سارتْ مطيُّهُمُ بهم تمْطو

سارتْ مطيُّهُمُ بهم تمْطو

وتحمّلوا للبينِ واشتطّوا

وتحمّلوا للبينِ واشتطّوا

Their mounts went on, bearing them with lengthening strides.

Their camels strode with them striding

They departed for separation and went far away.

And they bore separation and yearned

ومحتْ رسومَهُمُ نوًى قذفَتْ

ومحتْ رسومَهُمُ نوًى قذفَتْ

خطواتُها للشوقِ ما خطّوا

خطواتُها للشوقِ ما خطّوا

And distance erased their traces, casting

And traces of them were erased by a loving glance

with its steps into longing all they had traced.

Whose steps mapped out their longing

فيهنّ نافرةٌ تلفُّتها

فيهنّ نافرةٌ تلفُّتها

صدٌ وفارطُ قُربِها شحْطُ

صدٌ وفارطُ قُربِها شحْطُ

Among them is an elusive woman whose backward glance

Among them a spurning beauty glanced back

is a rebuff, and whose utmost nearness is remoteness.

With disdain and one missed by his beloved has strayed

وسنانةُ الأجفانِ قد خُرِطَتْ

وسنانةُ الأجفانِ قد خُرِطَتْ

منها ظُبيَّ بقلوبِنا تسْطو

منها ظُبيَّ بقلوبِنا تسْطو

She is drowsy-lidded; unsheathed

The teeth of the eyelids have been exposed

from her are blades that assail our hearts.

From which misfortune in our hearts pours forth

ومُحادثُ الأحداثِ عاجَلَهُ

ومُحادثُ الأحداثِ عاجَلَهُ

في عُنفُوانِ شبابِه الوَخْطُ

في عُنفُوانِ شبابِه الوَخْطُ

And one who converses with misfortunes was overtaken

The conversation of events hastened him

in the prime of his youth by flecks of gray.

In the prime of his reckless youth

قدحَ الغرامُ زِنادَ صبوتِه

قدحَ الغرامُ زِنادَ صبوتِه

فكأنما زفراتُه سقْطُ

فكأنما زفراتُه سقْطُ

Love struck the flints of his youthful passion,

Love ignited the flint of his passions

so his sighs seemed like falling sparks.

So that his sighs seem like sparks

ولوى الى مصرٍ أخادِعُهُ

ولوى الى مصرٍ أخادِعُهُ

أرَجُ نماهُ ذلك الخَطُّ

أرَجُ نماهُ ذلك الخَطُّ

And his neck was turned toward Egypt

And he turned towards a land of tricksters

by a fragrance conveyed in that writing.

More tender than that line

في حيثُ راحةُ مُصطَفى ديَمٍ

في حيثُ راحةُ مُصطَفى ديَمٍ

ينجابُ عن عرَصاتِها القحْطُ

ينجابُ عن عرَصاتِها القحْطُ

Where a palm is the choicest of steady rains,

Where there is the comfort of the chosen Mustafa

from whose grounds drought recedes.

Bedewed by its threshing floors of drought

ولآلِ سيفٍ ضيفُ مكرمةٍ

ولآلِ سيفٍ ضيفُ مكرمةٍ

متشرِّطٌ في حيثُ لا شرْطُ

متشرِّطٌ في حيثُ لا شرْطُ

And the house of Sayf has a guest of bounty,

And the family of Saif have a guest of honor

stipulating terms where no conditions exist.

Begging wherever pact is bound

المُنتَضونَ مهنّداتِ سُطاً

المُنتَضونَ مهنّداتِ سُطاً

من شأنِها الإقساطُ والقِسْطُ

من شأنِها الإقساطُ والقِسْطُ

They unsheathe Indian-forged swords of might,

Those who seek equal shares of gifts

whose nature is equity and justice.

Whose purpose is moderation and equity

للهِ سيفُ المُلْكِ من ملِكٍ

للهِ سيفُ المُلْكِ من ملِكٍ

يُثْني عليه الخطُّ والخِطُّ

يُثْني عليه الخطُّ والخِطُّ

By God, what a king is Sayf al-Mulk!

By God, the sword of the kingdom belongs to a king

Writing and rainless ground extol him.

Praised in prose and verse

جذلانُ لا في مِعطَسٍ صلَفٌ

جذلانُ لا في مِعطَسٍ صلَفٌ

منهُ ولا في حاجبٍ مطُّ

منهُ ولا في حاجبٍ مطُّ

Glad-hearted, with no haughtiness in his nose,

He is open-handed, neither miserly in haven

nor any disdainful stretching of his brow.

Nor frowning of brow

طُويتْ خلائقُهُ على شِيَمٍ

طُويتْ خلائقُهُ على شِيَمٍ

ما إن سمِعْتُ بمثلِها قطُّ

ما إن سمِعْتُ بمثلِها قطُّ

His nature enfolds virtues

His manners are folded in perfection

whose like I have never heard of.

The like of which I've never heard

ومضَتْ به العلياءُ في شِيمٍ

ومضَتْ به العلياءُ في شِيمٍ

من دونِهنّ النجمُ منحَطُّ

من دونِهنّ النجمُ منحَطُّ

And lofty glory bore him onward through virtues

And nobility has passed to him in perfection

beneath which the star lies low.

Below which stars pale

إن حازَها في شرْجِه فلقَدْ

إن حازَها في شرْجِه فلقَدْ

مُنِعَتْ بلوغَ أقلّها المطُّ

مُنِعَتْ بلوغَ أقلّها المطُّ

If he has gathered them into his nature, then indeed

If he has attained it in his honor, then surely

the tall are barred from attaining even the least of them.

What is beneath it cannot be reached