1. دنوّاً لَقَد أَوهى تَجَلُديَ البُعدُ

    وَوَصلاً فَقَد أَدمى جَوانِحيَ الصَدُّ

    Draw near: separation has indeed weakened my fortitude.

    And grant union: rejection has bloodied my ribs.

  2. أَجنُّ غَراماً فيكَ خيفة كاشح

    وَمِن مَدمَعي وَدَق وَفي كَبدي وَقَد

    I conceal my passion for you, fearing a spiteful enemy.

    And from my tears falls rain, while in my liver burns a blaze.

  3. وَبي فَوقَ ما بِالناس مِن لاعج الهَوى

    وَلَكن أَبى أَن يَجزَع الأَسَد الوَرد

    And I bear love's burning anguish beyond what others bear,

    but the tawny lion refuses to lose heart.

  4. فَيا مَن يُبين الرُشد فيمَن أُحِبُهُ

    مَتّى يَلتَقي الحُب المُبرح وَالرُشد

    O you who explain good judgment concerning the one I love,

    when do tormenting love and good judgment meet?

  5. تَلاعَبتُ بِالأَشواق حَتّى لَعِبنَ بي

    وَما كُنتُ أَدري أَن هَزل الهَوى جَد

    I toyed with longings until they toyed with me,

    and I did not know that love's jesting was earnest.

  6. بليت بِقاس لا يَرق فُؤادَهُ

    عَلَيَّ وَها قَد رَقَ لي الحَجَرُ الصَلد

    I am afflicted with a cruel one whose heart will not soften

    toward me—yet behold, hard stone has softened for me.

  7. أُعاني بِهِ ما يَعجَز الدَهرُ بَعضَهُ

    وَاحمل ما قَد كلَّ عَن حَملِهِ الجُهد

    Through him I suffer what Time cannot endure even in part,

    and I bear what strength itself is too exhausted to carry.

  8. إِذا جِئتَهُ يَوماً لَبث شَكية

    أَروح بِأَشجان عَلى مِثلِها أَغدو

    Whenever I come to him one day to pour out a complaint,

    I return at evening with sorrows like those I set out with in the morning.

  9. وَادفع عَنهُ النَفس وَهِيَ عَصية

    وَهَل يُمكن الظَمآن عَن مَورد رَدُّ

    And I try to drive my soul away from him, though it rebels;

    but can a thirsty man be turned away from a watering place?

  10. تَهددني مِن مُقلَتيهِ إِذا رَنا

    قَواضب مِما يَصنع اللَهُ لا الهِند

    When he gazes, his two eyes threaten me with

    cutting blades made by God, not India.

  11. حَداد يَلوح المَوت في صَفحاتِها

    مَواض لَها في كُل جارِحة غَمد

    Sharp, with death gleaming on their faces,

    keen, with a sheath for them in every limb.

  12. كَأَنَّ عَلَيها القَتل ضَربة لازِبِ

    فَلَيسَ لَها مِما تُحاوِلهُ بُدُّ

    As though killing were an inescapable decree laid upon them,

    so they have no escape from what they set out to do.

  13. تَعَلم مِنها الدَهر صَولة فاتِكِ

    فَما بَرِحَت تَزداد فَتكاً وَتَشتَدُّ

    Time learned from them a ruthless killer's onslaught,

    and they have never ceased to grow more deadly and fierce.

  14. كَأَنَّهُما في حَلبة الضَيم فارِساً

    رِهانٍ وَكُلُ مِنهُما سابق يَعدو

    As though the two, on oppression's racecourse, were two riders

    in a contest, each galloping in the lead.

  15. سَأَفزع مِن جور الخُطوب وَاِنثَني

    إِلى عَدل مِن أَضحى لَهُ الحَل وَالعقد

    I shall flee the tyranny of calamities and turn

    to the justice of him who now holds the power to loosen and bind.

  16. همام يَرجى لا سِواهُ وَيَتَقي

    وَإِن زادَ أَبناء الرِجال وَإِن عَدّوا

    A magnanimous lord, none but he is looked to and feared,

    however numerous men's sons become, however many are counted.

  17. لَدَيهِ تَحل المُعضِلات وَتَنجَلي

    وَمِن دُونِهِ الإِفضال وَالحَسَب العدُّ

    In his presence, difficult problems are resolved and cleared away,

    and generosity and deep-rooted nobility stand beneath him.

  18. لِعُمري لَهُ الكَف الَّتي لا يَصدّها

    ملال وَإِن مَلّ الخَزائن وَالوَفد

    By my life, his is the hand that is never deterred

    by weariness, even if the treasuries and visiting delegations tire.

  19. هُوَ ابن عِماد الدين مِن شاد مربعاً

    مِن الفَضل في أَرجائِهِ يَنجَح القَصد

    He is the son of Imad al-Din, who built an abode

    of excellence, within whose precincts one's purpose is fulfilled.

  20. لَهُ نعم ياوي إِلى ظِلِها المُنا

    وَتَسحَب إِذيال الثَراء بِها الرَفد

    His favors shelter wishes beneath their shade,

    and through them gifts trail the skirts of wealth.

  21. وَعلم بِحار الأَرض دونَ أَقله

    وَحلم يَبيد الرغب لَيسَ لَهُ حَدُّ

    And knowledge, whose least part surpasses the earth's seas,

    and forbearance that extinguishes desire and knows no bounds.

  22. عَليم إِذا لاحَت ثَواقب فِكرِهِ

    يُضيءُ بِها الداجي وَيَتَقد الزِند

    Deeply learned: when the piercing lights of his thought appear,

    through them the dark night shines and the fire-stick catches flame.

  23. كَأَنَّ لَهُ عَين إِطلاع بِقَلبِهِ

    فَسيان ما يَخفى لَدَيهِ وَما يَبدو

    As though his heart held an eye of insight,

    so what is hidden and what appears are alike to him.

  24. تَصَدّى لِنَصر الدين بَعدَ اِنخِذالِهِ

    فَرُد عَلى أَعقابِهِ الزَمَن الوَغدُ

    He stepped forward to champion the faith after it had been forsaken,

    so base Time was driven back upon its heels.

  25. وَساس أُمور المُسلِمين وَفضلُهُ

    حسام بِهِ هامَ الجَهالة يَنقدُّ

    He governed the affairs of the Muslims, and his excellence

    is a sword by which the heads of ignorance are cleft.

  26. بِمَن تُشرق الأَيام وَهُوَ ضِياؤُها

    فَلَيسَ لَهُ فيها نَظير وَلا نِدُّ

    Through him the days shine, and he is their radiance,

    so among them he has no equal and no rival.

  27. بِحف بِأَشبال أَبي اللَهِ أَنَّهُ

    يَضُمُّ مِن العَليا لِأشباهِها مهد

    He is surrounded by lion cubs; God has refused to let

    any cradle hold their equals in lofty rank.

  28. ذَخائر لا يَسخو الزَمان بِمِثلِها

    ثَلاثة أَمجاد كَأَنَّهُمُ عقد

    Treasures whose like Time does not freely bestow:

    three noble ones, as though they were a necklace,

  29. مِن الرَوضة الغَنّاء وَالدَوحة الَّتي

    يَهز لَها أَعطافثهُ العِز وَالمَجد

    from the luxuriant garden and the spreading tree

    for which honor and glory sway their flanks.

  30. يَرق بِها خَوط المَحامد يانِعاً

    وَيَعبَق مِن نَشر الفَخار بِها الرند

    There the shoot of virtues grows tender and ripe,

    and there the laurel is fragrant with the scent of glory.

  31. فَلو عَرضت مِنها لرضوان نَفحة

    لَما خَطَرت يَوماً بِفكرَتِهِ الخُلد

    If a fragrant breath from it were to reach Ridwan,

    Paradise would never once cross his mind.

  32. حَديقة عزّ يُنبت العز دُونَها

    وَدَوحة مَجد كُل مَجد لَها وَرد

    A garden of honor, beneath which honor sprouts,

    and a spreading tree of glory, with every glory a rose upon it.

  33. تَحلّ بِها يابن الأَكارم دَعوة

    فَقَد أَينَعت فيها المَدائح وَالقُصد

    A prayer finds lodging there, O son of the noblest,

    for panegyrics and odes have ripened within it.

  34. عَلَيكَ مِن المَجد المُؤَثل لامة

    مُضاعَفة التَسبيف مَوضونة سَرد

    Upon you is a suit of armor of deep-rooted glory,

    double-worked, with tightly interwoven mail.

  35. وَلا زِلت مَحروس الجَناب مملكاً

    يقام عَلى أَبواب سدّتك المَجد

    And may you ever remain a sovereign, your domain protected,

    with glory stationed at the gates of your court.