1. After union with the beautiful beloved, my life changed
And separation altered my conditions

2. Not content with aloofness, he aimed his piercing arrows
At my heart, rendering me speechless

3. I have no fault in his eyes except my love and concealment
To provoke him to shun me

4. O life, my skin is worn out, my bones cracked
And passion demolished my edifice

5. Illness besieged the castle of my body
Its ramparts collapsed, beyond repair

6. You had promised not to betray me, yet
You broke your oath and denied knowing me

7. My critic passed me by one day as usual
But saw no trace of me amongst my neighbors

8. He said, "O people of this quarter, what has
Befallen the wounded lover among you?"

9. After this absence, should I advise him
Out of concern to abstain and be tranquil?

10. Or did he attain what he sought before his death?
Or die from intense longing and sorrow?

11. They said, "We heard him moan which caused us
Misery as his mortal body faded away"

12. So he returned at once, satisfied
With the story, without verification

13. And told the people I died of regret
For a head of hair that has no equal

14. A moon eclipsing the sun in its rising
The full moon shy of his beaming glance

15. With eyelids under which lies a guard
Protecting the narcissi of Nu'man and 'Uqayl

16. Never! I aspire not from his lowliness to glory
Or praise of perfection in the anthology of verse

17. He is the Prince whose offices
Are adorned by his flawless governance

18. He has become the delineator of the realms of a great realm
On foundations of favors and benevolence

19. He has supported truth among its virtues
With wisdom, knowledge and proof

20. He has won precedence in the racecourse of his logic
Distinguished from foolishness and nonsense

21. So many of his instituted policies are based
On intelligence, justice and deliberation

22. How his sharp mind has illuminated the dark problems
With lofty opinion and superior judgment

23. How many pens, white, brown and fiery tongues
Have bowed down before his resolve

24. How then can I rein in my praises of him
And cease spreading the scent of his glory?

25. The people are unanimous in Egypt
That he is the best of mankind

26. These are from his glorious qualities
Free of exaggeration and disparagement

27. I present them with the hope that his generosity
Will not repay them with abandonment

28. For they are adorned with gems from his virtues
That match my own in their essence

29. He continues riding the steed of glory in these lands
Among comrades and brethren

30. Never did I complain in the meadows of Rawda
Yearning for his company above the branches

31. Or say, at the start of my praise poem
After union with the beautiful beloved, my life changed