1. أظنّهُ حاذرَ سُلوانا

    يسْتامُهُم وصْلاً وهِجْرانا

    I think he was wary of forgetting love,

    seeking from them union and estrangement.

  2. واستعْذَبَ العذْلَ لذكراهُمُ

    وكان لا يعرِفُ نِسيانا

    And he found reproach sweet for the memory of them,

    and he had never known forgetfulness.

  3. وإنّما أوجسَ في نفْسه

    تسميةُ الإنسانِ إنسانا

    And only this stirred unease within him:

    the naming of man as insān, 'human.'

  4. يا قاتلَ الله فُنونَ الهَوى

    فكلّ فنٍ منهُ أفْنانا

    Oh, may God curse the forms of passion,

    for every form of it has consumed us.

  5. أصبحتِ الغُزلانُ أُسْداً به

    وصارتِ الآسادُ غِزْلانا

    Through it, gazelles have become lions,

    and lions have become gazelles.

  6. مصارعٌ يعرِفُها كلُّ مَنْ

    يعرفُ يَبْرينَ ونُعْمانا

    Places of death known to everyone who

    knows Yabrin and Nuʿman.

  7. يا ذا الذي يطلُبُ لي مالكاً

    سائلْ هَداك الله رِضوانا

    O you who seek Malik for me,

    ask Ridwan—may God guide you.

  8. أطْلَقَ من جنّتِه شادِناً

    قد ملأ الأحشاءَ نيرانا

    He released a young gazelle from his paradise,

    who has filled my inmost parts with flames.

  9. فاصْطادَهُ القلبُ وما صادَهُ

    وكان ما قِيلَ وما كانا

    Then the heart caught him, yet did not catch him;

    and what was said came to be, and never was.

  10. وا عجباً أغربَ في الهَوى

    فردّني أحلُمُ يَقْظانا

    Ah, what a strange marvel in love,

    that made me dream wide awake!

  11. يا خاطري لا نوْمَ من بعدِ أنْ

    رأيتُ شمسَ المُلْكِ نَبْهانا

    O my mind, no sleep now that

    I have seen Nabhan, the sun of kingship.

  12. قلّدَهُ فكرُك في نحرِه

    دُرّاً من المدْحِ ومَرْجانا

    Your thought has strung about his neck

    pearls of praise and coral.

  13. أفضالُه عبّرن عن فضلهِ

    هل أصبحَ الإحسانُ حسانا

    His favors have spoken of his excellence—

    has beneficence become Hassan?

  14. شهْم شأى يوسُفَ في حُسنِه

    وبذّ في المُلْكِ سُلَيْمانا

    A noble man who surpassed Yusuf in beauty

    and outdid Sulayman in kingship.

  15. تجْنيه سُمْرُ الخطّ عذبُ الجَنى

    وهي التي تنْعَتُ مرآنا

    The tawny spears of al-Khatt yield him sweet fruit,

    though they are called murrān, ashwood spears.

  16. فمَنْ رأى من قبلِها معرَكاً

    يَحولُ في الحالةِ بُسْتانا

    Who, before them, ever saw a battlefield

    turn in an instant into a garden?

  17. أنزِلْ به في الحي من مازنٍ

    ولا تخَفْ ذُهْلَ بن شَيْبانا

    Take lodging with him among the clan of Mazin,

    and fear not Dhuhl ibn Shayban.

  18. ورد بحارَ الجودِ زخّارةً

    تظْما لأنْ تُبصِرَ ظمآنا

    And approach the surging seas of generosity,

    which thirst to behold a thirsty man.

  19. ولا تلجّجْ إنْ طَما موجُها

    فربّما أصبحَ طُوفانا

    And do not venture deep if their swell rises,

    for it may become a deluge.

  20. أفتكُ ما كان بحيثُ القَنا

    يلفّ بالفُرسانِ فُرْسانا

    He is deadliest where the spears

    entangle horsemen with horsemen,

  21. والنقْعُ قد مدّ رُواقَ الدُجى

    وأطلعَ الخَرْصانُ شَهْبانا

    and battle-dust has spread night's canopy,

    and spearheads have sent up meteors.

  22. والبيضُ نحو الزعْفِ ممتدةٌ

    جداولٌ تتبعُ غُدْرانا

    And the bright swords, outstretched toward the mail,

    are streams following pools.

  23. والخيلُ عُقبانٌ ترى فوقَها

    عَقْبان أعلامٍ وعُقبانا

    And the steeds are eagles; above them you see

    eagles on banners, and eagles,

  24. من كلّ من جرَّ كعوبَ القَنا

    فخلتَهُ ليثاً وثُعْبانا

    each a man who trails the jointed spear-shafts,

    so you would take him for a lion and a serpent.

  25. يظنّهُ مادحُه أيكةً

    وإن رآهُ القرن ثهلانا

    His panegyrist thinks him a leafy grove,

    though his adversary sees him as Thahlan.

  26. ذو العزْمِ لو يُطيعُ ذا شفرةٍ

    ما جازَ أن يسْكُن أجفانا

    A man of resolve—were a blade to obey him,

    it would never be permitted to rest in scabbards.

  27. والبأسُ لا واللهِ ما نارُهُ

    مما روَوْهُ لابن كَنعانا

    And his battle-might—no, by God, its fire is not

    like that recounted of Kanʿan's son.

  28. والرأيُ لو كان لعَدْوانَ لم

    يخفْ من الأيام عُدْوانا

    And his judgment—had it belonged to ʿAdwan, he would not

    have feared aggression from the days.

  29. والجودُ ما نازعَ فيه الحَيا

    إلا حَوى التهْتانُ بُهْتانا

    And his bounty—never did rain vie with it

    without the downpour proving a lie.

  30. والمنظرُ البهرُ قد قلت إذ

    نازعَ فيه البدرُ بُرْهانا

    And his dazzling appearance—I said when

    the full moon rivaled Burhan in it:

  31. هذا الكمالُ قد حَوى سعدَهُ

    يا بدرُ لن يُعْقِب نُقْصانا

    This perfection has attained its good fortune;

    O full moon, no waning shall follow it.

  32. يا ماجداً نلتُ بأفنائه

    أوطارَ من لازمَ أوْطانا

    O noble one, in whose courts I attained

    the wishes of one who stays in his native lands,

  33. أحرزتَ عن عينِ الزمانِ العُلى

    دمتَ لتلك العينِ إنسانا

    you have safeguarded high glory from time's eye;

    may you remain the pupil of that eye.