سلام كعرف المسك يعبق بالنشر

وأزكى تحيات تخصك بالبشر

A greeting like musk's aroma, diffusing its fragrance,

and the purest salutations, bringing cheer especially to you.

وكثرة اشواقي اليك ابثها

وما لي وذكر اها وانت بها تدري

I pour out to you the abundance of my longings.

What need have I to recall them, when you know them?

وليس يخاف عن شريف علومكم

غرامي الذي فيكم يجل عن الحصر

Nor is it hidden from your noble learning:

my passion for you, surpassing all reckoning.

يا قمر العليا وسعد بروجها

ومطلع شمس الجود يا واحد العصر

O moon of lofty glory, lucky star of its constellations,

and rising-place of generosity's sun, O unrivaled one of the age!

بك اليوم وجه الدهر اشرق بهجة

وعادت بك الايام باسمة الثغر

Today, through you, time's face has shone with joy,

and through you the days have returned with smiling lips.

وقد نشرت ما كان من عرفها انطى

ووافتك بعد الطي طيبة النشر

They have unfurled their fragrance, once folded away,

and come to you, after being folded, sweetly fragrant.

اعيذك بالفرقان والفجر والضحى

وطه وبالبيت المعظم والحجر

I seek protection for you by al-Furqan, al-Fajr, and al-Duha,

and Ta-Ha, and by the venerated House and the Stone.

وحاشاك من عذر يجيد عن الوفا

فما لك في تخيير جودك من عذر

Far be it from you to offer an excuse that strays from fidelity;

for you have no excuse for delaying your generosity.

وها انا قد ارسلت دمعي سائلا

بحقك يوما لا تقابله بالنهر

Here I have sent my tears as a petitioner;

by your honor, never receive them with rebuke.

وطابق يحسن النثر نظمي تكرماً

ليحلو طباق العيش بالنظم والنثر

And graciously match my verse with fine prose,

so that life's contrasts may be sweetened by verse and prose.

وعطفا عسى الايام تسمح باللقا

ولو مرة لو انها بغية العمر

And show kindness; perhaps the days will grant a meeting,

even once, though it be the longing of a lifetime.

ولو يستطيع السعي مضناكم سعى

ولو انه يسعى على الشوك والجمر

If the one who pines for you could journey, he would,

even if he had to walk over thorns and burning coals.

ولكن عليه الدهر اخنى وفاؤه

وزادت بؤس الفقر ضرّا على ضر

But his faithfulness has worn him down through time,

and poverty's misery has piled harm upon harm.

واصبح لا حمرا يملك بعدها

وراحته صفر من البيض والصفر

And afterward he came to possess no red gold coins,

his palm empty of white silver and yellow gold.

اجزني اجزني سيدي واجر بي على

فواضل ما عودتني واغتنم اجري

Reward me, reward me, my lord, and keep treating me with

the ample favors you have accustomed me to; reap the reward of aiding me.

فيحرك وافٍ بالعطاء ووافر

مديد فما اوفى واحلاه من بحر

For your sea is ample in giving and abundant,

far-reaching—how full and sweet a sea it is!

فدونكها من عبد بابك خدمة

اليك اتت تسعى على قدم الشكر

So receive her, an offering from the servant at your gate;

she has come to you, hurrying on gratitude's foot.

محببة حسناء بكر يتيمة

منظمة في سلك عقد من الدر

A cherished beauty, a virgin without peer,

strung upon the thread of a necklace of pearls.

بنيّة فكر من قريض زففتها

عروسا بدت تجلى عليك من الخدر

A little daughter of thought, fashioned from verse, whom I have led forth

as a bride, emerging unveiled before you from her chamber.

ومن فضلها مدت اليك يد الرجا

واحلى الرجا ما كان بالمد والقصر

And by her merit she has extended to you the hand of hope,

and sweetest is hope in lengthening and shortening.

ونرجو لها حسن القبول لعلها

تعود لمثواها معظمة القدر

And we hope she will be well received, that she may

return to her abode, held in high esteem.

فلا زلت يا يحيى اخا الفضل والندى

ربيع نوال بالثنا خالد الذكر

May you ever remain, O Yahya, a man of virtue and bounty,

a springtime of gifts, your remembrance enduring in praise.

ولا برحت افعال جودك في الورى

على مدى الايام ماضية الامر

And may your generous deeds among humankind never cease

to wield their sway throughout the span of days.

ونلت من الاقبال والسعد والعلا

محلّا به تعلو على الشمس والبدر

And may you attain, in prosperity, good fortune, and eminence,

a station through which you rise above the sun and full moon.

ودمت قرير العين ما هبت الصبا

وما حركت عودا على نغم القمري

And may you remain tranquil of eye as long as the east wind blows,

and as long as it stirs a bough to the turtledove's song.