1. She saw a lock of gray hair showing clearly
With a whiteness displayed by the combs.

2. So she repelled the advances of an impassioned lover
Feigning a state though yearning for union.

3. Yet with her rejection she gave a glance
That stirred passion in her heart's core.

4. Good fortune is yours in keeping us company; with you
We have a sturdy youth who pleasures you, mature in judgment.

5. Faithful to the pact of love, never betraying it
Whether the judge changes or the plaintiff withdraws.

6. No ugly haste for evil while you visited,
No loose talk if you were absent.

7. You are a lovely girl who reminds me of youth
The zephyr of my love wafts from your sweet scent.

8. Your lips smile, your wrists bend,
Your glances enchant, your cheeks glow.

9. Your figure is a branch for the litter
Dark in color, a face like a gazelle’s shines.

10. My friend, why is it that whenever I seek solace
A heart presents itself given to foolishness?

11. Does a new passion for love’s offspring
Assail me each day from where my eyes glance?

12. My Orient is but a love none will approve
A lifeless beloved while time condones.

13. When have I had my fill of pasture, while at every watering place
A dog barks at me by the water?

14. No man can counter what God has ordained.
Each man is hostage to what he strives for.

15. I will leave the agony of cares stowed in my breast
When the singing girls make harsh music.

16. The daughters of clever women will greet
Morn or eve, their longing evident.

17. Long and wide is every pass I have taken
With God’s provision coming after me.

18. Not all the low parts of earth are confined
Nor all who meet men overbearing.

19. They say to me, why not befriend
One of repute whom the singing girls love?

20. But I was not fooled by traitors, rather
I kept company with loyal men when supporters were few.

21. I have seen men’s illnesses and deceits
So that I imagined no good men existed.

22. I cut them off until I fancied
They were created only to malign in verses.

23. I turned my praise from them, but still
I praise the chief of the Azd in plenty.

24. Abu'l Qasim, from his heavens
Pour down on us rain clouds with clear signs,

25. His fingers unleash bounty like rainfall
Keys to sustain God's worshippers.

26. In his courts mass the dew each morn
As meager folk hope for refreshment.

27. He attends in frays not witnessed
Save by the brave contender.

28. When we slip he overlooks the sin,
Exculpating, shaking the sinner's hand.

29. The character of the Bani Nahban, a folk whose
Far-fetched dreams protect them from ignorance,

30. If sedition entices they take their stand,
It retreats barren, though newly pregnant.

31. Stalwarts whose guts rumble with hunger
When rain clouds withhold the rainwater,

32. For them is an inviolate refuge
Protected by fate and trap and barbed wire.

33. Passions have submitted to them peaceably,
The love of hearts and birdlife obey them.

34. A lofty Umar-like resolve exalted me,
And glory reaching to the stars' height.

35. He occupies, its pillar, a house in a dale
Guarded by ostriches, cranes, old swimming beasts.

36. So he remains a partisan of loyalists
As disasters repel his enemies.