1. ما بَينَ طَيفِكَ وَالجُفونِ مَواعِدُ

    فَيَفي إِذا خُبِّرتَ أَنّي راقِدُ

    Between your phantom and my eyelids are trysts;

    it keeps them when you are told that I am asleep.

  2. إِنّي لَأَطمَعُ في الرُقادِ لِأَنَّهُ

    شَرَكٌ يُصادُ بِهِ الغَزالُ الشارِدُ

    Indeed, I yearn for sleep, because it is

    a snare with which the fleeing gazelle is caught.

  3. فَأَظَلُّ أَقنَعُ بِالخَيالِ وَإِنَّهُ

    طَمَعٌ يُوَلِّدُهُ الخَيالُ الفاسِدُ

    So I remain content with the phantom, though this is

    a longing born of a flawed imagination.

  4. هَيهاتَ لا يَشفي المُحِبَّ مِنَ الأَسى

    قُربُ الخَيالِ وَرَبُّهُ مُتَباعِدُ

    Far from it! A lover is not healed of sorrow

    by the phantom's nearness while its owner is far away.

  5. وَلَقَد تَعَرَّضَ لِلمَحَبَّةِ مَعشَرٌ

    عَدِموا مِنَ اللَذّاتِ ما أَنا واجِدُ

    Indeed, a group ventured into love,

    yet lacked the pleasures that I have found.

  6. عابوا اِبتِهاجي بِالغَرامِ وَأَنَّني

    ما عِشتُ مِن سُكرِ المَحَبَّةِ مائِدُ

    They faulted my joy in passion, and the fact that I,

    as long as I live, reel from love's intoxication.

  7. قالوا تَعَشَّقَ كُلَّ رَبِّ مَلاحَةٍ

    فَأَجَبتُهم إِنَّ المُحَرِّكَ واحِدُ

    They said, 'He has fallen for every possessor of beauty.'

    So I answered them, 'The moving force is one.'

  8. فَالحُسنُ حيثُ وَجَدتُهُ في حَيِّزٍ

    هُوَ لي بِأَرسانِ الصَبابَةِ قائِدُ

    For beauty, in whatever place I find it,

    leads me by the reins of ardent longing.

  9. ما كُنتُ أَعلَمُ أَنَّ أَلحاظَ الظِبا

    هِيَ لِلأُسودِ حَبائِلٌ وَمَصايَدُ

    I did not know that the gazelles' glances

    are snares and traps for lions.

  10. إِنَّ الَّذي خَلَقَ البَريَّةَ ناطَها

    بِوَسائِطٍ هِيَ لِلكَمالِ شَواهِدُ

    Indeed, He who created all beings linked them

    to intermediaries that bear witness to perfection.

  11. فَتُدَبِّرُ الأَفلاكَ سَبعَةُ أَجنُمٍ

    وَيُدَبِّرُ الأَرضَينَ نَجمٌ واحِدُ

    So seven stars govern the celestial spheres,

    and a single star governs the earths.

  12. نَجمٌ لَهُ في المُلكِ أَنجُمُ عَزمَةٍ

    هُنَّ الرُجومُ إِذا تَطَرَّقَ مارِدُ

    A star who has stars of resolve within his realm;

    they are missiles whenever a rebel intrudes.

  13. المالِكُ المَنصورُ مَلكٌ جودُهُ

    داني المَنالِ وَمَجدُهُ مُتَباعِدُ

    The sovereign al-Mansur is a king whose generosity

    lies within easy reach, while his glory is far beyond reach.

  14. مَلِكٌ لَدَيهِ مَواهِبٌ وَمَكارِمٌ

    هِيَ لِلعُداةِ مَواهِنٌ وَمَكايِدُ

    A king who possesses gifts and noble deeds,

    which are weakening forces and stratagems against his foes.

  15. كَالغَيثِ فيهِ لِلطُغاةِ زَلازِلٌ

    وَلِمَن يُؤَمِّلُهُ الزُلالُ البارِدُ

    Like rain, he brings earthquakes to tyrants,

    and cool, pure water to whoever places hope in him.

  16. يُخشى وَتُرجى بَطشُهُ وَهِباتُه

    كَالبَحرِ فيهِ مَهالِكٌ وَفَوائِدُ

    His crushing force is feared, and his gifts are hoped for;

    like the sea, which holds perils and benefits.

  17. آراؤُهُ لِلكائِناتِ طَلائِعٌ

    وَهُمومُهُ بِالغانِياتِ شَواهِدُ

    His counsels are harbingers of events,

    and his concerns about fair women bear witness.

  18. لا يُؤيِسَنَّكَ بَأسُهُ مِن جودِهِ

    دونَ السَحابِ بَوارِقٌ وَرَواعِدُ

    Let not his might make you despair of his generosity;

    before the clouds come flashes of lightning and thunderclaps.

  19. يَهَبُ المَطِيَّ وَرَكبُهُنَّ وَصائِفٌ

    وَالصافِناتِ وَحِملُهُنَّ وَلائِدُ

    He gives riding camels, with slave girls as their riders,

    and poised steeds, with slave girls as their load.

  20. لَكَ يا اِبنَ أُرتُقَ بِالمَكارِمِ نِسبَةٌ

    فَلِذاكَ جودُكَ كَاِسمِ جَدِّكَ زائِدُ

    You, O son of Artuq, have kinship with noble deeds;

    so your generosity, like your forefather's name, is increasing.

  21. أورِثتَ مَجدَ سَراةِ أُرتُقَ إِذ خَلَت

    وَبَنيتَهُ فَهُوَ الطَريفُ التالِدُ

    You inherited the glory of Artuq's nobles when they passed away,

    and built it up: thus it is both newly won and ancestral.

  22. قَومٌ تَعَوَّدَتِ الهِباتِ أَكُفُّهُم

    إِنَّ المَكارِمَ لِلكِرامِ عَوائِدُ

    A people whose hands grew accustomed to bestowing gifts:

    indeed, noble deeds are the habits of the noble.

  23. عاشوا وَفَضلُهُمُ رَبيعٌ لِلوَرى

    فَلَهُم ثَناً يَحيا وَذِكرٌ خالِدُ

    They lived, their bounty a springtime for humankind;

    so theirs is praise that lives and everlasting remembrance.

  24. فَأَكُفُّهُم يَومَ السَماحِ جَداوِلٌ

    وَقُلوبُهُم يَومَ الكِفاحِ جَلامِدُ

    So their hands are streams on the day of giving,

    and their hearts are boulders on the day of combat.

  25. وَكَفَلتَ مَن كَلِفَ الزَمانُ بِحِفظِهِ

    حَتّى كَأَنَّكَ لِلبَرِيَّةِ والِدُ

    And you cared for those whom Time was eager to preserve,

    until you seemed a father to all creation.

  26. فَيَداكَ في عُنقِ الزَمانِ غَلائِلٌ

    وَنَداكَ في جيدِ الأَنامِ قَلائِدُ

    So your hands are fine robes about Time's neck,

    and your bounty is necklaces about humankind's neck.

  27. وَعُنيتَ بي وَرَفَعتَ قَدري في الوَرى

    فَعَواذِلي في القُربِ مِنكَ حَواسِدُ

    And you cared for me and raised my standing among humankind,

    so my reproachers envy my closeness to you.

  28. وَعَلِمتَ أَنّي في مَحَبَّتِكَ الَّذي

    فَنَداكَ لي صِلَةٌ وَبِرُّكَ عائِدُ

    And you knew that, in loving you, I am the one...

    so your bounty is a gift to me, and your kindness returns.

  29. فَاِعذِر مُحِبّاً إِن تَباعَدَ شَخصُهُ

    جاءَتكَ مِنهُ قَصائِدٌ وَمَقاصِدُ

    So excuse a lover if his body is far away;

    poems and intentions have come to you from him.

  30. فَإِذا ثَنائي عَنكَ هَمٌّ سائِقٌ

    جَذَبَ العِنانَ إِلَيكَ شَوقٌ قائِدُ

    So when my praise of you is a driving concern,

    a guiding longing draws the reins toward you.

  31. وَلَقَد وَقَفتُ عَلَيكَ لَفظي كُلَّهُ

    مِمّا أَحِلُّ بِهِ وَما أَنا عاقِدُ

    And I have dedicated all my words to you,

    whether I leave them loose or bind them together.

  32. فَإِذا نَظَمتُ فَإِنَّني لَكَ مادِحٌ

    وَإِذا نَشَرتُ فَإِنَّني لَكَ حامِدُ

    So when I compose verse, I extol you,

    and when I write prose, I praise you.