1. Paris did not captivate me,
Only these papers and pens,

2. For they are more loyal to the covenant of love,
And my passion for them is sweeter than passion.

3. So keep these arrows for someone else,
My heart has no room for arrows.

4. I once had a passion for youth, which passed,
Among the students and books.

5. My heart lamented the passing days,
Between that sin and piety.

6. And nights I spent awake in the ugly,
With a face whose beauty is pleasing in speech.

7. That was an era of passion which is past,
A time of earnestness and formidable deeds.

8. So I will take a new life,
In place of the old wasting time.

9. And I will meet every difficulty,
On the path to sublimity, with the determination of the courageous.

10. All who take companions find them a burden,
Except those with the determination and boldness.

11. And the noble man whose aid I seek
Sees the stars as a foothold for his feet.

12. Verily from his glory I have learned glory,
And upon his determination I have built my determination.

13. I disregarded the generous when I saw that
His generosity singled me out among people.

14. And I wept over the misery of the East
Until his smile shone from its lips.

15. Lord of an era obscured by darkness,
And he tore apart the veil of darkness.

16. In a land which laziness prevailed upon,
And which was invigorated by the efforts of a unique one among men.

17. You are not, O noble one, an ambition,
We hope in you when facing grave tribulations.

18. And loyal without a pact, when loyalty among men,
To pacts, has vanished.

19. How can I praise your hands, when before me,
They are loftier than any eulogy can reach.

20. I am in felicity and bounty because of them,
A pleasure no poet has ever dreamt of before.

21. I observe events and they are your slaves,
Asleep in my security and my fortresses.

22. The poets of kings do not esteem you,
For their crowns are lesser than the tears of orphans.

23. And with it the poet of the noble one boasts,
Over every crown and every lofty seat.

24. My master and chief, but more than that, my beloved one,
And he is to me the dearest of these names.

25. Verses said for other than celebrating your praise,
Are forbidden to me, a thousand times forbidden.

26. Indeed, for my life, those who gained praises gained them,
Because of you, in place of inspiration.

27. How many compositions are gifted to one who does not know,
Whether it is praise or dispraise.

28. If I could monopolize the rhymes,
Disdaining to subject them to the rabble.

29. I would send them as missives travelling the horizons,
To gift your praise to the people.

30. Every verse more precious than the news of reunion,
To the ear of the youth struck with separation.

31. I knew not the envious before they came to me,
From your hand, towards the clouds.

32. I was grazing with eyes that before them,
Their people had no matter in dreams.

33. I was like a pearl covered in dirt,
Your hands plucked me from the dirt.

34. If I live I will shine brighter,
With you, blinding the eyes of the wicked.