1. بَدَت فَلَم يَبقَ سِترٌ غَيرَ مُنهَتِكِ

    مِنّا وَلَم يَبقَ سِرٌّ غَيرَ مُنهَتِكِ

    She appeared, and no veil remained untorn

    among us, nor any secret left undisclosed.

  2. وَأَقبَلَت وَقَميصُ اللَيلِ قَد نَحَلَت

    أَسمالُهُ وَرِداءُ الصُبحِ لَم يُحَكِ

    She approached, while the shirt of night had worn thin

    in its tatters, and dawn's cloak was not yet woven.

  3. تَبَسَّمَت إِذ رَأَت مَبكايَ فَاِشتَبَهَت

    مَدامِعي بِلَآلي الثَغرِ في الضَحِكِ

    She smiled when she saw my weeping, and a likeness arose

    between my tears and the pearls of her mouth in laughter.

  4. فَحِرتُ مِن دُرِّ عَبراتي وَمَبسِمِها

    ما بَينَ مُشتَبِهٍ مِنها وَمُشتَبِكِ

    So I was bewildered by the pearls of my tears and her smiling mouth,

    some of them alike, others intertwined.

  5. مَلَكتِ قَلبي وَجِسمي في يَديكِ هَوىً

    إِن شِئتِ فَاِنتَهِبي أَو شِئتِ فَاِنتَهِكي

    You have taken my heart; my body is in your hands through love.

    If you wish, plunder me; or, if you wish, violate me.

  6. أفنَت لِحاظُكِ أَربابَ الغَرامِ وَما

    عَلَيكَ في قَتلَةِ العُشّاقِ مِن دَرَكِ

    Your glances have destroyed the devotees of passion, and no

    liability falls on you for killing lovers.

  7. يَذِلُّ كُلَّ عَزيزٍ في هَواكِ كَما

    يَعِزُّ كُلَّ ذَليلِ في حِمى المَلِكِ

    Every mighty one is humbled in love of you, just as

    every lowly one is exalted under the king's protection.

  8. مَلكٌ لَوَ اَنَّ يَدَ الأَقدارِ تُنصِفُهُ

    لَما أَحَلَّتهُ إِلّا ذُروَةَ الفَلَكِ

    A king—if the hand of fate dealt justly with him,

    it would place him nowhere but at the summit of heaven.

  9. يَستَعظِمُ الناسُ ما نَحكيهِ عَنهُ فَإِن

    لاذوا بِهِ اِستَقلَلوا ما كانَ عَنهُ حُكي

    People marvel at what we recount of him; yet if

    they take refuge with him, they find what was told of him too little.

  10. تَشارَكَ الناسُ في إِنعامِ راحَتِهِ

    وَمَجدُهُ في البَرايا غَيرُ مُشتَرَكِ

    People share in the bounty of his palm,

    but his glory among created beings is shared by none.

  11. بَحرٌ وَلَكِنَّهُ طابَت مَشارِعُهُ

    وَالبَحرُ يَجمَعُ مِن طيبٍ وَمِن سَهَكِ

    He is a sea, yet his watering places are sweet,

    while the sea mingles fragrance with fishy stench.

  12. في كَفِّهِ قَلَمٌ تَهمي مَشافِرُهُ

    في نَفعِ مُعتَكَرٍ أَو وَقعِ مُعتَرَكِ

    In his palm is a pen whose lips pour forth,

    to benefit a throng, or in a battlefield's clash.

  13. قُل لِلمُنَكِّبِ عَنُ كَي يَنالَ غِنىً

    لَقَد سَلَكتَ طَريقاً غَيرَ مُنسَلِكِ

    Tell the one who turns away to attain wealth:

    You have indeed taken an impassable path.

  14. يا قاصِدي البَحرَ إِنّي في ذَرى مَلِكٍ

    لَديهِ أَصبَحتُ جارَ البَحرِ وَالمَلِكِ

    O seekers of the sea, I am in a king's shelter;

    with him, I have become a neighbor to the sea and the king.

  15. يا ناصِرَ الدينِ يا مَن شُهبُ عَزمَتِهِ

    مُنيرَةٌ في سَماءِ المَجدِ وَالحُبُكِ

    O Nasir al-Din, O you whose meteors of resolve

    shine in the sky of glory and its interwoven paths.

  16. لا يُقدِمُ الدَهرُ يَوماً أَن يَميلَ عَلى

    عَبدٍ بِحَبلِ وَلاءٍ مِنكَ مُمتَسِكِ

    Time never dares, on any day, to turn against

    a servant holding fast to a cord of allegiance from you.

  17. ما إِن حَطَطتُ رِحالي في رُبوعِكُمُ

    إِلّا وَكُنتُم لَنا كَالماءِ لِلسَمَكِ

    No sooner had I set down my traveling gear in your dwellings

    than you were to us as water is to fish.

  18. ما زِلتَ تَمنَحُني وُدّاً وَتَرفَعُني

    حَتّى ظَنَنتُ مَحَلّي ذُروَةَ الفَلَكِ

    You have never ceased granting me affection and raising me,

    until I thought my station was the summit of heaven.

  19. وَدَّعتُ مَجدَكَ وَالأَقدامُ تَنكُصُ بي

    كَأَنَّني حافِياً أَمشي عَلى حَسَكِ

    I bade farewell to your glory as my feet drew me back,

    as though I walked barefoot upon thorns.

  20. وَكَيفَ تَدرُجُ بي عَن ظِلِّكُم قَدَمٌ

    أَمسى لَها جودُكُم مِن أَوثَقِ الشَرَكِ

    And how can a foot carry me away from your shade,

    when your bounty has become for it one of the firmest snares?

  21. فَاِسلَم عَلى قُلَلِ العَلياءِ مُرتَفِعاً

    عِزّاً وَشانِئُكُم في أَسفَلِ الدَرَكِ

    So remain safe upon the peaks of eminence, exalted

    in glory, while your hater lies in the lowest depths.