وحياة عطفة صدغه لو يعطف

لا فاق ذو شجن وافرق مدنفُ

By the life of the curve of his temple-lock—if only he would relent,

the sorrowing would revive, and the lovesick would recover.

بدر وما للبدر خد أحمر

ظبي وما للظبي قد أهيفُ

A full moon—yet the moon has no crimson cheek;

a gazelle—yet no gazelle has a slender-waisted form.

أغضي علىالغضب الذي أرضى به

منه ويجفو في العتاب والطف

I close my eyes to the anger I am content to bear

from him; he is harsh in reproach, while I am gentle.

مستهتر بالصد يحلف أنه

يوفي بميعاد الوصال ويخلف

Obsessed with shunning me, he swears that he

will honor the promised tryst of union, then breaks his word.

يا من يكلفني بعذل سلوة

أقصر فما كلفي عليه تكلفُ

O you who demand, with reproaches, that I forget my love,

desist: my passion for him is no pretense.

قلبي الذي ينزو وقلبك ساكن

ودموع عيني لا دموعك تنزفُ

It is my heart that leaps, while your heart is still;

and my eye's tears, not yours, are streaming.

يا كاسفا بدر السماء بحسنه

لم يبق للمشتاق بال يكسفُ

O you whose beauty eclipses heaven's full moon,

the yearning lover has no spirit left to be eclipsed.

ما لي ضفت عن الغرام وحمله

حتى ظننت بأن خصرك أضعفُ

Why have I grown too weak for love and its burden,

until I thought your waist weaker still?

فإلام تسرف في الملام عواذلي

والوجد بي منهمألج وأسرف

So how long will my reproachers persist in excessive blame,

while passion within me is more relentless, more excessive than they?

ولرب أعرابية نشوى الخطى

عرفت برقبتها الرماح الرعفُ

And many a Bedouin woman, tipsy in her gait,

in whose neck one recognized blood-dripping spears—

لما ضفت ظلل الوصالِ وبيننا

عتب كما صفت السالف القرقفُ

when the shades of union spread, while between us

lay reproach as clear as aged, heady wine—

ظن الوشاة بنا فأوجف قلبها

خوفا ولي قلب عليها أَخوَفُ

the talebearers suspected us, and her heart pounded

with fear; yet my heart feared for her still more.

ثم اتقتهم بالنصيف وأعرضت

إن النصيف مجن من لا ينصفُ

Then she shielded herself from them with her veil and turned away:

indeed, the veil is the shield of one who shows no fairness.

كم لي عليها لائم وعلى الندى

لابن المظفر عاذل ومعنِّفُ

How many blame me for her, while, for his bounty,

Ibn al-Muzaffar has censurers and harsh rebukers!

ملك بما ملكت يداه من اللهى

ما زال يسعد آمليه ويسعف

A king who, with the rich gifts his hands possess,

ever gladdens those who hope in him and grants their needs.

غمر الرداء له رواء باهر

ويد مؤيدة وري محصف

Ample is his mantle, dazzling his presence,

with a strengthened hand and firm, prudent judgment.

من ليس يصرف عن عدو بأسه

حتىيرى للحرب نابا تصرفُ

One who never turns his might away from an enemy

until he sees war gnashing its fang.

جذلان يسرف في العطاء لعلم

ان ليس يشرف قدر من لا يسرفُ

Joyful, he gives beyond measure, knowing

that no man's standing rises unless he gives beyond measure.

متعسف طرق المعالي دهره

أإن الكريم لمثلها متعسفُ

He braves the paths of high achievement all his life;

is it indeed for such heights that the noble man braves hardship?

وإذا تفرعنت الطغاة فسيفه

يوم الوفي ثعبانها المتلقفُ

When tyrants turn Pharaoh-like, his sword

on battle's day is its all-devouring serpent.

فالجور مفترق به متبدد

والعدل مجتمع به متآلفُ

Through him oppression is scattered and dispersed,

and justice is gathered into harmonious accord.

وعتاده الحرب أبيض صارم

ومثقف لدن ونهد مشرف

His equipment for war: a bright white, keen-edged sword,

a straightened, supple spear, and a sturdy, lofty steed,

وفضول محكمة القتير كأنها

صرح توشيه الصبا وتفوقُ

and ample hauberks, securely riveted, as though they were

a palace the east wind embroiders with surpassing art.

لا زلت يا عضد الممالك والهدى

والدين بالمعروف فينا تعرفُ

May you ever remain, O mainstay of kingdoms and guidance

and faith, renowned among us for kindness.

أقسمت إنك يا محمد قادر

تهفو وفيك مع الحياء تعفف

I swear that you, Muhammad, are powerful;

you feel longing, yet combine modesty with self-restraint.

بالجد والتشمير أدركت العلى

وسواك عنها عاجز متخلفُ

Through diligence and strenuous effort you attained the heights,

while others, powerless to reach them, lag behind.

لله أنت فأنت جودا حاتم

وشدجاعة عمرو وحلما أَحنفُ

God bless you! In generosity you are Hatim,

and in courage Amr, and in forbearance Ahnaf.

يوري زنادك ما قدحت ولا ترى

إثر العطايا نادما تتسفُ

Your flints spark whenever you strike; you are never seen

after giving, regretful and lamenting.

كم قد كشفت عن الرعية غمَّة

طخياء ما كانت بغيرك تكشفُ

How many a pall of grief have you lifted from your subjects,

pitch-dark, which none but you could dispel!

يا من صرفت إليه وجه مطالبي

وعلمت أني بالمراد سأصرفُ

O you toward whom I turned the face of my requests,

and knew I would be sent away with my desire fulfilled,

في كل يوم لي بربعك وقفة

تعطي المنى فيها ولا تتوقفُ

each day I pause a while at your dwelling,

during which you grant wishes without hesitation.

أهب الذي أوهبتَنيه من اللهى

ثقة بأنك مخلف ما أُتلفُ

I give away the rich gifts you bestowed on me,

confident that you will replace whatever I spend.

فاسمع بمحكمة النظام كأنها

در على أجياد مجد يرصفُ

So hear a poem of firmly woven verse, as though it were

pearls set in rows upon the necks of glory.

يرتاح سامعها أنها فكأنه

صب سقاه الراح أحوى مخطفُ

Its hearer thrills to it, as though he were

a lovesick lover served wine by a dark-lipped, slender-waisted beauty.

واسعد بشهر الصوم وأسلم ما دعت

في رقة الأسحار ورق هُتفَ

Be happy in the month of fasting, and remain safe as long as

gray doves call aloud in the tenderness of the predawn hours.