1. The haunting specter of fantasy crept gently,
As passion surged in the lovesick heart.

2. It crossed over to us from afar, though between us
Lay obstacles on the smooth earth.

3. It roams like a thirsty gazelle, as if its stars
Were embers stoked in suspended glass.

4. It came to my bed while all around me
My friends lay drunk from a shared cup.

5. So I imagined my stingy beloved had
Lit my saddlecloth in the murky dark.

6. Thus she deprived me of sleep, and yet
It was but a dream of my bound heart.

7. A prisoner of youths whose flesh
Drenched in sweat and choked for breath.

8. When lovers complain of fervent torment,
Their every complaint is but a taste of what they’ve known.

9. Though were it not for the hope
That brings me near to her happy union, I’d have nothing left.

10. I looked and saw a human with copious tears
Whenever the young men passed, he drowned.

11. Towards a sign from my love’s house which wrenched me,
For whoever sees the traces of loved ones yearns.

12. So I remained as if standing by her likeness
A helpless moth to the lamp’s brilliant flame.

13. And before we parted I had wept
Knowing the suffering I’d face after separation.

14. But does my weeping avail me when distance is between us?
Just the tears of my squinting eyes flow.

15. Disheveled I wander like a sword worn down by night wandering
And crossing the horizons utterly demolished.

16. Among my band the drowsiness makes their heads droop
And the slumberous twilight thickens.

17. I dispelled anxiety with praise for my noble brother
My eminent father of enduring glorious deeds.

18. Sword of armies, pride of the Hashemite state
Ally of benevolence and streaming generosity.

19. A scion whose glory nurtures his father’s virtue
To the honor soaring above the heavens.

20. On his face shines the light of guidance and in his palm
Are keys to the gates of all that is obscure.

21. When he unbars those gates it seems
The bright full moon emerges from darkness.

22. If affairs narrow for the people, they seek
His aid, so all hardship is relieved.

23. You’d think his wealth the spoils of conquerors and his honor
Protected by the spears of every valiant knight.

24. Multitudes strive to gather fragments
Of endless praise which for him shall never fade.

25. He sought, though still a youth, to reach the epitome,
And in every endeavor his efforts rent the veil.

26. On his shoulders shine the marks of sublime glory
Like the vivid lightning on a brilliant horizon.

27. Of the esteemed elite nation that enlightened the world,
Their works reached east and west and every corner of the earth.

28. When they pride themselves it isn’t on ancestry
Or lineage grafted onto a people of rectitude.

29. They are the lofty pinnacle, and if anyone else
Seeks the heights of glory, they outpace him.

30. If the hills of glory bar others’ rising
And none can ascend save them to the summit,

31. Abdullah attained them without
Another to rival him but a fool.

32. Good fortune to you, O son of Al-Harith in nobility,
Drafts of pure wine no feet have touched.

33. When I try to fathom praising you fully
Weakness protests I go gently.

34. Though I elaborate extensively, I cannot
Reach the extent or unravel the profundity.

35. The raiment of nobility cloaking all of you
Has no rends however long it is worn.

36. Your faith renews it and your survival
Preserves its elegance and grace.

37. Yours is the praised moral code without pretense
Unlike contrived human temperament.

38. When cares oppress you don’t turn from life
Content with it rather than rain from pouring clouds.

39. Praising you all isn’t what earns censure
When flattery corrupts all words.

40. Rather by speaking truth among you I am a stranger,
And he who seeks the truth speaks it plainly.

41. If I gain what I hope from your loyalty
And praise, O noble sons, then I have attained virtue.

42. Anything less than I wish is a veil blocking me
Neither with refusal nor doors shut on kindness.

43. If I gain your affection
My aspiration is fulfilled and prosperity assured.