1. زادت سعاد بقربها بعدي

    فنأى يقول لها اسلمي بعدي

    Su'ad increased my distance through her nearness;

    so it withdrew, saying to her, 'Fare well after me.'

  2. وزهت فخلت الشمس يحملها

    غصنٌ على جبل من الزبد

    And she shone; I fancied the sun was carried

    by a branch upon a mountain of foam,

  3. في مرط نبهانيةٍ فمها

    يحيى وصارم طرفها يردي

    in a Nabhani woman's wrap; her mouth

    gives life, while the sword of her glance slays.

  4. لو مس ظل قميصها يفنٌ

    عادت عليه خلاعة المرد

    Were a decrepit old man to touch her shirt's shadow,

    the wantonness of beardless youths would return to him.

  5. ما كنت أذعن أن أرى قمراً

    عندي فأبطل وجهها عندي

    I would not admit that I could see a moon

    beside me; her face overturned my judgment.

  6. ما لي وما للراح إن حضرت

    والشرب بين الآس والورد

    What need have I of wine when she is present,

    with the drinkers amid myrtle and roses?

  7. وأثيثها آسي ووجنتها

    وَردي وعذب رضابها وِردي

    And her luxuriant hair is my myrtle, and her cheek

    my rose, and her sweet saliva my draught.

  8. والراح في فيها ونكهتها

    وحديثها والعين والخد

    And wine is in her mouth and her breath,

    her speech, her eye, and her cheek.

  9. لم أنس زورتها وقد لعبت

    ريح الدلال بقدها الرندي

    I have not forgotten her visit, when

    coquetry's breeze played with her laurel-like figure.

  10. وبدت لنا في المهد معركةٌ

    أصبحت فيها صاحب البند

    And in the bed a battle appeared before us,

    in which I became the standard-bearer.

  11. ما خاضها غيري ولا دخلت

    فيها يدٌ إلا يدي وحدي

    None but me plunged into it, and no hand entered

    it except my own hand, mine alone.

  12. لولا التقى والصبح يصرفها

    عني صرفت الهزل بالجد

    Were it not for piety and dawn turning her

    from me, I would have exchanged jest for earnestness.

  13. يا رب حتى الصبح يبعدني

    عنها وحتى عفتي ضدي

    O Lord, even dawn keeps me far

    from her, and even my chastity is against me!

  14. لولا التأسي بالذين نأت

    أقمارهم لفنيت من وجدي

    Were I not consoled by those whose

    moons had departed, I would have perished of longing.

  15. لي أسوةٌ بالشام حين نأى

    عنها سليم الكوكب السعدي

    I have an example in al-Sham, when

    Salim, the auspicious star, departed from her.

  16. مولى له فصل الخطاب وإم

    لاء الجواب وصحة النقد

    A lord endowed with decisive speech and the dictation

    of answers, and sound critical judgment.

  17. لا ينثني عن سرج سابحة

    تردي لغير سماحة تجدي

    He does not leave the saddle of a swift mare

    that gallops, save for bounty that brings aid.

  18. يغشى السنين الشهب نائله

    فينوب عن زرع وعن حصد

    His bounty covers the ashen years of drought,

    taking the place of sowing and harvesting.

  19. وإذا الصريخ دعا دعا بطلاً

    يختال بين البيض والملد

    And when the caller for help calls, he summons a hero

    who strides proudly among white swords and supple spears.

  20. يغشى الوغى بمهندٍ خذمٍ

    لا يستلذ بصحبة الغمد

    He enters battle with a keen Indian-steel sword

    that takes no pleasure in the scabbard's company.

  21. رطب القرار كأن خضرته

    بدء العذار بأوجه المرد

    Moist where it rests, its green sheen resembles

    the first cheek-whiskers on the faces of beardless youths.

  22. يستأصل الخطب الجسيم به

    يوماً ويوماً بالندى المجدي

    He uproots grave calamity with it

    one day, and another with bounty that brings aid.

  23. جاءت له رتب العلى فرقاً

    تدعوه للأولى بلا وعد

    The ranks of eminence came to him in groups,

    calling him to the first, without a promise.

  24. فاختار ثانية وقال لها

    ما فاز بالأولى سوى جدي

    So he chose a second rank and said to her:

    'None but my grandfather won the first.'

  25. وابن النبي إذا تواضع لا

    ينفك فوق الأطلس الغرد

    And the Prophet's son, even when he humbles himself,

    remains above the singing, starless sphere.

  26. أكرم به ابن علىً يرنحه

    يوم الطراد تكاثر الحشد

    How noble he is, a son of lofty honor, whom

    the massing host sets swaying on the day of combat.

  27. من سادة ساد الوجود بهم

    وسما بما نسلوا من الولد

    From lords through whom existence grew noble

    and rose through the offspring they begot.

  28. تردي عواتقهم عواملهم

    يوم اقتران الهام بالهندي

    Their spear shafts mantle their shoulders

    on the day when skulls meet Indian steel.

  29. سادوا وسدت فكنت أحمدهم

    يا خير من يهدى له حمدي

    They excelled, and you excelled, becoming their most praiseworthy,

    O best of those to whom my praise is offered!

  30. داموا ودمت ملث ديمتهم

    وإمامهم في الحل والعقد

    May they endure, and may you endure, the unceasing source of their gentle rain,

    and their leader in loosing and binding.

  31. تستقبل الأعياد حاليةً

    بالفوز والإقبال والسعد

    May you welcome festivals adorned

    with triumph, prosperity, and good fortune,

  32. وتذود بالجود العسار كما

    ذادت سعاد بقربها بعدي

    and banish hardship with generosity, just as

    Su'ad banished my distance through her nearness.