1. A brother to me, I was envied for believing in him
And I did not fear estrangement from his affection

2. A crescent in its illumination, alive in
His generosity, a shooting star in its flaming

3. I send him rhyming verses hastily
To him, if only I did not send to him

4. And I take from his flint
And he takes from my flint

5. I support him with sincere opinion
And he supports me with his sincere opinion

6. And I make him happy, so I accept what
His confusion or guidance calls me to

7. And he was and I was sincere to him
Where the son of Sakhir sees excess

8. I was good to him but prominence reached him
So competition exposes his corruption

9. And I weakly led him
But events made leading him difficult

10. So he disavowed his affection for me
As the orphan disavows his innermost feelings

11. And he opposed me and I did not know that
I would move from his love to his opposition

12. And he inclined away and I do not fear
The pigeons of death except in his distance

13. And he plotted against me, no lover being
Sweeter in his plot than the beloved

14. And he transgresses against me, and I am not one
Who disturbs the purity of love with his transgression

15. Concerned with criticizing the adornment of my poetry
Yet the excellence of adornment appears in its critique

16. And if you tried to find fault in the full moon
You would look for defects in its darkness

17. Not all stars shine brightly
To illuminate in their isolation

18. And clouds may spill after brilliance and rain
Whose abundance appears in its collection

19. He was harsh, revealing my sweet memories
And removed my cheek from his pillow

20. As if I had burdened a lover for him
Who then rebelled and wandered from his rest

21. And if his hands had shed the blood of my cousin
Or if I had not left him and restored him

22. And if he wanted to kill me, I would kill myself
Willingly for him to achieve his purpose

23. I remain gentle when he is harsh
And soften at the time of his anger

24. And I relied on him but when
He changed for me I relied on his change

25. And I repented to him from a mistake
He blamed me for but did not lose him by his blame

26. Abu Bakr, with your glory when you transcend
Jesting, and smile about your burdens

27. And your rhymed prose is a string of words
Like a necklace adorned by its threading

28. Carry me if I stumble, and take my hand
My brother, and release my gaze from its slumber

29. No sooner had I written the verses
Than my pen flowed with my tears as its ink

30. If I am guilty and you pardon me
Then God pardons His servants