أوميض برق لاح من نجد

أم أسفرت ليلى عن الخد

Is it a flash of lightning that gleamed from Najd,

Or has Layla unveiled her cheek?

فلقد رأيت الليل ملتمعاً

وشممت منه روائح الورد

For I have seen the night aglow,

And smelled from it the fragrance of roses.

وغدوت من ولهي أسائله

عن ربة الخلخال والعقد

And in my longing I began to question it

About the lady of the anklet and necklace,

تلك التي كانت تقربني

لنهودها بأنامل الود

The one who used to draw me near

To her breasts with affection's fingertips.

وخدودها وردي وسالفها

ريحانتي ورضابها وردي

Her cheeks are my roses, and the side of her neck

My basil sprig; her saliva is my draught.

عدني برنِّ حجولها عندي

فلقد سئمت حمائم الرند

Promise me the chime of her anklets beside me,

For I have wearied of the doves among the bay trees.

واستدعها فلعلها صرفت

يوم النوى ببلابل الوجد

And summon her; perhaps she has spent

The day of separation amid longing's torments,

وسرت على لألاء غرتها

لتعودني وتعود بالحمد

And journeyed by night in the radiance of her brow,

To visit me in sickness and return with praise.

أترى يلاصق خدها خدي

وأنا بجلق وهي في نجد

Do you think her cheek will touch mine,

While I am in Jilliq and she in Najd?

ويزيل برد رضابها حرقي

ويزور كوكب نهدها مهدي

And her saliva's coolness will soothe my burning,

And the star of her breast will visit my bed?

هيهات دونهما قناً تردي

وظُبىً تورد فضة الورد

How far away! Between me and both stand spears that slay,

And sword-edges that redden the roses' silver,

وفيالقٌ توري فوارسها

صم الصفا بسنابك الجرد

And armies whose horsemen strike sparks

From unyielding rock with the hooves of sleek steeds,

من كل مفتول الذراع له

حلم الشيوخ وهمة المرد

Each a sinewy-armed man, possessing

The forbearance of elders and the resolve of beardless youths,

بحمى حمى شاميةٍ يدها

طائيةٌ وطُرَيفها هندي

Within the shelter of a Syrian lady's sanctuary; her hand

Is Tayyite, and her little glance an Indian sword.

فارقتها ويدي على خدي

كفراق آدم جنة الخلد

I parted from her, my hand upon my cheek,

As Adam parted from the garden of eternity.

فألم بي ألمٌ نسيت به

لهو الغزال ونومة الفهد

Then pain befell me, making me forget

The gazelle's play and the cheetah's slumber.

اللَه يعلم أنني دنفٌ

لا أستطيع أبث ما عندي

God knows that I am lovesick,

Unable to pour out what is within me.

وهب استطعت فمن يساعدني

وأنا القتيل وقاتلي وجدي

And suppose I could—who would help me,

When I am slain, and my slayer is my longing?

ومن الذي دامت حبيبته

حتى تدوم حبيبتي وحدي

And whose beloved has ever endured,

That mine should endure for me alone?

لو دام شيءٌ دام مدحت لل

شام التي باهت به المهدي

Had anything endured, Midhat would have endured for

Syria, which boasted of him before al-Mahdi.

الفارس المذخور للجرح ال

محظور يوم الأخذ والرد

The horseman held in reserve for the wound deemed

Forbidden, on the day of advance and retreat,

يوم اقتران الهام بالذكَر ال

صمصام تحت مطارف الملد

The day when heads meet the steely,

Cleaving sword beneath the cloaks of supple youths.

من لفظه درٌّ بلا صدفٍ

وسماحه سيلٌ بلا رعد

He whose speech is pearls without shells,

And whose largesse is a torrent without thunder;

ويراعه أمضى من الهندي

وحديثه أحلى من الشهد

His reed pen is keener than an Indian sword,

And his words are sweeter than honey.

وهو الذي لو جئت أسأله

بيض الأنوق لقال لي عندي

He it is who, were I to come asking him for

The vulture's eggs, would tell me, 'I have them.'

وهو الذي غابت لغيبته ال

حساد وانحلت قوى المجد

He it is at whose absence vanished the

Envious, and the strength of glory came undone.

وخلت ربى الأفراح من ثمر ال

إصلاح وانغلت يد الرفد

And the hills of joy were emptied of the fruit of

Reform, and generosity's hand was shackled.

أحيى بلاد الشام في سنةٍ

ضنّانةٍ بالزرع والحصد

He revived the lands of Syria in a year

That begrudged sowing and harvest.

أمنت هواجرها مواطرها

والأذن آمنةٌ من الرعد

Its scorching noons were safe from its rainclouds,

And the ear was safe from thunder.

لا باقةٌ خضراء يانعةٌ

فيها ولا زهرٌ على ورد

No green, flourishing bouquet

Was there, nor a blossom on a rosebush.

لو دام مدحت دام رونقها

وخلت حدائقها من الوقد

Had Midhat stayed, its splendor would have stayed,

And its gardens would have been free of burning.

وغدت بعين الغيد أصلح من

آس العذار بأوجه المرد

And to fair maidens' eyes it would have been more becoming than

The myrtle of cheek-down on beardless youths' faces.

فكأنها كانت وعالمها

زندٌ ومدحت قوة الزند

It was as though it, with its people, were

A forearm, and Midhat the forearm's strength.

يا خير من تسعى الركاب له

موقورةً بالشكر والحمد

O best of those to whom riding camels hasten,

Laden with gratitude and praise,

خذ من ثنائي جوهراً يققاً

حرّاً يزورك زورة العبد

Take from my praise a dazzlingly white jewel,

Noble, visiting you as a slave visits.

لو شاهدت ليلى محاسنه

قالت وهبت لسيدي عقدي

If Layla saw its beauties,

She would say, 'I give my necklace to my lord.'

إن كان عيّد بعدكم بشرٌ

في الشام لاحكت يدي جلدي

If any mortal has celebrated a feast since you left

In Syria, may my hand never scratch my skin,

وحرمت من تقبيل كفك يا

بر العليل المحسن المجدي

And may I be denied kissing your palm, O

Benefactor of the ailing, benevolent and bountiful one.

فاسلم لأعيادٍ ستدركها

بالعز والإقبال والسعد

May you remain safe for feasts you shall yet see,

With honor, prosperity, and good fortune.

لا زال أولها كآخرها

يمضي ويهتف عشت من بعدي

May their first, like their last, ever

Pass and cry, 'May you live on after me!'