1. يا قلب من أين على فَترةٍ

    رُدَّ عليك الولَهُ العازبُ

    O heart, whence, after a lull,

    has your long-absent passion been returned to you?

  2. أبعدَ أن مات شبابُ الهوى

    شاورَك المحتنِكُ الشائبُ

    After the youth of love has died,

    has the seasoned, gray-haired one consulted you?

  3. وبعدَ خمسين قضَتْ ما قضتْ

    وفضلةٍ أغفلها الحاسبُ

    And after fifty years that wrought what they wrought,

    and some surplus the reckoner overlooked,

  4. هبّتْ بأشواقك نجديَّةٌ

    مطمِعةٌ أنت لها واجبُ

    a breeze from Najd stirred your yearnings,

    tempting you, and you throb for it.

  5. ما أنت يا قلب وأهلَ الحمى

    وإنما هم أمسُكَ الذاهبُ

    What have you, O heart, to do with the sanctuary's people,

    when they are only your vanished yesterday?

  6. لم تذكر الغائبَ من عهدهم

    إلا لأنْ يأكلَك الغائبُ

    You recalled what is gone from your days with them

    only so that what is gone might devour you.

  7. قد وعظَتْ واعظةٌ من حجا

    بوعظها ما زَهدَ الراغبُ

    A warning born of reason has admonished you;

    for all its counsel, the eager one did not renounce desire.

  8. فارددْ على الريح أحاديثَها

    ففي صِباها ناقلٌ كاذبُ

    So return the wind's tales to it;

    in its youthful passion is a lying messenger.

  9. جاءت وقد أفْرقْتَ تهدِي الصِّبا

    لا سَلِمَ المجلوبُ والجالبُ

    It came, when you had recovered, bringing youthful passion—

    may neither the gift nor its bringer be safe!

  10. ودون نجدٍ وظباءِ الحمى

    أن يُقرَعَ المَنسِمُ والغاربُ

    To reach Najd and the sanctuary's gazelles,

    camel-footpads and withers must be battered;

  11. والفيلقُ الشهباءُ من عامرٍ

    والطاعنُ الغيرانُ والضاربُ

    there stands also Amir's steel-gray host,

    and the jealous spear-thruster and swordsman.

  12. والشمسُ ادنى من تميمةٍ

    طالعُها من رامةٍ غاربُ

    And the sun is nearer than Tamima,

    whose rise from Rama is a setting.

  13. لو سَبقَتْ بالغدرِ في قومها

    لَمَا وَفَى في قوسه حاجبُ

    Had she led her people in treachery,

    Hajib would not have kept faith concerning his bow.

  14. مكنونةٌ بيضاءُ لم يُعدِها

    في البدو لونُ العرَبِ الشاحبُ

    A secluded, fair woman, untouched

    by the Arabs' weathered complexion in the desert.

  15. إن وُصفت تيَّمها وصفُها

    أو نُسبتْ أعجبها الناسبُ

    When she is described, her description enthralls her;

    when her lineage is traced, the genealogist delights her.

  16. فلا تَغُرَّنَّك تفَّاحةٌ

    منها ولا بارقةٌ خالبُ

    So do not be beguiled by an apple

    from her, nor by a deceptive lightning-flash.

  17. يا راكبَ الأخطارِ تهوِي به

    اِنزلْ كُفيتَ السيرَ يا راكبُ

    O rider of perils that plunge with you,

    dismount; you are spared the journey, O rider.

  18. مالَك والراحةُ قد أمكَنتْ

    تشقَى بما أنتَ له طالبُ

    Why, now that rest is within reach,

    do you weary yourself pursuing what you seek?

  19. قد آن أن يُعفَى الكليلُ المطَا

    وأن يُراحَ النَّصِبُ اللاغبُ

    It is time to spare the one with the weary back,

    and give the worn and exhausted rest.

  20. إنّ المقيم اليومَ في غِبطةٍ

    يحسدها السارحُ والساربُ

    Today the one who stays enjoys a bliss

    that the wanderer and traveler envy.

  21. قد أربَعَ الوادي ببغداد واب

    تلّ الثرى واتّسع الجانبُ

    The valley at Baghdad has grown verdant, and

    the soil grew moist and the expanse grew wide.

  22. أظلَّها من سُحْبِ أيدي بني

    عبد الرحيم الهاطلُ الهاضبُ

    It was shaded by rain from the hand-clouds of the sons of

    Abd al-Rahim, pouring and drenching.

  23. ورجَعَتْ طالعةً شمسُهم

    فيها وعاد الكوكبُ الثاقبُ

    Their sun returned, rising

    within it, and the piercing star returned.

  24. إلى عميد الدولة استرجع ال

    نافرُ أنساً وأَوَى الهاربُ

    With Amid al-Dawla, ease returned to the

    timid, and the fugitive found refuge.

  25. عَمَّ وسَوَّى عادلاً جُودهُ

    حتى استوى المحرومُ والكاسبُ

    His bounty embraced all and dealt impartially,

    until those denied and those who gained stood equal.

  26. طَبَّقَ في التدبير أغراضَهُ

    سهماً فسهماً رأيهُ الصائبُ

    In governance, his targets were struck,

    arrow after arrow, by his unerring judgment.

  27. وأدّب الأيّامَ بالحلمِ وال

    جهلُ على أخلاقها غالبُ

    He schooled the days in forbearance, though

    ignorance ruled their character.

  28. والمُلكُ سَرحٌ نام رُعيانهُ

    وهبَّ يطغَى ذئبُهُ الساربُ

    The realm was a grazing herd whose shepherds slept,

    and its prowling wolf rose, running wild.

  29. كانت جحيماً ترتمي بالأذى

    في جانبيها الشررُ اللاهبُ

    It was an inferno, hurling harm—

    blazing sparks along both its sides.

  30. فأَخمدَتْ هيبتُهُ كلَّ ما

    هبَّ عليها المُوقِدُ الحاطبُ

    His awe-inspiring presence quenched all that

    the kindler and wood-gatherer fanned upon it.

  31. صَبَّ عليها الدَّمَ لمّا غدتْ

    بالماءِ لا يُطفئُها الساكبُ

    He poured blood upon it once

    no pourer could extinguish it with water.

  32. فهامةٌ ساقطةٌ فوقها

    حصْداً وجنبٌ حولها واجبُ

    A head fell upon it,

    reaped down, and a flank collapsed beside it.

  33. عشواءُ خطبٍ لم يكن ينجلي

    حتى يؤوبَ القمرُ الغائبُ

    A calamity stumbling blind would not disperse

    until the absent moon returned.

  34. يا شَرفَ الدين تمدَّحْ بها

    فالعُجبُ في أمثالها واجبُ

    O Sharaf al-Din, glory in it;

    for pride in such deeds is fitting.

  35. ما زال تنكيلُكَ بالمجرمِ ال

    مُصِرِّ حتى خافك التائبُ

    You kept punishing the criminal—

    the obstinate one—until the penitent feared you.

  36. صَدْعٌ من الدنيا تداركتَهُ

    لولاك ما كان له شاعبُ

    You mended a rift in the world

    that, without you, would have had no mender.

  37. جاذبه الناسُ يرومونَهُ

    دهراً فلم يعلَقْ به جاذبُ

    People grappled with it, seeking it

    for ages, but no grappler gained a hold on it.

  38. لا العاجز الواني تأنَّى له

    منهم ولا المجتهدُ الدائبُ

    Neither the helpless laggard proceeded patiently with it,

    nor, among them, the diligent, tireless one.

  39. سَلَلتَ بالعادة في جسمه

    رأياً هو الصَّمصامةُ القاضبُ

    As is your custom, you unsheathed against its body

    a judgment—the cleaving Samsama sword.

  40. قد ظَهرتْ رايةُ أيّامكم

    وطبَّق الأرضَ بها الجائبُ

    The banner of your days has risen,

    and the traveler carried it across the whole earth.

  41. وجَمَعَ الألسنَ تفضيلُكم

    فاصطلحَ المادحُ والثالبُ

    Your preeminence united all tongues,

    so the praiser and detractor made peace.

  42. لا يَصلحُ الأمرُ على غيركم

    لا عارض منه ولا راتبُ

    No affair goes well under anyone else—

    neither the passing nor the permanent.

  43. ولا تدرُّ المالَ أخلافُهُ

    وغيرُ أيديكم له حالبُ

    Nor do its teats yield wealth

    when hands other than yours are its milkers.

  44. وزارةٌ مجلسُها مَنصِبٌ

    له اصطفاك اللّه والناصبُ

    A vizierate whose seat is a station

    for which God and your appointer selected you.

  45. أنتَ لها فاشدد يميناً بها

    اَلأخُ وابنُ العمِّ والصاحبُ

    You are to it—so strengthen your right hand through it—

    a brother, a cousin, and a companion.

  46. فإن تعزَّلتَ وفارقتَها

    أو نابَ في تدبيرها نائبُ

    If you withdraw and leave it,

    or a deputy takes over its management,

  47. كان فِراقاً لك تسديدُهُ

    وللأعادي سهمُهُ الخائبُ

    his true aim would mean separation from you,

    and his errant arrow would belong to your enemies.

  48. بَعُدتَ فانحصَّ الذي رِشْتَهُ

    وانقبضَ السائمُ والساربُ

    You went away, and what you had feathered grew bare;

    the grazer and the wanderer drew back.

  49. فاعطِف على الدنيا وما قد جَرَى

    به عليه القدرُ اللازِبُ

    So turn kindly toward the world and what

    inescapable fate has brought upon it.

  50. فالليثُ لا يغمِز في زأره

    وإن ألحّ النابح الواثبُ

    For the lion does not falter in its roar,

    though the barking, leaping dog persists.

  51. في جِلدِه ذمِّي وفي عظمهِ

    مُظَفِّرٌ في عزِّكم خالبُ

    My censure, in his skin and bones,

    wins victory through your might, tearing with claws.

  52. مَشَى بها الماشي إلى حتفه

    يا بؤسَ ما أعقبَهُ العاقبُ

    Whoever walked with it walked to his death;

    alas for what the aftermath brought him!

  53. يا باسطاً من كفِّه مُزنةً

    يَبسمُ منها البلدُ العاقبُ

    O you who spread from your palm a rain-cloud

    that makes the parched land smile,

  54. ومَن حَمَى الأرضَ فما فوقَها

    للخوف مسلوبٌ ولا سالبُ

    and who protected the earth, so upon it

    there is no victim of fear, nor any plunderer,

  55. والمصطفى المحبوب من ماله

    يَخبِطُ فيه العائثُ الناهب

    and whose chosen, cherished wealth

    the ravaging plunderer ranges through.

  56. أغنيتني عن كلِّ غَرَّارةٍ

    سحابُها المصعِقُ والحاصبُ

    You freed me from need of every deceitful one

    whose clouds strike with thunderbolts and stones,

  57. وكلِّ مبذولِ الحمى بابُهُ

    واللؤمُ عن أمواله حاجبُ

    and every man whose door opens his precinct freely,

    while meanness bars the way to his wealth.

  58. لا يخلُقُ الخَجْلَةَ في وجهه

    لا مادحٌ أَثنَى ولا عائبُ

    No one creates shame in his face—

    neither a praiser extolling him nor a fault-finder.

  59. وصُنتَ وجهي بعد ما شفَّني

    من مائه المنزَفُ والناضبُ

    You preserved my face after I was worn thin

    by the draining and ebbing of its water.

  60. وخَلَطَتْنِي منك نُعمى بها

    شَجَّرنِي في بيتك الناسبُ

    A favor from you so mingled me with you

    that the genealogist grafted me into your house.

  61. وحُطْتَني أمناً وقد ثارَ لي

    بالشرِّ صِلُّ الرملةِ الواقبُ

    You surrounded me with safety when there rose against me

    in malice the hole-lurking viper of the sand.

  62. كلبٌ أتى الليثَ فأغراه بي

    وقال وهو الفاجرُ الكاذبُ

    A dog came to the lion and incited him against me,

    and said—he, the wicked liar—:

  63. وغْدٌ دعيّ ليس من شكله

    ما هو كاسٍ باسمه كاسبُ

    “A wretch, a spurious claimant: unbefitting his kind

    is what he earns, clothed in his name.

  64. أعداه من مِهنةِ آبائِهِ

    عِرْقٌ إلى اللؤم به ضاربُ

    From his fathers' trade he was infected

    by a vein that strikes deep into baseness.”

  65. ولم يكن لو أنه كاتبٌ

    يُراعُ منه الشاعرُ الكاتبُ

    Even if he were a scribe,

    the poet-scribe would not fear him.

  66. وعند شعري لو هجا مثلَهُ

    لعرضِه القاصمُ والقاصبُ

    My poetry, were it to lampoon his like,

    holds what shatters and slashes his honor.

  67. فابقَ لأن تُرغِمَ لي أنفَهُ

    أنفٌ لعمري أجدعٌ تاربُ

    Live on, to rub his nose in the dust for me—

    a nose, by my life, cropped and dust-stained.

  68. والبس من الدولة فَضفاضةً

    يَسحَبُ من أذيالها الساحبُ

    Wear an ample robe of state,

    whose hems the train-bearer draws along.

  69. واقسِمْ ليوم المهرجان الحيا

    وَفْداً فنعمَ الوافدُ الآئبُ

    Allot rain to the day of Mihrajan

    as a guest—what a fine returning guest!

  70. يومٌ لآبائك في حفظه

    عهدٌ يُراعَى حقُّهُ الواجبُ

    A day, for whose observance your forefathers have

    a covenant whose binding claim must be honored.

  71. واصبحْ بفخرٍ طيرهُ أَيْمن

    وفي عداك البارح الناعبُ

    Awake to glory whose bird is auspicious,

    and for your foes, the ill-omened, croaking bird,

  72. ما غَرَّدتْ ورقاءُ أو دافعتْ

    فتخاءُ عن أفراخها خاضبُ

    as long as a gray dove sings, or her chicks are defended

    by a broad-winged, red-legged bird.

  73. واسمعْ إذا شُدَّت لها حَبوتي

    أفصحَ ما فاهَ به خاطبُ

    And hear, when my knee-band is tightened for it,

    the most eloquent words any speaker uttered:

  74. مرصوعةً باسمك من خيرِ ما

    لاثَ على مَفرِقه عاصبُ

    jeweled with your name, among the finest things

    a wearer ever bound around his crown.

  75. عندك منها غَرِدٌ مطربٌ

    وعند من عاديتَه نادبُ

    For you, it is a tuneful, delighting singer;

    for the one you oppose, a mourner.

  76. من معدِن الجِدّ ولكن تُرِي

    رقَّتُها أنِّي بها لاعبُ

    It comes from the mine of earnestness, yet

    its delicacy makes me seem to play with it.

  77. لا رَبُّ غُمْدَانَ وعَى مثلَها

    سمعاً ولا مَن دارهُ مارِبُ

    Neither the lord of Ghumdan heard its like

    with his ears, nor he whose home was Ma'rib.

  78. وامضِ مع العادةِ في مَهرها

    على طريقِ نهجُهُ لاحبُ

    And follow your custom in paying its bridal dower,

    along a road whose course is broad and clear.

  79. فما تَطيبُ الأرضُ موهوبةً

    عنديَ لولا أنك الواهبُ

    For even the earth, offered as a gift, would not please me,

    were you not the giver.