1. Recall our pacts of old, though man forgets
That which is past and faded from his mind

2. Without desire would Noah's doves have flown
O'er bitter pools, leaving his ark behind?

3. The mourning doves of Ubla cry their grief
Naught lingers on their necks but what was tied.

4. When camel-men and my loved one bade farewell
And left, while I remained here to abide,

5. My tears shone bright upon his cheek, and so
They thought he wept at our departing tide.

6. Halt, friends, and hear my plaint with ready ear,
An eye that freely weeps, or turns aside.

7. He called me, for the dwellings of my loves
Were desolate, and I answered his call.

8. How ill their wishes served them in the end!
How many hopes begin, then ruin all!

9. No tent peg stands firm fixed in the earth
That when the blasts blow hard does not fall.

10. Give thanks to God, his gifts and boons divine
When bound with thanks a firm foundation lay.

11. The years increase you not, except in height,
Your loves departed, leaving you more high.

12. The moon we saw you, and the chase a star,
Now blaze you like the sun across the sky!

13. You walked the mortal world with naked feet,
And if you wished, could hold it in one hand.

14. The wise count not the rule itself as great,
But rather one who rules, yet unconstrained.

15. The daughter of thought came to you, whom age
Cannot make old, and asked no bride-price grand.

16. My praise of you is truthful, and so seems
Like seven long poems sung by a skilled hand.

17. Homes the mind made, and chose the fittest phrase,
And meanings striking at the heart's demand.

18. And I will send you verses like these, odes,
If you accept with grace gifts from my hand.

19. My task is but to grant you a sure bond,
And yours, to send me rhymes as you have planned.

20. Still rises to the sky your father's sun,
Your labor blessed, your glory is maintained,

21. The leader of the faith shall reach the heights
If for the loftiest goals his works expand.

22. You are his brilliant son; to our eyes still,
Each shines and lights the way across the land.

23. The people send you greetings, yet in truth
Their greetings to me through you are ordained.

24.
So be the world before your eyes made plain,

25. And sweet your livelihood from it obtained,
And only feasts she made for your fair face,