1. فمن مقلتي روحي جَرَتْ عَبراتُها

    تذوبها في وجنتي زَفَراتُها

    So from my soul's two eyes its tears flowed,

    its sighs melting them upon my cheeks.

  2. أنُوحُ كَما نَاحَتْ هَديلاً حمامةٌ

    على روضةٍ مخضرّةٍ شجراتُها

    I lament as a dove lamented, cooing,

    over a garden whose trees are green.

  3. تُنَاجي غُصونَ البانِ ريحٌ مَرِيضةٌ

    فَتُرْجِعُ دالاتٍ بِهَا ألِفاتُها

    A faint breeze whispers to the moringa branches,

    so through it their alif-like uprights become dal-like curves.

  4. تَهُزُّ على قَلْبِي قَطَاةٌ جَناحَها

    من الذُعرِ عَجْلى أنْ تَرَاها بزَاتُها

    A sandgrouse beats its wing upon my heart,

    in fearful haste lest its hawks should see it.

  5. قد اصفَرَّ لَوْني من هَواءٍ دَفَنْتُهُ

    وقد عَمِيَتْ عَيني وأعْيَتْ أساتُها

    My complexion has yellowed from a passion I buried,

    and my eye has gone blind, baffling its physicians,

  6. على طَفْلةٍ عَبْلا السَوَاعد بَضّة

    وَتَقْتُلُ أسادَ الوَغَى لَحَظَاتُها

    for a tender maiden, full-armed and soft-skinned,

    and her glances slay the lions of battle.

  7. وتُخْجِلُ خُوطَ البانِ مَيْلةُ قَدرِّها

    وتَفْضَحُ ألحاظَ الظِبا لَفتَاتُها

    Her figure's sway puts the moringa shoot to shame,

    and her turns of the head shame the gazelles' glances.

  8. يَفوقُ على طَعْمِ السُلافِ رُضابُها

    وتُزْوي بوردٍ أحمَرٍ وَجَنَاتُها

    Her saliva surpasses the taste of fine wine,

    and her cheeks make a red rose wither.

  9. ومن عَجَبٍ أن الرِياضَ بخَدِّهَا

    عِذَارٌ وتُبدي أذْفراً نَفَحَاتُها

    And it is a wonder that the gardens upon her cheek

    are cheek-down, and their wafts give off a rich fragrance.

  10. تَجلَّتْ وليلُ الشعرِ يكتُمُ نورَهَا

    ومن شمسِ خدّيها انجلتْ ظُلماتُها

    She appeared while the night of her hair concealed her light,

    and before the sun of her cheeks its shadows cleared.

  11. بِنَا رَبَعَتْ خَيْل الرِحال بمربع

    وتَجْمَعُنا في غَفْلةٍ صَهَواتُها

    The saddle-horses halted with us at a campsite,

    and their saddlebacks bring us together in an unguarded moment,

  12. على غبطةٍ لم تخْش من كَيد حاسدٍ

    وأوْقَاتُنا مَحْضُورةٌ غَفَلاتُها

    in a bliss that feared no envier's schemes,

    and our hours' unguarded moments are attended.

  13. وليلاتُنا بالوصلِ بيضٌ شوامسٌ

    وأيامُ واشينا عَلَتْ دَلَسَاتُها

    Our nights of union are white and sunlit,

    while darkness has mounted over our tale-bearer's days.

  14. وساعاتُنا مسعودةٌ لا تنوشُها

    نُحُوسٌ ولم تشعرْ بنا نكباتُها

    And our hours are fortunate, untouched

    by ill fortunes; their calamities have not noticed us.

  15. قد اخضرَّتِ الدُّنيا لنا وتَزَيَّنَتْ

    وعَمَّتْ على كلِّ الورى بركاتُها

    The world has grown green for us and adorned itself,

    and its blessings have spread over all humankind,

  16. كأنَّ ندى السلطانِ يَسْكب عيشَها

    عليها ونارتْ في السَما زهراتُها

    as though the sultan's bounty pours its sustenance

    upon it, and its blossoms have shone in the sky.

  17. سعيد الذي يجلو صَدَا القلبِ ذِكرُه

    ورؤيته تشفي العليلَ صفاتُها

    Sa'id, whose remembrance clears the heart's rust,

    and the virtues of beholding him cure the ailing.

  18. سلالة سلطان الهمام لواؤه

    لكلِّ عُلا منشورة وفراتُها

    A scion of Sultan, the valiant one—his banner

    has its tresses unfurled toward every height of glory.

  19. ترى تحتها الآسادُ تزأر حُسراً

    وسُمْرُ القَنا ملتفةٌ أجماتُها

    Beneath it you see lions roaring, unarmored,

    and the thickets of tawny spears are intertwined.

  20. ولو أن شُهْبَ الجَوِّ من خُصمائه

    غزاها وطَالت كُمتهُ غزواتُها

    And were the shooting stars of the sky among his foes,

    he would assail them, and his bay steeds' raids would stretch far.

  21. وقد وُلِّيت أسيافُه مُحْكَمَ القَضَا

    وتقضي على تَلْفِ العدا ضَبَواتُها

    His swords have been entrusted with decisive judgment,

    and their cutting edges decree the foes' destruction.

  22. عبوس لدى الاقدام في مَعركِ الردى

    ضحوك إذا الأعداء صالتْ عُتَاتُها

    Stern when advancing into the battlefield of death,

    laughing when the enemies' fiercest men charge.

  23. وتركع في لُبِّ الأعادي رماحُه

    وبتراء طالت بالطُلى سجداتُها

    His lances bow within his enemies' hearts,

    and a short sword's prostrations linger upon necks.

  24. ترى وجهَه بالبِشْرِ يُشْرِق نيّراً

    إذا البَهْمُ في الهيجا علت صعقاتها

    You see his face shining bright with cheer,

    when the intrepid warriors' thunderous cries rise in battle.

  25. وتبهر أعداه قناه وخيلُه

    تنيرُ بنصرٍ في الوغى جَبَهاتُها

    His spears and horses dazzle his foes,

    their foreheads shining with victory in battle.

  26. فتى عمّ أرض الله حكماً وشرعة

    وذلت له ساداتُها وولاتُها

    A youth whose rule and law encompass God's earth,

    and its lords and governors have submitted to him.

  27. واسأل ربي أن يخلِّدَ ملكَهُ

    وتسمو لعلياه به درجاتُها

    And I ask my Lord to make his reign everlasting,

    and may its ranks rise through him toward his exalted glory.

  28. ويبقى على الدنيا بعزّ ونعمةٍ

    وضاءت لنا من نورِها نَيّراتُها

    And may he remain in the world in glory and prosperity,

    and its luminaries have shone for us from its light.