1. أَسُرُّكِ يَا مُنَايَ وَلاَ أَسُوكِ

    وأَنْفِي بِالْهَوَى عَرَضَ الشُّكُوكِ

    I gladden you, O my heart's desire, and do not grieve you,

    and with love dispel the intrusion of doubts.

  2. وأَحْمِيكِ الَّذِي تَخْشَينَ مِنْهُ

    كما يَحْمِيكِ مِنْ عَارٍ أَخُوكِ

    I shield you from what you fear,

    as your brother shields you from disgrace.

  3. لَقَدْ بُلِّغْتُ فِيكِ مَدَى الْمَنَايَا

    وَما بَلَغَتْ مَدَى عَشْرٍ سُنُوِكِ

    Through you, I have been brought to the brink of death,

    though your years have not yet reached ten.

  4. أرَى الْهِجْرَانِ مِنْكِ يُحِيلُ صُبْحِي

    وَمَا أَذْنَبْتُ لَيْلاً ذَا حُلُوكِ

    I see your estrangement turn my morning,

    though I have done no wrong, into a pitch-black night.

  5. وَدَهْرُ الْوَصْلِ يحكْي لِي رَبِيعاً

    يُشَابِهُ نَبْتُهُ خَليَ الْهَلُوكِ

    And the time of union seems to me a spring

    whose growth resembles a wanton woman's adornments.

  6. رِياضٌ نُمْرِجُ الأَلْحَاظَ فِيهَا

    مُنَوَّرَةُ الأَعالي وَالسُّمُوكِ

    Gardens in which we let our glances roam,

    their tops and heights bright with blossoms:

  7. بَهَارٌ قَدْ حَكَى الْعُشَّاقَ لَوْناً

    عَلَى قُضُبٍ حَكَتْهُمْ في النُّهُوكِ

    yellow daisies that resemble lovers in color,

    on stems resembling them in emaciation;

  8. وَوَرْدٌ مِثْلُ خَدٍّ مِنْكِ رَاضٍ

    جِوَارَ فَمٍ تَبَسَّمَ عَنْ مُسُوكِ

    and roses like a pleased cheek of yours,

    beside a mouth that smiles, revealing musk.

  9. وَيَضْحَكُ أقحُوَانٌ فِيهِ يَحْكِي

    لَنَا ثَغْراً تَكَشَّفَ عَنْهُ فُوكِ

    And white daisies smile there, resembling

    for us the teeth revealed by your mouth.

  10. تَطَلَّعَ بَيْنَ ذَاكَ وَبَيْنَ هَذَا

    شَقَائِقُ مِثْلُ أَعْرَافِ الدُّيُوكِ

    Between those and these, there rise

    anemones like cocks' crests:

  11. مَدَاهِنُ مِنْ عَقِيقٍ نَظَّمَتْهَا

    يَدَا خَرْقَاءَ وَاهِيَةِ السُّلُوكِ

    little ointment bowls of carnelian, strung together

    by a clumsy woman's two hands, with frail threads.

  12. حَلَفْتُ بِغُرَّةِ الرَّاضِي فإِنِّي

    أَرَاهُ حَقِيقَةً فَوْقَ الْمُلُوكِ

    I swore by al-Radi's radiant brow—for I

    truly see him above kings—

  13. بأخَّاذٍ لِمَا يُرْجَى أَلُوفٍ

    وعَيَّافٍ لِمَا يُخْشَى تَرُوكِ

    by one who grasps what is hoped for, fondly drawn to it,

    and shuns what is feared, readily forsaking it;

  14. عَبُوسٍ في انِتْهَاكِ الْمُلْكِ فَظٍّ

    وطَلْقٍ في مَذَاهِبِهِ ضَحُوكِ

    grim and harsh when sovereignty is violated,

    yet open-faced in his ways, ever smiling;

  15. نَهُوضٍ بِالْخُطُوبِ إِذَا اعْتَرَتْهُ

    فَرَاها هَبَّةَ السَّيفِ الْبَتُوكِ

    quick to rise against calamities when they befall him,

    cleaving them with a sweep of the keen-cutting sword.

  16. عَشِيقُ الْمُلْكِ جَاءَ بِلا كِتَابٍ

    يُرَجَّى الْوَصْلُ مِنْهُ وَلاَ أَلُوكِ

    Kingship's beloved, he came without a letter

    from which union might be hoped for, or any message.

  17. فَمَنْ للْبُخْلِ يُمْسكُ ما حَوَاهُ

    فَمَا هُوَ بالْبَخِيلِ ولاَ الْمَسُوكِ

    Who, then, keeps what he owns out of miserliness?

    For he is neither a miser nor a hoarder.

  18. أَجَلُّ النَّاس آرَاءً وَعلْماً

    مَقَالٌ لَيْسَ يُقْرَنُ بِالأُفُوكِ

    The greatest of men in judgment and knowledge—

    a statement not associated with a liar.

  19. وَمَا أَحْياهُ منْ سُنَنٍ تَعَفَّتْ

    فَدَارَ صَلاحُها دَوْرَ الدَّمُوك

    And the traditions he revived after they had faded—

    their goodness revolved like a swiftly turning millstone.

  20. رَكُوبٌ للْمَنَابِرِ سَارَ قَصْداً

    إلَيْها وَهيَ حَائِرَةُ السُّلُوكِ

    A frequent climber of pulpits, he went straight

    to them, though their paths were bewildered.

  21. فَذَكَّرنَا مَقَالٌ مِنْهُ فَصْلٌ

    مَقَالَ الْمُصْطَفَى بِحِرَى تَبُوكِ

    Then a decisive utterance from him reminded us

    of al-Mustafa's words in the environs of Tabuk.

  22. فأَطْلَعَ مِنْهُ شَمْسُ الْمُلْكِ سَعْداً

    وَكَانَتْ نَحْسَةً بِشَفَا الدُّلُوكِ

    Thus the sun of kingship brought forth good fortune through him,

    though it had been ill-omened, on the brink of setting.

  23. لأَعْتَمِدَنَّ سَيْرَ الْمَدْحِ فِيهِ

    بإِرِقَالٍ يَبَرُّ عَلَى الرُّتُوكِ

    I shall surely pursue the journey of praising him,

    at a swift pace that outstrips the steady trot.

  24. أَحُوكُ مِنَ الْقَصَائِدِ وَشْيَ مَدْحٍ

    تُفَضِّلُهُ عَلَى الْوَشْيِ الْمَحُوكِ

    I weave from poems a brocade of praise

    that you prefer to woven brocade.

  25. لَقَدْ فَتَكَ الزَّمَانُ بِسُوءِ حَالِي

    فَأنْقِذْنِي مِنَ الزَّمَنِ الْفَتُوكِ

    Time has indeed ravaged me with misfortune;

    so rescue me from murderous Time.