بدا يختال كالقمر المفدى

مليح الخصر أحسن من تبدى

He appeared, swaying proudly like the cherished moon,

fair of waist, the loveliest ever to appear.

تثنى مفردا كالغصن فاعجب

لقتر بالتثني صار فردا

He swayed alone like a bough—so marvel

at [unclear], made singular by swaying.

غزال مقلتاه الاسد صادت

متى قالوا الظباء تصيد أسدا

A gazelle whose eyes have hunted lions—

when have they said gazelles could hunt a lion?

يعربد سيف ذاك اللحظ منه

وقد اضحى بقيم علي حدا

The sword of that glance of his runs riot,

and now enforces a punishment upon me.

ومن عجب تصديه لقلبي

وأعهده صقيلا ما تصدى

Strange that it should confront my heart,

when I have known it polished, never rusted.

تلثم بالهلال فلا عجيب

بشمس ضحى الجمال اذ تردى

He veiled his mouth with a crescent—no wonder,

when he had robed himself in beauty's forenoon sun.

مليك الحسن سطان البرايا

له اضحت ملاح العصر جندا

Beauty's king, the sovereign of creation,

the beauties of the age have become his troops.

له من شعره رايات حسن

وقد عقدت له الاصدغ بندا

His hair provides him banners of beauty,

and his temple-locks have knotted him a standard.

علام بها بضل كليم قلبي

وقد آنست من خديه وقدا

Why does my heart's Moses stray among them,

when I have glimpsed a blaze upon his cheeks?

له مقل صحاح ناعسات

كستني في الهوى سقما وسهدا

He has healthy, languorous eyes,

which clothe me in lovesickness and sleeplessness.

يريني حين هجران هواه

ومن فيه يريني الريق بردا

Love of him consumes me in estrangement,

while from his mouth he shows me saliva like hail.

بعارضه اقول ووجنتيه

وأجعل خضرتي آسا ووردا

Of his cheek-down and his cheeks I speak,

and make my greenery myrtle and roses.

نهيم بجلنار الخد حتى

يرى رمان ذاك الصدر نهدا

We are enraptured by the cheek's pomegranate blossom, until

that chest's pomegranate appears as a swelling breast.

حكى ظبي النقى جيدا ولحظا

ويحكي غصنه هيفا وقدا

He resembles the gazelle of the dunes in neck and glance,

and its bough in slenderness and stature.

ولولا الخصر والارداف منه

لما اشتقت الغوير معا ونجدا

Were it not for his waist and rounded hips,

I would not long for al-Ghuwayr and Najd together.

اروم وصاله فيروم هجري

واطلب قربه فيزيد بعدا

I seek union with him; he seeks to shun me.

I seek his nearness, but he grows more distant.

فهلا رقة بعديه قلبي

كما لي خصره بالقسم اعدى

Why does my heart not infect him with tenderness,

as his waist has infected me with [sickness]?

اذا ما زارني منه خيالٌ

وبات معانقي زنداً وزندا

Whenever a phantom of him visits me,

and spends the night embracing me, forearm to forearm,

لئمت مواطىء الاقدام الفا

والفا بعدها وازيد عدا

I kiss the places his feet have trodden a thousand times,

and a thousand more, and still increase the count.

وان لم يرض بالاقدام لثما

لثمت فما حلا منه وخدا

If kisses to his feet do not content him,

I kiss his sweet mouth and cheek.

وانثرها دموعا كالالآلي

تكاد بجيده ينظمن عقدا

I scatter them as tears like pearls,

almost strung into a necklace around his neck.

فمه يا مرشدي في اللوم عني

فلا بلغت فيما رمت رشدا

So stop rebuking me, O my guide;

may you find no right guidance in what you seek.

ودعني في الغرام امت هوانا

ليحيى من زكا جدا وجدا

Leave me to die, abased in passionate love,

so that he who excels in fortune and endeavor may live:

جواد في المكارم حاز سبقا

وكم اسدى لنا نعما ورفدا

a generous man, foremost in noble deeds.

How many favors and gifts he has bestowed upon us!

يعد سؤال مستجديه ودا

كما ترك السؤال بعد حقدا

He counts his petitioners' requests as affection,

just as he counts their not asking as resentment.

اذا وفد الوفود عليه يوما

يقول لوفده حييت وفدا

If delegations come to him one day,

he says to his delegation, 'Welcome, guests!'

على بسط الندى طبعت يداه

كما خلقت لقبض السيف قصدا

His hands were fashioned to spread generosity,

just as they were made expressly to grasp the sword.

بجزر عدا ومد عطا ارتنا

فديت يدا حوت جزرا ومدا

They show us foes ebbing away and gifts in flood;

may I ransom a hand that holds both ebb and flood!

ببالغ في الهبات لسائليه

ويعطيها مضمرة وجردا

He lavishes gifts on those who ask him,

bestowing them as race-trained, sleek-coated steeds.

له فيما بأيدي الناس زهد

وفيما في يديه اشد زهدا

He is detached from what lies in people's hands,

and still more detached from what lies in his own.

يدور السعد حيث تشا يداه

ولا عجب له ان صار عبدا

Good fortune turns wherever his hands desire;

no wonder it has become his slave.

هبات يمينه لم تحص عدا

وكيف القطر يحصى ان يعدا

The gifts of his right hand have never been numbered—

how can raindrops be reckoned, should one try to count them?

سداد الرأي لو رام انتسابا

لكان لرأيه يعزى ويسدى

If sound judgment sought an ancestry,

it would be ascribed to his counsel and bestowed through it.

لنا ما زال يخلف ما اضعنا

ولم يخلف لنا حاشاه وعدا

He always replaces for us whatever we have lost,

and never—far be it from him—has he broken a promise to us.

فمن ليث الشرى انضى وامضى

ومن غيث السما اسدى واندى

He is fiercer and sharper than the lion of al-Shara,

more bountiful and generous than the rain of heaven.

فيا مولى سما درج المعالي

وساد على الورى فخر ا او مجدا

O lord who has climbed the steps of eminence,

and surpassed humankind in honor or glory,

وجود جداك صيرني غنيا

وكنت فتى فقير الحال جدا

the generosity of your bounty has made me rich,

though I was a youth of very meager means.

فكيف اخاف بعد نداك فقرا

وقد أخذت يداك على عهدا

How could I fear poverty after your bounty,

when your hands have taken a pledge from me?

فحسبي من يديك عطا وبذلا

وحسبك من فمي شكرا وحمدا

Enough for me are gifts and generosity from your hands,

and enough for you, thanks and praise from my mouth.

وخذها قينة عذراء بكرا

عروسا لم تكن لسواك تهدى

Take her, a singing maiden, virgin and untouched,

a bride never offered to anyone but you.

ولم تر موضعا للنقد فيها

ومن شأن العروس تريد نقدا

You will find in her no place for criticism,

yet a bride naturally desires ready coin.

بلغت الحمد فيك اليوم علماً

بأنك في العطا لم تبق جهدا

Today I have come to praise you, knowing

that you have spared no effort in giving.

اتتك بحسن عاقبة تهني

وعاقبة جزاها لا يؤدى

She has come to congratulate you on a happy outcome,

yet, in the end, her recompense remains unpaid.

فدم واسلم وعش لا زلت مولى

على العبرا تحوز المجد فردا

Endure, be safe, and live; may you ever remain a lord,

above [unclear], winning glory alone.

ولا برحت لك الرزقاء طوعا

تحد عنانها والدهر عبدا

May the blue one never cease to obey you,

as you curb her reins, with Time your slave.