1. Shall I proclaim what's inside me or keep it hidden
When the love shows on my face as a token

2. Requite with affection or distance if you wish
But do not kill me, for that is forbidden

3. I rode the sea of passion and called out to you
The call of one drowning, with no one to hold onto

4. To save me or show mercy as a comfort
But you did not answer, you felt no remorse

5. I boarded the sea of your love in God's name
My Lord, it is You who keeps me safe and sound

6. I clung to you before knowing this fervor
So do not kill me, for I am still learning

7. Dreams inform me that I'll be seeing you
But alas, how many delusions do dreams conjure

8. With lovers, I made the pilgrimage of passion
Yet your love has me robed in the sacred garments

9. They tell me to hide this love, do not confess it
But how can I, when my eyes speak of nothing else?

10. Do I wrong my heart? No, my heart's no oppressor
But lovers act unjustly, that is their nature

11. Does it not shock, how much love I have declared?
When the heart hides even more, deeper and stranger

12. I complained of her love, and she just smiled
Never before had I seen the sun itself smile

13. I said "be kind," but she showed only gloom
With her beauty, she kills me when appearing glum

14. In professing my love, I have been no libertine
Only fearing spies, and so playing the stoic

15. My heart abets her ignorance, and soon
Her love will fail me, and I will regret

16. I once denied her to others, but my eyes
Betrayed me with tears, exposing my disguise

17. So I became a liar hiding my passion
Yet now profess in public what I kept hidden

18. I rode the mid-sea of love and it drowned me
Crashing waves capsizing this poor heart-laden skiff

19. By God, confused am I, should I turn back
Or press on ahead into this tempest sea?

20. If you would have me drink wine, do not forbid it
For all life without it is dreary and grim

21. Our blood mixed on the wine-heap, so that the red
Blended together, mine and wine's life-blood

22. Some it lulls to slumber in drunken elation
Others it topples stone-cold with no discrimination

23. To their Lord its cups flame bright crimson
Like roses, or deeper in color it seems to loom

24. If you blame me for merriment or partaking in wine
Sir, merriment flows more freely than water

25. By my life, how generosity has waned
Leaving no equal, if we count who is noblest

26. If Zayd has gained the sublime virtues
Before him Abū Zayd, brother of open hands

27. Of people there are but two kinds: those who crave
His gifts, and those who by force are made to serve

28. His enemies witness his nobility and grace
As the clouds pour down, rain and blood commingle

29. A man whose hands lack all greed for wealth
Who day by day distributes all he possesses

30. His treasures delight receiving suppliants
As misers yearn to hoard them in their chests

31. Bounteous in kindness, valor, and munificence
Void of evil and stinginess, that is his creed

32. His generosity sufficed the askers
While others attempting his feat withdrew

33. At the dawn, their faces shine bright
Hearing Zayd's name, ʿUbayd and Arqam beam

34. Through him tried and true, all goals are achieved
When courage, nobility, or might are reckoned

35. An upright people whose palms never cease
From seizing glory and fate's arrows aimed

36. Munificence established itself among his clan
When Wāʾil's rule upon them was imposed

37. They did no wrong, though their enemies' souls
And wealth among the people were seized unfairly

38. Ask warfare about Zayd when fires were stoked
And death's drought spilled with blood was inflated

39. The whiteness of swords mixed on the battlefield
And the horses whinnied loudly in chaos

40. The archers defamed and the duelers provoked
Some were frightened and others were daring heroes

41. Of Zayd's excellence in dire straits, the blades
And shattered spears will tell the best account

42. In rhyming verses revived among their sisters
As the night's stars shine and people slumber

43. I sent them a keen heart and shrewd intellect
And words from a truthful tongue that cannot be silenced

44. When the ode approached me, straight and true to form
With refined architecture and pillars made firm

45. I adorned it with Zayd, making his name shine
As pearls line a necklace, strung neatly align

46. If you seek munificence but find no Zayd
Then die, for without Zayd, life is prohibited

47. My dear sir, I am left with no means to reach you
Save the bond of affection remaining steadfast

48. Your gifts abound, your fame is vast
Your honor is safeguarded, your wealth complete

49. Your actions are praiseworthy, your glory towering
Your generosity ever-flowing, your sea ever-foaming