1. أَهلاً بِها حَسناءَ رُودَ الشَباب

    وافت لَنا سافِرَةً لِلنقاب

    Welcome to her, a beauty tender in youth!

    She came to us unveiled, her veil lifted,

  2. مُفتَرَّةً عَن جَوهر رائِع

    لَكِنَّ مأواهُ الثَنايا العِذاب

    smiling to reveal a wondrous jewel,

    whose dwelling is her sweet front teeth.

  3. جادَت بوصل ناعم أَنعشَت

    بِهِ فؤاد الصبِّ بَعدَ اِلتِهاب

    She bestowed a gentle union, reviving

    with it the lover's heart after its burning.

  4. فأسكرَتنا بأَحاديثها

    وَلَم نَذُق مِنَّةَ كأسِ الشَراب

    So she intoxicated us with her conversation,

    though we never tasted the winecup's bounty.

  5. فَما كؤوسُ الشرب ملأى طِلاً

    أَرفعُ منها للنهى بِاِنتهاب

    For drinking-cups brimful of wine

    are no stronger than she at plundering reason.

  6. وَما الرياضُ الزاهِرات الربا

    جادَ لَها الغيث بفرط اِنسِكاب

    Nor are gardens with their hills in bloom,

    lavishly watered by abundant rain,

  7. غنّاءَ غنّى الورقُ أَوراقَها

    فنقَّطَت عُجباً بدُرِّ السحاب

    lush, with gray doves singing among their leaves,

    then proudly speckling themselves with the clouds' pearls,

  8. فراقتِ الأَبصارَ أَغصانها

    وَأَطربَ الأَسماعَ وَقعُ الرباب

    their branches thus delighting the eyes,

    and the rain-clouds' patter delighting the ears,

  9. يَوماً بأَبهى من حَديث لَها

    أَحيا مَوات الأدب المستطاب

    ever fairer than a discourse of hers

    that brought delightful literature back to life.

  10. أَهدى لنا كانونُ أَزهارها

    فقلت يا بُشرايَ نيسانُ آب

    Kanun presented us with her blossoms,

    so I said, 'O joy of mine! Nisan has returned!'

  11. قَبَّلتُها ثمّ ترشَّفتُها

    وَما تَجاوزتُ الرضى بِالرُضاب

    I kissed her, then sipped from her,

    and went no further than contentment with her lip-dew.

  12. كَأَنَّها نابَت قَصيداً زَهَت

    من نظمِ إِبراهيمَ أَدنى مَناب

    As though she, radiant, stood in for a poem

    composed by Ibrahim, in the slightest measure.

  13. ذو النظمِ كالغيثِ اِنسجاماً إِذا

    دَعاهُ لا يُخطئ صَوبَ الصَواب

    The master whose verse flows like rain: when

    he calls it forth, it never misses the mark of what is right.

  14. والسجع يُزري بحمام الحمى

    بالحكمة الغرا وَفصل الخطاب

    His rhymed prose puts the sanctuary's doves to shame

    with radiant wisdom and decisive speech.

  15. فالنَثرُ كالنثرة والشِعرُ كالشع

    رةِ ضياءً فاقَ ضوءَ الشهاب

    So his prose is like al-Nathrah, and his verse like al-Shiʿ—

    —rah, in radiance surpassing a meteor's light.

  16. هَذا إِلى علم وحلم إِلى

    فصل وَفضل جائِدٍ لِلطِلاب

    All this, with knowledge and forbearance, and with

    discernment and bounty freely bestowed on seekers.

  17. مَولاي هذي خدمةٌ قصَّرَت

    بالعجز عَن نظم إِذا طال طاب

    My lord, this offering has fallen short,

    through incapacity, of verse that grows sweeter as it lengthens.

  18. بِتُّ بِها في لَيلَتي ظامِئاً

    أَرومُ تَعويضَ الشَرابِ السَراب

    I spent my night over it, thirsty,

    seeking to replace drink with a mirage.

  19. أَضربُ أَخماسي بأَسداسها

    وَلا يَدورُ النظمُ لي في حساب

    I strike my fifths against its sixths,

    yet verse finds no place in my reckoning.

  20. أثَبتُ عَن مُرجانكم بالحصى

    فاللَه يوليكَ جَزيلَ الثَواب

    I repaid your coral with pebbles;

    so may God bestow abundant reward on you.

  21. عَطفاً عَلى مُبتَدئ تابِعٍ

    مِلَّةَ إِبراهيم فيما أَجاب

    Show compassion to a beginner who follows

    Ibrahim's creed in the answer he gave.

  22. اللَهَ في صَبّ جفاه الكرى

    وَالأَهلُ وَالدارُ وطيب الشَباب

    For God's sake, take pity on a lover whom sleep has forsaken,

    along with family, home, and the sweetness of youth.

  23. فَاِفتَح له بالصفح بابَ الرِضى

    وَسُدَّ عَن أخلاله كُلَّ باب

    So open for him, through forgiveness, the gate of favor,

    and close every gate against his failings.

  24. وَهاتِ فسِّر ما اِسمُ ذاتٍ إِذا

    ما صحّفوه كان مأوى الرُضاب

    And come, explain: what thing's name, if

    they change its dots, becomes the home of lip-dew?

  25. وَإِن تُبَدِّل مع ذا أَولاً

    منه تَرى لُغزاً يَرومُ الجَواب

    And if, besides that, you replace the first letter

    of it, you see a riddle seeking an answer.

  26. وَاِبقَ قَريرَ العين تَحظى بِها

    مِن ملكٍ عالي الذرى وَالجناب

    And remain glad of eye, favored with it

    by a king of lofty eminence and noble standing,

  27. ما لاح نجمٌ في رياض وَما

    أَشرق في أفق سَماء وغاب

    as long as a star gleams in gardens, and as long as

    it shines on heaven's horizon and sets.