1. أُسايرُ رَكْبَ الجّوِّ وهو كواكبُ

    وأهزِمُ جُندَ اللّيلَ وهي غياهبُ

    I travel alongside the sky's caravan, which is the stars,

    and rout the army of night, which is deep darkness.

  2. وأَلثِمُ أيدي العِيسِ في كلِّ منزلٍ

    فهُنّ إذا زُرْنَ الحبيبَ حبائب

    I kiss the forelegs of the pale camels at every stopping-place,

    for when they visit the beloved, they too are beloved.

  3. فكيف بها سعدِيةً دون وَصْلها

    ظُبىً جرَّبتْها في القِراعِ الأجارب

    Then how much more beloved is Sa'diyya, when barring union with her

    are sword-edges that seasoned fighters have tested in combat?

  4. إذا زرْتُها طافتْ عليها عواذلٌ

    وقاسمني العينَيْنِ منها مُراقِب

    When I visit her, chiding women circle around her,

    and a watcher shares her two eyes with me.

  5. ووَدَّ عليها لو يَخيطُ جُفونَه

    غيورٌ على إلمامةِ الطّيفِ عاتِب

    A jealous man wishes he could stitch his eyelids shut over her,

    resentful even of a dream-phantom's brief visit.

  6. تَوعّدني الغيرانُ بالموتِ دونكم

    وتلك الأماني يا أُميمَ الكواذِب

    The jealous man threatened me with death before I reached you;

    those, O Umaym, are lying wishes.

  7. أأُغضِي على وِتْرٍ وللسيفِ قائمٌ

    وأَقُعُدُ عن مَجدٍ وللعيسِ غارب

    Should I overlook an unavenged wrong while the sword has a hilt,

    and sit idle, shunning glory, while the camels have withers?

  8. ألفْتُ نَوى الأُلاّفِ ممَّا أخوضهُ

    فلستُ أُبالي حينَ يَنعَبُ ناعب

    I have grown used to parting from companions through all I face,

    so I care nothing when a raven croaks.

  9. وفارقْتُ أصحابي فقال فراقُهم

    تأمَّلْ فما غيْري لك اليومَ صاحب

    I parted from my companions, and their parting said:

    Consider: today you have no companion but me.

  10. أفي كلِّ يومٍ للزّمان بصَفْحتِي

    نُدوبُ سهامٍ كُلُّهنّ صوائب

    Does time, every day, leave upon my side

    scars from arrows, every one unerring?

  11. وكان عجيباً فيه لو أنّ ساعةً

    تَمُرُّ ولا تَنتابُ فيها عجائب

    It would be a wonder in this age if a single hour

    passed without strange events befalling it.

  12. أخِلاّيَ لو كان الزّمانُ كعَهْدهِ

    لأسمحَ مَطْلوبٌ وأنجحَ طالب

    My dear friends, if time were as it once was,

    the one sought would give freely, and the seeker succeed,

  13. وآبَ إلى أحبابِه وديارِه

    مَشوقٌ إليهم حاضِرُ القلبِ غائب

    and home to his loved ones and his dwellings would return

    one longing for them, present in heart but absent.

  14. ولكنْ عدتْني أنْ أعودَ إليكمُ

    من الدّهرِ هذي الحادثاتُ الغرائب

    But I have been kept from returning to you

    by these strange calamities of time.

  15. وكان النّوى يَكفْي لتفريق بَيْننا

    فكيف إذا كان النّوى والنوائب

    Separation alone was enough to part us;

    what then when separation and calamities combine?

  16. وإنّي على ما بي ليَجْذِبُ همتّي

    إلى الشّرفِ العالي من المجدِ جاذب

    And despite my plight, my ambition is surely drawn

    toward the lofty eminence of glory by a compelling force.

  17. حلفْتُ بأنضاء السِفارِ دوائبٍ

    عليهنّ أنجابٌ وهُنّ نَجائب

    I swore by journey-worn mounts, ever traveling,

    with noble men upon them, noble camels themselves.

  18. تَخِفُّ بها أيدٍ كأنّ مُرورَها

    سِراعاً فُويقَ الأرض أيدٍ حَواسب

    Forelegs bear them lightly, their motion resembling,

    as they speed just above the earth, hands at reckoning.

  19. لأدَّرِعَنَّ اللّيلَ أسحَبُ ذَيْلَه

    إلى أن يُرَى فَرْعٌ من الصبحِ شائب

    I shall surely don the night as armor, dragging its hem,

    until a gray lock of dawn comes into view.

  20. بصَحْب لهم بيِضُ السّيوف أضالعٌ

    وعيسٌ عليهنّ الرِحالُ غَوارب

    With companions whose ribs are gleaming swords,

    and pale camels whose withers are saddles,

  21. وكل جَموحِ الشَدِّ فوق سَراته

    غلامٌ لأطرافِ الرّماح مُلاعِب

    and every mount wild in its gallop, upon whose back

    a youth plays with the points of spears:

  22. من البِيض يُعْرَوري به السّيفَ عَزْمُه

    وإن هو لم تُسْدَدْ عليه المَذاهب

    one of the fair-faced, whose resolve rides the sword bareback with him,

    even when the ways before him have not been barred.

  23. ويَقْتادُ من آل الصُّبيْبِ نَزائعاً

    عليهِنّ من سِرِّ العُرَيْبِ عصائب

    He leads imported steeds of the line of al-Subayb,

    bearing bands of the choicest Arabs.

  24. يُصبِّحُ حَيّاً وهْو يُعْلَقُ بعضَه

    فيَرجعُ مَنْهوباً من الوجد ناهب

    He raids a clan at dawn, yet falls in love with one of its people;

    the plunderer returns, himself plundered by longing.

  25. مُقضَّى زمانٍ ما يَزالُ لأهْله

    إذا ذَلَّ منه جانبٌ عَزَّ جانب

    A lifetime spent in an age whose people always find

    that when one side grows meek, another grows mighty.

  26. وأروعَ مَضّاءٍ كأنَّ جَنانَه

    شُباةُ سِنانٍ أُودعَتْها التّرائب

    And by an awe-inspiring, resolute man, whose heart seems

    a spearhead's sharp point entrusted to the breastbones.

  27. أمالَ زمامَ الأرجنيِّ مُعَرِّجاً

    وقد حامتِ الآمالُ والجُودُ ناضب

    He turned al-Arjani's reins, bending his course,

    when hopes were circling and generosity had run dry.

  28. وألقَى إليك ابنَ الكرامِ برَحْلِها

    فلا مَجْدَ إلا دُونَ ما هو كاسِب

    He delivered to you the son of noble men, with his mount's saddle;

    all glory falls below what he earns.

  29. وهل عن سديدِ الدولةِ القَرمِ مَعدِلٌ

    إذا شامَتِ النُجْحَ الوشيكَ المَطالِب

    Is there any turning away from Sadid al-Dawla, the noble lord,

    when aspirations glimpse imminent success?

  30. ولم نَقَضِ من حقِّ المطايا وقد سَمَتْ

    لِلُقياهُ إلا دون ما هو واجب

    We have repaid our mounts—though they aspired

    to meet him—only with less than their due,

  31. ولو أن ما يُحذّيْن منها نواظِرٌ

    ولو أنَّ ما يُكْسَيْن منها ذَوائب

    even if their shoes were made of eyes,

    and even if their coverings were locks of hair.

  32. فكيف وقد حَجّتْ بنا بَيْتَ سُؤْددٍ

    إلى مثلِه بالعيسِ تُطْوَى السباسب

    How much more, when they brought us as pilgrims to a house of lordship,

    toward whose like the wastes are crossed on pale camels?

  33. أخو المَجْدِ امّا لثناء فإنّه

    كَسوبٌ وأمَّا للثّراء فَواهب

    A brother of glory: as for praise, he is

    a keen earner; as for wealth, a giver.

  34. له مُثْنِيا صِدْقٍ عليه بِجُودهِ

    إذا ما تلاقَتْ بالرّفاق الرَكائب

    He has two truthful praisers of his bounty,

    whenever riding camels meet with their traveling companies:

  35. فأمّا إذا سارتْ إليه فَركْبُها

    وأمّا إذا عاجوا بها فالحَقائب

    when they journey toward him, their riders,

    and when the riders turn back with them, their saddlebags.

  36. إذا ما أتاه الرّاغبون أعادَهم

    ومِلء أكفِّ الرّغِبين الرغائب

    When seekers come to him, he sends them back

    with their palms full of the gifts they desire.

  37. فتىً كرُمَتْ أخلاقُه فانثَنَتْ به

    محاسن هذا الناس وهي معايب

    A youth whose character is so noble that beside him

    the virtues of these people become faults.

  38. وحاز العلا حتى اشرأبت لعصره

    بواقي اللّيالي والتفَتْنَ الذّواهب

    He attained such heights that toward his age stretched

    the nights still to come, and the departed ones turned back.

  39. وأدنَى أميرُ المؤمنين مكانَه

    إلى غايةٍ من دُونها النّجمُ ثاقب

    The Commander of the Faithful raised his station

    to a height below which the piercing star shines.

  40. دعاهُ لملكٍ كان مَوضِعَ سِرّه

    وفي كل قومٍ صَفْوةٌ وأشائب

    He called him to rule, for he was the keeper of his secrets;

    every people has an elite and a motley throng.

  41. زعيمُ دواوينٍ يَليهِنّ كافياً

    وللسيفِ في يومِ القِراعِ مُضارب

    Chief of government bureaus, administering them capably,

    and a sword-wielder on the day of combat.

  42. و لا غَرض إلا يُصيبُ لأنّه

    إذا سُلَ سيفٌ من يدِ اللهِ صائب

    He strikes every target, for he is,

    when drawn, an unerring sword from God's hand.

  43. توحَّدَ في عَلْيائهِ فهو غُرّةٌ

    لدَهْر بهيمٍ والحُجولُ المناقب

    He stands alone in his lofty station, a white blaze

    on a pitch-black age, its white stockings his noble deeds.

  44. شمائلُ منها للمُواليِنَ باسمٌ

    ومنها لإفْناء المُعادِينَ صاحب

    His qualities include one smiling on loyal followers,

    and another a companion in annihilating foes.

  45. يزيدُ بإظلامِ الورى فرْطُ نُورِها

    ولن تجلُوَ الأقمارَ إلا الغياهب

    Their intense light grows as mankind darkens;

    only deep darkness brings the moons to view.

  46. فدام قريرَ العينِ ما ذَرَّ شارقٌ

    وما أمَّ بيتَ اللهِ بالعِيسِ راكب

    May he remain with eyes at peace, as long as a sun rises,

    and a rider heads on pale camels to the House of God.

  47. يصومُ على يُمْنٍ ويُفْطِرُ ما دعا

    من الخُطْبِ في عُودِ الأراكةِ خاطب

    May he fast and break his fast in blessing, for as long as

    a wooer calls his suit from an arak branch.

  48. فلا زَمنٌ عاصٍ لما هو آمرٌ

    ولا قَدَرٌ ماحٍ لما هو كاتب

    May no age disobey what he commands,

    nor fate erase what he writes.

  49. يروعُ الأعادي منه لَيْثُ كتابةٍ

    ليُمْنَى يدَيْهِ من يراعٍ مَخالِب

    From him a lion of writing terrifies his enemies;

    his right hand's claws are reed pens.

  50. إذا خُيِّرَ الأعداءُ بين كتيبةٍ

    وبين كتابٍ منه قالوا الكتائب

    When his enemies are given the choice between a battalion

    and a letter from him, they say: The battalions!

  51. يَمُرُّ على القرطاس مَرّاً بَنانُه

    كما بَرَقَتْ للشّائمينَ السحائب

    His fingertips sweep over the paper

    as clouds flash lightning for those watching for it.

  52. عليمٌ بأسرارِ الزّمانِ مُجرِّبٌ

    تَشِفُّ وراء الفكْرِ منه العواقب

    Knowing time's secrets, seasoned by experience,

    outcomes show clearly beyond his thought.

  53. وأبلَجُ أقْذَتْ خَلّتي عينَ فِكْرِه

    فظَلَّ لرَيْبِ الدّهرِ فِيَّ يُعاتب

    A radiant man: my poverty put a mote in his mind's eye,

    so he kept reproaching time's reversals on my behalf.

  54. واسحَبَني ذيل الكرامة جاهُهُ

    وذو الفضل لا يشقى به من يصاحب

    His prestige let me trail the hem of honor;

    one who accompanies a man of excellence cannot be wretched.

  55. فلا تنمني الأمجادُ إن لم تَسِرْبها

    قوافٍ لآفاقِ البلادِ جوائب

    May the noble disown me unless these deeds are carried

    by rhymes roaming the horizons of the lands.

  56. شُموسٌ وأفواهُ الرُّواة مشارقٌ

    لهنّ وأسماعُ المُلوك مَغارب

    Suns, whose rising-places are reciters' mouths,

    and whose setting-places are kings' ears.

  57. وَكلْتُ بهنَّ الفكْرَ حتى تَهذَّبتْ

    على النّقدِ إلا ما تَعلّلَ جادِب

    I charged my thought with them until they were polished

    through scrutiny, save for a detractor's pretexts.

  58. وما الناسُ إلا شاعرانِ فناظمٌ

    إذا ضَمَّ شَمْلاً للكلامِ وحاطب

    People are but two kinds of poet: a composer,

    who brings speech into order, and a gatherer of firewood.

  59. لئن مدَحَ النّاسُ الكرامَ فأحسنوا

    فمَجْدُك بَحرٌ للمُجِيدين غالب

    If people praise the noble and do it well,

    your glory is a sea that overwhelms even the masters.

  60. فإن عجَزوا أو قَصَّروا عن بُلوغهِ

    فقد عَلموا أن لن تُنالَ الكواكب

    If they prove unequal or fall short of reaching it,

    they already know that stars cannot be reached.