يا مَن طلعتِ طلوعَ الشمس من فلكِ

يا مَن طلعتِ طلوعَ الشمس من فلكِ

إن كنتُ يوماً لشمسٍ عابداً فَلَكِ

إن كنتُ يوماً لشمسٍ عابداً فَلَكِ

O you who rose as the sun rises from its sphere,

O you who rose like the sun from the sky's orbit

If ever I worshipped a sun, it was you.

If I was once a worshipper of any sun, it was your orbit

لو أَنصفوا وَجْهَكِ المَوْشِيَّ حُلّتُهُ

لو أَنصفوا وَجْهَكِ المَوْشِيَّ حُلّتُهُ

لعُطِّلَ الوشْيُ في الدُّنيا فلم يُحَكِ

لعُطِّلَ الوشْيُ في الدُّنيا فلم يُحَكِ

Were they fair to your face, with its embroidered robe,

If they did justice to your radiant, gentle face

Brocade would be abandoned in the world and woven no more.

Adornment would cease in this world, no longer interwoven

قد صدتِ قلبي بأصداغِ مشبكةٍ

قد صدتِ قلبي بأصداغِ مشبكةٍ

صيغَتْ لصَيدِ قلوبِ النّاسِ كالشّبكِ

صيغَتْ لصَيدِ قلوبِ النّاسِ كالشّبكِ

You have caught my heart with interlaced temple-locks,

You captivated my heart with entangled ringlets

Fashioned like nets to catch people's hearts.

Molded to ensnare people's hearts like a net

أصبوا إليكِ ولي صَمْتٌ حُرمتُ بهِ

أصبوا إليكِ ولي صَمْتٌ حُرمتُ بهِ

والصّمتُ للرزقِ منّاعٌ كذاك حُكي

والصّمتُ للرزقِ منّاعٌ كذاك حُكي

I yearn for you, yet my silence has left me deprived;

They desire you while I am silenced, deprived of speech

Silence withholds one's livelihood—so it is said.

And silence for sustenance is thus for us, as told

اللهَ فيَّ فسِتْري فيكِ مُنْهتِكٌ

اللهَ فيَّ فسِتْري فيكِ مُنْهتِكٌ

وكان قبلَكِ سِتري غيرَ مُنْهتِكِ

وكان قبلَكِ سِتري غيرَ مُنْهتِكِ

Fear God for my sake: through you my veil is torn,

God is concealed in me, yet in you torn open

Though before you my veil was untorn.

Though before you my cover was not torn

على شِفاهِكِ دَيني وهْيَ تُمْطلني

على شِفاهِكِ دَيني وهْيَ تُمْطلني

فأبشري بغَريمٍ في الهوى محكِ

فأبشري بغَريمٍ في الهوى محكِ

Your lips owe me a debt, yet they delay paying me;

On your lips is my faith while you make me languish

So rejoice in a creditor tenacious in love.

So give me glad tidings of perdition in passion intertwined

فديتُ مَجْناكِ ما أَحلى مَذاقَتَهُ

فديتُ مَجْناكِ ما أَحلى مَذاقَتَهُ

كأنّهُ ريقُ نحلٍ شِيبَ بالمِسكِ

كأنّهُ ريقُ نحلٍ شِيبَ بالمِسكِ

I would ransom your place of harvest—how sweet its flavor!

I ransom your soft mouth, how sweet is its taste!

As though it were bees' spittle mingled with musk.

As if it were bees' spittle aged with musk

فكم خَلستُ الجَنى منهُ على حَذَرٍ

فكم خَلستُ الجَنى منهُ على حَذَرٍ

من قَولِ واشٍ شديدِ اللّذعِ مُؤتفكِ

من قَولِ واشٍ شديدِ اللّذعِ مُؤتفكِ

How often I have snatched its fruit, wary

So how often I stole this honey stealthily

Of the words of a lying tale-bearer with a fierce sting.

Fearing the harsh, biting words of a slanderer twisted

العفْوَ منكِ فقد وسْوستنِي شَغفاً

العفْوَ منكِ فقد وسْوستنِي شَغفاً

حتى تسلّطَ شيطاني على مَلَكي

حتى تسلّطَ شيطاني على مَلَكي

Your pardon—for you have obsessed me with passion,

Forgive me, for desire whispering seduced me

Until my devil gained mastery over my angel.

Until my devil overpowered my angel

ونمتِ ليلُكِ مَكّ الطّرفِ عن دَنِفٍ

ونمتِ ليلُكِ مَكّ الطّرفِ عن دَنِفٍ

باكٍ بطرفٍ غزيرٍ الدمعِ غير بكي

باكٍ بطرفٍ غزيرٍ الدمعِ غير بكي

You slept through your night, your gaze withdrawn from a lovesick man,

You slept a sleep that shed tears ceaselessly

Weeping with an eye whose tears are copious, not scant.

Weeping with copious, incessant tears unlike my weeping

فباتَ أضْيعَ من لحمٍ على وضَمٍ

فباتَ أضْيعَ من لحمٍ على وضَمٍ

وظل أهْوَنَ من عظمٍ على ودكِ

وظل أهْوَنَ من عظمٍ على ودكِ

He spent the night more defenseless than meat on a butcher's block,

So he passed the night more lost than flesh on ember

And the day more worthless than a bone lying on grease.

And remained more abased than bone on your cheek

ولهانَ جُنَّ فغنّتْه سلاسِلُهُ

ولهانَ جُنَّ فغنّتْه سلاسِلُهُ

يَمشي فتَلْهو به الصبيان في السكك

يَمشي فتَلْهو به الصبيان في السكك

Distraught and maddened, his chains sang to him;

And fell, his chains singing him, dragging him

He walks, and boys make sport of him in the lanes.

The boys play with him, walking the streets

هذي صفاتي وما أخنى عليَّ سوى

هذي صفاتي وما أخنى عليَّ سوى

دهر بقرع صفاتي مغرمٍ سدِك

دهر بقرع صفاتي مغرمٍ سدِك

These are my traits, and nothing has ravaged me but

Such are my traits, and none knows my state

Time, obsessed with battering my rock, clinging relentlessly.

Except time, smiting my traits, enamored of your shut door

وسوف أدركُ آمالي ويَجْذبُني

وسوف أدركُ آمالي ويَجْذبُني

بَخْتي إلى الدرج الأعلى من الدرَكِ

بَخْتي إلى الدرج الأعلى من الدرَكِ

And I shall attain my hopes, and be drawn

And soon I will attain my hopes, pulled

By my fortune from the depths to the highest step,

By fate to the highest rank of the stair

بيُمنِ خَتلغَ بَلكا سيِّدِ الوزرا ال

بيُمنِ خَتلغَ بَلكا سيِّدِ الوزرا ال

أَميرِ حقاً عميدِ الملك خواجَه بِكِ

أَميرِ حقاً عميدِ الملك خواجَه بِكِ

Through the good fortune of Khatlagh Balka, lord of the viziers, the

By the good fortune of Khatlagh Balqa, lord of viziers

True emir, pillar of the realm, Khwaja Beg.

Truly leader, pillar of the kingdom, Khwaja Bik

ذاكَ الذي امتلكتْني بيضُ أنعُمِهِ

ذاكَ الذي امتلكتْني بيضُ أنعُمِهِ

وليسَ يَحْظى برقِّي غيرُ مُمتلكي

وليسَ يَحْظى برقِّي غيرُ مُمتلكي

He whose white favors have taken possession of me;

He whose kindness' whiteness has possessed me

And none but my owner enjoys my servitude.

And none attains advancement but those he possesses

لولا عقيدةُ إيماني لما اتّجهتْ

لولا عقيدةُ إيماني لما اتّجهتْ

إلا إليه صَلاتي لا ولا نسكي

إلا إليه صَلاتي لا ولا نسكي

Were it not for my creed of faith, I would direct

Were it not for my faith, my prayers would turn

My prayer to him alone—indeed, my ritual worship too.

To none but him, neither my rites nor worship

كأن أخلاقَه من طيبِ نَفحتِها

كأن أخلاقَه من طيبِ نَفحتِها

نشرٌ يجودُ بهِ الروضُ المجُودُ ذكي

نشرٌ يجودُ بهِ الروضُ المجُودُ ذكي

His virtues, for the sweetness of their fragrance, seem

As if his morals were scented by his breath's perfume

A heady scent lavished by a rain-drenched garden.

Spreading fragrant, flowing, pure generosity

في كل ليلٍ له نارٌ على علم

في كل ليلٍ له نارٌ على علم

شبّتْ لأشعثَ في الظّلماءِ مُرتبِكِ

شبّتْ لأشعثَ في الظّلماءِ مُرتبِكِ

Every night he has a fire upon a hilltop,

Each night he has a beacon of knowledge

Lit for a disheveled man bewildered in the darkness.

Lit for the unkempt in the dark, confused

جَداهُ مشتركٌ بينَ الوَرى ولَهُ

جَداهُ مشتركٌ بينَ الوَرى ولَهُ

من السِّيادةِ حظٌّ غيرُ مُشترِكِ

من السِّيادةِ حظٌّ غيرُ مُشترِكِ

His bounty is shared among all people, while he has

His brow is shared between all people, and he has

A share of lordship that no one shares.

A share of rule unlike any other's share

صاغَ الحُلى للعُلا أيامَ دَولتِهِ

صاغَ الحُلى للعُلا أيامَ دَولتِهِ

حتىّ سلكنَ الشّوى منهنّ في مسكِ

حتىّ سلكنَ الشّوى منهنّ في مسكِ

He fashioned ornaments for lofty glories during his rule,

He formed adornments for the exalted in his days of rule

Until their limbs were threaded into bracelets.

That wrists slipping bangles of musk through them

فألبستْهُ ثيابَ المُلكِ ضافيةً

فألبستْهُ ثيابَ المُلكِ ضافيةً

يدَا أبي طالبٍ طُغْرِلْ بِكِ المَلكِ

يدَا أبي طالبٍ طُغْرِلْ بِكِ المَلكِ

Then he was clothed in ample robes of kingship

So Fate clothed him in the garb of kingship perfectly

By the hands of Abu Talib Tughril Beg, the king.

The hand of Abu Talib - Toghril Bik, king indeed!

ففازَ منهُ بركنٍ غيرِ منُهدمٍ

ففازَ منهُ بركنٍ غيرِ منُهدمٍ

عندَ الخطوبِ وحَبلٍ غيرِ مُنْبَتِكِ

عندَ الخطوبِ وحَبلٍ غيرِ مُنْبَتِكِ

Thus he gained from him a pillar that does not collapse

And so he won from it an undestroyed pillar

In calamity, and a rope that is never severed.

In adversity, an unsevered rope

أقذى عيونَ أَعاديهم حسايِكُهُمْ

أقذى عيونَ أَعاديهم حسايِكُهُمْ

كأن أجفانَهم خِيطتْ على الحَسَك

كأن أجفانَهم خِيطتْ على الحَسَك

Their thorns stung the eyes of their enemies,

His revenge gouged out his enemies' spying eyes

As though their eyelids were stitched shut over thorns.

As if their lids were sewn upon hot coals

مباركٌ وجهُهُ في كلِّ مُجتَمَعٍ

مباركٌ وجهُهُ في كلِّ مُجتَمَعٍ

مُشيّعٌ قلبُهُ في كلِّ مُعْتركِ

مُشيّعٌ قلبُهُ في كلِّ مُعْتركِ

His face is blessed in every gathering,

Blessed is his face in every gathering

His heart courageous in every battle.

His heart escorted in every battlefield

لم يَعْرَ رأسُ قناً إلاّ وعمّمَهُ

لم يَعْرَ رأسُ قناً إلاّ وعمّمَهُ

برأسِ ذي أشَرٍ في الغيّ مُنْهمكِ

برأسِ ذي أشَرٍ في الغيّ مُنْهمكِ

No spearhead went bare but he turbaned it

No head donned a helmet but he covered it

With the head of an insolent man immersed in wrongdoing.

With the head of a lion in the thick, embroiled fray

فإنْ عَفا غض جَفْنيْ ساكِنٍ وَقِرٍ

فإنْ عَفا غض جَفْنيْ ساكِنٍ وَقِرٍ

وإنْ جَفا جر ذيلَ قُلْقُلٍ حَرِكِ

وإنْ جَفا جر ذيلَ قُلْقُلٍ حَرِكِ

If he pardons, he lowers his eyelids, calm and dignified;

If he forgives, he lowers a still, calm eyelid

If he is stern, he trails his hem, restless and swift.

And if he is harsh, he drags the train of a stirring temper

وإنْ تَحلّبَ دَرّ النّقسِ في يده

وإنْ تَحلّبَ دَرّ النّقسِ في يده

فالطِّرسُ دُرْجٌ لدُرِّ منهُ مُنسلكِ

فالطِّرسُ دُرْجٌ لدُرِّ منهُ مُنسلكِ

And if the milk of ink streams in his hand,

And if he milks bitterness into his hand

The page is a casket for pearls strung from it.

Gall is a robe for the pearl from him interlaced

وإنْ أفاضَ على العافينَ نائلُهُ

وإنْ أفاضَ على العافينَ نائلُهُ

أَرواهُمُ بغمامٍ منهُ مُنْسفكِ

أَرواهُمُ بغمامٍ منهُ مُنْسفكِ

And if his bounty pours upon those seeking gifts,

And if his palm rains on the healthy

He quenches their thirst with a cloud pouring down from him.

He saturates them with a cloud pouring from him

يا مَن إذا طارَ ممتاحٌ بساحَتهِ

يا مَن إذا طارَ ممتاحٌ بساحَتهِ

تلقّطَ الحبَّ في أمنٍ منَ الشّرَكِ

تلقّطَ الحبَّ في أمنٍ منَ الشّرَكِ

O you, when a petitioner flies into your courtyard,

O you, if an auspicious bird circles in his courtyard

He picks up grain in safety from the snare.

He picks up love safely, free of any partnership

بك استقلَّ ذبابُ الخصبِ في حَلَكي

بك استقلَّ ذبابُ الخصبِ في حَلَكي

وراقَ سَمعي خريرُ الماءِ في برَكِ

وراقَ سَمعي خريرُ الماءِ في برَكِ

Through you, the flies of plenty have taken wing in my darkness,

With you, the flies of fertility took shelter in my throat

And water murmuring in pools has delighted my hearing.

And my hearing relished the gurgling of water in the pool

لمّا أنختُ بَعيري في ذراكَ ضُحىً

لمّا أنختُ بَعيري في ذراكَ ضُحىً

ناديتُ باركَ فيكَ اللهُ فابْتركِ

ناديتُ باركَ فيكَ اللهُ فابْتركِ

When I made my camel kneel in your shelter at midmorning,

When I slowed my camel at your place at dawn

I cried, 'May God bless you—so kneel down!'

I called, may God bless you, so choose

أسبغْ عليَّ سجالَ العُرفِ أرْوَ بها

أسبغْ عليَّ سجالَ العُرفِ أرْوَ بها

وأعطني عروةَ الإحسانِ أَمتسكِ

وأعطني عروةَ الإحسانِ أَمتسكِ

Lavish on me bucketfuls of kindness, that I may drink my fill from them,

Bestow on me the mantle of convention, let it quench me

And give me generosity's handhold, that I may hold fast.

And give me the handhold of kindness, let me cling to it

وخُذْ مُحجّلةً غراءَ ما اكْتَحلتْ

وخُذْ مُحجّلةً غراءَ ما اكْتَحلتْ

بمثلها مُقلتا غرٍّ ومُحْتنكِ

بمثلها مُقلتا غرٍّ ومُحْتنكِ

And accept a white-stockinged, white-blazed poem: never have

Take kohl, the best darkener, that no eyes

The eyes of novice or veteran been kohled with its like.

Have been lined with its like, intense blackness and ink

ولا تظنَّ سواها مثلَها فلَكَمْ

ولا تظنَّ سواها مثلَها فلَكَمْ

بينَ السَّماكِ إذا مَيزَّتَ والسّمكِ

بينَ السَّماكِ إذا مَيزَّتَ والسّمكِ

And do not think another its equal: how vast the difference

Think none else comparable, though many

Between the star al-Simak and fish, when you distinguish them!

Appear similar when you distinguish the fish from fish

شعرٌ تديّرَ بالغَبراءِ مُنشئهُ

شعرٌ تديّرَ بالغَبراءِ مُنشئهُ

وقدرُهُ مُعتلٍ في ذرْوةِ الفَلَكِ

وقدرُهُ مُعتلٍ في ذرْوةِ الفَلَكِ

Poetry whose creator has made his home on the dusty earth,

Poetry molded by its composer into something special

Yet whose worth is exalted at the summit of the celestial sphere.

Though its quality is lofty at the sky's pinnacle

فالطبعُ صائغُ حَلْيٍ من سبائكهِ

فالطبعُ صائغُ حَلْيٍ من سبائكهِ

وأنتَ ناقدُ تبرٍ منهُ مُنْسبكِ

وأنتَ ناقدُ تبرٍ منهُ مُنْسبكِ

For innate talent is a goldsmith making ornaments from its ingots,

Nature is the caster of jewelry with its metals

And you are the assayer of raw gold cast from it.

And you the assayer of ingots from it unraveled