1. طربت بنا ريح النسي

    مِ صبيحة العيد الكبير

    The gentle breeze rejoiced with us

    on the morning of the great Eid.

  2. من بعد أن صلى الاما

    م وكان في جم غفير

    After the imam had prayed,

    and was amid a vast throng,

  3. فتسابق الاخوان ك

    ل راكب متن السرير

    the brothers raced, each

    riding atop a couch,

  4. عال جميله شكله

    فكأنه تخت الامير

    lofty and beautiful in form,

    as though it were the prince's throne.

  5. والخيل تمرح والحوا

    فر لينات كالحرير

    And the horses frolic, and their hooves

    are soft as silk:

  6. خيل عتاق تعتلي

    لو قابلت خيل السفير

    noble-bred horses that would excel

    if they faced the envoy's horses.

  7. تطوي سجل الارض طي

    اً لا يمازجه خرير

    They fold up the scroll of the earth,

    a folding unmingled with any murmur.

  8. يشدو بها الشعراء لو

    كان الفرزدق أو جرير

    Poets would sing of them, whether

    al-Farazdaq or Jarir,

  9. أو فارس الشرق الاما

    م الحضرمي ذاك الشهير

    or the knight of the East, Imam

    al-Hadrami, that renowned man.

  10. والى اليمين مع اليسا

    ر اذا نظرت ترى الغدري

    And to the right, as to the left,

    if you look, you see the pool.

  11. والجو صاف والحما

    م على الغصون له هدير

    And the sky is clear, and the doves

    coo upon the boughs.

  12. وأمامنا بحر خضم

    راق لا يبدي هرير

    And before us lies a vast sea,

    serene, giving forth no growl.

  13. والزهر يبسم والربى

    تختال في برد الضمير

    And the flowers smile, and the hills

    strut in the coolness of the soul.

  14. وعلى البسيطة سندس

    خضر حكى نسج الحرير

    And on the earth lies fine silk,

    green, imitating the weave of silk.

  15. حتى جرى ذهب الاصي

    ل على اللجين المستنير

    Until the gold of late afternoon flowed

    over the gleaming silver.

  16. والشمس في رفع وفي

    خفظ على سمت تسير

    And the sun, in ascent and in

    descent, travels along a course.

  17. فكأنها والبحر يغبط

    وصلها حوراء دير

    As though she—with the sea coveting

    union with her—were a dark-eyed maiden of a convent,

  18. أبدت محيا وجهها

    والى مغازلها تشير

    who has revealed her countenance

    and gestures toward her wooer.

  19. فكأننا وكأنه

    وكأنها وهي المنير

    As though we, and he,

    and she—she, the radiant one—

  20. خل خلا بخليله

    وعليهما اطغ الخفير

    were a lover alone with his beloved,

    with the watchman peering down upon them both.

  21. واذ الجزائر رصعت

    بالكهربا النور الشهير

    And when Algiers was studded

    with electricity, that celebrated light,

  22. ومن المشارق لاح بد

    ر التم وارتاح السمير

    from the eastern horizons appeared the moon

    in its fullness, and the evening companion relaxed.

  23. حل الركاب برحله

    وعميرنا هو المدير

    The riding party settled at its lodging,

    and our Umayr was the one in charge.

  24. قلنا السلام على الجزا

    ئر وانتهى هذا المسير

    We said, "Peace be upon Algiers,"

    and this journey came to an end.