1. You aroused the feelings of the noble one as he rested,
And alerted him as he guided then shut his eyes.

2. You continued to extend the hand of tyranny to him
Whenever it contracted with withdrawal.

3. Beware, beware, for the generous one,
If he is extorted, refuses and is discontent.

4. Verily, the stillness of the spirited, impetuous one
Does not prevent him from biting.

5. And verily the stars cannot be made to swerve,
And verily what is destined cannot be averted.

6. When the spiller spills, let the spendthrift be moderate
In efforts that fall short of grasping.

7. Can one who visits the deep sea in number
Be compared to one testing the shore?

8. When the sun faces you with bleary eyes,
How fortunate for your eyelids to blink!

9. I see every resolute father of honor
Delighted when alone he gallops.

10. I seek refuge for you from seeing any weakness in me
When the appointing of death contracts.

11. For I am gentle to whoever is gentle to me
And I abandon whoever sought my forced submission.

12. How much pride did the treacherous one stir up in me,
Yet I left him, along with his twisted ways!

13. Tell me, did I not exert myself, rising
To bear the burdens of your righteousness upon those who rose?

14. Did the scent of my courtesy not exude a fragrance
You deemed to be precious incense that pours forth?

15. Were you not made happy by my noble manners,
Strolling to a meadow that made you laugh?

16. Were it not for our special bond, I would not have cared
For your condition, whether of health or sickness.

17. No joy from loyalty came over me,
No sorrow from estrangement pained me.

18. The young man is honored when the cool, sweet drink
Offers him a draft that quenched his thirst.

19. You set upon my poetry but did not repent,
Matching its essence with superficiality.

20. Have the styles of this ode narrowed,
Or has its design vanished and become extinct?

21. By my life, you have surpassed the arrow of struggle
And would have hit the target if you had aimed for the goal.

22. You have rolled up your sleeves for plunging into an abyss,
Which is an ocean whose coast has not been explored.

23. A mirage presented itself to you from a covenant of birth,
Flickering lightning that flashed then disappeared.

24. You assume loyalty in it while assumptions
Speak against those who took it as duty.

25. It is the water that refuses the gripper
And prevents its foam from being ladled.

26. I informed her of my secret inclination toward you
For a purpose that was obscured and vague.

27. Abu Amir, take a stumble as independence
So you may sever what soured of our love.

28. Do not cling to an error with argument,
Rather, many arguments have been refuted.

29. Otherwise, the armies of reproach will assail you
Stubbornly with biting and stabbing remarks.

30. And warn your friend of the expert one
With madness’ cure if it presents itself.

31. A guarantor for collecting heavy taxes,
Bold in slicing a throbbing vein.

32. He takes the branding iron before the bandage
And stings with poison instead of poultices.

33. Inform him I have lamented having no substitute
And let him know I have sought a replacement.

34. Thus, my watering place is not for his camels to drink
Nor my resting place for his sheep to graze.

35. Verily, the hand of separation is appreciated
For removing dishonor and erasing stains.

36. It is enough that I gained success
In clarifying and revealing the separation.

37. Fortunate are you, my master,
That you have become equal to that sublime position.