1. تَبَسَّمَ ثَغْرُ الزَّهْرِ عَن شَنَبِ الْقَطْرِ

    وَدَبَّ عِذارُ الظّلِّ فِي وَجْنَةِ الزَّهْرِ

    The blossoms' mouth smiled, revealing the cool brilliance of raindrops;

    And shade's sideburn crept across the blossoms' cheek.

  2. فَإنْ رَقَّ وَاعْتَلَّ النَّسيمَ صبابَةً

    إِذْا مَرَّ فِي تِلْكَ الرّياضِ فَعَنْ عًذْرِ

    So if the breeze grows tender and love-sick,

    When it passes through those gardens, it has good cause.

  3. تَوَسْوَسَتِ الأغْصانُ عِنْدَ هُبوبِهِ

    فَما بَرِئَتْ إِلاَّ عَلى رُقْيَةِ الْقُمْري

    The branches murmured feverishly when it blew,

    And were cured only by the turtledove's incantation.

  4. يُخادِعُني الْوَرْدُ الْجَنُّي وَإنَّني

    بِوَجْنَةِ مَنْ أهْواهُ قَدْ حِرْتُ فِي أَمْري

    The freshly picked rose beguiles me, and I

    Am at a loss over the cheek of the one I love.

  5. وَيَبْسِمُ عَنْ زَهْرِ الأقاحِ بَنَفْسَجٌ

    فَأَلْثُمُهُ شَوْقاً إِلى لَعَسِ الثّغْرِ

    And a violet smiles, revealing daisy blossoms;

    So I kiss it, longing for the mouth's dusky hue.

  6. وَبِي عاطِرُ الأنْفاسِ يُنْسَبُ ظُلْمُهُ

    وَناظِرُهُ الفَتَّانُ لِلشِّحْرِ وَالسِّحْرِ

    And I pine for one of fragrant breath; his mouth's moisture is traced,

    And his bewitching gaze, to al-Shihr and sorcery.

  7. تَرى قُنْدُسَ الشَّرْبوشِ فَوْقَ جِبينِهِ

    كأَهْدابِ أَحْداقٍ بَهَتْنَ إِلى الْبَدْرِ

    You see his sharbush's beaver fur above his brow,

    Like the lashes of eyes staring in wonder at the full moon.

  8. أُبَرِّدُ أَشْواقِي بِجَمْرَةِ خدِهِ

    فَمِنْ عَجَبٍ أَنْ يَنْطَفِي الْجَمْرُ بِالْجَمْرِ

    I cool my longings with the ember of his cheek;

    How strange that embers should be quenched by embers!

  9. وَأَطْمَعُ أَنْ يُعْديِهِ قَلْبي بِرِقَّةٍ

    فَأُلْصِقُهُ عِنْدَ العِناقِ إِلى صَدْري

    And I hope my heart may infect him with tenderness,

    So I press him to my breast when we embrace.

  10. سَقَى اللَّهُ أعلامِ مِنْ أَخْلاطَ قَلْعَةً

    يَحُومُ بِها نَسرُ السَّماءِ عَلى وَكْرِ

    May God water a citadel among the landmarks of Akhlat,

    Around which heaven's eagle wheels as over a nest;

  11. وَداراً عَلى خِيْرِ الطَّوالِعِ أُسِّسَتْ

    فَمَنْ حَلَّ فِيها فِي أَمانٍ مِنَ الدَّهْرِ

    And a house founded under the most auspicious rising stars:

    Whoever dwells in it is safe from Time.

  12. يُجَلِّي صَدا الأَبْصارِ لَمْعُ بَياضِها

    فَتَحْسَبُها قَدْ أُلَبِسَتْ بَهْجَةَ الدُّرِّ

    The gleam of its whiteness clears the rust from sight,

    So you think it has been clothed in the splendor of pearls.

  13. وَقَدْ أَنْبَتَتْ أَرْكانُها مِنْ نُقوشِها

    تَماثِيلَ رَوْضٍ لَمْ يَزَلْ يانِعَ الزَّهْرِ

    And from its carvings its corners have brought forth

    Images of a garden forever lush with flowers.

  14. تَكادُ تَمَسُّ المِسْكَ مِنْ نَسَمَاتِها

    وَيَقْطُرُ مِنْ أَرْجائِها وَرَقُ التِّبْرِ

    You can almost touch musk in its breezes,

    And leaves of gold drip from its corners.

  15. تَسُرُّ وَتُلْهي ساكِنيها بِحُسْنِها

    فَإنْ شِئْتَ أَغْنَتْ عَن غِناءٍ وَعَن خَمْرِ

    It delights and entertains its inhabitants with its beauty;

    If you wish, it suffices in place of song and wine.

  16. إِذْا فُتِحَتْ أَبْوابُ مُشْتَرَفاتِها

    جَلَتْ لَكَ نونَ البَحْرِ وَالْوَحْشَ فِي الْبَرِّ

    When the doors of its high viewing chambers are opened,

    It reveals to you the sea's fish and the wild beasts on land.

  17. فإنْ شِئْتَ لِلأُخْرَى فَمِحْرابُ ناسِكٍ

    وَإنْ شَئْتَ لِلدُّنْيا فَرَيْحانَةُ الْعُمْرِ

    If you wish it for the hereafter, it is an ascetic's sanctuary;

    And if for this world, it is life's sweet basil.

  18. وَإِنْ جُمِعا فَاللَّهُ ما زالَ جامِعاً

    شَتيتَ الْعُلَى لِلأَشْرَفِ بنِ أَبي بَكْرِ

    And if both are united, God has never ceased gathering

    The scattered glories for al-Ashraf ibn Abi Bakr.

  19. مَليكٌ يَخُوضُ الْجَيْشُ ضَرْباً بِسَيْفِهِ

    ومَا زالَ موسى بِالعَصا فالِقَ الْبَحْرِ

    A king who wades through the host, striking with his sword;

    And Musa has ever cleft the sea with his staff.

  20. عَليمٌ لَهُ سَهْمٌ مِنَ الْغَيْبِ صائِبٌ

    ومَا كُلُّ موسى مُسْتَمِدٌّ مِنَ الخضْرِ

    Deeply learned, he has an arrow from the unseen that strikes true;

    And not every Musa draws aid from al-Khidr.

  21. كَريمٌ يُحَيَّا بِشْرُهُ قَبْلَ جُودِهِ

    وَلِلْبَرْقِ لَمْعُ بَعْدَهُ وابِلُ الْقَطْرِ

    A generous man, whose smile is saluted before his bounty;

    And lightning's flash is followed by a downpour of rain.

  22. سَيَمْلِكُ أَقْصَى الأرْضِ بُشْرى ضَمانُها

    عَلى الرَّأيِ وَالرَّاياتِ وَالنَّصْلِ وَالنَّصْرِ

    He will rule the earth's farthest reaches—glad tidings whose guarantee rests

    On judgment, banners, the sword-blade, and victory,

  23. وَسُمْرٍ أَجادَتْ صَنْعَةَ النَّظْمِ فِي الْكُلى

    وَبيضٍ أَجادَتْ فِي الطُّلى صَنْعَةَ النَّثْرِ

    And brown lances that have mastered the art of threading kidneys,

    And white swords that have mastered the art of scattering necks,

  24. وَجَيْشٍ لِعَيْنِ الشَّمْسِ كُحلٌ بِنَقْعِهِ

    إِذْا رَمَدَتْ مِنْ لَمْعِ أَسْيافِهِ الْبُتْرِ

    And an army whose dust is kohl for the eye of the sun,

    When the gleam of its cleaving swords has made that eye sore,

  25. وَأُسْدِ عَلى جُرْدٍ لَهَا مِثْلُ صَبْرِهِمْ

    إِذْا ما تَجَلَّى الْمَوْتُ فِي الْحُلَلِ الْحُمْرِ

    And lions on sleek steeds as steadfast as themselves,

    When death appears in robes of red.

  26. دِماءٌ أعاديهِمْ شَرابُ رِماحِهِمْ

    وَأجْسامُهُمْ هَدْيٌ إِلى الذِّئْبِ وَالنَّسْرِ

    Their enemies' blood is the drink of their spears,

    And their bodies are sacrificial offerings to wolf and vulture.

  27. أَبا الْفَتْحِ لِلرَّحْمنِ فِيكَ سَريرَةٌ

    سَيَنْقُلُها عَمَّا قَليلٍ إلَى الْجَهْرِ

    O Abu al-Fath, the Most Merciful has a secret concerning you;

    He will soon bring it into the open.

  28. فَلَيْسَ الَّذي أَعْطاكَ حَضَّكَ كُلَّهُ

    وَلكِنَّهُ لا بُدَّ لِلصُّبْحِ مِن فَجْرِ

    For what He has given you is not your whole allotted share;

    Yet morning cannot come without a dawn.

  29. بَقِيْتَ لِدينِ اللَّهِ تُعْلِي مَنارَهُ

    وَتَهْدِمُ بِالإِسْلاَمِ قاعِدَةَ الكُفْرِ

    May you live on for God's faith, raising its beacon,

    And through Islam tearing down the foundation of unbelief.