1. You blame, but what young man is not blamed?
Though free, with noble traits and unashamed,

2. I grew weary, though I did not grow weary except for them,
And to prefer them is the essence of glory.

3. A master who hides his displeasure from me,
Yet the eye cannot hide what it has concealed.

4. He has a moment not to be trusted,
As the envious look upon blessings.

5. I wondered at one happy with survival,
Rejoicing after youth reaches old age.

6. And a house whose people are deluded
By the fantasies of a dreamer.

7. Contemplate it awake, rid of worries,
And its pleasure a respite from pain.

8. The toil of life and the soul of death
Are similar in their nothingness.

9. Time has folded Caesar’s mantle,
And the throne of Iskandar,

10. Prepare the swords for their tasks—
Then where are the swords, and where the peaks?

11. But wearing the gown of dignity
Keeps seriousness from smiling.

12. He plucked fruits while a child,
Prevailed over the world before he matured.

13. Faces of kings bow down before him,
That never bowed down before.

14. As if on his litter were a falcon
Screeching above the banners.

15. Lofty in his ambitions, though near,
Like a comet in remoteness and greatness.

16. He threw natural talent at one who thought him
To hide their secret being concealed.

17. For they are all but limbs to each other,
Upon each other finding blame.

18. His efforts consume their livers
As fire consumes the heart of coal.

19. And on the crown the brightest of diadems,
Adorning his cheeks’ moles with priceless gems.

20. Little remains of wealth retaining it,
And no affliction of wealth but generosity.

21. The ignorant think him heedless,
Though time knows what it has known.

22. For no mothers of men in Arabs or non-Arabs
Have given birth to one as faithful as you.

23. Most delighted in giving, most faithful in pact,
And firmest advancing though aims betray.

24. Horses have filled up and squadrons thinned out,
After armaments, accustomed to stillness.

25. Thirsty, until the protectors see them
Crowding at the watering-place.

26. Ruin saw them before the watering flock
Crowding at the basin.

27. You rose and were the dawn’s splendor,
You helped and were salvation of nations.

28. You walked as the full moon walks
Between stars, dispelling darkness.

29. With unchecked momentum in battle,
Where leg knows not foot.

30. Squadrons are blinded by his color
And deafened by his voice.

31. You wanted in the morning
To wed one of the slender-waisted.

32. But when the shooting of the archers
Bent toward you, the womb turned compassionate.

33. You envied blessings granted
Lest blame change them.

34. Until you saw the insistent sinner
Erase his misdeeds through regret.

35. Their books blaming you never ceased
To batter your heart until it ached.

36. They gain the peak of glory in gifts
Yet the sword cannot match the pen.

37. You gave and connected, so wealth became cheap,
And the land’s celebrations of feasts diminished.

38. And she who bore them feared you
Even the beasts in the thickets.

39. I see her as if intoxicated
Or afflicted with dumbness;

40. So free her with drops from the steeds
And bridle her members with force.

41. When you fight, blot out ruin
And take the souls of enemies forcibly.

42. For war’s brother is watchful,
Not sleeping when it sleeps.