1. Is there no reward for one who's kind,
No punishment for one unrefined,

2. Lost is he whose love enslaves his mind,
Debased is he whom conceit makes blind,

3. But thank God, I'm one who's firm and wise,
Exalted when others lowly rise,

4. No fair maid fully holds my heart,
Though graced with charm and youth's fine art,

5. I give desire no rein to guide my pace,
Wisdom's ways never from my sight erase,

6. If friends adopt disdain and keep their distance,
Only leave-taking avenges their resistance,

7. If I desire what I don't find in friends,
I firmly turn my zeal to other ends,

8. Parting is not what I can't withstand,
If it be parting, then no tie's at hand,

9. Enduring, even if naught of me remain,
Resolute, though swords be my attain,

10. Serene, though the days' changes unpredictable,
Around me death moves, arrival and enable,

11. With penetrating eyes, people's states I trace,
The truthful, truthful, the liar's lying laid bare.

12. In whom can man trust during his plight?
Where can the noble free find brothers upright?

13. Mankind, save for a few, have all become
Like wolves whose clothes their bodies o'ercome.

14. I shun my tribe, so they think me wild,
As mindless as pebbles strewn for miles,

15. Had they known me, as I truly am,
They'd know I'm present though from sight I'm banned

16. Not all who act receive due remompense,
Nor all who speak have my attentions,

17. Much talk has passed my ears, no more retained
Than buzzings marked on parchment that's stained.

18. To God I plead, we dwell in houses
Where dogs control what rises and rouses!

19. Nights pass me by, no place for betterment,
No rest for those who repent and atonement,

20. No steed a saddle bears to race the dawn,
No tents are pitched where first light's gently drawn.

21. No swords in battle flash along my defense,
No helmets in war for my head commence,

22. Of my days Nu'm and 'Amir will tell,
While dogs on their ruins romp and yell.

23. To foes, my goods are slow to pare down,
Nor are my assets the door where disasters march in.

24. I seek no weakness of theirs to obtain,
Nor do I expose my own weak spot lain,

25. Continues my esteem in their souls to dwell,
While their ignorance I suffer and quell,

26. O kinsmen, of what use in battle fray,
Are swords, when hands that wield them give way?

27. O kinsmen, deny not the truth, when we
Are firm, unyielding to any decree,

28. O kinsmen, we are the arms, staunch and hardy,
Soon with force, not words, we will parley,

29. You're not like your sister's son indeed,
If you refuse when called, while we heed,

30. I claim only what God knows as my right,
Ali's abode for the gentle is light,

31. His actions the seeker bountifully reward,
His wealth is for those who request and applaud,

32. But an obstinate man with a blade arose,
And darker than night in my eyes he shows,

33. He cut me off, while death hastens ahead,
To mortality already has triumph been wed,

34. If not old love we count as true,
Nor kinship between men as glue,

35. Safest for Islam not to abandon me,
When in it refuge and shelter I see,

36. But resignation in me lives on,
So either way may the mirage be gone,

37. I accept from you even bare minimum love,
Nothing less gives me shelter above,

38. I seek to preserve affection's delight,
Thinking of you gives to other loves flight,

39. Such pure love, reward never takes heed,
Nor against it can punishment stampede,

40. I feared estrangement, but we're joined together,
Each day stirs a new storm and tether,

41. Now between us lies the might of kings,
Around me the sea swells and heaves and flings!

42. Having given my soul, should I now dread
Rebuke's bitter nails that tear and shred?

43. Would that you be gentle, though life is harsh,
Would that you accept me, though people are harsh,

44. Would that our bond flourish and thrive,
While around me the world splits and rives!