1. For the honor of these gentle beauties
The noble souls are humbled

2. Had it not been for them, the morning breeze
Would not have stirred me, nor the cooing of doves

3. No flashing lightning dazzled me
Like the sparks from a clashing sword

4. A white gazelle with a fawn-colored flank
Darkened by the shadow of a soaring eagle

5. Its languid eyelids shaded by long lashes
Far from the blinking of feeble eyes

6. Without passion for them, no dove would have sung
On a branch, nor would the clouds have poured

7. No lightning would have flared, nor would
Our pacing steeds have whinnied for past camps

8. As the new crescent peers from dusky clouds
Revealing pearls in red cornelian

9. The separation has left its wounds
On my heart, like tribal markings on a dark palm

10. How many nights I spent with a beloved
Who quenched my thirst with her sweet lips

11. Her hand trembles like that of a young maiden
As she gives it to one marked by separation

12. When she is troubled in the dark, I imagine
The tears of virgins mourning the deceased

13. I was sleepless because of the Yemeni lightning
Flying about wildly like fearful birds

14. As if the thunder in its ribs
Were the roar of stallions or the howl of lionesses

15. Passions conflicted within her, mine that complains,
And another that blames me

16. And every ardent lover competed against me
Circling about the slender waisted beauty

17. How many a friend have I defeated
Bearing in his chest the heart of a foe dressed in peace

18. I pretend affection towards him and profess loyalty
As if unaware of the hatred in his heart

19. Whoever in this age does not pretend in front of his foe
And show him goodwill is not wise

20. O lady of the moles who spilled my blood
And handed my miserable state to separation

21. To you I have surrendered my tearful eyes
And in you I have pastured the star, like grazing beasts

22. Do not let my soul melt away or my love
Flow out as bloody tears amidst pouring tears

23. I say to the travelling people the winds
Have confused with dusks and turbans

24. The pile of luggage sways over the camels
Yearning for the return route, as if missing an old friend

25. And jinn follow in fear of the whip
Emerging disheveled from narrow mountain paths

26. The camels glance back at the driver, one tiring,
Another speeding up, another slowing down

27. O people the journey has galvanized
By every hero pierced by separation's arrows

28. Wait for me a little and see me quench
My thirst with pebbles amidst the twisted sands

29. How many times true friendship has passed
On rushing legs without the slumber of a sleeper waking

30. I spend the nights with sleepless eyes
Lying on the ground, red eyed, eyelids unblinking

31. And nothing stirs me but the warbling
Of a garden on a meadow of the lovely exile

32. It calls out - so I know not if for a departed companion
Dear noble minded one, or singing for a new arrival

33. As if the warbler’s heart flutters with joy
For the Lord of great boons and noble deeds

34. The father of glory, son of generosity, uncle of his time
Brother of pride, Ismail, treasure of virtues

35. Old yet wise, mature of sound judgment, combining
Various heights of glory in a resolute heart

36. Wisdom, valor and brilliance are joined in him
With no rival to contest his glorious abode

37. Intellect of Aristotle with the patience of Ahnaf
Ambition of Amr in the generosity of Hatim

38. Beneath the veil of the unseen and above it
Are eyes that see all things, neither deluded nor deluding

39. His vision is revelation and dwelling in his heart
Is the spirit of a knowledgeable speaker of wonders

40. The angels nearly fly to perch
Upon his shoulders like hovering birds

41. I see him and grandeur effaces me, I recoil
Confusing my own thoughts, though not a dreamer

42. And my lying self misleads me into ignorance
Verily delusions are the paths of the sinful

43. He is a sword, soft and firm
Meeting him is sweet, though bitter to the taste

44. You will find him in perilous situations
Courageous, firm, resolute, undaunted

45. He looks with narrowed eyes then shows acceptance
To help the wronged and subjugate the oppressor

46. Without the light of his palms his might
Would have ignited the edges of swords and spears

47. Without his wisdom, my right hand would have caused
Pens to wither and justice to yellow

48. He has a house of glory whose roof
Is held aloft by soaring pillars

49. So let my poems be for one who seeks him
Like ladders scaling to his summit

50. O son of great families who ruled the lands
And reached the full heights before lifting banners

51. I congratulate you on a rule whose glory
Has endured with your honor to the house of bliss

52. You have blackened it with pride so its face has whitened
With the brown complexioned and white swords

53. You saved it before when it almost vanished
Due to the overbearing flow of time

54. It cried for ages and dust covered it until you came
So it returned cheerful, smiling beautifully

55. And you have watered the land with justice until
The everlasting long neck of time has yearned for you

56. And you came like the emerging full moon extending
Its beams over the horizon amidst approaching visitors

57. Your opinion is like sunlight - its image
A relentless outpouring in the sheaths of swords

58. If Egypt knew, it would have sent you its Nile
To meet you under wings of the darkest night

59. And the pyramids would have come to you racing, yearning
To the abode of Constantine with the pace of breeze

60. You were blessed with rule, inheriting its protection
And immortalizing it in a lineage of generous nobles

61. Through them every hand extends to the heights
Created in us for the giving of virtues

62. Wandering like lightning and horses nearly flying
At its edges in narrow passes thronging

63. What blossomed garden singing the youth of its dawn
Is not lit by lightning reddened in unsheathing

64. The diffusing fragrance is gathered therein
Shared among us by the most generous palms

65. When the sun glimpses through its shades
It shines upon the ground like scattered coins

66. A flock of ostriches takes rest therein, safe
Among the tufted plants and bending branches

67. Of finer nature and qualities than them
When the lute is clasped by foreign hands

68. Poetry is not my habit, nor am I a poet
Nor is it normal to describe houses and landmarks

69. But his generosity has provoked me to awake
To describe his monumental towering virtues

70. And how could they find my determination turned into
A hackneyed old she-camel roused to compose poetry

71. Can that be a family or springtime whose blossoms
Have bloomed like flowers, or the work of an arranger

72. It is nothing but a string of praise I have composed
For his towering glory during seasons

73. So live long as the doves have sung in thickets
And as long as the glance of lightning seeks its witness

74. Yours are good fortune and awe, and the embodiment
Of glory, triumph, in the service of an attendant