1. When fate has no turning, and grief avails you naught,
Then patience is most fair, and pain is lightly wrought.

2. What is most hard to bear, drive off if that you can;
Full oft the task proves light that seemed so burdensome.

3. This world was ne'er designed for lasting habitation;
Then grieve not o’er its change, you fleeting tenant.

4. Naught but a lodging house this world; abide here briefly.
One band unloads its gear, another lifts its load.

5. We spit upon its floor, and fling its ceilings wide;
No true love does it claim, no wise reproof it knows,

6. Yet daily brings it forth to us fresh marvels new,
To baffle and perplex the keenest intellects.

7. Far though thought's errant steeds penetrate its mystery,
They draw back from its bounds, their progress unfulfilled.

8. New troops we are amidst the ancient to and fro,
One horde departs from it, and hordes come crowding in.

9. It strips the raiment off, and creatures stand revealed;
It loosens arrows forth, and living things lie slain.

10. No strength have we one day to shield it from attack,
Nor does its danger cease to threaten us at once.

11. No safety can we find by fleeing from its face,
How then can one escape who craves security?

12. No aid, save moaning ache and grief, abides with us.
And what do grief and moans avail to remedy?

13. I dwell upon the word of death that speaks the truth;
By some 'tis soon fulfilled, while others are respited.

14. Though long may last the boast of lavish fortune's child,
His fate will not escape the ruin he's ordained.

15. Amazing that the wise, once knowing he will fall
To death's decree one day, should revel heedlessly!

16. Trust not the days of life, you laden with sagacity,
For none who trust the days will fail at last of shame.

17. I dwelt among the tribe where ruin was the law;
And who can e'er escape the law of ruin's reign?

18. I was transformed by those who vanished into night;
Yet where are they who vanished? Can they be transformed?

19. When fails the stream of tears poured from my burning eyes,
Tears are a useless aid; how useless their employ!

20. Enough of grief. Let but the living know that death
Will slay him with sure sword; this knowledge should suffice.

21. When empire's bounty failed, its glory and largesse,
Gone was its potency when supporters lacked their wage.

22. A prince of upright stock, who yielded not his peers
Aught of their rights, however battle's flame was lit;

23. Who showed no ire to friends, even if their homes held treasures
Of all the plenteous East, and rivers flowing gold;

24. Who will convey to nobles now athirst, that I
Thirst while the rain clouds heap; their promised showers withheld?

25. Alas, who shelters those the times have dispossessed,
When, aweary, terror's fang has seized them for its prey!

26. And who befriends the poor, struck down by poverty,
And gripped by hardship, whence no issue can be seen?

27. That towering mountain height has crumbled into dust,
And he who rose sublime bends low his humbled head.

28. Then, O my Lord, behold this suppliant at Your gate;
O Giver of the rain, behold me parched with thirst!

29. You claimed perfection's traits, and hands extended bounty
Beyond the reach of hope's imagined boundary.

30. Manly resolve was Your close companion, struggle knelt
To You in worship, failure was spurned abjectly.

31. No lofty excellence remains for You to seek;
No splendid raiment now is left for You to wear;

32. Reverses' arrows struck, and chance assailed Your glory,
As waning moons will tell, however bright they shine.

33. I never feared that time would rob me of Your deeds,
For never was a day more rash, more bold than You.

34. Who stood but You, avenging when destruction came?
When troubles rose, on You alone men's hopes relied.

35. Your zealots and Your champions raise their voices loud
At every battle's glow extolling all Your might;

36. Can it be that You pass and barriers not be flung
To stay Your progress? That no swords flash in Your defense?

37. Arise! and where Mashrafiyya* lies in ruins now,
Make call to prayer resound, God's name be magnified!

38. Arise! and where Somhariyya's columns stand collapsed,**
Raise prayers and hope anew, so life again may flow!

39. Ever in days of woe Your habit was to wake
While others slumbered fast, and bare the blades You kept.

40. Does Geyhan, then, who came long ages after You,
Know that time's shooting stars have struck Your lofty goal?

41. One path you trod with him, and time impartial dealt
To you and him alike the blows of cruel injustice.

42. He tasted bitterness, but were the choice mine, I'd say:
Let sweet celestial wine flow lasting without end!

43. The bounty he bestows comes like a torrent overflowing,
As if his generous hand pours forth his kingdom's rain.

44. And when the gales of gift blow from his face, they carry
The sweet scent of his grace cradled upon their wings.

45. Never may his favor cease to recompense the good,
Or fail to break his foes with blows of evil fortunes.

46. Your ransom be all souls beneath the vault of heaven,
And may your glory rise sublime, enduring, excelling!

47. When fate brings on its storms, overwhelming in their power,
You meet them with a soul no trial can engulf.

48. You crushed calamity beneath your tread's strong pressure
That weighs so light upon the cycle of the years.

49. What scholar steeped in thought can equal you in wisdom,
When in yourself alone you find a perfect model?

50. You won content, though far your lot from seeking favors,
While bounty flows from you boundless as rain's descent.

51. What can the critics say of one whose noble thoughts
In their mere part approach the least of your ascendance?