1. مِعْصَمها من سوارها اعتَقرا

    وخدُّها من لِحاظها انفطرا

    Her wrist was wounded by her bracelet,

    and her cheek was rent by her glances.

  2. رِقَّة خَصْر ولين مُحتضَن

    كرِقَة الماء إذا صفا فجرى

    A delicate waist and a body soft to embrace,

    like the delicacy of water when it clears and flows.

  3. تكاد عند الكلام إن نطقت

    تنحَلّ من كل مَفْصِل خَفرا

    When she speaks, she almost

    comes undone at every joint from bashfulness.

  4. من لي بتقبيل مَن هوِيت وقد

    أذَبتُها قبل لمسها نظرا

    Who will let me kiss the one I love, when

    I have melted her with my gaze before touching her?

  5. كأنما المسك ذاب من فمها

    والصبح من صحن خدّها سفرا

    As though musk had melted from her mouth,

    and dawn had shone from the expanse of her cheek.

  6. وأسودَّ للحسن فَرْقُ لِمَّتها

    واحمرَّ مُبيضُّها ليستعرا

    And, for beauty's sake, the parting of her tresses grew black,

    and her white skin reddened to blaze.

  7. فصار لليل فرعُها غَسَقا

    وصار للنار لونها شَررَا

    So her tresses became darkness for the night,

    and her complexion became sparks for the fire.

  8. لو حملتها العيون ما ألِمتْ

    ولو حواها الفؤاد ما شعرا

    If eyes carried her, they would not ache,

    and if the heart held her, it would not feel her.

  9. كأنها خَطْرة النسيم إذا

    وافى من الروض لِينُه سَحَرا

    She is like a passing stir of breeze, when

    its softness arrives from the meadow before dawn,

  10. أو مُنْية نالها مؤمِّلها

    من قبل أن يستتمّها فِكرا

    or a wish attained by the one who hoped for it,

    before he fully formed it in thought.

  11. تفترُّ عنْ كالجمان منتظِم

    يُصافح اللثم بارداً خَصِرا

    She smiles, revealing teeth like strung pearls,

    which greet kisses, cool and cold to the touch.

  12. لو صوّرت خَلْقَها إرادتُها

    ما قدَّرته كمثل ما قُدِرا

    Had her own will fashioned her form,

    it could not have designed it as it was ordained.

  13. كالمسك نَشْراً والبرق مبتسَما

    والغصن قدّاً والحِقْف مؤتَزرا

    Like musk in scent, lightning in her smile,

    and a branch in stature, a curved sand dune at her hips.

  14. سارَقها الصبحُ ضوءَ غُرَّتها

    إلى اللَّمَى والشقيقَ والحَوَرا

    Dawn stole from her the light of her brow,

    along with dusky lips, anemone-red cheeks, and the black-and-white of her eyes.

  15. والتقطت لفظَها مواشِطُها

    فنظّمته لِعقدها دُرَرا

    And her hairdressers gathered up her words,

    then strung them as pearls for her necklace.

  16. ومازج الليل شمس مبسمها

    وابتزَّ منها لأُفْقه قمرا

    And night mingled with the sun of her smiling mouth,

    and snatched from her a moon for its horizon.

  17. ما سِرُّكم يستسرُّ بِي وَلَهٌ

    منكم إذا قلتُ قد خَفَى ظهرا

    Your secret will not stay hidden; an ardent longing lives in me

    for you: whenever I say it has hidden, it appears.

  18. يستوقِف الصبرَ عن لجاجته

    ويستحثُّ الدموع والسهرا

    It stops patience from persisting stubbornly,

    and spurs on tears and sleeplessness.

  19. لا نائلاً منكُم ولا بخلا

    ولا وروداً بكم ولا صَدَرا

    Neither bounty from you nor withholding,

    neither coming to you nor departing.

  20. ليتِك لمَّا قدَرتِ سالكةٌ

    طُرْق نِزار في الفضل إذ قدرا

    Would that, when you gained power, you had followed

    Nizar's paths of generosity when he held power.

  21. بدا بمعروفه ونائلِه

    واحتقر السيّئات واغتفرا

    He came forth with kindness and bounty,

    and made light of misdeeds and forgave them.

  22. سما فطال النجومَ مبتدِئاً

    وجاد عفواً فأخجل المطرا

    He rose and surpassed the stars from the outset,

    and gave unbidden, putting the rain to shame.

  23. أرقَّ أملاكِ هاشمٍ أدبا

    وخيرهم منظَراً ومختبرَا

    The most refined in manners of Hashim's kings,

    and the best of them in appearance and proven character.

  24. يبذل قبل السؤال نائِلَهُ

    ثم يلاقي العُفَاة معتذرا

    He gives his bounty before he is asked,

    then meets petitioners apologetically.

  25. تكرُّماً كان قبل مولِده

    يَدْرسُه في حياته سُوَرا

    A generosity that existed before his birth,

    which he studies throughout his life as sacred chapters.

  26. أبلج يستعصِم الأنامُ به

    ويسمع الدهرُ منه ما أمرا

    Radiant, one in whom humanity seeks refuge,

    and Time hears from him whatever he commands.

  27. يُعِدّ للخطب صَوْلة فَرَطا

    وعزمة هاشميَّة ذكرَا

    He readies an onslaught against calamity in advance,

    and a manly Hashimite resolve,

  28. حزماَ يَرَى الأمير قبل موقِعه

    به وعزماً يسابق القَدَرا

    prudence—the prince foresees calamity before it strikes

    through it—and resolve that outruns fate.

  29. وللمعالي عليه أُبَّهةٌ

    تملأ قلبَ الشجاع والبصرا

    And lofty virtues lend him a majesty

    that fills the brave man's heart and sight.

  30. بَذَّ قريشاً وطال هاشمَها

    وفات في كلّ صالح مُضَرا

    He outstripped Quraysh and surpassed its Hashimite clan,

    and outdid Mudar in every virtue.

  31. كأنك الشمس مَن ينافسها

    لكي يرى مثلها فقد حَسِرا

    You are like the sun: whoever vies with it

    to see its equal has already grown weary.

  32. يا مَلِيكاً أُمُّ مالِه أبداً

    تَفْقِده قبل يبلغُ الكبرا

    O king, whose wealth's mother always

    loses it before it reaches old age,

  33. جوداً يصوب الأنامَ عارضُه

    منك وينهّل مُزْنه دِرَرا

    with generosity whose raincloud showers humanity

    from you, and whose clouds pour down torrents.

  34. يختصر الناسُ بذلَ نائلهم

    ولست تأتيه أنت مختَصِرا

    People curtail the giving of their bounty,

    yet you yourself do not give it sparingly.

  35. يأنس قلبُ العلا إليك إذا

    فَرَّ من المدّعين أو نفرا

    The heart of glory feels at home with you when

    it flees from pretenders or recoils.

  36. هَنَاك عِيدٌ زجرتُ أحرفه

    فألاً وقِدْماً أصاب من زجرا

    May the feast bring you joy! I divined its letters

    as a good omen; of old, diviners read true.

  37. فكان معناه أن يعود به

    عليك سعدٌ يقرِّب الظفرا

    Its meaning was that, with it, there should return

    to you good fortune that brings victory near.

  38. فقُلْ لوفد السعود قَدْك نوىً

    وقُلْ لكيد الحسود سوف ترى

    Then tell the delegation of good fortunes, 'Enough of separation!'

    and tell the envious one's plotting, 'You shall see!'

  39. لم يخلق الله فيك ساقطة

    تُسخن عين العلا ولا كَدرا

    God created in you no failing

    to make glory's eye burn with grief, nor any taint.

  40. يا بن معزّ الهدى وحسبُك أن

    تغُدو به سامياً ومفتخرا

    O son of Mu'izz al-Huda, it is enough that you

    become exalted and proud through him.

  41. يا صفوة الله من بَرِيَّتِهِ

    وسِرَّ عليائه الذي ظهرا

    O God's chosen one from among His creation,

    and the secret of His sublimity, now made manifest.

  42. إنك من معشر همُ جمعوا

    شمل المعالي ودوّخوا البشرا

    You belong to a people who have gathered

    all lofty virtues together and subdued humanity.

  43. لم يألف الدينُ غيرهم نفَراً

    له ولم يرض غيرهم زُمَرا

    Religion has embraced none but them as a people

    of its own, and has accepted no other bands.

  44. فهاكها سِمطَ دُرّ مَعْلُوةٍ

    منتظِماً لفظُه ومنتثرِا

    So take it, a lofty necklace of pearls,

    its words both strung together and scattered.

  45. وأجعله حَلْيا لجِيد مجدك في الدْ

    دهر وسيفاً له ومنتصرا

    And I make it an ornament for your glory's neck throughout

    time, and a sword and champion for it.

  46. مِن لوذعيِّ الطباع منتصح

    ما خان نُعماك لا ولا غدرا

    From a man of keen-witted nature, sincere in counsel,

    who never betrayed your favors—no, nor acted treacherously.

  47. كم لك عندي من نعمةٍ ويد

    مشكورة والوفيّ مَنْ شكرا

    How many a blessing and helping hand I have from you,

    acknowledged with thanks; loyal is the one who gives thanks.