1. أُغالِبُ فيكَ الشَوقَ وَالشَوقُ أَغلَبُ

    وَأَعجَبُ مِن ذا الهَجرِ وَالوَصلُ أَعجَبُ

    I struggle against longing for you, but longing is stronger.

    I marvel at this estrangement, though reunion is more marvelous.

  2. أَما تَغلَطُ الأَيّامُ فيَّ بِأَن أَرى

    بَغيضاً تُنائي أَو حَبيباً تُقَرِّبُ

    Will the days never err in my favor, letting me see

    a hated one they send far away, or a beloved they bring near?

  3. وَلِلَّهِ سَيري ما أَقَلَّ تَإِيَّةً

    عَشِيَّةَ شَرقِيَّ الحَدالَي وَغُرَّبُ

    How wondrous, by God, my journey—how little hesitation there was

    that evening east of al-Hadali and Ghurrab!

  4. عَشِيَّةَ أَحفى الناسِ بي مَن جَفَوتُهُ

    وَأَهدى الطَريقَينِ الَّتي أَتَجَنَّبُ

    That evening, the most attentive to me was the one I had shunned,

    and the surer of the two roads was the one I avoided.

  5. وَكَم لِظَلامِ اللَيلِ عِندَكَ مِن يَدٍ

    تُخَبِّرُ أَنَّ المانَوِيَّةَ تَكذِبُ

    How many favors the darkness of night has granted you,

    declaring that the Manichaeans lie!

  6. وَقاكَ رَدى الأَعداءِ تَسري إِلَيهِمُ

    وَزارَكَ فيهِ ذو الدَلالِ المُحَجَّبُ

    It shielded you from death at your enemies' hands as you traveled toward them by night,

    and in it the veiled, coquettish beloved visited you.

  7. وَيَومٍ كَلَيلِ العاشِقينَ كَمَنتُهُ

    أُراقِبُ فيهِ الشَمسَ أَيّانَ تَغرُبُ

    And many a day like lovers' night I spent in hiding,

    watching the sun to see when it would set.

  8. وَعَيني إِلى أُذنَي أَغَرَّ كَأَنَّهُ

    مِنَ اللَيلِ باقٍ بَينَ عَينَيهِ كَوكَبُ

    My gaze was fixed on the ears of a white-blazed horse, as though it were

    a remnant of night, with a star between its eyes.

  9. لَهُ فَضلَةٌ عَن جِسمِهِ في إِهابِهِ

    تَجيءُ عَلى صَدرٍ رَحيبٍ وَتَذهَبُ

    Its hide has room to spare beyond its body,

    moving to and fro over a broad chest.

  10. شَقَقتُ بِهِ الظَلماءَ أُدني عِنانَهُ

    فَيَطغى وَأُرخيهِ مِراراً فَيَلعَبُ

    I cleaved the darkness on it; I draw in its rein,

    and it rebels; I loosen it time after time, and it frolics.

  11. وَأَصرَعُ أَيَّ الوَحشِ قَفَّيتُهُ بِهِ

    وَأَنزِلُ عَنهُ مِثلَهُ حينَ أَركَبُ

    I fell whichever wild beast I pursue on it,

    and when I dismount, it is just as it was when I mounted.

  12. وَما الخَيلُ إِلّا كَالصَديقِ قَليلَةٌ

    وَإِن كَثُرَت في عَينِ مَن لا يُجَرِّبُ

    Horses, like friends, are few indeed,

    though they seem many to the eye of one who does not test them.

  13. إِذا لَم تُشاهِد غَيرَ حُسنِ شِياتِها

    وَأَعضائِها فَالحُسنُ عَنكَ مُغَيَّبُ

    If you see only the beauty of their markings

    and their limbs, true beauty is hidden from you.

  14. لَحا اللَهُ ذي الدُنيا مُناخاً لِراكِبٍ

    فَكُلُّ بَعيدِ الهَمِّ فيها مُعَذَّبُ

    May God curse this world as a resting place for a rider,

    for everyone of far-reaching ambition is tormented in it.

  15. أَلا لَيتَ شِعري هَل أَقولُ قَصيدَةً

    فَلا أَشتَكي فيها وَلا أَتَعَتَّبُ

    Ah, would that I knew: shall I ever compose a poem

    in which I neither complain nor voice reproach?

  16. وَبي ما يَذودُ الشِعرَ عَنّي أَقُلُّهُ

    وَلَكِنَّ قَلبي يا اِبنَةَ القَومِ قُلَّبُ

    I bear suffering whose slightest part would drive poetry from me,

    but my heart, O daughter of the tribe, is ever-changing.

  17. وَأَخلاقُ كافورٍ إِذا شِئتُ مَدحَهُ

    وَإِن لَم أَشَء تُملي عَلَيَّ وَأَكتُبُ

    Kafur's virtues, when I wish to praise him,

    and even when I do not, dictate to me, and I write.

  18. إِذا تَرَكَ الإِنسانُ أَهلاً وَرائَهُ

    وَيَمَّمَ كافوراً فَما يَتَغَرَّبُ

    When a man leaves his family behind

    and heads toward Kafur, he is no stranger.

  19. فَتىً يَملَأُ الأَفعالَ رَأياً وَحِكمَةً

    وَنادِرَةً أَحيانَ يَرضى وَيَغضَبُ

    A noble youth who fills his deeds with judgment and wisdom,

    and rare excellence, in moments of pleasure and anger.

  20. إِذا ضَرَبَت في الحَربِ بِالسَيفِ كَفُّهُ

    تَبَيَّنتَ أَنَّ السَيفَ بِالكَفِّ يَضرِبُ

    When his hand strikes with the sword in battle,

    you realize that the sword strikes by means of the hand.

  21. تَزيدُ عَطاياهُ عَلى اللَبثِ كَثرَةً

    وَتَلبَثُ أَمواهُ السَحابِ فَتَنضَبُ

    His gifts increase in abundance as time passes,

    while the waters of the clouds linger, then run dry.

  22. أَبا المِسكِ هَل في الكَأسِ فَضلٌ أَنالُهُ

    فَإِنّي أُغَنّي مُنذُ حينٍ وَتَشرَبُ

    Abu al-Misk, is there anything left in the cup that I may receive?

    For I have been singing for some time while you drink.

  23. وَهَبتَ عَلى مِقدارِ كَفّى زَمانِنا

    وَنَفسي عَلى مِقدارِ كَفَّيكَ تَطلُبُ

    You gave by the measure of our age's two hands,

    while my soul asks by the measure of your two hands.

  24. إِذا لَم تَنُط بي ضَيعَةً أَو وِلايَةً

    فَجودُكَ يَكسوني وَشُغلُكَ يَسلُبُ

    If you do not entrust me with an estate or a governorship,

    your generosity clothes me, but your preoccupation strips me bare.

  25. يُضاحِكُ في ذا العيدِ كُلٌّ حَبيبَهُ

    حِذائي وَأَبكي مَن أُحِبُّ وَأَندُبُ

    At this festival, everyone shares laughter with his beloved

    beside me, while I weep for those I love and lament.

  26. أَحِنُّ إِلى أَهلي وَأَهوى لِقاءَهُم

    وَأَينَ مِنَ المُشتاقِ عَنقاءُ مُغرِبُ

    I yearn for my family and long to meet them,

    but how far beyond the yearning one's reach is the Anqa Mughrib!

  27. فَإِن لَم يَكُن إِلّا أَبو المِسكِ أَو هُمُ

    فَإِنَّكَ أَحلى في فُؤادي وَأَعذَبُ

    If the choice is only Abu al-Misk or them,

    then you are sweeter and more delightful to my heart.

  28. وَكُلُّ اِمرِئٍ يولي الجَميلَ مُحَبَّبٌ

    وَكُلُّ مَكانٍ يُنبِتُ العِزَّ طَيِّبُ

    Everyone who bestows kindness is beloved,

    and every place where honor grows is pleasant.

  29. يُريدُ بِكَ الحُسّادُ ما اللَهُ دافِعٌ

    وَسُمرُ العَوالي وَالحَديدُ المُذَرَّبُ

    The envious wish against you what God will repel,

    as will the brown shafts of tall spears and the sharpened steel.

  30. وَدونَ الَّذي يَبغونَ ما لَو تَخَلَّصوا

    إِلى المَوتِ مِنهُ عِشتَ وَالطِفلُ أَشيَبُ

    And barring what they seek is something: were they to escape

    from it into death, you would live on while even a child turned gray.

  31. إِذا طَلَبوا جَدواكَ أَعطوا وَحُكِّموا

    وَإِن طَلَبوا الفَضلَ الَّذي فيكَ خُيِّبوا

    When they seek your bounty, they are given gifts and made arbiters;

    but if they seek the excellence within you, they are disappointed.

  32. وَلَو جازَ أَن يَحوُوا عُلاكَ وَهَبتَها

    وَلَكِن مِنَ الأَشياءِ ما لَيسَ يوهَبُ

    If they could possess your eminence, you would bestow it,

    but some things cannot be given.

  33. وَأَظلَمُ أَهلِ الظُلمِ مَن باتَ حاسِداً

    لِمَن باتَ في نَعمائِهِ يَتَقَلَّبُ

    The most unjust of the unjust is the one who spends the night envying

    one in whose bounty he spends the night luxuriating.

  34. وَأَنتَ الَّذي رَبَّيتَ ذا المُلكِ مُرضِعاً

    وَلَيسَ لَهُ أُمٌّ سِواكَ وَلا أَبُ

    You are the one who reared this kingdom as its nurse,

    and it has no mother but you, nor father.

  35. وَكُنتَ لَهُ لَيثَ العَرينِ لِشِبلِهِ

    وَما لَكَ إِلّا الهِندُوانِيَّ مِخلَبُ

    You were to it as the den's lion is to its cub,

    and you have no claw but the Indian sword.

  36. لَقيتَ القَنا عَنهُ بِنَفسٍ كَريمَةٍ

    إِلى المَوتِ في الهَيجا مِنَ العارِ تَهرُبُ

    You faced the spears on its behalf with a noble soul

    that flees disgrace toward death in battle.

  37. وَقَد يَترَكُ النَفسَ الَّتي لا تَهابُهُ

    وَيَختَرِمُ النَفسَ الَّتي تَتَهَيَّبُ

    Death may spare the soul that does not fear it,

    and snatch away the soul that is afraid.

  38. وَما عَدِمَ اللاقوكَ بَأساً وَشِدَّةً

    وَلَكِنَّ مَن لاقَوا أَشَدُّ وَأَنجَبُ

    Those who met you did not lack courage or strength,

    but the one they met was stronger and nobler.

  39. ثَناهُم وَبَرقُ البيضِ في البيضِ صادِقٌ

    عَلَيهِم وَبَرقُ البَيضِ في البيضِ خُلَّبُ

    He drove them back; the lightning of swords among helmets struck true

    against them, while the lightning of helmets among swords was a rainless flash.

  40. سَلَلتَ سُيوفاً عَلَّمَت كُلَّ خاطِبٍ

    عَلى كُلِّ عودٍ كَيفَ يَدعو وَيَخطُبُ

    You drew swords that taught every preacher

    on every wooden pulpit how to pray and preach.

  41. وَيُغنيكَ عَمّا يَنسُبُ الناسُ أَنَّهُ

    إِلَيكَ تَناهى المَكرُماتُ وَتُنسَبُ

    You need none of the lineages people claim, for

    noble deeds culminate in you and trace their lineage to you.

  42. وَأَيُّ قَبيلٍ يَستَحِفُّكَ قَدرُهُ

    مَعَدُّ بنُ عَدنانَ فِداكَ وَيَعرُبُ

    And what tribe's stature could encompass you?

    May Ma'add son of Adnan and Ya'rub be your ransom!

  43. وَما طَرَبي لَمّا رَأَيتُكَ بِدعَةً

    لَقَد كُنتُ أَرجو أَن أَراكَ فَأَطرَبُ

    My delight when I saw you was nothing new;

    indeed, I had hoped to see you and rejoice.

  44. وَتَعذِلُني فيكَ القَوافي وَهِمَّتي

    كَأَنّي بِمَدحٍ قَبلَ مَدحِكَ مُذنِبُ

    My rhymes and my ambition reproach me concerning you,

    as though I were guilty for praising anyone before praising you.

  45. وَلَكِنَّهُ طالَ الطَريقُ وَلَم أَزَل

    أُفَتَّشُ عَن هَذا الكَلامِ وَيُنهَبُ

    But the road grew long, and I have never ceased

    being searched for this verse, while it is plundered.

  46. فَشَرَّقَ حَتّى لَيسَ لِلشَرقِ مَشرِقٌ

    وَغَرَّبَ حَتّى لَيسَ لِلغَربِ مَغرِبُ

    So it went east until the East had no farther east,

    and west until the West had no farther west.

  47. إِذا قُلتُهُ لَم يَمتَنِع مِن وُصولِهِ

    جِدارٌ مُعَلّى أَو خِباءٌ مُطَنَّبُ

    When I utter it, its arrival cannot be barred by

    a lofty wall or a tent stretched taut with ropes.