1. Parting, and the one I parted from was not disgraced
A mother, and the one I hoped for was best to hope for

2. And the abode of pleasures is not in my view a place
If I am not esteemed there and honored

3. The nature of a soul that does not cease to be beautiful
Despite being cast by injustice upon every ungenerous one

4. I traveled, so how many tearful ones for my eyelids
And how many tearful ones for the eyelids of Dhaygham

5. And the lady of earrings is not more anguished in her place
Than the lord of the determined, well-forged sword

6. So if what was in me were a content beloved
I would excuse, but it was a veiled beloved

7. He shot and was wary of my shooting, yet beyond what he was wary of
Was a breaking, passionate love for my palm, bow, and arrows

8. When the actions of a man go bad, his suspicions go bad
And he believes what he is accustomed to imagine

9. And becomes hostile to his loved ones by the words of his enemies
And wakes in a night of utter darkness

10. I befriend the self of a man before his body
And I know it through his actions and speech

11. And I am forbearing of my comrade, knowing that
When I repay his ignorance with forbearance, he will regret

12. And if a man shows me reluctant generosity
I repay with the generosity of one smiling and serene

13. And I desire from the youths every refined, graceful one
With a chest like that of the erect Samhari

14. Under him the she-camel crossed the barren heights and mixed
With his horses the thundering camels of Thursday

15. And there is no chastity in his sword or blades
Rather it is in the palm, the private part, and the mouth

16. And not every desirer of beauty is a doer
Nor every doer a completer

17. My father's ransoms are the generous, noble ones, for they
Are horses racing, guided by a bay steed

18. He tempted with a glory that stretched behind him
To a spacious, adorned nature and character

19. When politics prevents your very self
Then stop, stop before it to learn

20. It is hard for one whose excuse is seen
To be perceived as weak in effort or stingy in generosity

21. And who is like Kafoor when the horses hesitated
And few who would say to them "Go forth!"

22. Firm of glance and soft of foot, a tireless trekker
To the recreations of the veiled horseman

23. My father, I hope from you victory over the enemies
And I aspire to honor that dyes the white with blood

24. And a day that vexes the envious and a state
In which I establish pleasure in place of bliss

25. And I hoped for none but the people of that place and whoever would
Send down rain without clouds and darken

26. Had it not been for what I set out for in Egypt
With a longing, passionate heart that yearned

27. My horses would not have barked at the dogs of tribes
As if there were night raids among them by raiders

28. Nor would the eye of a spy have followed our tracks
And seen nothing but a hoofprint atop a pass

29. And we made our way through the desert until we were immersed
In the Nile and took shade under the scattered branches

30. And my guide opposed me by singling me out, so I opposed
My guide by my aim, and blamed him

31. So he brought me the customary without bitterness
And I brought him gratitude without sullenness

32. I have chosen you as the ruler, so choose for them, my friend
A discourse, since I have made your opinion the judge, so judge

33. The best face in the world is the face of one who does good
And the luckiest palm among them is the palm of one who grants favor

34. And the noblest among them is he who has the noblest resolve
And greatest boldness against all grandeur

35. For whom do you seek the world if you do not want by it
The joy of a lover or harm of a criminal?

36. And the necklace which lies above his thigh
Bears your name in every neck and wrist

37. For you is all the riding livestock
Even if not marked by brands

38. If I had known how much of my life I divided
I would have made two-thirds of it waiting for you, so know

39. But what passes of life is gone
So grant me the share of the one seizing the opportunity

40. I was content with what you were content with for me out of love
And I led my soul to you led like one submitting

41. And the like of you, whose heart was the intermediary
So it spoke to him about me, and I did not speak