1. Your soft cheeks are my comfort, your chin is my basil,
My jasmine, the apples of your cheeks, your neck is my lily.

2. Between the star and moon a branch sways,
Bearing pomegranate and quince.

3. A delicate gazelle with languid eyes that tempt,
Yet snares him only with downcast lids.

4. On his cheeks the Turks plant a garden of beauty,
Guarded for its keeper, not for the Divine.

5. You’d think his soft cheeks freely accessible,
While the watcher there reaps those who encroach.

6. He obscured clarity with drink, following excess,
No flash lit our moon thereafter.

7. You robbed my heart, O magic of his eyes,
After which none but him could I see.

8. His brow’s bow shot me with a glance,
What barrier his brows, when his eyes slay me?

9. I fear others beholding his eyes will kill me,
Whether their arrows strike or miss their mark.

10. I swear by passion, unless you bear me,
Both our bodies will suffer equally.

11. I hold a body soft as water and quench
The fires of my torment with the cool of his lips.

12. If only his heart would pity mine,
As his sweet eyes have made me suffer!

13. If he forgets our love, his nobility
Guarantees I’ll not be forgotten.

14. Abu al-Fath Musa, al-Ashraf, the King whose light
Shines like the full moon between bow and arrows,

15.
Bringing at times with his palm’s moisture verdure,

16. At others with his flames causes to wither,
His eyes flirt with distraction, he walks intoxicated,

17. His steps like the steps of a rider at full gallop.
Who but Solomon could ride the wind?

18. When the sword seals a kingdom,
What demon could wrench it from his hand?

19. Noble, though too shy to live by his sword,
He scorns to give water, yet drinks wine liberally!

20. The sea’s fury brings only disgrace
If its salt does not quench thirst.

21. A king ruling kings beneath his banner,
All glorious, each with a host unfurled.

22. Khosrow’s palace vaunted the reach of his reign,
Yet one of his porticoes became my reign’s hall.

23. He aided his brother with name and with army,
Fates yield only to rulers’ decrees.

24. Not who stacks stone upon earth
Built the foundation of his glory atop Keywan’s peak.

25. He parted from Maafirkin against its will
And it inclined to him out of passionate zeal.

26. He came to Zulqarnayn’s realm bent thither
To Jibaljur, a fortress none ever did build.

27. Citadels on the eagles’ necks, their foundations
Towering so high the sun’s horn bows before them.

28. Manors fit for the shining moon he occupies
With auspicious rising, not lowly setting.

29. He will conquer Qustantiniyya by force
And demand the allegiance of Khurasan.