ عِفَّةً وَالشِعرُ قَد

ذيدَت كَرائِمُهُ عَنِ الأَحواضِ

Preserving the freshness of meaning while poetry

Its nobilities are diminished from the pools

يَأبى عَلى الخِلِّ المُواصِلِ عِطفُها

تيهاً فَكَيفَ بِهاجِرٍ مِعراضِ

Its continuous passion denies meeting

So how can it accommodate an aloof abstainer

فَتَلَقَّ شَهرَكَ بِالقُبولِ مُهَيّاً

بِلِباسِ إِقبالٍ عَليكَ مُفاضِ

Receive your month with acceptance, eagerly

With the dress of devotion to you, diffusing

لا زالَ بَحرُكَ بِالمَكارِمِ طامِياً

وَسَحابُ جيدِكَ دائِمَ الإيماضِ

Still does your sea surge with virtues

And the cloud of your generosity, ever raining