1. It is time for sleep to soothe the weary,
And for the valiant warrior to rest.

2. As if he had not spent an hour in life
Without toil and cares to trouble his soul.

3. A life of hardship - whenever I rise in it
To seek good, my soul contends with me.

4. Despite my wishes, the grave will separate us -
It shone with the radiance of the noble dead.

5. And the auspicious shroud hid him from the zeal
Of those who wept for him in sorrow from afar.

6. His death by fate is like one meeting his end;
Yet his only crimes were glory and praise.

7. We hoped his life would be long,
But a bolt from the unknown took him swiftly.

8. Struck down by one who aimed though unseen,
And he who shoots blindly is a devil intending harm.

9. To whom do we complain, that justice be served
And the noble and splendid be spared?

10. Can all truth be believed as promised
And all promises seen as lies?

11. Whenever an injustice rises over fate,
None compares to David as witness and martyr.

12. My heart bears wounds - how can I hope they will mend
When each day takes another dear friend?

13. I grieve their loss as long as I live, and their
Sorrows are unending, though life goes on.

14. Solace evades me wherever I roam
Their dwellings and refuges imprinted there.

15. May my brothers forgive me if my pen falters,
They know well what I have lost.

16. My body is frail, my physician confounded,
My cares are heavy, and help is little.

17. My mind is weary, distracted by thoughts without end -
What spirit remains to shape these verses?

18. Your kindness, O Sheikh of the press - who else has it
When the heart stirs though it slumbers?

19. Grievous that your daughters were taken from you,
Though they left their mark wherever they dwelled.

20. Who shoulders adversity with keen senses,
With fortitude no distress can shake?

21. Who rises fearless but for his Lord
To defend his people and wage holy war?

22. How it pains the free soul to see his land's sons
Slumber while peril threatens and death looms.

23. You endured them with head bowed though pained,
The burden of loss weighs heavily on the gentle heart.

24. You seek from fate what it does not intend,
So you carved from a numb heart an awakening.

25. Striving to rouse the soul until it melts,
That the glorious may rise up from where they fell.

26. Your concern is the East - and when the first
Gleams of victory come, the schemes against it will scatter.

27. How can you defend the rights of an enemy,
When the corrupt are so set on destruction?

28. If a coward creeps into the ranks
Can a leader achieve the slightest good?

29. Ask the fallen nations, though you know them not -
Their ruins will reveal their secrets.

30. David had a strategy for my struggle,
Bending as needed, enduring as required.

31. Engaging politics in all its aspects, striving
Gently to attain his highest aims.

32. Knowing what he feared yet ready to reconcile,
Knowing what he hoped for though distant.

33. Gentle with dissent though opposed,
Steady with agreement though covenant was fraught.

34. Never rigid in thought for the age's reform,
Never cold in care for the homeland's good.

35. A generous spirit whose breadth encompasses
The myriad views and creeds of mankind.

36. Its principles ever pure in any circumstance,
Wellspring upright, course flowing clear.

37. It feeds on eloquence, clouds raining down,
Watering life, hand outstretched to aid.

38. Its seasons vary, yet within them unite
Some virtue, some benefit new brought to light.

39. No claim but evidence upholds it,
No judgment but proof makes firm its witness.

40. Too little to adorn David with jewels
Of praise - though finest necklaces are wrought.

41. The heights he aspires to cannot be contained;
Seek from any aspect, and perfection is revealed.

42. He builds his loyal allies though untethered by vows,
As the honest pact strictly binds and executes.

43. He forgives the cold and ungrateful their scorn,
Though to merit he is no ingrate.

44. If he sees a fault, he accepts excuse,
If virtue, he is first to applaud.

45. He keeps within bounds, not vicious in shallow critique
Should another overstep in censure there.

46. He tends his kin as a father does,
So his sons multiplied, though no sons he begot.

47. The furthest hopes he realizes with his gift,
As if he possessed what he did not.

48. A leader, though his way is not to lead -
He bears rule forced on him with disdain.

49. So goes gracious David, though perhaps,
Rebuffed, his purpose twisted awry.

50. He may flash fierce as lightning under heavy brows
As flames spark and kindle under ash.

51. Anger rises like the mountain's lava,
Mighty in days of trial and strife.

52. O House of Barakat, though you despair, comfort
Will come and the world relent of its bitterness.

53. But my wound, O the wounds of all hearts,
Will outlast leaves upon the bough.

54. All Arab people share your agony -
Measure it by the trembling Lebanon laid waste.

55. Sweet Euphrates shuddered, Tigris was shaken,
As when clouds swell and bolt the horizon.

56. In Egypt a fervent people flocked to you -
Emigres thronging to join their gathering host.

57. Loyalty called them, and the renown you embody,
Custom held over generations.

58. The procession was unending, though none pressed
Or drove it onward by demand.

59. Eyes downcast, witnesses through to the final step -
None could reckon the length of that sorrowful march.

60. It was solace enough that the East grieved with you
For one who, though mourned, lives on and endures.