1. Forgive me if my poetry betrays me
For your kindness I cannot repay

2. What may seem trivial to one
Is made easier by the feeling of kindred spirits

3. The noble people of Faiha, you are
Knights in the field of generosity

4. Your kindness to me is no novelty
The Arabs have a brilliant history

5. That still shines under your stewardship
Traits that reveal you as the best of Qahtan's descendants

6. I came to poetry, my mistress, begging
For help with verse or pardon for this offender

7. I left with a promise of forgiveness
If the devil fails to correct my sins today

8. I came to your gathering walking in confidence
With a promise of pardon from my mistress, poetry

9. For the sons of Babylon, poetry is
A tradition built by no other land

10. A state thriving with poetic men
Prosperous, with rhythm and meter

11. You have sustained it through the ages
Never without one of you as ruler

12. Tomes lie open, palms extended
And volumes upon volumes fill the corners

13. Before those of Syria and Lebanon
And from you Egypt took inspiration

14. Creating elegant and supple verse
The land of Iraq drank from the Euphrates' feelings

15. As did the land of Baghdad
Yet I humbly ask your pardon

16. If I complain or show anger
If I criticize your slow pace

17. Or demand you quicken your stride
And if I wish for political poetry

18. To pulse from moment to moment
Meeting affairs head-on

19. In equilibrium and with integrity
With luminous emotions

20. And sometimes fueling fires
Poetry that engages life

21. Speaking for all that is in it
You have woven poetry a splendid cloak

22. Perfecting its warp and weft
It walked eras, ever vibrant

23. A light for kings and crown for turbans
Had you wished, it would have adorned you

24. For the eloquent to boast and vie over
Another world came to you

25. For you to present it aesthetically anew
To maintain its elegance

26. You had only to revive its colors
I do not claim to be foremost in merit

27. Above my peers and comrades
Nor do I pretend to be reckless with joy

28. As if you had forgotten me
But it delighted me that the Euphrates

29. Should first honor an artist
I implore you by the zeal that drove you

30. To remember and elevate me
By the Euphrates' virtues, refined under

31. The injustice of tyrants, and the boon of oppression
Do not neglect some hidden

32. Or gifted genius, his light obscured
Appreciation may rouse a sensitive poet,

33. Flourishing through passion and emotion
While neglect may ruin a talent-

34. You would have seen what a volcano!
I am proof of what I wished to demonstrate

35. That none other could provide this evidence
Attacked from all sides by gnashing

36. Wolves and hyenas tearing my flesh
Their nobility heaping curses at will

37. With generosity and no insult
It is enough that you know the gist:

38. No human should insult another
And if I am truthful, the people had no purpose

39. But to kill the alert conscience within me
I found no solace for their bitterness

40. Except the affection of sincere and loyal friends
Though some squint at me with scorn

41. Your kindness is a meadow for me
Poetry hones resolve and prepares

42. For events, educating minds
Take the treasures "Al Fayha" holds

43. Eternal works and those of "Al Ghariyan"
And celebrate the names of its people-

44. Even if despite them- deaf to their ears
And teach fragments of their verse

45. Depicting joys and sorrows
By the civilization of kings through the ages

46. In a procession of artistic elites adorned
The king dismounted in honor of him, while

47. Solemn ministers - lofty pillars - walked like monks
Appreciating the sculptor's gift

48. As prophecy, by faith and conviction
From here, systems were prepared

49. For both Easts, and religions paved
Babylon's law shook people with its awe

50. Before they knew the law of Greece
To reform a kingdom, the system of Assyria and Chaldea is still needed

51. To protect individuals and the community
Thank you to the mouths that perfume me

52. With eloquent and beautiful praise
Flowing with the melted affection that

53. Seeks a heart of utter sincerity
If I were able, I would offer you my soul

54. But giving you my feeling is within my capacity