1. خَيالٌ سَرى وَالنَجمُ في القُربِ راسِخُ

    أَلَمَّ وَمِن دونِ الحَبيبِ فَراسِخُ

    A phantom traveled by night, while the star stood fixed nearby.

    It visited, though leagues lay between me and the beloved.

  2. خَطاءٌ كَماءِ البيدِ يَجري وَبَينَنا

    هِضابُ الفَيافي وَالجِبالُ الشَوامِخُ

    An illusion, it flows like water in the wastes, while between us

    lie the hills of the wilderness and the towering mountains.

  3. خَفِيَّ الخُطى وافى لِيَنظُرَ هَل غَفَت

    عُيوني وَهَل جَفَّت جُفوني النَواضِخُ

    Stealthy of step, it came to see whether slumber had overtaken

    my eyes, and whether my streaming eyelids had dried.

  4. خَفِ اللَهَ يا طَيفَ الخَيالِ فَإِنَّها

    بِماءِ حَياتي لا بِدَمعي فَواضِخُ

    Fear God, O phantom of imagination, for they

    gush with the water of my life, not with my tears.

  5. خَطَرتَ إِلى مَيتِ الغَرامِ مُكَلِّماً

    لَهُ بَعدَما ناحَت عَليهِ الصَوارِخُ

    You came to one dead of passion, speaking

    to him after the shrieking mourners had wailed over him.

  6. خَطيبٌ فَهَل عيسى بنُ مَريَمَ جاءَهُ

    لِيُنطِقَهُ أَم أَنتَ في الصورِ نافِخُ

    An orator! Did Jesus son of Mary come to him

    to make him speak, or are you blowing into the Trumpet?

  7. خُضِ اللَيلَ وَاِقصِد مَن أُحِبَّ وَقُل لَهُ

    سَأَكتُمُ ما بي وَهوَ في القَلبِ راسِخُ

    Wade through the night, seek the one I love, and tell him:

    I shall conceal what ails me, though it is firmly rooted in my heart.

  8. خَشَيتُ اِنفِساخَ العَهدِ عَنّي وَإِنَّني

    لِعَهدِكَ لا وَاللَهِ ما أَنا فاسِخُ

    I feared the pledge would be withdrawn from me; yet I

    am no breaker of your pledge—no, by God, not I.

  9. خَرَجتُ مِنَ الدُنيا بِوُدِّكَ قانِعاً

    وَأَنتَ لِأَضدادي بِوَصلِكَ راضِخُ

    I left the world, content with your love,

    while you grant my rivals union with you.

  10. خَسِرتَ وَلَم تَعلَم بِأَنَّ عَزائِمي

    لِأَشباحِ هَمّي بِالسُرورِ نَواسِخُ

    You lost, not knowing that my resolves

    efface the specters of my sorrow with joy.

  11. خِيامي عَلى هامِ السِماكِ عَلِيَّةٌ

    وَقَدري عَلى مَتنِ المَجَرَّةِ شامِخُ

    My tents stand high upon al-Simak's crown,

    and my rank towers upon the Milky Way's back.

  12. خَلا المَلِكُ المَنصورُ لي فَأَحَلَّني

    مَحَلّاً لَهُ تَعنو الجِبالُ البَواذِخُ

    King al-Mansur made time for me and placed me

    in a station before which the lofty mountains bow.

  13. خَطَت بي إِلَيهِ هِمَّتي فَوَرَدتُهُ

    فَلا السَعيُ مَذمومٌ وَلا السورُ شامِخُ

    My ambition carried me toward him, and I reached him;

    so the endeavor is not scorned, nor is the rampart towering.

  14. خَلَعتُ نِعالَ الشَكِّ في قُدسِ رَبعِهِ

    فَمِن تُربِهِ كَفّي لِخَدِّيَّ لاطِخُ

    I took off the sandals of doubt in the sanctity of his abode,

    so with its dust my palm smears my cheeks.

  15. خَلُصتُ مِنَ الأَهوالِ لَمّا لَقيتُهُ

    فَبِتُّ مَنيعاً وَالخُطوبُ شَوائِخُ

    I escaped the terrors when I met him,

    and spent the night impregnable, while calamities towered.

  16. خَشيتُ عَلى الآراكِ سَطوَةَ بَأسِهِ

    وَأَطوادُ رَضوى دونَها وَالشَمارِخُ

    I feared for the arak trees the onslaught of his might,

    with Radwa's massifs and lofty peaks standing before them.

  17. خَليفَةُ عَصرٍ لَيسَ يُنسَخُ جودُه

    وَيَغتاظُ مِنهُ مالُهُ المُتَناسِخُ

    A caliph of his age, whose generosity is not superseded,

    and his wealth, ever changing hands, grows angry with him.

  18. خَصيبٌ إِذا ما الأَرضُ صَوَّحَ نَبتُها

    حَليمٌ إِذا أَخفى المَلومَ الرَواسِخُ

    Bountiful when the earth's growth has withered,

    forbearing when the firm-rooted mountains hide the blameworthy.

  19. خَلائِقُهُ بيضٌ إِذا هَمَّ قاصِدٌ

    وَأَسيافُهُ حُمرٌ إِذا هَمَّ صارِخُ

    His virtues are white when a petitioner resolves to come,

    and his swords are red when a crier resolves to seek aid.

  20. خِصالٌ حَواها مِن أَبيهِ وَجَدِّهِ

    وَأَكسَبَهُ أَسيافُهُ وَالمَشايِخُ

    Virtues he acquired from his father and grandfather,

    and his swords and the elders won them for him.

  21. خَزائِنُهُ مَبذولَةٌ وَأَكُفُّهُ

    بِحارُ النَدى ما بَينَهُنَّ بَرازِخُ

    His treasuries are freely offered, and his palms

    are seas of bounty, with no barriers between them.

  22. خِطابُكَ نَجمُ الدينِ خَطبٌ عَلى العِدى

    فَكَيفَ إِذا سُلَّت ظُباكَ النَواضِخُ

    Your speech, Najm al-Din, is a calamity for foes;

    what then, when your blood-spattering blades are drawn?

  23. خَشُنتَ عَلى الأَعداءِ في الحَربِ مَلمَساً

    وَغُصنُكَ غَضٌّ في الشَبيبَةِ شارِخُ

    You proved rough to the touch for enemies in war,

    while your branch is tender, flourishing in youth.

  24. خُلِقتَ رِضى العَليا وَوَجهُكَ واضِحٌ

    وَجودُكَ سَحّاحٌ وَمَجدُكَ باذِخُ

    You were made the delight of exalted glory, and your face is radiant,

    and your bounty pours in torrents, and your glory towers.

  25. خَبيرٌ بِأَمرِ المُلكِ عَدلُكَ باسِطٌ

    وَعِلمُكَ فَيّاضٌ وَحِلمُكَ راسِخُ

    You are versed in the affairs of kingship; your justice spreads wide,

    and your knowledge overflows, and your forbearance is firmly rooted.

  26. خَفَضتَ اللُهى كَي تَرفَعَ الذُلَّ بِالنَدى

    فَأَنتَ لِآلِ الجودِ بِالجودِ ناسِخُ

    You lowered lavish gifts to lift away humiliation through bounty;

    thus, through bounty, you eclipse the house of bounty.

  27. خُصِصتَ بِقَلبٍ في الشَدائِدِ جامِدٍ

    فَزانَكَ كَفٌّ بِالمَكارِمِ ناصِخُ

    You were endowed with a heart unyielding amid hardships,

    and a palm streaming with noble gifts adorned you.

  28. خُذِ المَدحَ مِنّي وَاِبقَ لِلحَمدِ سالِماً

    هَنيئاً لِذِكرٍ عَرفُهُ بِكَ فائِخُ

    Accept praise from me, and live safe to be praised;

    blessed is the renown whose fragrance wafts through you.

  29. خَليٌّ يَصوغُ المَدحَ فيكَ قَلائِداً

    وَيُنشِدُهُ راوٍ وَيَكتُبُ ناسِخُ

    A carefree man fashions praise of you into necklaces,

    and a reciter chants it, and a copyist writes it down.