1. A rope of a man’s command was cast upon my twilight,
With a serpent’s glance coiling beneath me.

2. Misfortunes from fate struck me in succession,
Each from an angry bow that found its mark.

3. I extended the reins of my hopes so they could flourish,
Until they cast me into the sea of Ibn Hassaan.

4. A sea of generosity whose waves crash forth foam,
Its bubbles are silver adorned with pearls.

5. If not for Ibn Hassaan, generosity would have died,
And the clouds of stinginess would have covered all goodness.

6. As the days went by they toyed with me,
And their winds stripped the leaves from my branches.

7. I joined the palm of blessings to the palm of riches,
Parting from both my worries and sorrows.

8. Until I wore the garb of ease, spread over
My poverty by a hand that did not forget me.

9. A hand of ease that clothed my hardship,
Until my hardship walked in the guise of one naked.

10. The nights made peace with me after weighing
Down my joys with worries - such an imbalance!

11. Today my fate greeted me and reminded me
Of praises that once delighted me.

12. Then the days armed themselves against me,
And met me with faces lacking charm.

13. Today I will send my hopes to a king
Who meets praise with a heart that does not forget.

14. My eyelids portend good when they flicker
With prosperity above their lashes.

15. O you through whom I gained strength after
Misfortune and poverty showed me their face!

16. Be my refuge from the days, for they have
A hand that probes my secrets and my deeds.

17. O son of nobles, hoped for among the tribe of Mudar,
When time bared its face of betrayal,

18. My hopes have led me to you, shielded
By clouds of your generosity from my land and home.