أأحبابنا كم تبخلون وكم نسخو

ببذل وداد لا يغيره نسخ

O our beloveds, how miserly you are, and how generously we give,

Offering affection that no abrogation can alter.

وهل منكر فعل القطعية منكم

وما داركم إلا القطعية والكرخ

Is an act of severance from you any wonder,

When your home is none but al-Qatʿiyya and al-Karkh?

رميتم نشاطي في الوداد بفترة

شددت بها حبل الوفاء فلا ترخو

You struck my ardor in love with indifference;

With it I tightened fidelity's cord—so do not slacken.

وناقضتم في الحب فعلي بضده

فمني له عقد ومنكم له فسخ

In love you countered my action with its opposite:

From me comes a bond for it; from you, its undoing.

خشنتم ولانت في هواكم معاطفي

وما يستوي يوماً قتاد ولا مرخ

You grew harsh, while my sides softened with love for you;

The thorny qatad and the supple markh are never alike.

لقد جرتم في دولة عادلية

تجبر في أيامها المدح والمدخ

You have indeed acted unjustly under an ʿAdilian reign,

In whose days praise and grandeur have grown strong.

سما قدرها فوق السماكين باذخاً

ولم يتخلج في صدر مالكها البذخ

Its rank rose loftily above the two Simak stars,

Yet arrogance never stirred in its ruler's breast.

وألبسها ذخر الأئمة بهجة

لشيب الليالي في شبيبتها شرخ

The treasure of the Imams clothed it in splendor;

In its youth, the gray-haired nights find their youthful prime.

تأمل تجد في دسته الفضل كله

إذا ابتسمت عن وجهه الرتب البزخ

Look closely: on his throne you will find excellence entire,

Whenever lofty ranks smile to reveal his face.

ففي تاجه بدر وفي كفه حياً

وفي سرجه ليث وفي دسته مدخ

For in his crown is a full moon, and in his palm, rain;

And in his saddle is a lion, and on his throne, a noble lord.

لك الجود كالفتخ الكواسر لم يزل

يلوح على راياتها الفتح والفتخ

Yours are steeds like broad-winged raptors; unceasingly

Victory and broad-winged eagles gleam upon their banners.

تجول بأطراف الثغور جياده

كما جال في أطراف رقعته الرخ

His steeds range along the edges of the frontier,

As the rook ranges along the edges of its board.

ترى طائر النسرين أول واقع

تمر به في كل فج له فخ

Of the two Eagle stars, you see the flying one fall first,

As you pass by it; in every mountain pass a snare awaits it.

وتزجي رياح النصر مزنة بأسها

فيرجى لها نفح ويخشى لها نفخ

And victory's winds drive onward the raincloud of their might;

So its bountiful breeze is hoped for, its blast feared.

إذا فرخت في رأس طاغ مكيدة

فصارمه في وكر هامته فرخ

When a plot hatches in a tyrant's head,

His keen sword is a fledgling in the nest of that skull.

وكم عنق رام الشقاق وصورة

أبادهما عن أمره المسح والمسخ

And many a neck that sought rebellion, and many a form,

Were destroyed at his command by effacement and disfigurement.

ولله في يوم الشهيد طلائع

ثباتك والأقدام موطنها زلخ

How wondrous, on the martyr's day, were the heralds

Of your steadfastness, while men's feet stood on slippery ground!

رسخت وقد خفت حلوم كثيرة

وأنتم جبال من جبلتها الرسخ

You stood firm when many minds grew unsteady;

And you are mountains whose very nature is rooted firmness.

ولما رأيت الملك مال عموده

وكادت عراه أن تلين وأن ترخو

And when you saw the pillar of the realm leaning,

And its bonds about to weaken and slacken,

قسمت العطايا والرزايا على الورى

فباغ له رضح وباغ له رضخ

You apportioned gifts and calamities among humankind:

A petitioner receives a gift; a rebel, a crushing blow.

وأكدت فينا بيعة عاضدية

وذلك عقد لا يلم به الفسخ

And you reaffirmed among us the pledge of allegiance to al-ʿAdid;

And that is a covenant no annulment can touch.

لكم يا بني رزيك فضل مخلد

يخلده في صحف مجدكم النسخ

Yours, O sons of Ruzzik, is immortal excellence,

Immortalized by transcription in the pages of your glory.

تبارك من أجرى المكارم فيكم

إلى أن نما فرع بها وزكا سنخ

Blessed is He who made noble virtues flow through you,

Until through them a branch grew and a root flourished.

حلوم كأمثال الرواسي شوامخ

وشم أنوف ليس من شأنها الشمخ

Minds like towering, firmly rooted mountains,

And high-bridged noses unaccustomed to arrogance.

بكم أصبح الفسطاط داري ولم تكن

سمرقند من مثوى ركابي ولا بلخ

Through you al-Fustat became my home; never was

Samarkand a resting place for my mounts, nor Balkh.

لك الصامت المذخور في حلبة العلى

وللمتعاطي شأوك الرزء واللطخ

Yours is the hoarded treasure in the racecourse of high distinction;

And for whoever attempts your heights, calamity and disgrace.

فدى لك أملاك بلا مثنوية

على أوجه الأشعار من مدحهم نبخ

May kings, without exception, be your ransom,

Whose praise raises swellings upon the faces of poems.

إذا انضخوا نزراً نفحت سماحة

وما يستوي في النائل النفخ والنضخ

When they spurt out a pittance, you breathe generosity;

In bounty, a gust and a spray are never alike.

وإن قنعوا بالقشر والعظم في العلى

غدا لك من أسرارها المح والمخ

And if they settle for shell and bone in high distinction,

The yolk and marrow of its mysteries become yours.

مآثر في عين العدو بها قذى

وفي أذنيه من وقائعها صخ

Glorious deeds that lodge grit in the enemy's eye,

And whose battles fill his ears with a deafening din.

تذوب لها الأكباد غيظاً وحسرة

بنار لها في قلب حاسدها طبخ

Livers melt over them in rage and regret,

In a fire that seethes within the heart of whoever envies them.

فمتعت الدنيا بدولتك التي

يقال لشعري حين يذكرها بخ

So may the world be gladdened by your reign,

At whose mention my verse is greeted with 'Bravo!'