1. بَرْقٌ تبَدَّى خِفية بسَنَاء

    سَحَراً يَعُطُّ جلاببَ الظَّلْمَاءِ

    A flash of lightning appeared furtively, with radiance,

    Before dawn, rending the robes of darkness.

  2. وظَنَنْتُ عُلوةَ قد تَزَحْزَحَ سَجْفُها

    عنها ببطنِ الخيمةِ الزرقاءِ

    And I thought ‘Ulwah’s curtain had shifted

    Away from her, inside the blue tent.

  3. أم زال عن أسمْاَ نياطُ لثامها

    فتبسمتْ بالروضةِ الخضراءِ

    Or had Asma’s face-veil fastening slipped away,

    So she smiled in the green meadow?

  4. قلبي تذكَّرَ جيرةً في ساخِفٍ

    وطويلعٍ مع قاعةِ الوَعْسَاءِ

    My heart recalled neighbors in Sakhif,

    And Tuwayli‘, along with the plain of al-Wa‘sa’.

  5. مع أثلةِ الوادي صَبِحْتُ خرائداً

    عنقاء مع غرثاء مع غيداء

    By the valley’s tamarisk, I visited shy maidens at dawn:

    A long-necked one, a slim-bellied one, and a graceful one.

  6. كم رَبْرَبٍ ماضي اللحاظِ عَهِدتُه

    مع سلمةِ الوسطاء بالبطحاءِ

    How many a gazelle-herd with piercing glances I knew

    Beside the central acacia, at al-Batha’.

  7. وحمَام أيكٍ ردّدَ الكافاتِ في

    اثباتِ سَلْع مُوْلعاً ببكاءِ

    And thicket doves repeated kāf-sounds in

    Sal‘’s tamarisks [uncertain reading], intent on weeping.

  8. قد هاجَهُ دهرٌ مضى بلذاذةٍ

    ورغيد عيش قد مضى بِهَناءِ

    A time gone by in pleasure had stirred them,

    And a life of ease, gone by in happiness.

  9. آها على ذاك الزمانِ وطيبهِ

    والشَّمْلُ فيه جامعُ الأهواء

    Ah, for that time and its sweetness!

    And fellowship then united all affections.

  10. أشْكو الجَوَى من فَقْدِهِ وفراقِه

    وأبكي عليه بدمعةٍ حمراءِ

    I lament the heartache of losing it and parting from it,

    And weep over it with a crimson tear.

  11. لولا سعيدُ نجل سلطان أتى

    زمني لَمَا قَدْ كُنْتُ في الأحياءِ

    Had Sa‘id, son of Sultan, not come

    Into my days, I would not have been among the living.

  12. حاز الريَاسةَ والسياسةَ والتُقى

    والفخرَ عند العُرْفِ بالأشياءِ

    He attained leadership, statecraft, and piety,

    And glory, when affairs are understood.

  13. في السلمِ للطاعاتِ فهو ملازمٌ

    ولدى المعاركِ فهو قُطْبٌ رحاءِ

    In peace he is steadfast in acts of devotion,

    And in battles he is the millstone’s axle.

  14. هذا السعيديّ الذي ملك الورى

    طُرَّاً وَيَزْوي جودُه بالطَائي

    This Sa‘idi, who has ruled humankind,

    All without exception; his generosity eclipses al-Ta’i.

  15. إن شمته في الرَّوعِ شمتَ جَحَافلاً

    والرأيُ فيه عالم العلماء

    If you behold him amid terror, you behold vast armies;

    And in judgment he is the scholar of scholars.

  16. في كفِّه جناتُ عَدْنٍ للعَطَا

    وجَهنّمٌ في الحربِ للأعداءِ

    In his palm are gardens of Eden for giving,

    And Hell, in war, for his enemies.

  17. حَاضَتْ بيمناه الصَّوارمُ والقَنَا

    من وَكْزِه في مَعْركِ الهيجاءِ

    In his right hand, the keen swords and spears menstruated,

    From his blows on the field of raging battle.

  18. والشُهبُ تنظرُ فِعْلَهُ فَتَساقَطَتْ

    جَزَعاً وحَلَّتْ باطنَ الدَّقْعَاءِ

    The shooting stars watched his deeds, then tumbled down,

    In terror, and settled in the belly of the dusty earth.

  19. الموتُ يَصْدُرُ من شَباةِ سنانه

    فَتْكاً ومن أقْلامِه الغَرَّاءِ

    Death issues from the point of his spearhead,

    With deadly force, and from his resplendent pens.

  20. إن رمتَ منه قضاءَ شُغل واجبٍ

    أبداكَ بالمعروفِ والسَّراءِ

    If you seek from him the completion of a necessary task,

    He greets you first with kindness and happiness.

  21. دمْ وابقَ يا نجلَ الإمام بنعمةٍ

    وعَدَاك في ذُلٍّ وكُلِّ بَلاَءِ

    Endure and live on, O son of the Imam, in blessing,

    And may your enemies be in humiliation and every affliction.