1. بدائِعُ من أفعالهن البَدائِعُ

    ويتَّفقُ اللَّفظانِ والخُلفُ واقِعُ

    Wondrous beauties, among whose deeds are strange wonders;

    the two expressions agree, yet a difference remains.

  2. يدافِعُني عَنهنَّ بأسٌ معارِضٌ

    نَصوحٌ إذا ما قَرَّبتني المَطامِعُ

    An opposing strength holds me back from them,

    a faithful counselor when desires draw me near.

  3. أقولُ وقَد ألقيتُ للسَّلم جانِبي

    وبعضٌ لبعضٍ عَن فُؤادي مُدافِعُ

    I say, having yielded my side to peace,

    while some repel others from my heart:

  4. علامَ تَجمَّعتُنَّ من كلِّ فِتنةٍ

    كأنَّ عَلى قَلبي لكُنَّ مُنازِعُ

    Why have you gathered from every kind of enchantment,

    as though you had a rival for my heart?

  5. وما همَّةُ الإنسانِ إلا هُمومُه

    وإلا فما شُغلي بِما اللَّهُ صانِعُ

    And a person's ambition is nothing but his cares;

    otherwise, what concern have I with what God does?

  6. وإنِّي لَذو قَلبَينِ صابٍ وَصابِر

    كَما أَنا ذو دَمعَينِ عاصٍ وطائِعُ

    Indeed, I have two hearts: one yearning, one patient,

    just as I have two tears: one defiant, one obedient.

  7. أَلا إنَّ أَعداءَ القُلوبِ عيونُها

    كَما أنَّ أعداءَ العُيونِ البَراقِعُ

    Behold, the enemies of hearts are their eyes,

    just as the enemies of eyes are face veils.

  8. وأحمرَ قانٍ باتَ قَلبي يَسحُّهُ

    ومجراهُ من خدَّيَّ أصفرُ فاقِعُ

    And many a deep-crimson tear my heart poured out all night,

    and its channel along my cheeks was vivid yellow.

  9. له نحوكُم سَعيٌ بحالي وما سَعى

    ومَفهومُ قَولٍ ما وَعَته المسامِعُ

    It journeys toward you bearing my plight, yet has not journeyed,

    and conveys the meaning of words no ears have heard.

  10. بَكيتُ ولم أشعُر لقَلبي لما بِه

    وقد شَرَّقته بِالدُّموعِ المَدامِعُ

    I wept, unawares, for my heart and what afflicted it,

    while my tear ducts had choked it with tears.

  11. وراميةٍ وجهَ السَّماءِ بمثلِه

    سَراباً فكُلٌّ في مَدى الطرَّفِ واسِعُ

    And many a desert casting toward heaven's face a likeness of it—

    a mirage; each stretches far within the eye's reach.

  12. هَممتُ ومالي غيرُ عَزمٍ أعدُّه

    لمَعمورةٍ بالخَوفِ وهيَ بَلاقِعُ

    I resolved to go, with nothing but determination to make ready

    for a land peopled by fear, though it is barren waste.

  13. وذكر المُكنَّى بِالفَوارِسِ تاركٌ

    فوارِسَها شَخصي لَها الدَّهر رايعُ

    And remembrance of the man bynamed al-Fawaris leaves

    its horsemen forever terrified of my presence.

  14. فتىً خَشيَت في غابِه لأُسد صُحبَتي

    يُدافِعُ عنِّي بأسَها وتُدافِعُ

    A youth—in his thicket my company was fearsome to lions;

    he shields me from their fury, and they too fend it off,

  15. جَزاءً بِما أَضحَى يوقِّعُ رزقَها

    وتَمتثلُ التَّوقيعَ فيها الوَقائِعُ

    in recompense for his now decreeing their sustenance,

    and battles fulfill the decree concerning them.

  16. إذا استَيقَظَت أَسيافُه لعُداتِه

    فلَيسَ لَها طَرفٌ من الخَوف هاجِعُ

    When his swords awaken against his enemies,

    none of their eyes sleeps, for fear.

  17. يَمينٌ لَها في أنفسِ الخَلقِ حكمُها

    وبُرهانُه بَينَ البريَّةِ ذائِعُ

    A right hand whose rule extends over all creatures' lives,

    and his proof is renowned among humankind.

  18. يسارِعُ في يَوم اللِّقاءِ انتِهابَها

    وفي ردِّها يومَ العَطاءِ يُسارِعُ

    He hastens to plunder them on the day of battle,

    and hastens to restore them on the day of giving.

  19. ينالُ أميرُ المُؤمِنينَ لأَمرِه

    بناءً لَه من رأيهِ فيهِ رافِعُ

    The Commander of the Faithful gains for his cause

    an edifice raised for him by his counsel concerning it.

  20. ومثلُ إمامِ الدِّين يأتي صَنيعُهُ

    ومثلكَ يا بكجورُ تأتي الصَّنائِعُ

    One like the Imam of the faith brings forth his beneficence,

    and one like you, Bakjur, brings forth benefactions.

  21. لتأبى مُساواة المُلوكِ لك العُلى

    وأسمرُ نفَّاذٌ وأبيَضُ قاطِعُ

    Surely, high glory denies kings equality with you,

    as do a piercing brown lance and a sharp white sword,

  22. وخيلٌ سواءٌ عندها الكرُّ والكَلا

    كأنَّ الذي يَلقَى المَنِيَّةَ راتِعُ

    and horses to whom charging and pasture are alike,

    as though one who meets death were grazing at ease.

  23. فإنَّ الذي أمسَت فَوارِسُها به

    مِن الناسِ بينَ الخَيلِ والقَومِ شائِعُ

    For the quality their horsemen have come to possess

    among men is shared by the horses and the company.

  24. أتيتَ مِن الأَفعالِ ما يقتَدى بِه

    وإن كانَ مَولودٌ لمجدِكَ شافِعُ

    You have done deeds that others take as models,

    though a newborn lends support to your glory.

  25. وما غابَ عنَّا ما إِليه مَصيرُه

    ونورُكَ فيه لا مَحالَةَ لامِعُ

    And what he is destined for is not hidden from us,

    and your light will surely shine within him.

  26. أقولُ وما غَيري من الناسِ قائِلٌ

    ولا أحَدٌ في النَّاسِ غَيركَ سامِعُ

    I speak, and no one else among men is speaking,

    and none among men but you is listening.

  27. وكلٌّ لَه شِعرٌ ولكِنَّ مَسلَكي

    عَلَيهِ وإن نالَ المشَقَّةَ شاسِعُ

    Everyone has poetry, but my path

    through it, though fraught with hardship, stretches far.

  28. إذا طَلعت خيلٌ فخيلُكَ كلُّها

    لِسُرعتِها عِندَ النِزالِ طَلائِعُ

    When horses appear, all your horses

    are advance guards, so swift are they in battle.

  29. فسِر كيفَ ما أحبَبتَ في طلبِ العُلى

    فكلّ امرئٍ في قَصدِها لكَ تابِعُ

    So go however you wish in the pursuit of glory;

    for every person seeking it follows you.