1. Good fortune makes dew-drenched grasslands bountiful,
While misfortune destroys all a man holds dear.

2. Wine ferments the mind into a pounding frenzy,
Hurling spears amidst roses and wine.

3. The living hasten the death of their transient souls,
Shortening the nights with wakeful talk.

4. Do not admire the moon sailing the darkling sky,
For the moon's glory ends in eclipse.

5. Time made the Bakr forget their tents,
And will make Quraysh forget betrayal by Sumayr.

6. Though branches may please you as a banquet,
Trees are praised for their fruit, nothing more.

7. I marvel how the gazelle claims noble descent
And the ostrich boasts lineage from the tiger.

8. In a world where zebras have coquettish pride
And donkeys lack all jealousy and zeal.

9. My words made a man go on pilgrimage,
So should I be blamed for his Hajj and Umrah?

10. Secrets, hidden over years, only grew
As their silence stretched and war-steeds charged.

11. I imprisoned them in the jail of my heart,
Their blackness shaming white robes in vats of wine.

12. When Yazid took power, it shamed the hordes
Who earlier revelled in Umar's reign.

13. The shining moon fears the rough mob
Will seize her, a prize pearled hands once held.

14. God protect us from a king who we liken
To a raincloud that pours with no control or check!

15. When Destiny's decrees take place
On plain or mount they will not be reversed.

16. The Book has become the wantons' lutes,
Singing ditties in the taverns' ill-tuned roar.

17. They pray with it, then in their wrongs, they pray
Like swords slashing gentle, friendly moons.

18. A wife betrays her mate, though he may summon rain,
With a mere glance, when clouds begin to pour.