1. أرضابُه مسكٌ وراح

    أم وجهه ليلا صباح

    Is his saliva musk and wine,

    or is his face dawn in the night?

  2. وقوامه أم بانَة

    ولعبت بعطفيها الرياحُ

    And is that his figure, or a bān tree

    whose two sides the winds have toyed with?

  3. رشأ لصارم لحظه

    في كل جارحة جراحُ

    A young gazelle: the sword of his glance

    leaves wounds in every limb.

  4. وَسنان أمرضَت الحِشا

    أَجفانه المرضى الصحاحُ

    Drowsy—the heart is made ill

    by his eyelids, ailing yet sound.

  5. مازحته فومقته

    والحب أوله مزاحُ

    I jested with him, and so loved him;

    and love begins in jest.

  6. ولرب أسمر مخطَفٍ

    رقباؤه السمر الرماحُ

    And many a dusky, slender-waisted one

    has dark-shafted spears for watchers.

  7. ما للضنى من خصره

    أبدا ولا جسمي براحُ

    Wasting never leaves his waist,

    nor ever leaves my body.

  8. يا من له عندي حمى

    لا والهوى ما يستباحُ

    O you who have a sanctuary within me—

    no, by love, it shall not be violated.

  9. بي غلة ما تنطفي

    بِسوى رضابك والتياحُ

    I have a thirst that cannot be quenched

    save by your lips' nectar—and a parching heat.

  10. رفقا بصب ما له

    عن ربع صبوته انتزاحُ

    Be gentle with a lovesick man who cannot

    leave the dwelling of his passion.

  11. قلق كأن فؤاده

    لك يا معذبه وشاحُ

    Restless, as though his heart

    were your sash, O you who torment him.

  12. هيهات يخفى شأنه

    وله من الشانِ افتضاحُ

    His plight can never be concealed,

    for that very plight exposes him.

  13. بأبي ملاحتك التي

    من بعضِها خُلِق السِلاحُ

    My father be ransom for your beauty,

    from part of which weapons were created—

  14. جمعا كما من بعض سي

    ب محمدٍ خلِق السماحُ

    all of them—just as from part of the bounty

    of Muhammad, generosity was created.

  15. الملك عضد الدين أك

    رم من له وفر مباحُ

    The king, ʿAḍud al-Dīn, the most

    generous of those whose wealth is freely given.

  16. ملك إلى أبوابه

    تنضي المخيّةُ الطلاحُ

    A king toward whose gates

    marrow-rich, weary camels are worn thin.

  17. المستباح حِمَى الموا

    هب والاغر المستصاحُ

    He whose sanctuary of gifts lies open,

    the radiant one called upon for aid.

  18. جذلان من خمر الثنا

    ء له اغتباق واصطباحُ

    Exultant in the wine of praise,

    he drinks it at evening and at dawn.

  19. غيث لديمته انصباب

    وانسكاب وانسحاحُ

    A rain whose steady showers pour down,

    cascade and gush.

  20. لولاه لم يك مع مضي

    ق الرزق للأمل انفساحُ

    Without him, amid the straits

    of livelihood, hope would have no room.

  21. ليث إذا دعيت نزا

    ل وجد بالقوم الكفاحُ

    A lion, when 'To battle!' is cried

    and combat grows fierce among the men.

  22. يعنو لسواد صحائف

    في كفه البيض الصفاحُ

    To the blackness of pages bow

    the bright, broad sword blades in his hand.

  23. وكأنما عزماته

    لمضائها القدر المتاحُ

    And it is as though his resolves,

    in their decisiveness, were ordained fate.

  24. بيديك يا ابن أبي الفتو

    ح لمغلق الجود افتتاحُ

    In your two hands, O son of Abū al-Futūḥ,

    lies the opening of generosity's closed door.

  25. بالعفو والإسجاح قد

    عرفت خلائقك السجاحُ

    Through pardon and leniency,

    your gentle qualities have become known.

  26. أنت الذي حركاته

    للدين والدنيا صلاح

    You are the one whose actions

    bring good to faith and worldly life.

  27. أنت الذي ما زنده

    إن أصلدَت أيدٍ واطِّراحُ

    You are the one whose fire-stick is never

    cast aside, even if hands strike no sparks.

  28. أنت الذي ما عنده

    للوفد منع واطِّراحُ

    You are the one with whom there is no

    refusal or rejection for visiting delegations.

  29. بل عنده لعداته

    والمال قمع واجتياحُ

    Rather, he has for his enemies

    subjugation, and for his wealth, sweeping depletion.

  30. ما لي على الأيام ال

    لا أن تدوم كذا اقتراحُ

    I ask nothing of the days

    except that they continue thus.

  31. أسعد بعيدك وابق لي

    ما غرد العُجمُ الفِصاحُ

    Rejoice in your feast day, and live on for me

    as long as wordless yet eloquent birds sing.