ونشوانة غيداء ظامية الحشا

وقامتُها غُصْنٍ من البانِ مائدُ

And a tipsy, graceful woman, parched within,

And her stature is a swaying branch of the bān tree.

وتَبُدِي جبنياً يَفْضَحُ الشمسَ نورُهُ

وفَرْعاً زَرَى بالليلِ وهو أساوِدُ

She shows a forehead whose light puts the sun to shame,

And tresses that shame the night: black serpents.

وواوات صُدغٍ عند رَوْضٍ بخَدّةِ

تفتَّح فيه وردُهُ وهو عائدُ

And wāw-shaped temple curls beside a garden on her cheek,

Where its roses bloom and bloom again.

وميم به ماءُ الحياةِ تصونه

عن الرَّشْفِ أسيافٌ حدادٌ نواضدُ

And a mīm-shaped mouth holds the water of life, guarded

From sipping by sharp swords arrayed in rows.

وتزهو بنحرٍ كالسَجنْجَلِ نَيِّرٍ

تُنَاط عقودٌ فَوْقَه وقلائدُ

She glories in a shining breast like a mirror,

Above which strings of jewels and necklaces are hung.

لها بَشْرة كالماءِ وهي رهيدةٌ

ثُؤَثِّر فيها رَفْرَفٌ وَمَجاسد

She has skin like water, delicate and soft;

Fine drapery and undergarments leave marks upon it.

تُماطلني دَيْني وفي المطْلِ لذةٌ

ولذّتُه شَهْدٌ به السُمُّ راصد

She delays paying what she owes me, and delay holds delight;

And its delight is honeycomb, with poison lurking within.

تُحرّمني وصلا عليّ محلّلا

ولا رَاعها واشٍ لجوجٌ وحاسِدُ

She denies me a union lawful for me,

Though neither a persistent slanderer nor an envier has frightened her.

وإني أسيرٌ في الهوى ومُتَيّمٌ

ومالي عليه في الغَرامِ مُسَاعِدُ

And I am a captive in love, utterly enthralled,

And in my passion I have no helper against it.

وإن دموع العاشقين لعبرة

ودمعي تبر وهو بالخد جامد

And lovers' tears are indeed teardrops;

But my tears are raw gold, congealed upon my cheek.

كما هَطَلتْ كفُّ ابنِ سلطان بالندى

ويشكي الجَفَا منها طَرِيفٌ وتالِدُ

Just as Ibn Sultan's hand has rained down bounty,

And new and inherited wealth complain of harsh treatment at its hands.

سعيد نَمَتْهُ سادةٌ جَلَّ فَخْرُهُمْ

وَخَافَ سراياهُ مُقِرّ وجَاحِدُ

Sa'id, descended from lords whose glory was great,

And acknowledgers and deniers alike feared his detachments.

إذا ما سعى والخلق تحت ركابِه

يسحّ لهم منه جمان ولائد

Whenever he goes forth, with all people beneath his stirrups,

Pearls and young maidens pour down from him upon them.

تُقرُّ له الأعداءُ بالفضلِ والثَنا

وليس له في دهرِه قَطُّ حاسدُ

His enemies acknowledge his excellence and praise,

And never in his age has he an envier.

ولا مَلِكٌ في سالِف الدهر مثله

إلى الحَشْرِ لم تُنسل سواه الخرائدُ

And no king in bygone times was like him;

Until the Resurrection, fair maidens will bear no other like him.

هو المحسن السلطان والسيد الذي

له النصر كف والمعزة ساعدُ

He is the beneficent sultan and the lord for whom

Victory is a hand and honor a forearm.

فتى هَزْهَزَ الدنياء حتى اننشى بها

ويَرْجُفُ منه بَدْرُها والفَراقِدُ

A young man who rocked the world until he grew drunk on it,

And its full moon and the Farqad stars tremble before him.

كمّي تخاف الأسدُ عند لقائه

وتَقَصْرُ عنه والمدى مُتباعِدُ

An armored champion whom lions fear to meet,

And they fall short of him, the distance vast.

وتَشَوَّقَ الهيجا إذا حلَّ ذِكْرُها

كما شَوَّقَ الصادي النزيفَ الموارِدُ

He longed for battle whenever mention of it came,

As watering places stirred longing in a parched, exhausted man.

سَرَى وأتاها من ديارِ بعيدةٍ

وذَلَّتْ له أبطالُها والقَوائد

He journeyed by night and reached it from distant lands,

And its champions and commanders were humbled before him.

ويَجْتَاحُها والكمت في الجوِّ حُوَّمٌ

وسمرُ القنا في الدّارعين قواصد

He sweeps through it while bay horses wheel in the air,

And brown spear-shafts aim straight at armored men.

عَجَاجُ الوغى والسيف سحب وبارق

وسيل الدما والضّرب بحر وراعد

The dust of battle and the sword are clouds and lightning;

And the torrent of blood and the blows are a sea and thunder.

تَقصُّ السريجيّاتُ أخبارَ فِعلهِ

وتروي الوشيجُ اللّدنُ وهي شواهِدُ

The Surayji swords recount the story of his deeds,

And supple spear-shafts relate it, bearing witness.

شديدٌ شديدُ البأسِ إن سَلَّ سيفَه

تفارق أجسامَ العدا والقماحِدُ

Mighty, mighty in battle—if he draws his sword,

His foes' heads part from their bodies.

يُحب كفاحَ الدارعين لأنَّه

تُصاغ له منه العُلا والمحامدُ

He loves close combat with armored men, because

Glory and praises are forged for him from it.

ولا رزقَ إلا من بَنانِك يُرْتَجَى

ولا وافد إلا لنحوك قاصد

And no provision is hoped for except from your fingertips,

And no visitor comes except with you as his goal.

ودم سالماً يا سيدَ الخلقِ كلّهِ

وإنك في نَهْر المجَرَةِ قاعِدُ

May you remain safe, O lord of all creation,

And indeed you sit in the river of the Milky Way.

ألا أبلغا عني هلاكاً وما جِداً

هما الباذخانِ الزاكيانِ الأماجدا

Ho, you two, convey from me to Halak [possibly Hilal] and Majid—

Those two lofty, pure, most glorious men—

سلاماً يفوحُ العِطْرُ من طيبِ نَشرِهِ

ومنظرُه فاقَ الجُمانَ الولائدا

A greeting whose sweet fragrance sends perfume wafting,

And whose appearance outshines pearls and maidens.

قد اتزرا بالمجدِ وارْتَديا به

وصارا ليَ في الدهرِ كفاً وساعدا

They have girded themselves with glory and robed themselves in it,

And have become my hand and forearm through life.

هما يُسعداني إن سَطَتْ بي حَبَوْكَرٌ

إذا لم يجد في العالمينَ مُساعدا

They both aid me if calamity assails me,

When no helper can be found in all the worlds.