1. أسرت جفونك يا سعد رقادي

    فسوى وصالك ما له من فاد

    Your eyelids, O Sa'd, have captured my sleep.

    And none but union with you can ransom it.

  2. فترفقي بفتىً أصيب فؤاده

    بنبال عين كحلت بسواد

    So be gentle with a youth whose heart was struck

    by arrows from an eye lined with black kohl.

  3. عانٍ تقلِّب قلبه بدعُ الهوى

    ما بين نار جوىً ونار بعاد

    A captive, his heart tossed by love's strange turns

    between the fire of yearning and the fire of separation.

  4. كاد النسيم به يسير لضعفه

    نحو اهتزاز قوامك الميّاد

    The breeze almost carries him, so frail is he,

    toward the sway of your supple figure.

  5. ماذا يضرك لو مننت بزورةٍ

    غراء تفقأُ أعين الحساد

    What harm would it do you if you granted a visit,

    radiant, putting out the eyes of the envious,

  6. وبكاس راحٍ من رضابك يبعث ال

    لَه القتيل بها ويروي الصادي

    and a cup of wine from your saliva, with which God revives

    the slain and quenches the thirsty?

  7. وهواك وهو يمين أرباب الهوى

    وندى ابن إبراهيم نور النادي

    By my love for you—which is the oath of lovers—

    and by the bounty of Ibrahim's son, the assembly's light,

  8. ما مقصدي إلا ورود طلا اللمى

    وشميم تفاح الخدود النادي

    my sole aim is to drink the wine of dusky lips

    and breathe the scent of the cheeks' dewy apples.

  9. فسواهما ما لا يرام ببلدةً

    أمنت جآذرها من الآساد

    For anything beyond those two is not to be sought in a land

    whose wild-ox calves are safe from lions.

  10. فسيوف إسمعيل افتك في الحشا

    من نار حبك في صميم فؤادي

    For Isma'il's swords are deadlier in the vitals

    than the fire of love for you in the very core of my heart.

  11. من مثل إسمعيل يوم سماحة

    أو مثل إسمعيل يوم طراد

    Who is like Isma'il on a day of generosity,

    or like Isma'il on a day of battle?

  12. ملكٌ تتوج بالمحامد والثنا

    ومفاخر الآباء والأجداد

    A king crowned with virtues and praise,

    and the glories of fathers and forefathers.

  13. فتح البلاد بسيفه وبجوده

    نصر العباد على الزمان العادي

    He conquered lands with his sword; and with his bounty

    he helped the people prevail against hostile Time.

  14. وجلا عن السودان جور ملوكها

    حتى غدت فلقاً بغير سواد

    And he cleared from Sudan the tyranny of its kings,

    until it became daybreak without darkness.

  15. يا سائق الوجناء يسلبها الكرى

    بهراوة الإدلاج والإسآد

    O driver of the sturdy she-camel, robbing her of sleep

    with the cudgel of night travel and all-night marching,

  16. يمم حماه وزر ثلاثة أبحرٍ

    من راحتيه ونيله المدّاد

    head for his sanctuary, and visit three seas:

    his two palms and his abundantly flowing Nile.

  17. وأنا الضمين بفوز قدحك والغنى

    والعود نعم العود بالإسعاد

    And I guarantee your lottery arrow's success, and wealth,

    and a return—what a fine return!—with happiness.

  18. ومن الذي يرجى ويقصد غيره

    وهو العهاد لرائحٍ ولغاد

    And who but he is looked to and sought out,

    when he is a succession of showers for evening and morning travelers?

  19. مولاي من شيم الملوك قبول ما

    يهدي لهم من حاضر أو باد

    My lord, among kings' customs is accepting what

    a townsman or nomad offers them.

  20. وقبول ما يهديه عبدك سنةٌ

    أحيى زهير بها النبي الهادي

    And accepting what your servant offers is a tradition

    through which the guiding Prophet gave Zuhayr life.

  21. فاقبل بوجهك دام وجهك قبلةً

    للقاصدين وخذ بكف سعاد

    So turn your face toward me—may your face remain a qibla

    for those who seek you—and take Su'ad by the hand.

  22. وامطر علي من السماحة ديمة

    وطفاء تسعدني بمحو سهادي

    And shower me with a steady rain of generosity,

    thick-clouded, gladdening me by erasing my sleeplessness,

  23. كي لا أقول وجود كفك ناصري

    أسرت جفونك يا سعاد رقادي

    lest I say, while your hand's bounty is my champion:

    "Your eyelids, O Su'ad, have captured my sleep."