1. A paradox indeed, by Allah unmatched
I leave tomorrow though my heart remains ensnared

2. Willingly I gave my heart without compulsion
But the spirit of the free spreads its wings far and wide

3. My heart was held captive by its passion for some time
Yet my soul gained nothing when time passed it by

4. So do not think that to passion I'm inclined
Or that my hand's not kept its promises and vows

5. And if it grants freely then surely its gifts
Are in my view merits that increase its reward

6. For excess virtue, I've found, becomes nearly a vice
When beyond rightful due its zeal is inspired

7. Favors oft slight, though great when tallied in full
By my life, little kindness is much when required

8. If I did not for glory's sake favor myself
No remarkable feats from me will transpire

9. What differs a noble man from his counterpart?
If he bears no burden that brings him to harm

10. No man is free who recoils from hurt come his way
When anguish by night kindles flames in his soul

11. But he who stands fast though dread hacks at his bones
His spirit, when stirred, is too proud for its bridle

12. He who stoically suffers each bitter sting
Will have sorrow inflict constant grim lashes

13. While he who sets out as resolve guides each dawn
Owns a will keen as polished and bared scimitar

14. He who tears aside veils when disasters descend
With no veil strong enough to ward off their fury

15. He who attends gatherings with breasts all exposed
While breasts all around tightly shroud what's inside

16. A man, long enduring amid calamities,
Right in the midst of death's crushing onslaughts

17. Indeed, on the path to glory, stoicism
Once stirred, knows no defeat in its ferocious campaign

18. Half of time have I milked, as men do in their years
Were it not for my wellspring of valor's draught

19. If the water of glory was not my oasis
Or its light lead me to noble horizons

20. Then no congenial company would inspire a brother
Or prince fit to compose verses' empire

21. Unleashing within it rivers of creativity
With no fear provisions will leave its streams dry

22. This because it is born of exceeding merit
Whose lofty wisdom no shameful act could inspire

23. Its edifice is protected by wisdom sublime
With towers that the highest heavens admire

24. Its breasts incline with good fortune's gestures
While wretchedness cannot touch its rooms

25. It glows, outshining celestial bodies in darkness
When nights of ignorance reach their uttermost

26. The full moon concedes its totality to it
While each sun envies its illuminating fire

27. For excellence granted me favor on favor
Each counted, for it I give thanks and admire

28. It clothed me in bliss' robe and settled me
On joy's cushions as honored desired

29. It adorned my forbearance, untainted by nature
Acquired virtues - none borrowed, none hired

30. Those nights of vigil spun round us
Like bracelets, without cease, in their gyre

31. Thus they tell, despite darkness, their dawns' motifs
Though shadows obscure their lines, these memoirs

32. Time flowed, and our pens flowed in its dimness
Whose drips humble clangs from refined sabers

33. Oh, to have those nights back, deceitful as they were
Unbeknownst to all the deception their guise bore

34. I found in them joy as though I'd never attained
And drank from cups whose wine was not barred

35. No joy like the gardens where streams wandered about
And gave me to drink from bliss' rivers procured

36. No joy like moments with a kindred soul shared
Or company whose nobility was assured

37. If decreed we must part, that's excuse for us both
And for me, from it, no rancor endured

38. It left, and left my love smoldering, as though
It were the beloved whose loss I bemoaned

39. So do not deny what I have witnessed
As one whose spirit has climbed to heights still not breathed

40. For my heart bore a longing - had I heaved it atop mountains
It would have shaken their rocks right down to the core

41. It wrenched from me a sigh that unsettled me
As I struggled desperately to hold it in

42. If indifference you detected, know that many eyes
Conceal fires their composure obscures

43. I stored away a yearning whose stretch filled my prime
And contented a soul like the sun in its sphere

44. I undertook milestones and studied the eminent
And conversed with beacons complete in their orbits

45. To them I owe so much - when counted, each parcel
And what splendid youth spent in their shadow

46. I've distanced myself from violating their bond
For the Nizaris' carpenter could only warn me

47. Never did they fall short; only achievements arose
Whose excellence, by my life, failures do not mar

48. To recall them is to recall Kharanah's realm
Even if the centuries have obscured its sphere

49. The great deeds of ancestors - enduring their pride
Though ages have passed since their time drew near

50. Still, no feat was complete until the first of them
United their people, down to the last pioneer