1. وأغيدَ ميالِ القوامِ مهفهفٍ

    له ملعبٌ في مُهجتي واسعٌ رَحْبُ

    And a supple youth, swaying in stature, slender,

    Has a broad, spacious playground within my heart.

  2. يَذودُ وشاحاهُ برُمَّانِ صدره

    وقَلْقَلَ قرطيه التَّخَوّفُ والرُّعبُ

    His two sashes push back against the pomegranates of his breast,

    And fear and terror set his two earrings trembling.

  3. ضئيلات عِقْصيه بمتنيه تلتوي

    وواوات صُدغيه تمنتهما الكُتْبُ

    The fine strands of his two braids curl along his flanks,

    And books have coveted the wāw-shaped curls at his temples.

  4. ويأتي النّدامى والعُقَارُ بكفِّهِ

    ومفتضحٌ من نَشْرِها المَنْدلُ الرَّطبُ

    And he comes to the drinking companions, wine in his hand,

    And moist aloeswood is shamed by its fragrance.

  5. يفوقُ نَجِيعَ الظبي لونُ احمرارِها

    مُعَتّقة صِرْفٍ حَبابٌ لها الشُّهبُ

    Its red hue surpasses the gazelle's dark blood:

    An aged, unmixed wine, with shooting stars for bubbles.

  6. تَقصُّ لنا أخبارَ عادٍ وقومِه

    وتروي لنا ما فاردَ العجمَ العُرْبُ

    It tells us tales of ʿĀd and his people,

    And recounts for us how the Arabs dueled with the non-Arabs.

  7. يطوفُ بها والليلُ أزرقُ لونُه

    وأنجمُه جَرْيانها مُثْقَلٌ صَعْبُ

    He carries it round while the night is blue in hue,

    And its stars follow a heavy, arduous course.

  8. اموناً فلا لَجَّ العَدُولُ لعذلهِ

    وحاسدُهُ في صدرِهِ الهمُّ والكرَبُ

    Trustworthy—may the reproacher not persist in censuring him,

    While his envier bears worry and anguish in his breast.

  9. وَيُبدي لنا النُّطقَ القويمَ لطافةً

    فما ساعة إلا ومالَ به الشِرْبُ

    And graciously he offers us well-formed speech,

    But scarcely an hour passes before drinking makes him sway.

  10. وقد عَقَدَ الرَّاحُ المُصَفَّى لسانَه

    وعَنَدَ والنَّشْوان لثغته عَذْبُ

    The clarified wine has already tied his tongue,

    And it has grown wayward; the tipsy one's lisp is sweet.

  11. يشير بكفيه يريد وداعنا

    وأدمعُه وَبْلٌ وآماقُه سُحْبُ

    He gestures with both hands, wishing to bid us farewell,

    And his tears are a downpour, and his eyes' corners are clouds.

  12. عفيفٌ فلا رامَ الخَنا في زمانِهِ

    وقَارَبَنا لما ألحَّ به الحُبُّ

    Chaste, he never sought lewdness in his lifetime,

    And drew near us when love pressed insistently upon him.

  13. وقُمنَا إلى التوديعِ والنِّيْبُ دَمْعُها

    عَقِيقٌ ودمعُ المُهرِ زادَ بهِ السَكْبُ

    We rose to bid farewell; the old she-camels' tears

    Are agate, and the colt's tears swell the flow.

  14. وَقَفنا وأسيافُ الصباحِ بوارقٌ

    على الليلِ والجوزاء يَبْلعُها الغَرْبُ

    We stood, and morning's swords were lightning-flashes

    Against the night, while the west swallowed al-Jawzāʾ.

  15. وللبينِ أسيافٌ حِدادٌ يَهُزُّها

    ويَظْهَرُ من صَيْحاتِه النَّعْقُ والنَّعْبُ

    And parting has keen-edged swords that it brandishes,

    And croaking and cawing rise from its cries.

  16. فودعته والأرحبيةُ سَيْرُها

    حثيثٌ وتمضي في أزمتها تحبو

    So I bade him farewell, while the Arḥab-bred she-camel's pace

    Was swift; she moved on in her reins, creeping.

  17. لها طربٌ في مَشْيِها وبَشَاشة

    إلى مَلِكٍ تَعْنو لَهُ السادةُ النُجْبُ

    There is joy and cheerfulness in her gait,

    Toward a king to whom the noble lords bow:

  18. سعيد بن سلطان الشجاع الذي لهُ

    عزائمُ لابارتها يومَ الوغى القُضْبُ

    Saʿīd bin Sulṭān, the brave, who has

    Resolves that swords cannot rival on the day of battle.

  19. تشقُ الصخورَ الصُمَ ضبوةُ سيفهِ

    فلا أبداً في كفِهِ صارمٌ ينبو

    The edge of his sword splits solid rocks,

    So no keen blade in his hand ever fails to bite.

  20. فتى نافِقُ الآلافِ في السلمِ راغباً

    وهمتُهُ يومَ الوغى الطَّعنُ والضَّرْبُ

    A youth who willingly spends thousands in peace,

    Whose aim on the day of battle is thrusting and striking.

  21. تَذَرَّعَ بالهيجاءِ مِ الفتكِ هيبةً

    تشبُ به نارُ العريكة ما تخبو

    He girded himself in battle with awe born of deadly assault,

    Through him the fire of mettle blazes and never dies down.

  22. تجول به الجُرْدُ المذاكي عوابساً

    وتسحبُ أذيالَ الدروع ولا تكبوا

    The sleek, full-grown steeds wheel with him, scowling,

    And trail the skirts of mail without stumbling.

  23. سواغبُ يكفيها النجيعُ لِوَرْدِها

    وأما الوشيجُ الملد فهي له عُشْبُ

    Famished, they find dark blood enough for their drink;

    And as for the supple spear-shafts, they are grass for him.

  24. ترى في نواصيها من النصرِ سُورةً

    وقد نَمَقَتها من معاركهِ السَّلْبُ

    You see in their forelocks a surge of victory,

    And spoils from his battles have adorned them.

  25. يرد شعاعَ الشمسِ ضوءُ جَبينهِ

    إذا جَنَّهُ الليلُ الحُكَولكُ والحَرْبُ

    The radiance of his brow drives back the sun's rays,

    When pitch-black night and war envelop him.

  26. وراحتهُ سُحْبٌ تديلُ دُمُوعها

    على الخلقِ طُراً قَطُّ لا ناشَهم جدبُ

    And his palm is clouds that share out their tears

    Upon all creation; drought has never overtaken them.

  27. ولا يعتريه التيْهُ في كلِّ حالةٍ

    ولا يمتري أعطافَه أبَداً عُجْبُ

    And arrogance never assails him in any circumstance,

    And vanity never strokes his flanks.

  28. يطولُ لساني بالقريضِ لمدحِهِ

    كما طالَ من أفعالهِ الصارمُ العَضْبُ

    My tongue lengthens in verse to praise him,

    Just as the keen, cutting sword has lengthened through his deeds.