1. The memory of my youth stirred up passions in me
Its arrows in my soul left wounds

2. When the doves of love cooed
They violated the sanctuary of my secret longings

3. The tents of my youth's night were struck down at dawn
And the tents for the morning of old age were pitched

4. The eggs left me, not destined to hatch
So I became Qais, abandoned by the fair ones

5. Old age left behind grief as fleeting
And in its determination, expressions fade away

6. How can I reach the essence of life when
In my hair are snakes of white?

7. The pleasures of my life have passed and youth - could it be
That with old age there are lasting pleasures?

8. It is time to submit for one who has completed his prayers and
The final prostrations of worship have passed

9. The crime of old age is undeniable, it has
Fallen short of all other crimes

10. So how can I laugh or praise a time
When all laughter and praise have perished?

11. O you who blame me, what are these Babylonian eyes
That cast a spell on us but cause anguish?

12. They have come to grate me after love, so the
Heart's affection for them has faded away

13. And they invite me, mocking, "Uncle!"
Oh the shame of being called uncle by young girls!

14. I will complain of my old age in writing
To a minister whose petitions are erased

15. That supreme minister, Sahib bin Ali
Whose name adorns all ministries

16. He whose succession is uncontested, for him
If he is pleased, authority is smoothed

17. If after the Prophet a verse were to descend
It would descend regarding Safi al-Din

18. In his hand is a pen, woe to that remarkable pen
By which hopes and wishes come true

19. Abdullah still remains among the people as the most
Noble to God among all the elite

20. So the Great Mosque, filled with worshippers, when
The minister appealed to it, clear verses echoed

21. He amplified the courtyard with kindness and honor
So supplications for him loudly resound

22. His recitations counter the calls to prayer, thus
In the former some lack, in the latter embellishments

23. In the reign of the just king, the formidable one, we saw
The wolf in the desert unheeded by the sheep

24. A king by his resolute sword - with it thrust
Into the throats of enemies - strikes and stabs

25. On the day of battle he shoots his arrows, and
They are not repelled by shields of tempered steel

26. The kingdom has no defects or flaws
As long as he wills, may its reign endure!

27. Say to the Franks: Attack first the heart of their homes
So raids penetrated the homes' midst

28. Return to Homs! For the sword that destroyed
Your souls calls you to come

29. The son of Ali has attained the highest ranks
While his envious enemies dwell in misery

30. Accustomed is he to good deeds, preceding him,
So his virtuous habits go before him

31. For the loyal, authority by which they are adorned
And for enemies, torments

32. O supporter of the blessed denomination, its supporter -
Rejoice, for the conquests have brought you good tidings

33. Yours is the praise by which is sacrificed
Whatever enmities lie between the two abodes

34. Your face rises like a lantern, illuminating us
And your hat like a lantern case

35. O paregons of poetry, preserve it, for no one
In Damascus has verses built up for him in praise

36. Except the minister whose ambitions transcend
Aspirations, beyond which no aspirations rise

37. It is he whose ear persistently pesters fate
Until it yields to his bits of salt

38. May he remain forever in protected bliss
Safe from fears, untouched by afflictions