1. أُجانب عن رملِ الحمى وأعودُ

    وقلبي بالسكانِ فيه عميدُ

    I draw away from the sands of the sanctuary, then return,

    and my heart is love-stricken for those who dwell there.

  2. وأذكرهُم ذكرَ الرضيع لأمّه

    فتقبلُ عيني بالدمِوع تَجُود

    And I remember them as a suckling remembers its mother,

    so my eye begins pouring out tears.

  3. ويضعفُ صبري حين تقوى صبابتي

    فينقصُ ذا مني وتلك تزيد

    And my patience weakens when my longing grows strong;

    so this dwindles in me, while that increases.

  4. حمامةَ بطنِ الواديين ترنمَّي

    فقد عاد وجدي منك وهو جديد

    O dove of the hollow of the two valleys, sing!

    For my yearning has returned through you, fresh once more.

  5. أراكِ إذا سجّعتِ رجَّعْت منْشِداً

    فمن ها هنا سَجْعق وثمَّ نشيد

    When I see you coo, I answer in song;

    so from here comes your cooing, and from there a song.

  6. حَنَنْتِ لإِلفٍ غابَ عنكِ وإنما

    حنيني إلى القومِ الذين أريد

    You yearned for a mate gone from you, whereas

    my longing is only for the people I desire.

  7. ذكرتُ التي للغصن مِنْها مَعَاطفٌ

    وللظبي منها مقلتان وَجيدُ

    I remembered her from whom the bough takes its graceful curves,

    and from whom the gazelle takes its two eyes and neck.

  8. إذا ابتسمت عن ثغرها فبديدُ

    وإن خطرت تحت القضيب فرود

    When she smiles, revealing her teeth, they are scattered [pearls];

    and if she sways beneath the bough, she is a tender maiden.

  9. حَلَلْتُ تهاميَّا وخَيَّمَ اهلُها

    بنجدٍ وبين الحِلّتين بعيدُ

    I settled in Tihamah, while her people pitched camp

    in Najd; a great distance lies between the two encampments.

  10. أجارتَنَا لا تسمعي فيَّ مَنء وشى

    فحُبُّك مني في الضلوع أكيدُ

    O our neighbor, do not listen to anyone who slanders me;

    for my love for you is firm within my ribs.

  11. فقد يُتْهَمُ الإنسانُ وهو مُبرؤٌ

    ويُنسَبُ عند الغيّ وهو رشيدُ

    For a person may be accused while innocent,

    and be associated with error while rightly guided.

  12. سَئمتُ مقامي في سِهَامِ ومربعي

    حَديثٌ ووادي الأشعرين رغيدُ

    I have wearied of my stay in Siham, though my sojourn

    is recent, and the valley of the Ash‘arin is lush.

  13. وأكدي طِلابي بين مَوْرٍ وسُرْدد

    فما أحدٌ يُهْدى إليه قصيدُ

    And my quest has proved fruitless between Mawr and Surdud,

    for there is no one to whom a poem may be offered.

  14. ولو عجتُ بالقصر الحسامي عودة

    لعاودَ عَنّي الفقرُ وهو طريدُ

    And if I turned once more toward the Husami palace,

    poverty would retreat from me, driven away.

  15. ومَا أنا إلاّ من عبيدِ مُعَيبدٍ

    وشهبُ الدُّجى مثلي لذاك عبيد

    And I am but one of Mu‘aybid's servants,

    and the stars of night, like me, are servants to him.

  16. ومَا أنا إلاّ من غروسِ صَنيعه

    وليس لفضل المُنعمين جحودُ

    And I am but one of the saplings planted by his kindness,

    and the bounty of benefactors is not to be denied.

  17. حدوتُ المطايا إذْ ونَيْنَ بذكره

    فمنها على إثر الوخيد وخيدُ

    I sang of him to spur the camels when they grew weary,

    so they strode swiftly, swift stride after swift stride.

  18. قصدت رحاباً لا تضيق بنازل

    وحَوْضُ ندىً مَا ذُمّ وُرُود

    I sought spacious courts never too narrow for a guest,

    and a pool of bounty where coming to drink is never censured,

  19. وأروعُ أفنى المال في طلب الثنَّا

    لأن الثنا يبقى وذاك يبيدُ

    and a splendid man who has spent his wealth in pursuit of praise,

    because praise endures, while that wealth perishes.

  20. محجلةٌ افعالهُ فكأنما

    عليها من الصبح المنير عمودُ

    His deeds are white-marked, as though

    a shaft of radiant dawn were upon them.

  21. يزيدُ سَمَاحاً كلَ مَا بَخلَ الحَيَا

    وينْدَى وأيدي الباذلين جمود

    He grows more generous whenever the rain is miserly,

    and he showers bounty while the hands of givers are frozen.

  22. وتخْصِب سوحاً والبلادُ جديبة

    ويُسْفرُ وجهاً والنوائب سودُ

    And his courts grow fertile while the lands lie barren,

    and his face shines bright while calamities are black.

  23. لقد أنجبْت أمُّ تجيءُ بمثله

    وأنجبَ قحطانٌ وأنجبَ هود

    A mother who bears his like has truly borne a noble son,

    and Qahtan has begotten nobly, and so has Hud.

  24. ولم تنهدم عَليّاء بلال بن بُرْدةٍ

    فقد شاد ذا ما كان ذاك يشيد

    And the lofty glory of Bilal ibn Burdah has not crumbled,

    for this man has built what that man used to build.

  25. فلا يطمعنَّ الطامعونَ بشأوه

    فليس كعود النّد يوجدُ عود

    So let the ambitious not hope to match his reach;

    for no wood is found like the wood of fragrant incense.

  26. وَما كل حَنّانٍ من الرعد مَاطرٌ

    ولا كلُ برّاقٍ الفِرِنْدِ حديد

    And not every rumble of thunder brings rain,

    nor is every blade with a gleaming watered pattern iron.

  27. أبا أحمد لا بل عفيف وها أنا

    أبا بكر أدعو والركائب قود

    O Abu Ahmad—no, rather ‘Afif—and here I am,

    calling upon Abu Bakr, amid long-necked camels.

  28. ضربت بها عَرضَ الفلاةِ وطولهَا

    إليك ومنها سَائق وشهيد

    I crossed on them the wilderness's breadth and length,

    to you; among them are a driver and a witness.

  29. ومَا ضرني بخلُ الغوير وأهلُه

    فشالُ خُراسني وأنت يزيد

    And the stinginess of al-Ghuwayr and its people has not harmed me;

    Fashal is my Khurasan, and you are Yazid.

  30. إذا مَا انتهى عُمْر السّماكِ ونصره

    توالتك في إثر السعود سعودُ

    When al-Simak's lifespan and its triumph come to an end,

    auspicious stars will follow you, auspicious star upon auspicious star.