1. The land of Shalib, though Shalib is naught,
If it bore throngs of men, the men are not the land.

2. Their converse betrayed their gentle nurturing,
As though they grew up not in settlements.

3. They speak composed verse, though unintentional,
As though it were their habit to speak in riddles.

4. Alas! Along with my sigh, O Abu Umar,
Is there any gift but esteem and honor?

5. Other than the bond of purity I have shared with you
Its spring, overt and covert.

6. I'm astonished at a people whose merits
Are obscured by praise of them the winged rumor carried.

7. Why did they slumber in the softness of their lives
To their neighbor who is shackled in poverty?

8. How could they not avenge you
Against the vicissitudes of time?

9. The freeman is frequently debased by his need
For mediation from the mean and treacherous.

10. The young man’s dignity preserved augments his zeal,
While sustenance flows in measured portions.

11. I sufficed and my money stretched, so the heavens are my hand
And its stars my dirham and the sun my dinar.