1. ذا صباح الصبوح يا ميُّ أشرقْ

    أم محياك فهو أبهى وأشرقْ

    Has this dawn of the morning draught shone forth, O Mayy,

    Or your face, more splendid and more radiant?

  2. والحباب الذي تبسم أم ثغ

    رك باللؤلؤ المنضد أبرق

    And is it the wine's foam that has smiled, or has your

    Mouth flashed with pearls arrayed in rows?

  3. جددي بالشموس عهد الليالي ال

    بيض يا ضرة الشموس بجلق

    With suns, renew the memory of those white

    Nights, O rival of the suns in Jilliq.

  4. واصبحيني اللَمى بديلاً من الرا

    ح فراح اللمى ألذ وأروق

    And serve me your dusky lips at dawn instead of

    Wine; the wine of dusky lips is sweeter and clearer.

  5. ما الذي نتقيه من بعد ما خي

    يم روح الربى علينا وسردق

    What need we fear, now that

    The hills' breeze has camped over us and spread its canopy,

  6. وتناءى الرقيب عنا وغنى

    بلبل الغاب حين غاب وزقزق

    And the watcher has withdrawn from us, and there sings

    The woodland nightingale, chirping when he is gone?

  7. لا يصاد الوفا بفخ التواني

    فغزال الصفا من السهم أمرق

    Fidelity is not caught in the snare of indolence;

    For the gazelle of pure affection is swifter than an arrow.

  8. ونوال السرور يا نور عيني

    ليس في كل ساعةٍ يتوفَّق

    And attaining joy, O light of my eye,

    Does not come about at every hour.

  9. فهلمي فداك خالي وعمي

    نغنم الأنس قبل ما يتفرق

    Come—may my maternal and paternal uncles be your ransom—

    Let us seize companionship before it disperses.

  10. وارجعي بالوصال قلبي لصدري

    فبذيل الوصال قلبي تعلَّق

    And through reunion return my heart to my breast;

    For my heart has clung to reunion's hem.

  11. كاعتلاق العلى بذيل فريقٍ

    من فريق علا على كل فيلق

    As glory clings to the hem of a commander

    From a company that rose above every legion.

  12. جاده اِسحاق بالفضائل حتى

    باسمه فهو للضلالة يسحق

    Ishaq showered him with virtues, even

    In his name, for he crushes error.

  13. وهو شاه الوغى الذي كل قرمٍ

    غيره في سياسة الجيش بيدق

    He is the king of battle; every champion

    Besides him is a pawn in the command of armies.

  14. وفصيحٌ سما الصفيَّ وغازٍ

    ساد ممدوحَه الكميَّ ابنَ أرتق

    Eloquent, he surpassed al-Safi; as a warrior,

    He outdid the hero al-Safi praised, the valiant Ibn Artuq.

  15. لم يدع جوده لحاتم ذكراً

    لا ولا حلمه لأحنف رونق

    His generosity left Hatim no renown;

    No, nor did his forbearance leave Ahnaf any luster.

  16. لو تجزَّى سماحه ناب منه ال

    جزء عن كل لجةٍ تتدفق

    Were his bounty divided, a

    Part of it would stand in for every surging sea.

  17. أيها الماجد المجاهد قد أص

    بحتُ واللَهِ عن ملاذك موثق

    O noble warrior, I have

    Become, by God, fettered away from your refuge,

  18. بقيودٍ تكوَّنت من دم السا

    ق التي صبها الجواد الملهوق

    With fetters formed from the blood of the

    Leg, which the white steed spilled.

  19. وأظن الوزير يقبل عذر

    فأنا اليوم كالقطاة وأصدق

    And I think the vizier will accept my excuse;

    For today I am like the sandgrouse—and more truthful still.

  20. وعسى اللَه أن يمن ببرءٍ

    ويرينيك بالسمرة تُغبَق

    And may God grant me recovery,

    And let me see you by the acacia, served your evening draught.

  21. فأنادي ونور وجهك بادٍ

    ذا صباح الصبوح يا ميُّ أشرق

    Then I shall call, the light of your face shining:

    This dawn of the morning draught has shone forth, O Mayy!