من يد عون الدين صدر الزمان

يحيي المرجّى تخجل المرزمان

Before the giving hand of ‘Awn al-Din, foremost of the age,

Yahya, in whom hope is placed, the two Mirzam stars blush.

رب سيوف الهند مشحوذه

والخيل قبا والرماح اللدان

Lord of sharpened Indian swords,

of lean-flanked horses and supple spears,

وكل جيل لجب أرعن

كأنه السيل يطول الرعان

and every clamorous, towering host,

like a torrent overtopping mountain peaks.

تتبعه الطير خماصا فلا

ترجع من مغزاه الأبطانُ

Birds follow him empty-bellied, and do not

return from his campaign except full-bellied.

الورع الأروع والحازم الا

أصمع والجرف الأعر الهجان

Devout and splendid, resolute and

keen-witted; a rugged, noble crag.

وصاحب العرض الذيب صانه

بالعرض النهب الذي يصان

And a man of honor, which he has guarded

with wealth free for the taking—the very thing men guard.

دانت ملوك الأرض طوعا له

وعم جودا كل قار ودان

The kings of earth submit to him willingly,

and his bounty embraces everyone, far and near.

ذو همّة قاضية بالعلى

وعزمة ماضية كالسنان

Possessed of an ambition that commands the heights,

and a resolve as piercing as a spearhead.

تلقاه في يومي ندى أو ردى

حلو مجاني الرفد مر الطَّعان

On either day—of bounty or death—you find him

sweet in the harvest of gifts, bitter in spear-thrusts.

مجرب تشرف آراؤه

في كل يوم أيومٍ أرونان

Tried and tested, his counsels rise supreme

on every calamitous, tumultuous day.

أغلى عذارى الشعر من بعدما

بيعت على جهالها بالهوان

He made poetry’s maidens precious, after

they had been sold cheaply to those ignorant of their worth.

ما لروض مطلول بكى شجوه

فيه الحيا وابتسم الأقحوان

No dew-drenched garden, whose sorrow is wept

within it by the rain, while the chamomile smiles,

كأنما عبرن أنفاسه

عن نفحة العنبر والزعفران

as though its breaths were speaking

of a waft of ambergris and saffron,

يوما بأذكى أرجا لا ولا

أحسن من أخلاق يحيى الحمان

is ever more fragrant—no, nor

lovelier than Yahya’s character [final word unclear].

سحاب جود غدى باللهى

سحاب ذيل الدرع يوم الرهان

A cloud of bounty, laden with lavish gifts,

trailing his coat of mail on the day of contest.

مبتسم إن كلحت أزمة

جعد الثرى سبق حواشي البنان

Smiling when adversity bares its teeth,

his soil luxuriant, his fingertips outspread.

أثبت خلف الله جأشا إذا

طاش من الرعب جنان الجبان

Steadiest of God’s creatures in heart, when

the coward’s heart reels with terror,

وأصبح البر دما مائرا

بأنه بحر من الأرجوان

and the land becomes surging blood,

as though it were a sea of crimson.

ذلّل صرف الدهر لي جوده

حتى لقد أصحب بعد الحران

His generosity tamed for me time’s reversals,

until it grew obedient after stubborn balking.

قسا على الأعداء عنفا بهم

ثمّت لطفا للموالين لأن

He was harsh with enemies, treating them sternly,

then softened in kindness toward his supporters.

ما مال عن منهج حق ولا

شاب لنا منته بامتنان

He never swerved from the path of right, nor

tainted his favor to us with reproachful reminders.

إذا سمعنا خبرا للندى

عن جوده زادج عليه العيان

If we hear a report of generosity

about his bounty, the sight surpasses the telling.

ثبت إذا خفَّت حلوم الورى

أبان عن حلم كركني أبان

Steadfast when people’s judgments grow flighty,

he reveals forbearance like Aban’s twin pillars.

لله كم عندي له من يد

مالي بحمل البعض منها يدان

By God, how many favors of his I owe,

I have not two hands to bear even part of them.

قد بان للد وله أن قد غدا

معزها الحامي لها خير بان

It is clear to the state that he has become,

as its champion and protector, its finest builder.

يذب عنها تاره بالظبي

وتارةة ينصرها باللسان

He defends it, at times with sword-edges,

and at times champions it with his tongue.

مامان من أفرط في مدحه

فعا من صرف الردى في أمان

No one who praises him to excess has lied;

so [unclear]—safe from death’s vicissitudes.