1. نَظَرنَ بأَسيافٍ عَليها جُفُونُها

    قَواطِعُ في أيدي هَوىً لا تَخُونُها

    They gazed with swords, their eyelids serving as sheaths,

    Keen blades in passion's hands, never betraying those hands.

  2. سَواكِنُ إلا أنَّ بينَ جَوانِحي

    لَها حَركاتٌ يَقتَضِيها سُكونُها

    Motionless—yet between my ribs

    They have movements that their stillness calls forth.

  3. هُو السُّقمُ إمَّا في قُلوبٍ يُذيبُها

    كقَلبي وإمَّا في جُفُونٍ يَزينُها

    It is languor: either in hearts, which it melts,

    Like my own, or in eyelids, which it adorns.

  4. فإن تَكُ ألحاظُ الغَواني ضَعِيفةً

    فَلي نظَرٌ فيها قَوِيٌّ يُعِينُها

    So if the glances of beautiful women are weak,

    Then I have a strong gaze upon them to lend them aid.

  5. ومَن عَبدَ الأهواءَ مثلَ عِبادَتي

    فَليسَ يُبالي أيّ دِينٍ يَدينُها

    And whoever worships desires as I do

    Cares not under what creed he worships them.

  6. وحَمراءَ كَالمرِّيخِ لَوناً وَقِدمَةٌ

    أتَت عَينُها لمَّا مَضَى عَربُونُها

    And a red wine, like Mars in color and age,

    The wine itself arrived after its down payment had gone ahead.

  7. فجاءَ بِها القِسِّيسُ يُوصي بِصَونِها

    وما أبتَغي ما كنتُ ممَّن يَصُونُها

    Then the priest brought it, urging that it be preserved;

    Nor do I seek that; I was never one to preserve it.

  8. لهَا حَبَبٌ يُنبِيكَ عَن طُولِ عُمرِها

    ألستَ تَراها كيفَ شابَت قُرونُها

    It has bubbles that tell you of its long life.

    Do you not see how its locks have turned gray?

  9. أقولُ لِساقِيها عَلى الظنِّ إنَّها

    تَدورُ وقَد رقِّت فَما أستَبِينُها

    I say to its cupbearer, only guessing, that it

    Passes round, grown so clear that I cannot discern it.

  10. ألا عَدِّها عَنِّي حَياءً فإنَّني

    أراها تَراني والحَبابُ عُيونُها

    Pray, turn it away from me, out of modesty, for I

    See it watching me, its bubbles its eyes.

  11. يُلَقِّحُها الشَّادِي وإن لم يَمَسَّها

    فَينشُو سُرُوراً في النُّفُوسِ جَنينُها

    The singer impregnates it, though he has not touched it,

    And its unborn child grows as joy within souls.

  12. طَرقتُ بها دارَ الهُمومِ وكيفَ لي

    هِي الأرضُ جَمعاً أو تكادُ تكُونُها

    I came by night with it to the house of cares—but how could I?

    It is the earth entire, or almost so.

  13. ولكنني أحبُو عقُولاً بشُربِها

    فَتَنسى نُفُوسٌ كيفَ تَجري شُؤونُها

    But I favor minds with a draught of it,

    So souls forget how their affairs unfold.

  14. فكلُّ فتىً يَسمو إلى حَيثُ نَفسُهُ

    علواً بأخلاقٍ له يَستَعِينُها

    For every young man rises to where his soul is,

    Ascending through virtues of his own on which he draws.

  15. كَما الدَّولةُ الزَّهراءُ حيثُ مكانُها

    مِن الأُفُقِ الأَعلَى يَكونُ مكِينُها

    Just as the radiant state: where its station lies

    At the highest horizon, there stands its mighty lord.

  16. أبو عَزَماتٍ كلُّ مَن جاءَ بَعدَه

    أخُوها إِذا جانَبنَه وخَدينُها

    Father of firm resolves: every man who comes after him

    Is their brother and companion, when they stand beside him.

  17. يُجيرُ عَلى الأيَّام وهيَ تَوَدُّهُ

    فَصارَ شَجاها عِندَه وشُجُونُها

    He grants protection against the days, though they love him,

    So their grief and tangled cares have come into his keeping.

  18. وتَلقاهُ فيما يَقبلُ الشُكرَ حائِزاً

    عَلى فَعَلاتٍ كلُّ شُكرٍ رَهينُها

    And in all that admits of thanks, you find him possessing

    Deeds to which all gratitude is pledged.

  19. فقَد جُدِّدَ الطُّوفانُ في الأرضِ والتَقَى

    بجُودِ يَدَيهِ مُزنُها ومَعينُها

    For the Flood has been renewed on earth, and together meet

    Through his hands' bounty its rainclouds and flowing waters.

  20. إِذا ما بِحارُ النَّائِباتِ تَغَطمَطَت

    فإنَّ المذاكي السَّابِحاتِ سَفِينُها

    When the seas of calamity roar and surge,

    Then the full-grown, swimming steeds are their ships.

  21. عَلى مثلِ هبَّاتِ الرِّياحِ اعتِسافُها

    إلى كلِّ خَطبٍ والرِّياحُ شُطُونُها

    Their headlong course is like the gusts of wind,

    Toward every crisis, with the winds for tethers.

  22. تَهونُ عَلَيهِ والجَبانُ يُعِزُّها

    وليسَ يُعِزُّ النَّفسَ إلا مُهِينُها

    Life is cheap to him, while the coward prizes it;

    And none honors the self except one who abases it.

  23. وإن بعَّدَت آراؤهُ البِيضَ قَبلَهُ

    فَأتباعُها حُمرُ المَنايا وجُونُها

    And if his counsels send white blades far ahead of him,

    Then red deaths and black ones follow in their wake.

  24. يؤلِّفُ بينَ الأسدِ تحتَ لِوائِه

    وكلُّ مكان حَلَّ فيهِ عَرِينُها

    He unites the lions beneath his banner,

    And every place he settles is their den.

  25. عَوادٍ ولا في كُلِّ حِينٍ وإنَّما

    إذا شاءَ أن يَعدُو بِها جاءَ حِينُها

    They charge, but not at every moment; only

    When he wills to charge with them does their moment come.

  26. كَساها كَما تُكسَى الرِّجالُ فأشكَلَت

    وشَكَّت نُفُوسٌ ثمَّ صحَّ يَقينُها

    He clothed them as men are clothed, so they became hard to distinguish;

    And souls doubted, then their certainty became firm.

  27. أخَذنا أحاديثَ الكِرامِ بِقسمَةٍ

    أسانِيدُها فينا وفيهم مُتُونُها

    We took the tales of noble men by allotment:

    Their chains of transmission lie with us, their substance with them.

  28. إذا سُرِّحَت لي في الثَّناءِ قَصِيدةٌ

    فَليتكَ في طُولِ البَقاءِ قَرينُها

    When a poem of mine is sent forth in praise,

    May you be its companion in long life.