1. خودٌ من الروم في أعطافها لينٌ

    تضيءُ في ثغرها من فرقها سينُ

    A maiden of the Rūm, with softness in her curves;

    A sīn shines in her mouth, from her hair’s parting.

  2. ظبيّةٌ ترتعي الأحشاء آمنةً

    وليس من طرفها الفتاك تأمينُ

    A gazelle, she grazes on the entrails unafraid;

    Yet there is no safety from her murderous glance.

  3. ماست فبانت غصون البان من خجلٍ

    وأسفرت فتناجى الحور والعينُ

    She swayed, and the bān-tree’s branches withdrew in shame;

    She unveiled her face, and the dark-eyed and wide-eyed beauties whispered together.

  4. تفنن الحب في عشاقها فبدت

    من سحر مقلتها الوطفا أفانينُ

    Love varied its arts among her lovers, and there appeared

    From her long-lashed eye’s magic, arts of many kinds.

  5. من طرفها وفؤادي يستعين على

    تعذيب طرفي فتانٌ ومفتونُ

    From her gaze and my heart, two join forces to

    Torment my eye—a seducer and one seduced.

  6. غراء مشرقة الخدين تبسم عن

    مثل العقيق وفيه الدر مكنونُ

    Radiant, her cheeks aglow, she smiles to reveal

    Something like carnelian, with pearls hidden within.

  7. سودٌ ذوائبها بيضٌ ترائبها

    حمرٌ غلائلها فيهنّ تلوينُ

    Black are her tresses, white her upper breast;

    Red are her thin robes, varied in their coloring.

  8. إن واعدت حبها فالميم مبسمها

    والياء طرتها والحاجب النونُ

    If she makes a tryst with her lover, her smiling mouth is the mīm;

    The yāʾ is her forelock, and her eyebrow is the nūn.

  9. دنوت منها فنادتني محاجرها

    غياك إياك سيف اللحظ مسنونُ

    I drew near her, and her eyes called to me:

    “Beware, beware! The sword of the glance is honed!”

  10. من تلقه تلقهُ حبّا أخا شغفٍ

    بها فخامرها إن الهوى دينُ

    Whoever you meet, you find him a lover, full of passion

    For her; so keep her company, for love is a faith.

  11. تملكت كبدي الحري محاسنها

    كما تملك كل الفضل تحسينُ

    Her beauties have possessed my burning liver,

    Just as Tahsin has possessed all excellence.

  12. العالم البارع السامي بسؤددهِ

    للفضل والمجد إيضاحٌ وتبينُ

    The accomplished scholar, exalted by his nobility,

    Makes excellence and glory manifest and clear.

  13. مولىً توشح بالأداب فافتخرت

    وقد توشحها حسنٌ وتزيينُ

    A lord who robed himself in letters, and they grew proud,

    With beauty and adornment now robed in them.

  14. بدرٌ فضائلهُ الغراء مشرقةٌ

    وصدر مجدٍ ببحر العلم مشحونُ

    A full moon, whose splendid virtues shine,

    And a breast of glory, filled with the sea of knowledge.

  15. تتلو المعاني لنا من شعره حكماً

    سحر البيان بذاك الشعر مقرونُ

    The meanings recite wise sayings to us from his verse;

    The magic of eloquence is wedded to that poetry.

  16. أذاب دراً بشمس الفضل ثم أتى

    بذاك قولاً بليغاً وهو موزونُ

    He melted pearls with the sun of excellence, then offered

    That as eloquent speech, cast in measured verse.

  17. فالجود من كفه الفياض منطلقٌ

    والخير في قوله الفصال مرهونُ

    So generosity flows from his overflowing palm,

    And goodness is bound up with his decisive speech.

  18. قد أوجبت ممكنات الحمد راحته

    وفي المعالي بها عزٌّ وتمكينُ

    His palm has made all possible praise obligatory;

    And through it come honor and firm standing in the heights.

  19. مولاي خذ بنت شعرٍ بالمديح أتت

    والشعر يعشقه الغر الميامينُ

    My lord, receive a daughter of verse, come bearing praise;

    And poetry is adored by the illustrious, blessed ones.

  20. عذرأ تهدى دعاءً من أخي شجنٍ

    فؤاده من خطوب الدهر ممنونُ

    A virgin maiden, offered as a prayer by a man of sorrow,

    Whose heart is worn down by the calamities of time.

  21. فاسلم ودم يا أبا العليا أخا نعمٍ

    وعز مجدك ممدودٌ ومأمون

    So be safe and endure, O father of eminence, bearer of blessings,

    And may the might of your glory be prolonged and secure.