1. I greet you, Taha, I shall not prolong rhymed prose with you,
Rhymed prose is pride enough, your noble name proclaims when called.

2. I greet you, pride of Damascus and before it
Baghdad, where I greeted your finest men together.

3. We thank you: we are guests of an eminent host
Who entertains us, pleasing eye, heart and ear.

4. I shed - though unseen by his glance
And though our hearts were gladdened - tears of sadness,

5. For we had known, before this, your gentle ways,
Guests, and you did not fail us in your bounteous generosity.

6. You led us, a generation, and left after you
For our sons what they will praise in their endeavor.

7. O father of thought, you drew inspiration from reason in its glory
And father of gentle literature, you stirred inborn talent.

8. O Moses' magic - in every spot appears
Some living miracle you now aspire to.

9. May God be with you, borne in every thought
And from each heart you have delighted and tended.

10. I give you news: the banks of the Two Rivers
Looked expectantly, and the trees were roused to grow.

11. Rumor grew that you would travel to them,
And the palms almost danced toward you in joy.

12. The willow vowed and spread its shade down
Over you, and ordered the spring to water you.

13. Come to the shores of the two Euphrates and listen
To their songs, stirring the miraculous innovations.

14. Leave the rhymed prose of the doves, for it is
Panting over the wounded, crying over the fallen.

15. And mourn those pining for love,
And heal the victims of its wrenching there.

16. There, seek out "the lost love" and inquire
After its casualties, and mend the broken hearts.

17. Renew for us the days of Al-Ma'arri: they
Are past, while Baghdad burns and blisters him.

18. Whenever a land lacked guides,
You came to us; neither the misguided blamed, nor the obedient.

19. Until today in Baghdad we scent musk
From his she-camel, what she raised in her pacing.

20. And we mix from the water of the Two Rivers a draught
With the memory of him, pure in its draft.

21. And we direct the lost ships, as though they were
His ship, complaining of exile and separation.

22. Yes! We snatched it away, fearing parting
And dreading pining, which narrows our breadth.

23. Come quickly to Baghdad, do not fear a snatcher,
For we have woven you a coat of mail from Farid.

24. We will detain it, we will visit your memory through it,
And be blown by the fragrance of your chaste breath.