سرت نفحة كالمسك أزهى وأعطر

وأردية الظلماء تطوى وتنشر

A breath wafted by, like musk, yet lovelier and more fragrant,

while the robes of darkness were folded and unfurled.

فأوهمت صحبي أنها عرف روضة

ينم بها واشي النسيم ويخبر

I led my companions to think it was a garden's fragrance,

revealed and reported by the breeze, that tale-bearer.

وما هي إلا نفحة بعثت بها

سليمى إلى صب تنام ويسهر

Yet it was only a fragrant breath sent

by Sulayma to a lovesick man: she sleeps while he keeps vigil.

وإلا فما بال النسيم الذي سرى

بذي الأثل عن عرف العبير يعبر

Otherwise, why did the breeze that passed

through Dhu al-Athl speak of perfume's fragrance?

حمى الله من ريب الحوادث بالحمى

وجوهاً بها روض من الحسن يزهر

May God guard, in the sanctuary, from the hazards of fate,

faces upon which a garden of beauty blooms,

وحيا بنجد والغوير وغرب

ظعائن منها منجد ومغور

and a clan in Najd, al-Ghuwayr, and Gharb,

with traveling women, some going upland and some descending to the lowlands.

سفحت على سفح المحجر أدمعاً

هي الدم لا ما اعتاد جفن ومحجر

I poured upon al-Mahjar's slope tears

that were blood, not what eyelid and eye socket usually shed.

ومائدة الأعطاف من نشوة الصبا

وما كل عطف بالمدامة يسكر

And a woman whose curves sway with the intoxication of youth—

not every swaying body is made drunk by wine.

فتنت بها لحظاً ولفظاً فخاطري

وسمعي بسحر اللحظ والفظ يسحر

I was bewitched by her glance and speech; my mind

and hearing are enchanted by the magic of glance and speech.

أقام لها الإحسان والحسن دولة

تظل بها الألباب تنهي وتؤمر

Goodness and beauty have established for her a realm

where minds remain subject to prohibitions and commands.

شهدت يقيناً أن مرآك جنة

وقالوا وما أدري وريقك كوثر

I have witnessed with certainty that the sight of you is paradise;

they say—though I do not know—that your saliva is Kawthar.

ألا حبذا في البان منك وفي النقا

وذائب شهد من ثناياك يقطر

Ah, how lovely is what the ban-tree and dunes bear of you,

and melted honey dripping from your front teeth!

ويا حبذا في البان منك وفي النقا

مشابه منها ما يضم ويهصر

And oh, how lovely, in the ban-tree and dunes, are your

likenesses, among them what can be clasped and bent!

لئن ساءني ليل بهجرك مظلم

لقد سرني صبح بوصلك مسفر

Though a night darkened by your desertion grieved me,

a dawn brightened by your union delighted me.

ذكرتك والنسيان يملك خاطري

وآية وجدي أنني لست أشعر

I remembered you while forgetfulness possessed my mind;

and the sign of my passion is that I am unaware.

سلي خلوتي عن ضميري ألم أصن

هواك ومعروف الهوى يتنكر

Ask my solitude about my heart: have I not guarded

my love for you, while love's familiar face turns strange?

بعيشك هل في الأرض غيري عاشق

وهل فارس الإسلام إلا المظفر

By your life, is there any lover on earth but me?

And is there any champion of Islam but al-Muzaffar?

شهاب أمير المؤمنين الذي غدت

بدولته الأيام تسمو وتفخر

The blazing star of the Commander of the Faithful, under whose

rule the days rise high and glory.

أغر لو أنا ما عرفنا حديثه

لحدثنا عنه سريري ومنير

A radiant man: had we never known his story,

my couch and a shining light would have told us of him.

حمى حرم العلياء لما تواثبت

عليها سباع ضاريات وأنسر

He defended glory's sanctuary when

ravenous beasts and eagles sprang upon it.

وفي ضحوة الاثنين لولا دفاعه

لما كان كسر الملك والدين يجبر

And in Monday's forenoon, but for his defense,

the breach in kingship and religion could not have been mended.

وقد أعربت يوم العروبة خيله

عن النصر تحت القصر والخلق حضر

His horses proclaimed, on the day of al-Aruba,

victory beneath the palace, with all the people present.

حلفت بزوراء المحصب من منى

ومن ضمه منهم حطيم ومشعر

I swore by al-Zawra of al-Muhassab in Mina,

and those among them embraced by the Hatim and Mash'ar,

وبالنفر من بطحاء مكة بعدما

أهلوا بذكر الله فيها وكبروا

and by the departure from Mecca's valley, after

they chanted God's name there and proclaimed His greatness.

لقد سدت يا بدر بن رزيك رتبة

لها البدر خل والكواكب معشر

You have indeed attained, Badr ibn Ruzzik, a station

whose companion is the full moon and whose company are the stars.

تناط أمور الملك منك بحازم

يقدم من تدبيرها ويؤخر

The affairs of kingship are entrusted, in you, to a resolute man

who advances and delays their plans.

يرد صدور الخيل عند ورودها

ويورد في الخطب المهم ويصدر

He repels the horses' breasts as they charge,

and in grave crises leads men in and brings them out.

يدبر ملك الفاطمي وإنه

إذا ضل وجه الرأي نعم المدبر

He governs the Fatimid realm; and he,

when sound counsel loses its way, is an excellent governor.

تلوذ بعطفيه إذا الخطب نالها

فيكشف عنها ما تخاف وتحذر

It seeks refuge at his sides when calamity strikes it,

and he removes from it whatever it fears and dreads.

ومابرحت أفعاله زينة لها

تؤرخ في صحف المعالي وتسطر

His deeds have never ceased to adorn it,

recorded and inscribed in the scrolls of lofty deeds.

وأي زمان لم تبت نصرة لها

تحسر ذيلي عزمة وتشمر

And in what age has aid for it not spent the night

lifting resolve's two hems and girding itself for action?

أفي زمان الهادي الكفيل طلائع

فقد كنت تصلى نارها حين تسعر

Was it in the time of the guiding guardian, Tala'i'?

You were already braving its fire when it blazed.

إذا نبت عنه في دفاع ملمة

تساوى له فيها مغيب ومحضر

When you stood in for him to repel a calamity,

absence and presence were equal for him in it.

لئن عز عصر ناصري فإنه

بذكركما العالي يعز وينصر

If my patron's age is glorious, it

is exalted and upheld by your two lofty reputations.

وما أنت إلا صارم في يمينه

يذاد بك الأعداء عنه وينصر

You are nothing but a keen sword in his right hand,

with which his enemies are driven off and he is upheld,

وذخر يرى ذخر الأئمة أنه

لدولته كنز يصان ويذخر

and a treasure whom the Treasure of the Imams regards

as a hoard for his realm, guarded and stored.

لئن نظم الأيام عقد طلائع

ضمنت بها يا سلك أن ليس تنثر

If Tala'i's necklace strung the days together,

you, its thread, guaranteed that they would not scatter.

ولا عيب في بدر سوى أن قدره

وقد جاوز الجوزاء لا يتكبر

Badr has no fault, save that his stature,

though it has passed beyond Gemini, does not grow proud.

مليك له سجلا عقارب ونائل

بسيبهما يغني ويفني ويفقر

A king with twin buckets of scorpions and largesse,

whose outpourings enrich, destroy, and impoverish.

له صارم في أسود النقع أحمر

له جانب في أحمر الحديد أخضر

His blade is red amid the black dust-cloud;

his flank is green amid the iron's red.

ويوم بصافي الجود والبشر مشرق

ويوم بكدراء العجاجة أكدر

One day shines with pure generosity and cheer,

and another is dark with murky clouds of battle-dust.

يتيه بكفيه من الهند أبيض

ويزهى به لدن من الخط أسمر

In his hands a white Indian blade struts,

and a supple brown spear from al-Khatt glories in him.

تهز رياح النصر من عذباته

غصوناً بهامات المعادين تثمر

The winds of victory shake, from his pennants,

branches bearing his enemies' heads as fruit.

وتردى غداة السلم حول قبابه

إذا ضربت قبٌّ من الخيل ضمر

At dawn in peace, around his pavilions, leap

lean, hollow-flanked horses, when the tents are pitched.

وترعف آناف اليراع بكفه

ندى وردى في الخلق ترجى وتحذر

The noses of reed pens in his hand bleed

bounty and death among mankind, hoped for and feared.

يقدمه في رتبة البأس والندى

لسان إذا عد الكرام وخنصر

Foremost in valor and generosity he is placed

by a tongue and little finger when the noble are counted.

كلا شيمتيه م حياء ومن حبا

ببشر ويسر عنه تهمي وتهمر

Both his qualities, modesty and gifts,

pour and stream from him with cheer and ease.

فلا ظله الضافي عليه مقلص

ولا منه الصافي بمن يكدر

His spreading shade above him does not shrink,

nor is his pure favor muddied by reproachful reminders.

تهلل بشراً واستهل أناملاً

فلله بدر مشمس الجو ممطر

His face shone with cheer, and his fingers rained;

so, by God, a full moon with sunny skies, yet pouring rain!

أرى الناس جسماً آل رزيك رأسه

وبدر له تاج رزيك وجوهر

I see mankind as a body, the house of Ruzzik its head,

and Badr its crown and Ruzzik's jewel.

دعوا يا بني الأخبار يحيى و جعفر

فكل بني رزيك يحيى و جعفر

Leave aside, you sons of chronicles, Yahya and Ja'far;

every son of Ruzzik is a Yahya and a Ja'far.

ولا تذكروا كعباً وعمراً وعنتراً

فخادمهم كعب و عمرو وعنتر

Do not mention Ka'b, Amr, or Antar,

for their servant is a Ka'b, an Amr, and an Antar.

وخلوا حديث البحتري فإنني

لهم بحتري لم تناسبه بحتر

Leave al-Buhturi's tale aside, for I

am their Buhturi, though not descended from Buhtur.

وكنت أظن الشعر بعد طلائع

يموت فينسى أو يموت فيقتر

I had thought that poetry, after Tala'i',

would die and be forgotten, or die and fall into want.

فأحييتم تلك السجايا بمثلها

حياة بها ميت المكارم ينشر

But you revived those traits with their like,

giving life through which dead noble virtues rise again.

فليت له أذناً إليك سميعة

وعيناً إلى أفعالك الغر تنظر

If only he had an ear attentive to you,

and an eye watching your splendid deeds,

ليعلم أن الله أبقى لكم بها

مآثر من مجد إلى الحشر تؤثر

so he would know that through them God has preserved for you

glorious achievements, recounted until the Resurrection.

إذا أنا بعت المدح في سوق غيركم

فإني به من حيث أربح أخسر

If I sell praise in anyone else's marketplace,

then through it I lose precisely where I profit.

وإن آثر الناس الغنى بمذلة

فإني لما ترضى النزاهة أؤثر

Though people prefer wealth with humiliation,

I prefer what integrity approves.

وكم من بهيم الحظ مستبهم الغنى

غدا بكم وهو الأغر المشهر

How many men of dark fortune, with wealth beyond their grasp,

have through you become radiant and renowned!

سأفنى ويفنى ما بذلتم من الندى

ويخلد مدحي فيكم ويعمر

I shall perish, and the bounty you bestowed shall perish,

but my praise of you will live forever and endure.

فلا تتركوني أشتكي جور حادث

وأنتم على الإنصاف أقوى وأقدر

Do not leave me complaining of a calamity's injustice,

when you are stronger and more able to do justice.

ولا عذر لي إن لم أنل غاية المنى

وعن أمركم يجري القضاء المقدر

I have no excuse if I fail to reach my utmost hopes,

when ordained fate proceeds at your command.

أبا النجم والنجوى إليك وإنما

لك البث فرض ذكره حين يذكر

Abu al-Najm, my whispered plea is to you alone; indeed,

telling you my grief is a duty whenever it is recalled.

أقلني عثار المدح فيك فلم تزل

تقيل عثار المذنبين وتغفر

Forgive my praise of you its stumbling, for you have always

pardoned sinners' stumbles and forgiven.

تأخر عن مفروض حقك برهة

وفيض ندى كفيك لا يتأخر

It lagged for a while behind the duty owed you,

while the flood of bounty from your hands never lags.

مننت فلا وجه المطالب معرض

ولا منكب الإقبال عن أزور

You bestowed favors: no face of petition turns away,

nor does good fortune's shoulder turn aside.

أياديك لا يحصى لدي عديدها

وأبيات مدحي فيك تحصى وتحصر

Your favors are beyond my counting,

while the verses of my praise for you can be counted and bounded.

عرفت لها الحق الذي أنكر الورى

فمعروفها ما لم يكن منك منكر

You recognized their due, which mankind denied;

their merit, unless it comes from you, goes unrecognized.

وأدنيت مثواها فطالت وغيرها

لديك من الآمال يقصى ويقصر

You brought their dwelling close, so they grew tall, while other

hopes are kept distant from you and cut short.

ماضرها نقص الليالي وحظها

لديك من الرأي الجميل موفر

The losses of passing nights have not harmed them, since their share

of your gracious regard is kept abundant.

قواف هي الشعرى سمواً وإنما

يلقبها بالشعر من ليس يشعر

These rhymes are Sirius in their loftiness; only

one who does not perceive calls them mere poetry.

ملكت عليها خنزوانات كبرها

وفيها على قوم سواكم تكبر

You mastered the proud conceits of their arrogance,

though they are haughty toward people other than you.

بذرت لها حب الكرامة منعماً

فلانت وقد كانت تصد وتنفر

You graciously sowed for them the seed of honor,

so they softened, after turning away and shunning.

ومليت عذراء الخواطر قد أتت

تمايس في ثوب النشيد وتخطر

May you enjoy this virgin of thought, who has come

swaying in a robe of song and strutting.

تزف ولكن الصدور خدورها

وتنحل الباب الرجال وتمهر

She is led forth as a bride, but breasts are her chambers,

and men's minds are bestowed on her as gifts and dowry.

وهنيت من شهر الإله بزائر

منه لو أن اليوم عنك أشهر

May you be congratulated on a visitor from God's month,

from it—if a day away from you were months [wording unclear].

وما البدر إلا أنت فانظر هلاله

وصورته في نحر شانيك خنجر

You alone are the full moon; look at its crescent,

its form a dagger at your hater's throat.

فلا زلت يلقاك الزمان مكرراً

وتخدم بالمدح الذي لا يكرر

May Time keep meeting you again and again,

and may you be served by praise never repeated.

وعش وسفيه الحادثات موقر

وكاهله من حمل شكري موقر

Live on, with insolent fate made respectful,

its shoulders weighted with the burden of my thanks.

وبلغت في المولى العماد من المنى

وإخوته الأخيار ما تتخير

And may you attain, in Lord al-Imad, the wishes,

and in his virtuous brothers, that you choose.

نجوم أبوها البدر لاشك أنها

تضيء بآفاق المعالي وتزهر

Stars whose father is the full moon—surely they

shine and glitter across the horizons of high deeds.

وأغصان مجد أطلعتهن دوحة

تساوى له فرع كريم وعنصر

And branches of glory put forth by a great tree,

in whom noble branch and root are equal.

وأشبال خيس كل يوم وليلة

يرشحها للفرس ليث غضنفر

And cubs of a thicket, whom every day and night

a mighty lion trains to tear their prey.