1. عَن يانع الحُسن بَعدَ الوَصلِ أَلواني

    دَهري وَغيّر بِالهُجران أَلواني

    From beauty in full bloom, after union, I was turned away

    by my fate, which changed my colors through estrangement.

  2. وَما اِكتَفى بِالجَفا حَتّى رَمى خلَدي

    عَمداً بسهم لَياليهِ فَأَصماني

    Nor did it stop at cruelty, but shot at my heart

    deliberately, with the arrow of its nights, and struck me dead.

  3. وَلَيسَ لي عِندَهُ ذَنب يحرّضه

    عَلى تلافي سِوى حُبّي وَكتماني

    And in its eyes I have no fault to incite it

    to destroy me, save my love and my secrecy.

  4. إِلَيكَ يا دَهر عَني قَد وَهيَ جلَدي

    وَاِندقَّ عَظمي وَهدّ الوَجدُ بُنياني

    Away from me, O Time! My endurance has failed,

    and my bones are crushed; love's torment has demolished my frame.

  5. وَحاصر السقمُ حصنَ الجسم فانثلمت

    أَسوارُه وَاِنثَنى عَن رَأبِها باني

    And sickness besieged the body's fortress, breaching

    its walls; a builder turned away from mending them.

  6. وَكُنتَ عاهَدتَني أَن لا تَمين فَلَم

    تصدق وَأَنكرتَني مِن بَعد عرفان

    And you had pledged to me that you would not lie, yet you did not

    speak truth, and disowned me after knowing me.

  7. وَعاذلي مرّ بي يَوماً كَعادتِه

    فَما رَأى لي خَيالاً بَينَ جِيراني

    My reprover passed by me one day, as was his custom,

    but saw not even my shadow among my neighbors.

  8. فَقالَ يا أَهلَ هَذا الحَيِّ ما فَعلت

    يَدُ الهَوى في شجيٍّ بَينَكُم عاني

    He said, 'O people of this quarter, what has

    the hand of love done to a grieving captive among you?

  9. أَناصحٌ بَعد هَذا الغيِّ أَرشدَهُ

    حرصاً عَلَيهِ إِلى تَركٍ وَسلوان

    Has an adviser, after this waywardness, guided him,

    out of concern for him, toward renunciation and consolation?

  10. أَم نالَ ما كانَ يَرجو قَبل مَصرعه

    أَو فاظَ مِن فَرط أَشواقٍ وَأَشجان

    Or did he attain what he hoped for before his death,

    or die from an excess of longing and sorrow?'

  11. قالوا سَمعنا أَنيناً مِنهُ أَورثنا

    بثّاً وَعَنا تَوارى جسمُه الفاني

    They said, 'We heard his groaning, which left us

    distressed; his perishing body vanished from our sight.'

  12. فَعاد فَوراً عَلى الأَعقاب مُكتَفِياً

    بِما رَوى دُون تَحقيق وَتبيان

    So he turned back on his heels at once, content

    with the tale he relayed, without verification or clarification.

  13. وَنَبّأ الناس أَني متُّ مِن أَسَفٍ

    عَلى رَشاً ما له في حُسنه ثاني

    And he told people that I had died of grief

    over a young gazelle whose beauty has no equal,

  14. مهفهفٍ تزدري بِالشَمس طلعتُه

    وَيخجل البَدرُ مِن طَرفٍ لَهُ راني

    a slender one whose countenance scorns the sun,

    and the full moon blushes before his gazing eye;

  15. وَأَغيدٍ دُونَهُ مِن لَحظِه خفرٌ

    يَحمي شَقائقَ نعمانٍ وَعقيان

    a graceful youth, before whom his glance stands guard,

    protecting Nu'man's anemones and pure gold.

  16. هَيهات أَرغب عَن ذُلِّي لعزته

    أَو عَن ثَنَا حسنٍ في نَظم دِيوان

    Never would I forsake my abasement before his might,

    or the praise of Hasan in a book of verse.

  17. هُوَ الأَمير الَّذي صانَت مَناصبَه

    سِياسةٌ زانَها مِنهُ بإتقان

    He is the prince whose offices have been safeguarded

    by statecraft made splendid through his mastery.

  18. وَقَد غَدا راسِماً أَقطارَ دائرةٍ

    عُظمى عَلى مُستوى يُمنٍ وإِحسان

    And he now traces the diameters of a circle

    vast, upon a plane of good fortune and beneficence.

  19. وَأَيَّد الحَق فيها مِن فَضائله

    بِحِكَمٍ وَدِراياتٍ وَبُرهان

    And within it he has upheld truth through his virtues,

    with wise judgments, knowledge, and proof.

  20. وَفازَ بِالسَبق في مضمار منطقه

    حَتّى تَميز عَن قسٍّ وَسَحبان

    And he has taken the lead on the racecourse of his eloquence,

    so that he outshone Quss and Sahban.

  21. فَكَم لَهُ مِن تَدابيرٍ مؤسسةٍ

    عَلى ذَكاءٍ وَإنصافٍ وَإمعان

    How many of his plans are founded

    upon intelligence, fairness, and careful consideration!

  22. وَكَم أَضاءَت دَياجي المُشكلات بِما

    لفكره مِن علا رَأيٍ وَرجحان

    And how often the darkness of difficulties has brightened through

    his thought's lofty judgment and sound discernment!

  23. وَكَم لأقلامه بالحَزم قَد سَجدَت

    بيضٌ وَسُمرٌ وَأَفواهٌ لنيران

    And how often, before his resolute pens, have bowed

    gleaming swords, dusky spears, and mouths of fire!

  24. فَكَيفَ يَثني عَناني عَن مَدائحه

    وَنشرِ عطرِ شَذاها في الوَرى ثاني

    How could anyone turn my reins away from his praises,

    and from spreading their fragrant scent among mankind?

  25. وَالناس قَد أَجمَعوا في مصر قاطِبةً

    بِأَنَّهُ لِلمَعالي خَيرُ إِنسان

    And all the people in Egypt have agreed

    that he is the finest man for noble pursuits.

  26. وَهَذِهِ مِن سَجاياه مُحبَّرةٌ

    تَنزهَّت عَن مُغالاةٍ وَنُقصان

    And this finely wrought poem, drawn from his virtues,

    is free of exaggeration and deficiency.

  27. أَهدَيتُها وَرَجائي مِن مَكارمه

    أَن لا يُقابلَها مِنهُ بهجران

    I have offered it; my hope in his generosity is

    that he will not receive it with rejection.

  28. لِأَنَّها قَد تحلت مِن مَناقبه

    بِجوهرٍ عقدُه ما شانَهُ شاني

    For, from his virtues, it has adorned itself

    with jewels whose necklace no detractor has marred.

  29. لا زالَ في هَذِهِ الأَوطان مُمتطِياً

    متنَ العلا بَينَ أَصحاب وَأَخدان

    May he ever, in these lands, remain astride

    the back of glory, among companions and close friends,

  30. ما غرّدت في نَضير الرَوض ساجِعةٌ

    شَوقاً إِلى إلفِها مِن فَوق أَغصان

    as long as a cooing bird sings in the lush garden,

    yearning for its mate from atop the branches,

  31. أَو قُلتُ أَشكو الهَوى في بدء مدحته

    عَن يانع الحُسنِ بَعدَ الوَصلِ أَلواني

    or I say, lamenting love at the opening of his praise:

    'From beauty in full bloom, after union, I was turned away.'