1. Glory comes from spear tips thrust,
Or edges of sharp swords that clash.

2. He who seeks glory unafraid if it eludes him,
Striking his own soul with dread and terror.

3. If he attains what he hoped, he prevails,
If he tastes death, he finds rest.

4. Rouse yourself, my friend, to pursue the heights!
Rise up toward sustenance with what strength remains.

5. Yours it is to strive for something, not
Yours to guarantee success.

6. How fine is serious work if
The worker treats it seriously, not as jest.

7. Only a hero like Abu 'l-Ulwan will gain
Glory's summits, so free with gifts.

8. His spirit loathes to accept peace
Without struggle, his due denied.

9. He scorns death, undaunted by violence,
Steadfast, bold-faced, nothing can shift him.

10. As if his coat of mail holds
An unconquerable army no spear can pierce.

11. With him paces a slim-waisted beauty
Or a slender-waisted knight much inclined to jest.

12. His darkness is like the night coming on,
His face the break of dawn.

13. He runs, the wind runs after him,
He outstrips chance before misfortunes arrive.

14. Well-trained in all his limbs, handsome,
Walking proudly, no prancing ostentation.

15. His steed's like a lovely, playful girl
Tossing her plaits in sport.

16. His horse all but seals the rocks
With its stamp, so heavy its tread.

17. Behind him a flowing tail that seems
A girl's plaited locks undone.

18. When he walks his thighs close
Like palm trunks near springs that murmur.

19. His bells speak to him in rhythmic tones
As if they came on wings.

20. They tell him of mysteries on nights too dark
For dogs even to bark.

21. Nights black as blinded eyes
Where stars cannot glance or gleam.

22. Darkness spreads, growing
From the ugly deeds of villains.

23. A glance his eyes bestow on a lad
Returns baffled, no audacity left in it.

24. The water-meadows of 'Amir accustomed him
To feasts or to forays and raids.

25. Either to honor bound fast by vows
Or to defend a land given up for pillage.

26. My eyes are set on a hero whose arms
Bring triumph - finest of trophies.

27. Whoever matched his hand's rain with clouds'
Knew the clouds had scant generosity.

28. Of no use are water-meadows' gifts -
The name water-meadow but borrowed finery.

29. Many gifts honor brought the ruler
Raising glory's cry ever higher.

30. None looked him in the face
But knew good fortune was his.

31. A hero, if other heroes' souls are cramped,
His soul is spacious and lavish.

32. His noble traits could almost
Drink up the limpid rainwater and have their fill.

33. But for him no lad of promise would remain
No steed of worth men ask to borrow.

34. O king whose gifts of bounty sent
My thanks scattering everywhere.

35. While my praise of him remains in every region
Complaining of banishment and long exile.

36. People have one who praises them - why then
Ignore these eloquent verses?

37. No merit lies in pleasant voices -
Merit lies in apt construction.

38. Ask me of poetry, ask them, you will find
Most tongue-tied, abashed, not free-spoken.

39. One night I tasked my companions and they
Blundered in the dark against tent pegs.

40. A lad with generous heart greets them
At dawn - radiant his visage.

41. They know not which dawn shines brighter,
His or the one that comes with early morning.

42. O mainstay of the state, you who own
Wealth none forbid, and others hold inviolate.

43. Your virtue made the world so bright
It gleams like white robes washed clean.

44. You'd think it sprinkled with camphor
Or graced with gardens filled with light.

45. Behold generations made white
Like eggs in the eye of the cook.

46. Lovelier than these to look upon
Is a generous goblet brimming with joy.

47. Arise, take your pleasure, make merry,
Taste the permitted, leave the forbidden untried.

48. Rejoice in a feast that dispelled by its length
Yearning heaped on yearning.

49. Still may you remain blessed by its like
While bounty tells us - no parting.