1. حَسْبُكَ لا يُغْنِي سُوالُ الدِّيارْ

    فَصَرِّفِ الهَمَّ بِصِرْفِ العُقارْ

    Enough! Questioning the dwellings is of no use.

    So drive off sorrow with unmixed wine.

  2. وَاسْتَنْطِقِ العِيدانَ إِنْ كُنْتَ ذا

    لُبٍّ فَما تَنْطِقُ صُمُّ الحِجارْ

    And make the lutes speak, if you possess

    understanding; for deaf stones do not speak.

  3. اليَمُّ وَالزِّيرُ وَكَأْسُ الطِّلَى

    أَوْلَى بِمِثْلِي مِنْ سُؤالِ الدِّيارْ

    The sea, the treble string, and a cup of wine

    are more fitting for one like me than questioning the dwellings.

  4. شَعْشَعَها السَّاقِي فَقُلْنا لَهُ

    هَلْ جَمَدَ الْمَاءُ وَذابَ النُّضارْ

    The cupbearer diluted it, so we said to him:

    Has water frozen and gold melted?

  5. مُهَفْهَفٌ يَجْمَعُ بَيْنَ الرِّضَى

    وَالسُّخْطِ فَاسْتِئْناسُهُ فِي نِفارْ

    A slender youth who mingles favor

    with displeasure; his friendliness comes with aversion.

  6. أَلَّفَ فِيهِ الحُسْنُ أَضْدادَهُ

    فَالعَارِضُ الجَنَّةُ وَالخَدُّ نارُ

    Beauty has reconciled its opposites in him:

    so his cheek's down is paradise, and his cheek is fire.

  7. قَدْ كُنْتُ أَهْوَى خَدَّهُ سَاذَجاً

    فَكَيْفَ حَالِيْ بَعْدَ رَقْمِ العِذارْ

    I already loved his cheek when it was bare;

    so how am I now that cheek-down has embroidered it?

  8. هَلْ حاكِمٌ يُنْصِفُ قَلْبِي فَقَدْ

    تَحَكَّمَ الحُبُّ عَلَيْهِ وَجارْ

    Is there a judge to do my heart justice? For

    love has ruled over it and acted unjustly.

  9. مَلَّكْتُ ذَا مِنْطَقَةٍ مُهْجَتِي

    فَانْتَزَعَتْها مِنْهُ ذاتُ السِّوارْ

    I made a girdled youth master of my lifeblood;

    then a bracelet-wearing woman snatched it from him.

  10. وَلَمْ يَزَلْ يُكْسَفُ بَدْرُ الدُّجَى

    إِذْا بَدَتْ أَنْوارُ شَمْسِ النَّهارْ

    And the full moon of night is ever eclipsed

    when the rays of the daytime sun appear.

  11. مُطْلَقَةُ الثَّغْرِ وَلكِنَّها

    تَرْسُفُ مِنْ خُلْخالِها فِي إِسارْ

    Her mouth is unbound, and yet she

    shuffles in bondage because of her anklet.

  12. خَفِيفَةٌ أَثْقَلَها حَلْيُهَا

    كَما ارْجَحَنَّتْ فِي الغُصونِ الثِّمارْ

    Light and graceful, her jewelry weighs her down,

    as fruits hang heavy among the branches.

  13. ناعِمَةٌ أَخْشَى إِذْا ما مَشَتْ

    أَنْ يَسْقُطَ الرُّمَّانُ فِي الجُلَّنارْ

    So delicate, I fear, whenever she walks,

    that the pomegranates may fall into the pomegranate blossoms.

  14. كَالرَّوْضَةِ الغَنَّاءِ أَوْتارُها

    تُغْنِيكَ عَنْ بُلْبُلِها وَالهَزارْ

    She is like a lush garden; her strings

    spare you the need for its bulbul and nightingale.

  15. دَلَّتْ ثَناياها عَلى أَنَّ ما

    يَغْلُو مِنَ الجَوْهَرِ إلاَّ الصِّغارْ

    Her front teeth show that nothing

    among gems is costly except the small ones.

  16. وِشاحُها مِنْ خَصْرِها فارِغٌ

    وَرِدْفُها الوافِرُ مِلْءُ الإِزارْ

    Her sash hangs loose about her waist,

    and her ample haunches fill her wrap.

  17. أَغارُ مِنْ عَيْنِيْ عَلى خَدِّها

    وَحُقَّ لِي فِي مِثْلِهِ أَنْ أَغارْ

    I jealously guard her cheek even from my own eye;

    and I am right to be jealous over one like it.

  18. وَليسَ لِي عَنْهَا اصْطِبارٌ كَما

    لَيسَ لِغازٍ عَنْ نَداهُ اصْطِبارْ

    And I cannot bear to be without her, just as

    no warrior can bear to be without his bounty.

  19. ذاكَ شِهابُ الدِّيْنِ مَنْ بابُهُ

    كَعْبَةُ جودٍ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ تُزارْ

    That is Shihab al-Din, whose gate

    is a Kaaba of bounty, visited every day.

  20. مُحْتَجِبٌ بِالجُودِ يَوْمَ القِرَى

    مُتَوَّجٌ بِالمَجْدِ يَوْمَ الَفخارْ

    Veiled in generosity on the day of hospitality,

    crowned with glory on the day of boasting.

  21. لَهُ بَنانٌ طافِحٌ بِالنَّدَى

    فَهُنَّ إِمَّا دِيَمٌ أَوْ بِحارْ

    His fingers overflow with bounty,

    so they are either steady rains or seas.

  22. بِيْضُ الأيادِي خُضْرُ رَوْضِ الرِّضى

    حُمرُ المَواضِي فِي العَجاجِ المُثارْ

    White are his hands, green his gardens of favor,

    red his keen blades in the swirling dust.

  23. يَقْظانُ رَبَّانِيَّةٌ نَفْسُهُ

    فَما أَسَرَّ الغَيْبُ مِنْه اسْتَثارْ

    Wakeful, with a godly soul,

    he draws forth whatever the unseen conceals from him.

  24. مُؤَيَّدٌ تُنْصَرُ أَعْلامُهُ

    بِجَيْشِ أَقْدارٍ وَجَيْشِ اقْتِدارْ

    He is aided; his banners are granted victory

    by an army of destinies and an army of might.

  25. يا مِلِكاً أَصْبَحَ نَوْمُ العِدَى

    خَوْفَ غِرارَيْهِ قَلِيلاً غِرارْ

    O king, your foes' sleep has become—

    for fear of your sword's twin edges—a scant doze.

  26. اسْتَجْلِ دُنْياكَ العَروسَ الَّتِي

    جَماجِمُ الصِّيْدِ عَلَيها نِثارْ

    Behold your world unveiled, the bride upon whom

    the skulls of proud chiefs are strewn as wedding largesse.

  27. مَنْ زَلْزَلَ الأرْضَ بِغاراتِهِ

    قَرَّ لَدَيْهِ المُلْكُ هَذا القَرارْ

    He who shook the earth with his raids—

    with him sovereignty has settled this firmly.

  28. وَاهْنَ بِعامٍ مُقْبِلٍ مُقْبِلٍ

    يا أَكْرَمَ النّاسِ يَداً أَوْ نِجارْ

    And rejoice in a coming, auspicious year,

    O noblest of men in bounty or birth!