1. I love the charmer with the flirtatious glances,
The gazelle left out of shyness, wandering,

2. And for his sake the branches bent with the morning breeze,
And the full moon lay awake all night long.

3. I swear I did not disobey a band
That calls me to him, nor did I obey a deterrent.

4. I am elated with the wine of the youth and his coquetry,
So if he bends or turns away, I become delirious.

5. I am one who saw fire on his cheeks
Kindling, so I felt assured of guidance from its sides.

6. I am forever inclined to meet him though he is aloof,
And my innermost being yearns for him though he transgresses.

7. With a listless glance, he prolonged my branches of love,
Leaving my heart aflame with its fire kindled.

8. The rosy-cheeked one, were it not for his beauty,
Would not have let my tears flow freely in love for him.

9. His firm waistbands tightened his robes,
So I drew near the letter of softness in him, doubled.

10. And I have endured from him constant rounds of love
Like the crescent when it begins to wax anew.

11. My innermost being has sworn it will not abandon sorrow,
As if the fingers of al-Mansur will not abandon dew.

12. The most magnificent of creation and most dazzling in appearance,
The most sublime in lineage and most generous in birth.

13. A king whom the full moon envies when he appears
And melts the heart of rain when he is sought.

14. In his face there is for the king an auspicious light
By which hopes thrive and find guidance.

15. A branch that tells of the origins of its root—
How excellent a report with both precedent and beginning!

16. His hands reached out to the glories of his house
So his virtues were grasped by every hand and arm.

17. With an ambition in virtue he rules his day,
And you see his judgments more decisive than their morrows.

18. And a courage that unsheathes polished swords
And complains of the flashing blades to the echo.

19. Meaning gains in his house through him,
As if it were the natal home of poetry.

20. And he upholds what his father established of sublimity,
Neither falling short of it nor indifferent to it.

21. Ishmael only erected his house of pride
To summon Muhammad to it.

22. Proceeding upon his path, so when
You see Mansur, you see one given victory.

23. O son of the one who filled existence with gifts,
The horizon with fame, and pages with purpose.

24. You have ennobled my poetry by mentioning it
As if each letter were illuminated by a lamp.

25. So I will dedicate a unique gem to the praised one
Whose attainment of his support made my poetry singular.

26. It is enough for Ibn Shaddad to be seen by praise
As a servant, and enough for me to see him as a master.