1. أَحاطَ بحرمتي ما كان منِّي

    وعفوك واسعٌ بهما مُحيطُ

    What I have done has hemmed in my honor,

    yet your pardon is vast, encompassing both.

  2. فما لي أستقيلُ ولا مُقيلٌ

    أضاق الرحبُ وانقبض البسيطُ

    Why, then, do I seek pardon, with no one to grant it?

    Has open space narrowed, and the broad expanse shrunk?

  3. بغيتُ وأنت أولى من تَغاضى

    لمعترفٍ وقد يبغي الخليطُ

    I transgressed, and you are most fit to show forbearance

    to one who confesses; even a close companion may transgress.

  4. وكم من عثرة لجوادِ قومٍ

    وما هو عندهمُ بئسَ الربيطُ

    And how often a people's noble steed has stumbled,

    yet in their eyes he is no unworthy tethered steed.

  5. وإقراري بأنْ لا عُذرَ عذرٌ

    يلوحُ كأنه الفلقُ الشَميطُ

    And my admission that I have no excuse is itself an excuse,

    gleaming as though it were the white-streaked dawn.

  6. ومن عجب ذليلٌ مستكينٌ

    يُطالبهُ عزيزٌ مستشيطُ

    And how strange: a humbled, submissive man

    is called to account by a mighty man blazing with rage.

  7. أدلَّ عليك إخلاصٌ ونصحٌ

    وودٌّ لا يميل ولا يميطُ

    Sincerity and good counsel have made me bold with you,

    and affection that neither wavers nor turns aside.

  8. فهبْ جُرمي لتأميلي فقِدْماً

    وهبتَ الجُرمَ وهو دمٌ عبيط

    So pardon my offense for the sake of my hope; for long ago

    you pardoned a crime, even when it was fresh-spilled blood.

  9. ولا تُطِل الفتورَ عن اصطناعي

    وأنت لكل مكرُمةٍ نشيط

    And do not prolong your reluctance to favor me,

    when you are eager for every noble deed.

  10. وما زلتَ الذي ريَّا نثاهُ

    كريَّا الروض يثنيهِ السَّقيط

    And you have always been the one whose fame's fragrance

    is like the scent of a garden bowed by falling dew.

  11. تيَقَّظَ للعُلا والمدَّعُوها

    لهمْ في نومهم عنها غطيطُ

    He stayed awake for glory, while those who claim it

    snore in their sleep, heedless of it.

  12. فكم حُقنتْ بصفحكَ من دماءٍ

    محللةٍ وقد كادتْ تشيطُ

    So how much blood has been spared through your pardon,

    though lawful to shed and on the verge of being spilled!

  13. وكم نِيلت بجودك من أحاظٍ

    يبيتُ لرحل صاحبها أطيطُ

    And how many bounties have been gained through your generosity,

    making their owner's pack-saddle creak through the night!

  14. وكيف تحيدُ عن سننِ المعالي

    وبيتُك بينها البيتُ الوسيط

    And how could you stray from the path of noble deeds,

    when your house is the central house among them?