1. مليّ الحسن حالي الوجنتين

    متى يقضي وعود الوصل ديني

    Rich in beauty, adorned in both cheeks,

    When will promises of union discharge the debt owed me?

  2. أبثك إنّ عاذليَ المعنى

    رآك بعين حبٍّ مثل عيني

    I confide to you: my tormented reproacher

    Saw you with an eye of love like mine.

  3. فحاكى قلبه قلبي خفوقاً

    وحكمت الهوى في الخافقين

    So his heart echoed mine in its throbbing,

    And you gave love dominion over both beating hearts.

  4. لمثل هواك تجنح كل نفسٍ

    وتسفح كلّ ناظرة بعين

    Toward love such as love for you, every soul inclines,

    And every gazing eye pours forth a spring of tears.

  5. صددت فما الأسى عندي بقلٍّ

    ولا دمعي بدون القلتين

    You turned away, so my sorrow is not scant,

    Nor are my tears less than two great water-jars' worth.

  6. ولا جلد على إنكار دهرٍ

    رمى قلبي الوحيد بفرقتين

    Nor have I endurance for the hostility of Time,

    Which struck my solitary heart with two partings.

  7. مضى المحبوب ثم مضى شبابي

    وأيّ العيش يصلح بعد ذين

    The beloved departed, then my youth departed;

    And what life is worthwhile after those two?

  8. هما هجرَا على رغمي فأرخ

    حديث تلهفي بالهجرتين

    They both deserted me against my will; so date

    The tale of my anguish by the two departures.

  9. بروحي عاطر الأنفاس ألمى

    رشيق القدِّ ساجي المقلتين

    My soul would ransom one of fragrant breath and dusky lips,

    Slender of stature, languid in both eyes.

  10. يهزُّ مثقفاً من معطفيه

    ومن جفنيه يجذب مرهفين

    He sways a straightened spear from his two flanks,

    And draws two sharpened blades from his eyelids.

  11. له خالان في دينار خدٍّ

    تباع له القلوب بحبتين

    He has two beauty-marks on the dinar of his cheek;

    Hearts are sold to him for two grains.

  12. وحول نقا سوالفه عذارٌ

    كما شعرت نقوش في لجين

    And cheek-down circles the sand-dune of his temples,

    Like hair-fine engravings in silver.

  13. أظلّ إذا نظرت لوجنتيه

    أنزّه في النقا والرقمتين

    Whenever I gaze at his cheeks, I go on

    Taking my pleasure in al-Naqa and al-Raqmatayn.

  14. فيا لله من غصنٍ فريدٍ

    وفي خدَّيه كلتا الجنتين

    O God, what a peerless bough!

    And in his cheeks are both gardens.

  15. أما وحباب مبسمه المفدّى

    على معسول كأس المرشفين

    Indeed, by the bubbles of his smile, worth any ransom,

    Upon the honeyed cup of his two lips,

  16. لقد عذُبت موارده ولكن

    ندى المنصور أحلى الموردين

    Sweet indeed are his springs, and yet

    Al-Mansur's bounty is the sweeter of the two springs.

  17. ندى ملك له في الملك خد

    وجد فهو عدل الشاهدين

    The bounty of a king who has, in kingship, a cheek

    And good fortune—he is the equal of two witnesses.

  18. يمدُّ بساعدين إلى المعالي

    ويتعب في النوال براحتين

    He reaches with both forearms toward high honors,

    And tires himself in giving with both palms.

  19. كثير السعي في شرف ومجدٍ

    قليل الشكو من ضجرٍ وأين

    Abundant in striving for honor and glory,

    Little given to complaints of vexation and fatigue.

  20. كأنَّ هواه في حبّ العطايا

    يطالبه بدِين لا بدَين

    As though his passion for giving gifts

    Demands of him a duty of faith, not a debt.

  21. إذا ما أشرقت خدَّاه بشراً

    فعوّذها بربّ المشرقين

    Whenever his cheeks shine with joy,

    Invoke for them the protection of the Lord of the two Easts.

  22. وإن حمل السلاح ليوم حربٍ

    فقل في الليث ماضي الماضغين

    And if he bears arms for a day of battle,

    Speak of the lion, keen in both jaws.

  23. يهشّ السيف في يمناه عجباً

    ويبسم بالهنا سن الرّديني

    The sword rejoices in his right hand in wonder,

    And the Rudayni spear's tooth smiles with delight.

  24. ورُبَّ طلوب حلمٍ قد دعاه

    فعاد بهين الأخلاق لين

    Many an eager seeker of forbearance has called upon him,

    And returned mild through one gentle in character—

  25. بأروع ناصريِّ الذكر ما في

    رواية فضله مثقال رين

    A splendid man of Nasiri renown; there is not

    A grain of tarnish in the telling of his excellence.

  26. يصيح للفظ مادحه بأذنٍ

    وينعم من خزائنه بعين

    He calls out to his panegyrist's words with an ear,

    And bestows gold from his treasuries.

  27. ويجمع بالثنا والأجر دنيا

    وآخرة فيرضي الضرَّتين

    Through praise and reward, he unites this world

    And the next, thus pleasing the two rival wives.

  28. على حين الشبيبة في اقتبالٍ

    وفرع الملك زاهي المعطفين

    At a time when youth is in its first bloom,

    And the branch of kingship is radiant in both flanks.

  29. يقلّ لذكره الإقبال قدماً

    وكيف يقاس ذو زين بشين

    The good fortune of old seems small beside his renown;

    And how can one of grace be compared with disgrace?

  30. فلا تتبع لتبع ذكر جور

    ودعنا من رعونة ذي رعين

    So pursue no account of Tubbaʿ's tyranny,

    And spare us the folly of Dhu Ruʿayn.

  31. أقام محمدٌ للفضل شرعاً

    محا ما كان من شكٍّ ومين

    Muhammad established a law for excellence,

    Erasing whatever doubt and falsehood there had been.

  32. ورادف حسن خَلق حسن خُلق

    فلم يقنع بإحدى الحسنيين

    And joined beauty of form to beauty of character,

    Not content with only one of the two beauties.

  33. كذا فليبقَ في أُفق المعالي

    ووالده بقاء الفرقدين

    Thus may he remain in the firmament of high honors,

    And his father, as long as the two Farqad stars endure.

  34. أصوغ له مدائح لم يصغها

    على سيف العلى نجل الحسين

    I fashion for him panegyrics never fashioned

    For Sayf al-ʿUla by the son of al-Husayn.

  35. وأطلق فيه ألفاظاً تسامت

    على ألفاظ رهن المحسنين

    And utter about him words that soar

    Above the words of one in thrall to benefactors.