1. Her face outshone the full moon when she appeared
To guide souls led astray by passion's pull

2. Her tresses flowed, releasing their braids
So I took for the sun the glow beneath her veil

3. She glanced with lids like unsheathed swords, and I never saw
By my life, lids glancing like ready swords

4. She smiled though love had slain all those enamored
Thus giving life to souls that were once lifeless

5. A gazelle she bent when her beauty stood alone
So the leaves bent over her for her grace

6. She has a mouth of pearls from which Ibn Muzahhar drinks
And a glance from which Ibn Muqlah drinks

7. She appeared though youth had shaken her stature
Did you not see that the sun clung to the branch?

8. She touched with the curve of her double-bent arms
A crescent-brow that shone in the night of Partridge constellation

9. With the fires of her cheeks she brought me delight
So here am I, between fire and paradise

10. God forgive the eyes though they sharpened
Arrows that nearly took my life with their piercing

11. And blame not the cheeks for what they endured
Of the deadly scorpions of her piercing glances

12. And protect the smooth wrists from harm
Though to lovers they are like deadly poison

13. And sober minds that the intoxication of love drugged
For in the sobriety of passion lies all drunkenness

14. And revived souls that were slain by her youth
For in reviving passion lies all resurrection

15. O my two friends, did you ever see or hear
A lover whom longing consumed before love?

16. A doe appeared, bending as her curves shook
Like the rising sun appearing on the branch of a weeping willow

17. A queen of beauty who reveled in the realm of passion
My surrender before her, and my breaking, and my humiliation

18. And my sickness, my sleeplessness, my longing, my tears
My ecstasy, my torment, my lament, my misery

19. She dwelled in the valley of my ribs, which is my abode
She walked in the meadows of my heart, which is my soul

20. I gave her cups of my reproach
One morning after she shunned my companionship and abandoned me

21. Though I brought close the cheek of intimacy to her, and long
A glance of hers summoned it to my union

22. Yet no sooner had she erased my likeness
Which, were it not for passion, would not have endured

23. My heart could not refuse passion
Nor could my soul find a way to peace

24. I shall be patient until the days of estrangement pass
For patience comes only from my nature and my forbearance

25. Not everyone who calls out has his call answered
Nor does everyone who is called respond promptly

26. O rider whose determination the mind's steeds outpace
With the zeal of yearning not curbed by reason's reins

27. Go gently with a glancing eye that takes in every affection
And gently with a heart that welcomes every image

28. Sometimes I see her in every meadow and open plain
And sometimes I see her in every copse and garden

29. Sometimes I see her in every monastery and temple
And sometimes I see her in every convent and church

30. I profess the faith of love in every place
And strive for the essence of beauty wherever I turn

31. I attack the encampments of her tribe fearlessly at night
Like lions raiding inattentive settlements

32. And I kiss all between her veil and her mouth
And drink cups whose taste carries my delight

33. Did the rain grace you with a shower, enlivening
Forms that before had withered?

34. Did the boughs of your branches sway
Whose leaves, with their melodies, sing like doves?

35. Did the hands of the breeze trail their hems
Over your verdant meadow when it blew?

36. And did the clouds send you pearls when
They saw the blessings of my Master Abu 'Amr come down?

37. A king who protects the House of Caliphate with his resolve
More firmly than the resolve of ferocious lions

38. His guidance in matters of wisdom, if complex
Are self-evident, shining bright like stars

39. A leader whom God guided to best serve His servants
With the clearest proof and soundest argument

40. When his opinions make up their mind they do not waver
And when a matter passes from him he does not turn back

41. Knowledgeable in unlocking matters when they are deadlocked
A leader in mending schisms in times of discord

42. His favors are hoped for and his vengeance feared
By one seeking peace or one seeking strife

43. Trustworthy to the clan of Faruq in keeping their secret
And their confidante in every hardship

44. His excellent influence is felt in every hour
And his wise word is decisive in every call

45. He protects a prophetic way of life
With a sharp sword or with shining blades

46. When his swords flash in the battle
You see lightning bolts raining down death

47. And if on the day of war he brandishes his lance
You see it bearing abundant mortality

48. He discards the garb of generosity and valour among mankind
Thus becoming a sword of glittering blade

49. So O transgressor reckless before him
Death, from which there is no escape, awaits you

50. He possesses a state that towers over all states
With support for both policies and military aid

51. His hands of approval are nobles for every delegation
And his gifts like those of loyal followers

52. He inclines to virtue until he attains it
As a lover yearns for union with the beloved

53. You see the passion for asking veil his brow
When the questioner brings glad tidings to the asked

54. From afar, his favors fulfilled my hopes
And made my misery collapse

55. I swear were it not for him I would not turn to poetry
And we would stop at a verse of lifeless rhyme

56. He vies in bestowal and pardons error
Whether the hand falters or the foot slips

57. He is too sublime to be addressed reverently
And too humble to ascend over any rank

58. A king whose praise flows continually to the Most High
Never severed or interrupted

59. They fell for the glow of his cheek, though truly
They fell for the sun's glow when it appeared

60. And when his crescent brow shone, it said
May God protect the full moon of radiant rising from the eye of harm

61. O sovereign reviver of the virtues of predecessors
With excellent conduct or auspicious leadership

62. Yours are the bounty and favor upon me, I have only
My words of sincerity and my heart to offer you

63. So accept them, elevating each robe
For in the stations of glory each has loftiness

64. Though I was early in singing praise as a suitor
Calling for your exaltation with the wing of the nightingale

65. Jewels of words have descended and recurred to you
Through them my way to the people, not my goal

66. So be generous with your acceptance to the son of Khaluf
For my hands of hope are outstretched toward your generosity

67. And do not forget me from your abundant generosity after
You ordered gifts for your servant to be dispatched

68. For you are my asylum, my reliance and my aspiration
My honour, my authority, my security and my shelter

69. My succour, my pride, my boast and my support
My cave, my pursuit, my treasure and my pillar

70. May you remain in glory, prestige, rank
And victory, kingdom, pride, and power

71. And ease, goodness, ascent, and honour
And safety, prosperity, initiative, and joy

72. And last as long as any garden sings with narcissus blooms
And as long as leaves thicken on grape vine