1. قَد هَوَيناهُ ناقِضاً للعُهودِ

    وَضَنيناً بِالوعدِ والموعودِ

    We have loved him even as he breaks his pledges,

    and is stingy with promises and what he promises.

  2. وَرَضينا ما كانَ منهُ وَإِنْ أرْ

    مَضَنا من تجنّبٍ وصُدودِ

    We accepted whatever came from him, even though

    his avoidance and aversion scorched us.

  3. يَمطُلُ الشيءَ في يديهِ وزادَ الْ

    مَطلَ لؤماً أنْ كان بالمَوجودِ

    He delays giving what lies in his hands; all the baser

    is the delay, since he already has it.

  4. يا خَليليَّ وَالرّكائبُ يطلُعْ

    نَ بنا من تهائمٍ ونُجُودِ

    O my two companions, as the riding-camels climb

    with us from lowlands and uplands,

  5. وقفةً في زَرودَ فالقلبُ يهوى

    منكمُ وقفةً بحَبْلَيْ زَرودِ

    pause in Zarud, for the heart longs

    for you to halt by Zarud's twin sand-ridges.

  6. فزَرودٌ ممّا أودُّ وإن كا

    ن إلى الرّكبِ ليس بالمودودِ

    For Zarud is among the things I love, though

    the caravan does not hold it dear.

  7. وهناكَ الغرامُ أضحى وإنْ أو

    دى زرُودٌ وأهلُهُ غيرُ مودِ

    There passion has come to dwell, though

    Zarud has perished and its people have not.

  8. وظِباءٌ غَنِينَ بالنّظمِ في المي

    سَمِ عن نظمِ لؤلُؤٍ في عقودِ

    And gazelles whose well-ordered features spared them

    pearls strung into necklaces,

  9. وبِحَلْيٍ قد صاغَه اللهُ في اللَّب

    باتِ والجيد عن حُلِيِّ الجِيدِ

    and whose God-fashioned adornment on their

    upper chests and necks spared them neck-jewels.

  10. قلن لمّا رأينَ وخْطاً من الشّي

    بِ برأسِي أعيا على مَجهودِي

    They said, when they saw a sprinkling of gray

    upon my head, defying all my efforts—

  11. كسَنا بارِقٍ تعرّض وَهْناً

    في حواشِي بعضِ اللّيالِي السُّودِ

    like the gleam of lightning appearing late at night

    along the fringes of some black nights—

  12. أبياضٌ مُجَدَّدٌ في سوادٍ

    كان قدماً لا مرحباً بالجديدِ

    "Is this new whiteness amid blackness

    that has long been there? No welcome to the new!"

  13. يا لحاكنَّ مِنْ رماكُنَّ بالحُس

    نِ لِتَقْهرنَنا بغيرِ جنودِ

    Ah, may he rebuke you who bestowed beauty upon you

    so that you could conquer us without armies!

  14. ليس بيضِي مَنِّي فأجري عليهن

    نَ صدوداً وليس مِنكنّ سودِي

    My white hairs are not my doing: direct upon them

    your aversion; my black hairs are not your doing either.

  15. قلّما ضرّكنّ من شَعَرَاتٍ

    كنَّ يوماً على الوَقارِ شُهودِي

    Little harm have you suffered from a few hairs

    that once bore witness to my dignity.

  16. لبهاءِ الملوكِ والدّين والدَّوْ

    لة شكرِي والفَرْطُ من تمجيدِي

    To the Splendor of Kings, Religion, and the

    State go my thanks and my overflowing praise.

  17. وَبِأيّامه السَّعيدةِ أعطي

    تُ لواءَ التّعديل والتّوحيدِ

    In his fortunate days I was granted

    the banner of justice and divine unity.

  18. وبجَدٍّ منه أروح وأحرا

    رُ المعانِي وإنْ غَمِضْنَ عبيدِي

    With good fortune from him, I go forth, while the freeborn

    meanings, though obscure, are my slaves.

  19. كُنتُ قبلَ اِصطِناعهِ أَنظرُ الدّن

    يا عُزوفاً وعِفَّةً من بعيدِ

    Before his patronage, I regarded the world

    from afar, in detachment and self-restraint.

  20. فَأَتاني منهُ كَريمٌ تَولّى

    مَدَّ ضَبْعِي حتّى أقامَ قعودِي

    Then a gracious favor came from him to me, undertaking

    to strengthen my arm until it raised me from sitting.

  21. ودعانِي ولو سواه دعانِي

    ما رآنِي إلّا بعيدَ الهُجودِ

    He summoned me; had anyone else summoned me,

    he would only have seen me after I had slept.

  22. قد أتتنِي نُعماك يا مالكَ النا

    سِ على أَنّنِي بِمَرمى البعيدِ

    Your favors have reached me, O master of

    men, though I am far out of reach,

  23. غافلاً عن مواهبٍ منك وافي

    ن فحلَّينَنِي وقلّدْنَ جِيدِي

    unaware of gifts from you that arrived

    and adorned me, hanging necklaces about my neck.

  24. جِئْن عفواً من غيرِ كدٍّ وما نَيْ

    لُكَ فينا بالنّائلِ المكدودِ

    They came freely, without toil; your bounty

    to us is no gift obtained through toil.

  25. لقبٌ كنتُ قبله كاليمانيِّ

    قد أتى عارياً بغير بُرودِ

    A title—before it, I was like a Yemeni

    who came naked, without striped cloaks,

  26. أَو كَدَعوى صِدْقٍ أضرُّ بها عن

    دَ أَلَدٍّ أنْ لم تكنْ بشهودِ

    or like a truthful claim most harmed, before

    a stubborn opponent, by its lack of witnesses.

  27. وإذا كنتُ مرتضىً عند مَلْكِ النّا

    سِ طُرّاً فمن يكون نديدي

    And if I am Murtada—the approved—in the eyes of the king of

    all mankind, who could be my equal,

  28. بعد ما كنتُ ثاوياً في أُناسٍ

    أرْتعي منهمُ جَميمَ الحقودِ

    after I had dwelt among people,

    grazing on the lush growth of their grudges?

  29. نَشدوا الحالَ حيثُ ساءَ فإن كا

    ن جميلاً فليس بالمنشودِ

    They sought news of my condition when it was bad; if

    it was good, it was not what they sought.

  30. أنَا نَصْلٌ سَلَلْتَهُ لأعادي

    كَ وكم ذا سللتَ من مغمودِ

    I am a blade you have drawn against

    your enemies; how many sheathed blades you have drawn!

  31. وَبِتَشريفك الّذي يرفع النّا

    ظرَ ما بان سيّدٌ من مسودِ

    In your ennobling, which lifts the gaze,

    lies a lord's distinction from one who is ruled.

  32. أيُّ عزٍّ بحيثُ أنت لمن يم

    تارُ عزّاً وأيُّ مَغْنى وفودِ

    What glory there is where you are for one who gathers

    glory, and what a haven for delegations!

  33. وإذا زارَهُ العُفاةُ أصابو

    هُ مَرادَ النّدى ومَحْنى العودِ

    When petitioners visit it, they find

    it the place to seek bounty, where the bough bends,

  34. والمحلَّ الّذي به نَظَمَ الل

    هُ من الملك كلَّ شملٍ بَديدِ

    and the abode in which God has brought together

    every scattered part of the realm.

  35. قَد رَأَينا الّذينَ عاصوكَ بِالأَمْ

    سِ وحادوا عن ظلِّكَ الممدودِ

    We have seen those who disobeyed you yesterday

    and turned aside from your outspread shade:

  36. بَينَ عانٍ في القيدِ غير طليقٍ

    وقَتيلٍ بالسّيفِ غير شهيدِ

    a captive in fetters, not free,

    and one slain by the sword, not a martyr,

  37. وشريدٍ يوَدُّ أنّ الرّدى صُب

    بَ عليه في فَيلقٍ من حَديدِ

    and a fugitive who wishes death were poured

    upon him in a battalion of iron,

  38. أَشِبٍ بالقنا يُخالُ وأبنا

    ءُ المنايا فيه عرينُ أُسودِ

    dense with spears, seeming—with the sons

    of death within it—a lions' den;

  39. وَرِجالٍ لا يحفِلون إذا ما

    رَئموا الضّيمَ حَفْلةً بالوعيدِ

    and men who, when they endure humiliation,

    pay not the slightest heed to threats,

  40. كَصلالِ الرِّمالِ أَو كَذئابِ ال

    قاعِ رُقشاً هَبَبْنَ بعد رُكودِ

    like the sands' vipers, or like the wolves of the

    plain, mottled, roused after stillness,

  41. كلِّ مُسترسلٍ إلى القِرْنِ ثَبْتٍ

    للمنايا كالصَّخرةِ الصَّيخودِ

    each rushing at his opponent, steadfast

    before death like a massive, unyielding rock,

  42. مُنْتَمٍ إنْ لَزَزْتَهُ عند جرثو

    مَةِ فَخرٍ منها إِلى خيرِ عودِ

    tracing descent, if you press him, from a root

    of glory back to the noblest stock.

  43. لا اِقتَرَبْنا إلّا إِليكَ ولا زُرْ

    ناك إلّا عن سَيْبِكَ المورودِ

    We have approached none but you, nor have we visited

    you except for your bounty to which all flock.

  44. وَقَضى اللّهُ في عَطاياك منهُ

    وعطاياك عندنا بالمزيدِ

    And God has decreed, for His gifts to you

    and your gifts to us, still further increase.

  45. ثُمّ نَادى في دارِ مُلْكك يادا

    رُ أقيمِي محروسةً لا تبيدِي

    Then He called within your royal house: "O house,

    remain guarded; never perish!"

  46. وَمِنَ الآنِ فَاِستَمعْ لِنِدائي

    بأياديك كلَّ بيتٍ شَرودِ

    From now on, listen to my proclamation

    of your favors in every far-ranging verse—

  47. عَبِقٍ بِالقَبولِ ما كان عن حَب

    بِ قلوبِ الرّجالِ بالمطرودِ

    fragrant with acceptance, never driven from the core

    of men's hearts.

  48. وَإِذا لَم يَكُنْ إِلى بابِك المَع

    مورِ قَصدِي لعائقٍ فَقَصيدي

    And if I cannot reach your well-frequented

    door because of an obstacle, then my poem will come.