1. يوم صحوٍ فاجْعله لي يوم سكرٍ

    وأدر لي كأسيْ رضاب وخمر

    A day of sobriety—make it, for me, a day of drunkenness.

    And pass me the two cups of sweet saliva and wine.

  2. واسْقني في منازل مثل خلقي

    بيدَي هاجر يغني بشعري

    And give me drink in dwellings like my disposition,

    From the hands of one who shuns me, singing my verse.

  3. حبَّذا روضةٌ وظلٌّ ونهرٌ

    كعذارٍ على لمًى فوق ثغر

    How lovely: a garden, shade, and a river,

    Like cheek-down over dusky lips above a mouth.

  4. ومليحٌ يقولُ حسنُ حلاهُ

    اعملوا ما أردتمُ أهل بدر

    And a beauty whose lovely charms declare:

    "Do whatever you wish, people of Badr."

  5. جفن عينيه فاترٌ مستحيٌّ

    إنَّما خدّه المشعشع جمري

    His eyelids are languid and bashful;

    His radiant cheek alone is my burning coal.

  6. وغرامي العذريّ ذنبٌ لديه

    وعجيبٌ يكونُ ذنبيَ عذري

    And my chaste love is a sin in his eyes;

    How strange that my sin should be my excuse.

  7. هاتها في يديه عذراء تجلى

    لندامايَ في قلائد درّ

    Bring her in his hands, a virgin unveiled

    To my drinking companions, in necklaces of pearls.

  8. ليت شعري وللسرور انْتهازٌ

    أيّ شيءٍ يعوقنا ليت شعري

    If only I knew—with joy there for the seizing—

    What holds us back? If only I knew.

  9. زمن الأنس قائمٌ بالتهاني

    ونوالُ الملكِ المؤيد يسري

    The season of fellowship is alive with congratulations,

    And King al-Mu'ayyad's bounty flows.

  10. ملكٌ باهر المكارم يروي

    وجهُ لقياهُ عن عطاءٍ وبشر

    A king of dazzling virtues—a tale is told

    By his welcoming face, of bounty and good cheer.

  11. زرت أبوابه فقرَّب شخصي

    ومحا عُسرتي ونوَّه ذِكري

    I visited his gates, and he drew me near,

    Removed my hardship, and proclaimed my renown.

  12. ونحا لي من المكارمِ نحواً

    صانني عن لقاءِ زيدٍ وعمرو

    And bestowed on me such generous favor

    That spared me seeking out Zayd and Amr.

  13. وتفنَّنت في مفاوضة الش

    كر إلى أن أعيى التطوُّل شكري

    And I tried every art in expressing grati-

    tude, until his bounty exhausted my thanks.

  14. أريحيّ من الملوك أريبٌ

    فائض البحر ذو عجائب كثر

    A generous soul among kings, discerning,

    An overflowing sea, possessing many wonders.

  15. رُبَّ خلقٍ أرقّ من أدمع الخن

    سا وقلب يوم الوغى مثل صخر

    Many a trait more tender than the tears of al-Khan-

    sa, and a heart like rock on the day of battle.

  16. يقسم الدَّهر من سطاه بليل

    ومن المنظر البهيّ بفجر

    Time swears by the night of his might,

    And by the dawn of his splendid countenance.

  17. كلّ أيَّامنا مواسمُ فضلٍ

    في ذرى بابه وأعياد فطر

    All our days are seasons of bounty

    In the shelter of his gate, and feasts of Eid al-Fitr.

  18. فإذا لاح وجهه في ذوي القص

    د بعيدٍ قاضت يداه بعشر

    So when his face shines among the peti-

    tioners at a feast, his hands give tenfold in return.

  19. لذْ بيمناه في الحوائجِ تظفرْ

    بيسار يمحى به كلّ عسر

    Seek refuge in his right hand for your needs; you will gain

    Prosperity through which every hardship is erased.

  20. سمه في الضمير إن ذُقت فقراً

    وعليَّ الضمان أنك تثري

    Name him in your thoughts if you have tasted poverty,

    And I guarantee that you will grow rich.

  21. والقهُ للعلومِ أو للعطايا

    تلقى ملكاً يقري الضيوف ويقري

    And meet him for learning or for gifts:

    You will find a king who feeds guests and teaches reading.

  22. طوت العسرَ ثنَّ فاضت لهاهُ

    فنعمنا بذاتِ طيٍّ ونشر

    His gifts folded hardship away, [then] overflowed;

    So we delighted in that which folds and unfolds.

  23. يا مليكَ النوالِ والعلم لا زل

    تَ سرِيّ الثناء في كلّ قطر

    O king of bounty and learning, may you never cease

    To be exalted in praise in every land.

  24. حمَّلتك العلى شؤوناً فألفت

    آل أيوب دائماً آل صبر

    High honor charged you with duties, and found

    The House of Ayyub always a house of patience.