بأي لسان للوشاة ألام

وقد علموا أني سهرت وناموا

By what tongue do the talebearers reproach me?

Though they know I stayed awake while they slept.

أهيم وما أظهرت في الحببدعة

ولو انهم ذاقوا الغرام لهاموا

I wander love-struck, yet I have introduced no novelty into love.

Had they tasted passion, they too would have wandered love-struck.

هل العشق إلا لوعة مستكنة

ينم عليها زفرة وغرامُ

Is love anything but a hidden burning ache,

betrayed by a sigh and longing?

الأم على حبّي وهو مبرح

وأكبر برح في هواك ملامُ

I am reproached for my love, though it is agonizing,

and the greatest torment in loving you is reproach.

أيستكثرون الوصل لي منك ليلةً

وقد مر عام بالصدود وعامُ

Do they begrudge me one night of union with you,

when a year of rejection has passed, and another year?

يكلفين أن لا أرى الغدر شيمة

غاسلو وداد صادف وذمامَ

I am told not to regard treachery as a trait—

by those who wash away true affection and a pledge [reading uncertain].

كأن علي العشق ضربة لا زم

وما هو إلا للكريم لزامُ

As though love were a blow upon me that I could not escape,

though it binds none but the noble.

ومائله العطفين من نشرة الصبا

لها صحة في طرفها وسقامُ

And a maiden whose flanks sway with youth's exuberance,

whose glance holds both health and sickness.

يخجل منها الأقحوان مقبل

ويروي بخوط الخيزران قوامُ

Her kissable mouth puts the chrysanthemum to shame,

and her stature outshines a bamboo shoot.

أعانقها سرا فيظهر سرنا

وشاح له بين الوشاة كام

I embrace her secretly, but our secret is revealed

by a sash with a tale to tell among the talebearers.

على أن بردينا وقد برد الثرى

عناق وضم واللثام لثامُ

Yet our two cloaks, though the earth has grown cold,

are embrace and clasp, while the veil remains a veil.

أحن إذا فاحت من الغور نفحة

وناحت بأعلى الدوحتين حمامُ

I yearn when a fragrant breath wafts from al-Ghawr,

and doves lament atop the two great trees.

وبيد أيدناها بعنس كأنها

إذا نفحت ريح السموم سمام

And deserts we [traversed] on hardy she-camels, as though they

were swifts when the scorching wind blew.

طلائح أمثال القسي يحثها

رجال كأمثال السهام سهامُ

Travel-worn mounts, like bows, urged onward

by men like arrows—arrows themselves.

لها عند عون الذين ذي الطول

مربع جميم وأمواه تسيل جمامُ

For them, with Awn al-Din, possessor of bounty,

there is lush spring pasture and abundant flowing water.

ولو لم نقدها نحوه لاستقادها

له سائق من جوده وزمامُ

Even had we not led them toward him, they would have been guided

to him by his bounty, their driver and their rein.

هو المرء أما ماله فيحلل

مباح وأما عرضه فحرامُ

He is the man: his wealth is lawful,

freely available, while his honor is inviolable.

أتى فعلى دار السلام سلامة

بمقدمه مستبشرا وسلامُ

He has come, bringing safety to the Abode of Peace,

and gladness and peace at his arrival.

وعاد إليها صبحها ولقد غدا

بها الصبح لما سار وهو ظلامُ

Its dawn has returned to it; indeed,

when he departed, its morning had become darkness.

يذوذ به الجاني فيدنو مناله

ويحمي حماه والصفوف قيامُ

The offender seeks refuge in him, and his goal draws near,

and he protects his domain while the battle ranks stand arrayed.

أشم رزين الحلم تحسب أنه

إذا ما احتبى وسط النّديّ شمامُ

Lofty and firm in forbearance, you would think that he,

when seated with knees bound amid the assembly, is Shamam.

منيع الحمى لو رام أدرك جده

من النجم لم يبعد عليه مرامُ

Unassailable in his domain, if he wished, his fortune would reach

the stars; no goal would be beyond his reach.

عصام اليتامى والأرامل حجرة

وناهيك منه حجرة وعصامُ

The support of orphans, and a refuge for widows,

and sufficient indeed are his refuge and support.

خفي مرامي الكيد باتت تدلنا

عليه عطايا لا تعب جسامُ

His aims in stratagem are hidden, yet we are guided

to him by great gifts beyond reproach.

ينام وراء الثار ولم يزل

بعين وراء الثأر ليس تنامُ

He sleeps with vengeance in view, yet always keeps

an eye on vengeance that never sleeps.

وما ذاك إلا أنه متيقظ

تضام الرواسي وهو ليس يضامُ

This is only because he is vigilant:

the rooted mountains may suffer wrong, but he suffers none.

الست من القوم الذين وجوههم

بدور وأيديهم حمى وحمام

Are you not of the people whose faces

are full moons, and whose hands are sanctuary and death?

أعدوا لأسباب الردى كل سابح

عليه غلام للمتون غلامُ

They have readied every coursing steed for the workings of death,

with a youth upon it—a youth made for horseback.

يناط بأعراف النجوم لجامه

ويجري فيلقى الأرض منه حزامُ

Its bridle is fastened to the crests of the stars,

and when it runs, its girth meets the earth;

وموضونة كالماء أرعد متنه

وفض عليه للنسيم ختامُ

and close-woven armor, like water whose surface trembles,

its seal broken open to the breeze;

واسمر سكران المهزة يلتقي

شطاط بأعلى عوده وعرامُ

and a brown spear, drunk with quivering, where

height and fierceness meet at the top of its shaft.

حسامك يا يحيى الوزير منية

ورأيك يا تاج الماوك حسامُ

Your sword, O Yahya the vizier, is death,

and your judgment, O Crown of Kings, is a sword.

أفي كل يوم أنت قائد جحفل

تروم به الأعداء وهو لهامُ

Do you lead a mighty host every day,

pursuing the enemies with it, a host that devours?

لهم منه في الأقدام ما بصروا به

نفار وفي الأحجام عنه زحامُ

Whenever they see it advancing, it brings them

panic; and as they shrink back from it, a crush.

يسوفهم مثل السوام جوامحا

إلى كل سوق للحمام

He drives them like bolting livestock

to every marketplace of death.

لقد عرقتني بالعراق نوائب

ولولاك لم تبعد علي شآم

Misfortunes in Iraq have gnawed me to the bone;

but for you, al-Sham would not be distant for me.

ووالله لانكبت عنك معزبا

ولو جب مني غارب وسنامُ

By God, I shall not turn away from you to seek distant pasture,

even if my withers and hump were cut away.

وهيهات أن أنسى نداك وبلدة

بها نبتت لي جلدة وعظام

Far be it from me to forget your bounty, or a city

where my skin and bones grew.

لقد حل منك المجد في مستقره

فلا حُلّ منه ما حييت نظامُ

Glory has settled in you at its rightful resting place;

may its binding thread never be loosened while you live.