أعاذك الله يا ذا المجد والأدب

من وصل كل خليل صد عن كثب

May God protect you, O man of glory and refinement,

from friendship with any companion who turns away while close at hand.

ولا منحت صفاء الود غير فتى

يفديك مثلى بروح منه بعد أب

And may you bestow pure affection on none but a young man

who, like me, would ransom you with his own life, after his father’s.

ولا بليت بداء فى الزمان به

يشقى الاديب يسمى حرفة الادب

And may you never be afflicted with an ailment of the age by which

the man of letters suffers—the affliction called the 'curse of letters.'

ولا برحت عذورا للصديق اذا

رماه صرف زمان السوء بالنوب

And may you never cease to be forgiving toward a friend when

the turns of an evil age assail him with calamities.

يا من به أتوخى كل مكرمة

ومن به به نلت ما ادركت من أرب

O you through whom I seek every noble favor,

and through whom—through whom—I attained every goal I have reached.

أنت الحبيب وأنى للمحب على

قرب الحبيب عزاء غيربالنصب

You are the beloved; how can a lover, despite

the beloved’s nearness, find solace except through suffering?

أان قضى دهرنا ظلما بوصلكمو

لغيرنا وتوالى فيكم وصبى

If our time unjustly decrees your companionship

for others, while my suffering for you continues,

يكون حظى ملاما منكمو وكذا

قد قيل كل محب كان في تعب

must my share be your reproach? And thus

it has indeed been said: every lover has known suffering.

قل ما تشاء وكن عبدالعزيز كما

تشاء أنت صديق الروح في الحقب

Say what you wish, and be, Abd al-Aziz, as

you wish; you are my soul’s friend through the ages.

وأنت معدن أفراحى ومركز ما

به ارتياح فؤادى لا ابنة العنب

And you are the mine of my joys, and the center of what

brings my heart delight—not the daughter of the grape.

وجد على بعذر منك ينعشنى

مما جناه زمانى يا فتى العرب

And generously grant me your pardon, to revive me

from what my time has wrought, O noble youth of the Arabs.

فقد شربت بكاس من عتابكمو

حلو المذاق ولكن هاج لى كربى

For I have drunk from a cup of your reproach,

sweet to the taste, and yet it stirred my anguish.

الله أكبر وهو المستعان على

مصاب مثلى ببعد منك مقترب

God is greatest, and His help is sought against

the plight of one like me, with separation from you drawing near.

كيف العزاء لمثلى بعد بعدكم

وأنتم لفؤادى منتهى الارب

How can one like me find solace after separation from you,

when you are my heart’s ultimate desire?

هيهات ليس سوى الاحزان تسعدنى

بعد الفراق ونار الشوق توقد بى

Far from it! Nothing but sorrows comes to my aid

after parting, while the fire of longing burns within me.

وهاك قول فتى ألقيت مهجته

بذكرك البين فى وادمن اللهب

And take these words of a young man whose soul you cast,

by your mention of parting, into a valley of flame.

ودمت فى فلك العلياء شمس هدى

لكل من نال محض المجد عن كثب

And may you remain a sun of guidance in the sphere of eminence

for all who have attained pure glory at close hand.

وخصك الله منى بالسلام ومن

لديك وهو جمال السادة النجب

And may God favor you with greetings from me, and the one

with you, the adornment of the noble lords.