نسمات البان من العلم

نفحت بالرند وبالخزم

Breezes of moringa from the mountain

wafted laurel and doum-palm fragrance.

ووميض البرق روىخبرا

عن ثغر حبيب مبتسم

And the lightning’s gleam related news

of a beloved’s smiling mouth.

لله فواد هيجه

عهد الأحباب بذكرهم

God, what a heart, stirred

by the loved ones’ pledge at their mention!

كيف السلوان ولي كبد

فطرت يا صاح بحبهم

How can I find solace, when my liver

is cleft, my friend, by love for them?

لم أنس عهودا قد سلفت

ما بين الراح وقربهم

I have not forgotten the days gone by

amid wine and nearness to them.

أمغرد ذاك الدوح أمن

شغف تشدو ام من ألم

O warbler of that grove, is it from

passion you sing, or from pain?

لو صابك بعض من شجني

أو بعض غرامي لم تقم

If some of my sorrow befell you,

or some of my ardent love, you could not stand.

من ينجدني أو يطربني

بحديث الحب وإن يلم

Who will rescue me or delight me

with talk of love, even if only in passing?

أنسيم الصبح فهل خبر

عمن قد جئت بنشرهم

O morning breeze, is there any news

of those whose fragrance you have brought?

هلا جزت بهم سحرا

فتهادينا بحديثهم

Why did you not pass by them at dawn,

and offer us their tidings as a gift?

أصباء الشوق خذي قلبي

بنسيم اللطف لحيهم

O east wind of yearning, take my heart

on a gentle breeze to their dwelling.

بثي الأشواق بمربعهم

عن صب ذات ببعدهم

Pour out the longings at their spring abode,

on behalf of a lover melted by their distance.

يا ذاك الحي سقاك حيا

صوب الأنعام بمنسجم

O dwelling, may rain water you—

a shower of blessings, falling steadily.

وسقاك الغيث لقد كسيت

بالشيح رباك وبالعنم

And may rain water you; indeed, clothed

in wormwood and ʿanam trees are your hills.

ربع يتثنى الغصن به

طربا لمغردة النغم

A dwelling where the bough sways

in delight at a songbird’s melodies.

وثغور الزهر لقد بسمت

فتضوع نشر أريجهم

And the blossoms’ mouths have indeed smiled,

so the scent of their perfume has wafted abroad.

وغوادي المزن به هطلت

كبنان القاسم بالنعم

And the clouds’ morning showers have poured upon it,

like al-Qasim’s fingertips showering blessings.

ذو الفطنة من بالفضل نشا

وترعرع في بذل الكرم

The discerning one, who grew up in virtue

and matured in the giving of bounty.

مولى قد ساد برتبته

حزما وتزين بالشيم

A lord who rose to eminence in his rank

through resolve, and adorned himself with noble traits.

دانت لنباهته العليا

فزكا رشدا بسنا الهمم

The heights bowed to his distinction,

and he flourished in wisdom by ambition’s radiance.

شهم كالليث وراحته

كالغيث تروي كل ظمي

A valiant man like a lion; and his palm

is like rain, quenching all who thirst.

أنعم بأمير مكتسب

شرف العلياء ومغتنم

How splendid an emir, gaining

lofty honor and making it his own!

شبل لهمام قد أغنت

كفاه بجود عن ديم

A lion cub of a noble hero, whose

two hands, through bounty, have made steady rains needless.

ذو المجد بشير السعد ومن

أهداه ثناء كل فم

Glory’s lord, Bashir, herald of good fortune, and the one

to whom every mouth has offered praise.

القائم بالعدل الأسمى

والحامي الحق من العدم

Upholding the loftiest justice,

and guarding truth from extinction.

وبنور شهاب سناه نفى

ظلما ومحا داجي الظلم

And with Shihab’s meteor-light, his radiance banished

injustice, and erased the deepest darkness.

بدر وسليل شهامته

نجم يتلألأ بالحكم

A full moon; and the scion of his valor

is a star glittering with wisdom:

القاسم أعداه عزما

بصليل العضب وبالقلم

Al-Qasim, whom he imbued with resolve

through the keen blade’s clang and the pen,

الواري الزند بيوم وغى

المردي الضل وكل كمي

whose fire-stick sparks on a day of battle,

felling the formidable foe and every armored warrior.

يا خير أمير قد نظمت

بمحامده درر الكلم

O finest emir, I have strung

pearls of speech in praise of your merits.

هيفاء المدح لديك بدت

في سلك دعاء منتظم

The slender beauty of praise has appeared before you,

on a thread of well-ordered prayer.

خذها بالعفو لقد نشرت

فز بالعلياء وسد ودم

Accept her with indulgence; she has been set forth:

Attain the heights, reign, and endure!