1. Bilbeis had a lodging by a building,
and headed towards Ummarah's well.

2. So he went to Fatayyat then Hisr then Butay
then Shobra then al-Baiyum then al-Khammarah.

3. And when you come to a barrier between Bilbeis
and Qaliub from Khurab Fazarah,

4. Go back between Banha and Athrib
and each to the shore is a neighbor.

5. And if you pass by the side of the sand
at Faqus, head to al-Khattarah.

6. Shamandil and Hyya are army quarters
and Sa'danah where warriors reside.

7. Rid me of love for the nomadic life,
I desire only the beauty of civilization.

8. And visit those villages with peace,
for if their ships pass, it's a gesture.

9. My heart has become attached to its inhabitants
with yearning, and my inclination leans towards it.

10. It reminds me of an old life we took off
like borrowed clothes.

11. And a time when Ali's face had splendor, delight and freshness.
A companion who is always generous and gracious,

12. freehanded, sweet-worded.
How much guidance his favor gave us, with

13. a miraculous book, and traces of his knowledge.
His face gives access to his noble nature,

14. no ambassador needed for his generosity.
His hand is the dawn’s bouquet, never more

15. unsullied and pure.
He remembers his promise in matters, and doesn’t

16. mention nonsense, not even a hint.
Rather, he remembers gifts, whenever

17. his gifts came one after another.
My lord, you are my support, whenever

18. time assails me with poverty's attack,
My hair turned white yet I feel as though

19. I am the flute player or the young lad.
The son of Imran - and he is the worst merchandise

20. for the world, outwardly and inwardly.
Your nearness improved the ugliness of his mention,

21. like musk’s scent improves the stench of rats.
A drop of rain from my cloud in praise

22. and in dispraise, the sparks from my flints.
He has no advantage over me except

23. that he owns a mule while I have no donkey.
And boasts that make the record books drone

24. without meaning, as if it is nonsense.
He takes liberties with ill manners against people

25. and an unjust soul, damnation to it.
Not refined by every short-statured blue-eyed beauty

26. whose wrists did their best to adorn him.
When the son of Yaghmur wore a coat of mail over him

27. it was as if he was wearing a pardoning veil.
His head was stained with blood, and my rug

28. was a tanned hide, or so I reckoned.
And Suleiman, whenever he banged the gong,

29. it tolled as if it was a woodpecker.
Incidents that make the historian forget

30. what was of combs and belt.
If you do not know what happened on the Sheikh's coast,

31. of forgiveness, ask the sailor.
The she-mule that made him fall said:

32. It's not my fault, I bear no grudge against fools.
This is an old man who cuckolds people

33. every day, and I am sick of it.
I said: Don't falsely accuse this poor poet.

34. She said: Ask the jurist Umarah.
If half a coin came his way at his wedding

35. he'd view the sale as a Godsend and fortune.
I said: This man loudly vaunts his record books.

36. She said: What business has this with the vulgarian?
I said: The jealous one of al-Ubeyrah,

37. would you wish to leave the virtuous?
She said: Never! How could I cheat

38. on an impotent old man, powerless?
I said: What do you dislike about him? She said:

39. What stinginess, and what misery!
At home I crave a handful of bran,

40. and to excess I crave wheat kernels.
I am cheaper to him than inheritance money

41. in Ibn Jubayr’s purchase and sale.
He stole half and bought half for half,

42. and decreed: This is fair trade!
Do not blame me if I stumble from hunger,

43. for I suffer in my gut from emptiness.
Enough for him is circumambulating Bilbeis

44. until the cars go around me.
Alas for my loss! It is only because

45. I bear no grudge against fools.
My creation was completed, my hair turned white,

46. and I have no family nor any skill.
What pleasure in riding a mare

47. finer than me, and what joy in her trot!
The Balkal’s she-mules mocked me, saying

48. you’ve gotten your just deserts.
I went around until I ended up

49. at the refuse heap - if only I were a pole!
And I warned him, but found him

50. foolish, warnings do not benefit him.
And rhymes with no polish to them,

51. no dew, no effervescence.
No maiden is disparaged for a fault

52. or diminished in her blossoming youth.
They were the shining stars of East and West,

53. revolving planets.
They will not be hunted in my mind’s ocean,

54. nor can pearls be caught with a fishing line.
Except I made them for sins

55. and misdeeds I committed before, as atonement.
Or don't you know that praising Ali

56. is like Hajj, Umrah and visitation?
My companion, I call you as one crying out

57. for help, seeking refuge.
My dependents weigh down my back, and I was

58. once, because of them, light of burden.
If it was just me, I'd be a devout sufi

59. in a monastery or worshipper in a cave.
I reckon asceticism easy though it is a war

60. I am not fit for, nor one to observe it.
Do not abandon me to other than you, so I choose

61. a time that does not grant excellence.
Stern faces among the stingy there,

62. and merciful hearts turned to stone.
So when the palm of a freeman gains something virtuous,

63. it is either by a nip or a shard.
My house says my time without

64. fine clothes and perfume has been long.
Food once expected by guests

65. and passersby as enjoyment.
No blame to stoves from the cold,

66. or bagels, or the baker.
No carpet, no mat with colored stripes,

67. no council, no tablecloth.
This situation is not for one who wants

68. to provide for a family and build a house.
I said: The minister settled someone else in my place

69. while my rent is still on it.
I was told: The minister does not intend corruption,

70. so why didn't you go back to the vulgarian?
It slipped from our backs, showing us

71. its gut stuck to the shellfish's stomach.
Then they tied it with a loincloth, leaving us

72. to imagine it behind the curtain.
He did not favor you over others, but his gifts

73. are like passed cups.
So I will happily go to him, as though I am

74. the spring equinox, the sun's orbit.
And distant guests in Badahnanj will long for

75. its minarets from afar like towers.
A house covered by every poor man

76. is in Ali's liability and sanctuary.
May God ward off evil from it and grant it

77. the glory and heights it chose.