1. If I am determined to ascend to greatness,
It is unwise to lag behind my companions.

2. I turn on my side, fearing that I
See an evil neighbor sticking to my side.

3. Though I am no habitué of lowlands, should I yearn
For high renown, it would better suit me.

4. Nor am I one infatuated with coquettes,
Or one who craves the nonsense of love.

5. Will a cheek, whose bosom has ripened, distract me
From the lofty peak I seek to climb?

6. Greetings to my abode, though shrouded
With sorrow for fledglings amidst it crying.

7. And a doe, when she complains, who waters
The roses with pearls from her dewy eyes.

8. Shall I recall the days of love? No, by its sanctity!
But I will forget them, for thoughts of love spill my reason.

9. Did you not see me determined by yearning,
Cast at me like a feathered arrow to the west?

10. I made my soul a prisoner, captured from the enemy,
Though my pledge to it was firmer than the polestar.

11. I took a path beset with awesome perils,
Full of dread and terror and hardship.

12. I climbed mountains blocking my ascent,
Their snows piling barriers of ice.

13. I left my home stealthily like a sword
Drawn from its sheath, and chose lands beyond my own.

14. And so here I am in Baghdad, grazing its meadows,
Thriving on its prosperity and abundance.

15. I trail my skirt about it and circle its pastures,
My place of frolic and my watering spot.

16. And I sip from its taverns a morning draught
Smoother than the reproof in the heel of rebuke.

17. If the red wine of its cups was poured on mountains,
Black boulders would gleam green with verdant grass.

18. It is served by a slender shape whose draught
You will relish with a delectable lip.

19. I've no craving for smooth faces, for they are
Poisoned by the injustice of their barking watchdog.

20. He's the lowborn lout, who won't stop his stupid chatter,
Mouthing gibberish, no Arabic speaker.

21. He never walked the path of chivalry since he was born,
And his custom of lying is well known.

22. I'd like shackles on him, but bound
And hoisted up, hanging from a crucifix.

23. A scoundrel exceeding the bounds of scabies,
No wonder if lexicons fall short describing his foulness.

24. He innovates in hospitality a doctrine
Where he proffers treats but exacts their prices.

25. He woos my poems as if he were my partisan.
Should I marry them to him or is he my ally?

26. How could I praise him when he slanders me
In satires recited from books and scrolls?

27. His threats made me cower until I escaped, safe,
At ease, with my fractured community now mended.

28. If a chain-mail coat feared threats from Farazdaq,
I'd be afraid. But fear is not my habit.

29. How could I, when my sparrow views the falcon as prey,
And my pup feeds itself on the blood of wolves?

30. If our Minister wished, he could wrap me up
And swallow me whole and breathe relieved of his grave concerns.

31. For you are the well-woven shirt of glory,
Your clay kneaded from glory, not dust.