1. How much tears and blood have we shed
On the ruins of dwellings and homelands

2. And how much did we devote to weeping
When we remembered those who once dwelled there

3. Covenants that bring patience to ruin
If the leaves lament them in verses

4. Remembering them caused throats to ache
And breasts to bleed and hearts to yearn

5. God has days of ease for us
How much grace and bounty they contain

6. How many a maid and youth remained
Each taking the impassioned heart by storm

7. I drank the sweetness of life fully then
And never since have I seen one so fair

8. We committed no sin in that union
But I sold my soul for no price at all

9. While the critic concealed his scheming and guile
And feigned honesty, the sly impostor

10. A comrade who now finds fault with my heart
If my words contain dialect or some slip

11. He adds grief and pain with his rebuke
If once his affection was honey and wine

12. I grew weary of his blame as it dragged on
And did not respond, behaving as if deceived

13. With a regret that grows in secret storms
When the bridle is not gentled or reined

14. Do not complain of fatigue or duress
When night descends upon the riders’ camp

15. How often the wild cats reached the water first
Bringing it by night while he slumbered

16. They hastened and gave freely in times of need
If another day he inclined toward their valley

17. And by morning after search and vigil
For the victorious king they were hosts and guides

18. A king who became like a father to all people
If he walked the path of seeking glory or consent

19. Al-Nasir the king whose excellence overflowed
So I see him as possessing might or gentleness

20. A king supreme in pedigree and destiny and years
Who came to the ways of highness in due course

21. No injustice or hostility in his lands
Even if the ages count Zabid and Aden

22. How many gifts and delights he gave the delegates
Satisfying them whether in dearth or plenty

23. I reaped the finest harvest from his benefaction
While before I was an emaciated madman

24. I have not complained of want during his protection
Even if fate could have let me suffer want

25. I called him with sincere praise time and again
But he never answered with blame or censure

26. Each dawn and evening I compose verses
As if to hold back the blows of fate

27. O king who surpassed all kings in devotion
Though the nature of royalty is whim and passion

28. You brought me, through closeness, glory and exaltation
So I extolled you in private and aloud

29. If I declaimed that most beautiful praise
Even if the ideas of my mind wandered or staggered

30. You have remained securely free of trouble in your reign
And anxiety has no way to you

31. You attained all you hoped for
And lived in power, valor, and grace