1. تفديك روحي تفدي

    حاشاك تخلف وعدي

    My soul ransoms you—ransoms you.

    Far be it from you to break your promise to me.

  2. يا واحداً في المعالي

    ولم اقل ذاك وحدي

    O peerless one in lofty honors,

    And I did not say that alone.

  3. فامدد يدا ليسارى

    فكم بذلك عندي

    So extend a hand to my left hand;

    For how much that is worth to me!

  4. بها جزرت حسودي

    قهراً وأرغمت ضدي

    With it I slaughtered my envier,

    By force, and humbled my adversary.

  5. فيا لها من يمين

    جاءت بجزر ومد

    Oh, what a right hand,

    That came with ebb and flow!

  6. فزد على العد واضرب

    على حسابي وعدي

    So add to the count, and multiply

    According to my reckoning and tally.

  7. باللّه يا خير مولى

    أنعم على خير عبد

    By God, O best of masters,

    Bestow favor on the best of servants.

  8. فتارة عبد شمس

    وتارة عبد ود

    For at times the sun's servant, ʿAbd Shams,

    And at times Wadd's servant, ʿAbd Wadd.

  9. حاشا لبيتك ارمى

    منه بعكس وطرد

    Far be it from your house that I be cast

    From it with rebuff and expulsion.

  10. فطالما جئت اسعى

    اليه من فرط جهدي

    For many a time I came hurrying

    To it because of my extreme hardship.

  11. وليل فقري داج

    فضاء لي صبح رشدي

    And the night of my poverty was pitch-dark,

    Then the dawn of my right guidance shone for me.

  12. يا سائلي سل نداه

    تفز بمال ورفد

    O you who ask me, ask for his bounty;

    You will win wealth and aid.

  13. مولاي ما مثل هزلي

    ولا مجوني وجدي

    My lord, nothing equals my jesting,

    Nor my ribaldry and earnestness.

  14. فوفني حق مدحي

    واغنم ثنائي وحمدي

    So pay me the full due of my praise,

    And gain my commendation and thanks.

  15. وسم بدرك دري

    واجعله نقدا بنقد

    And bid for my pearls with your pearls,

    And make it coin for coin.

  16. وخذ اليك قصيدا

    جاءت على حكم قصدي

    And take a poem for yourself,

    That came as my intent decreed.

  17. سهرت ليلي عليها

    وبعت نومي بسهدي

    I kept vigil through my night over it,

    And sold my sleep for my wakefulness.

  18. تغنيك في شامها عن

    هوى سعاد وهندِ

    With its beauty marks it frees you from

    Love for Suʿad and Hind.

  19. كستك ثوب مديح

    يفوق وشي ابن برد

    It clothed you in a robe of praise

    Surpassing the embroidery of Ibn Burd.

  20. الى ابن يوسف تعزى

    من حاز ارفع مجد

    To Ibn Yusuf it is dedicated,

    Who attained the loftiest glory.

  21. حجبتها عن وضيع

    وعن لئيم ووغد

    I veiled it from a lowly man,

    And from a base man and a scoundrel.

  22. لا زال لفظك درا

    يهدى الى كل عقد

    May your words never cease to be pearls,

    Offered to every necklace,

  23. ما فاح عرف وهبت

    صبا باكناف نجد

    As long as fragrance wafts and there blows

    An east wind through the reaches of Najd.