1. I travel with the caravan of the firmament, amid the stars,
And defeat the army of the night amid the darknesses,

2. And I silence the hands of time at every abode,
For when they visit the beloved, they are rivals.

3. So how can they be happy without union with him
Having experienced separation in the land of strangers?

4. When I visit her, maidens circle about her jealously
And the two eyes divide me from her like a guard.

5. A jealous one desires to sew shut his eyelids
Lest he witness the procession of the specter reproaching him.

6. The jealous threaten me with death to keep you from me
Yet those wishes, O lifeline, are mendacious.

7. Shall I ignore the bow's string taut and ready
And abandon glory while the hour is fleeting?

8. I have grown used to the companionship of friends—
I do not care what the slanderers say.

9. My friends left me—their leaving said:
"Consider whom you know today other than me."

10. Does time daily mark my pages
With wounds from arrows, each a perfect throw?

11. It would be strange if an hour passed
Without wonders befalling this amazing world.

12. O my brothers, if only time were as it once was,
The seeker would gain what he sought, the desirer find ease.

13. He would return to his beloved friends and homes,
Yearning for them, though his body be absent.

14. But time's strange events forbid my return to you—
Not just my intent parts us but misfortune.

15. Though my resolve attracts my spirit
To the highest glory and stellar ambition,

16. I swear by the radiant brows of the she-camels
Swiftly pacing over the land, each with a howdah,

17. Whose hands, as they pass, seem to pound the earth—
I will wrap the night in the train of its gown

18. Until dawn rises with a streak of light.
My friends, their swords white-bladed, attack.

19. Atop the camels are warriors with lances.
Atop each spirited camel is a youth teasing

20. The tips of spears. With his resolve he reddens
His blade white as a mirror. Though paths twist,

21. He leads away the delicate beloved in her veil.
At dawn he bids her farewell and returns

22. Despoiled by passion’s heat and ardor.
An age has passed—glory remains for its people.

23. If one side declines the other will rise.
The most radiant meadow where its wildflowers

24. Are like the grinning teeth of youth tucked in its folds,
Has inclined the reins of the roan stallion leading

25. Hopes that leap while generosity is reined in.
The noble son has cast his burden there,

26. For no glory's gained except through valor.
Can one deviate from the correct governance

27. Of the Quraysh tribe, when hopes seek rights?
We asked nothing of their noble steeds but what was deserved

28. Though gazes admire them and plaits adorn them.
How not when their houses are sanctuaries,

29. Wherein even armies on horseback are humbled?
O brother of glory, as for praise it is flattery,

30. As for wealth, it is freely given.
Sincere friends double his glory

31. When embroiled with companions in adventures—
Whether their caravan travels to him

32. Or he loads their burdens in his own supplies—
When seekers come he sends them away

33. With handfuls of wishes and longed-for things.
A man whose nature was so noble

34. That all the beauty and vice of mankind entered it.
He attained the heights until his epoch

35. Brimmed with the remains of past nights and times.
The Commander of the Faithful advanced him

36. To a rank beneath which even stars pierce the sky.
He invited him to rule what was his secret

37. For in every nation some excel and some fall behind.
A leader of regiments capable of commanding them,

38. And on the day of battle, striking with his sword.
His aim is true, for when God wields a sword

39. It strikes precisely where He means to strike.
Unique in his loftiness, he is the epitome

40. Of an ignorant age where nobles vie for glory.
His qualities make him gentle to allies

41. And hostile to those he would obliterate.
The more the world's darkness grows, the more his light—

42. Only in darkness can the moon illuminate.
May his eyes shine forever bright

43. As a rider circles God's house with soldiers.
He fasts when times are blessed; he breaks fast

44. When misfortunes call him to speak from the pulpit.
No time defies what he commands,

45. No fate erases what he has decreed.
The lion of his writing terrifies foes—

46. His claws are hands that give generously.
Given the choice between his army

47. And a letter from him, they choose his troops.
As he quickly writes, his fingers shine

48. Like lightning against those who would shame him.
Learned in the world's mysteries, seasoned by them,

49. Behind his thoughts consequences take shape.
My worried eyes cannot pierce the veil

50. Of time's doubts and mysteries.
The train of his generosity draws me in—

51. One who is virtuous is not burdened by company.
Glories will not let me sleep unless the winds

52. Carry them to the horizons of every land—
Suns whose orators are easts

53. And whose kings are wests that absorb them.
I tasked my mind until it was refined,

54. Appraising all but faulty arguments.
For people are but two poets: one an author

55. Binding words; the other addressing them.
If people praise the generous among men, excellent!

56. But praising your glory overwhelms the eloquent.
If they fall short and cannot reach you,

57. They know the stars cannot be grasped.