1. A man hoped that my sandals would wear out,
Yet no foot has walked with glory like mine,

2. And they blamed me for avoiding greedy pursuits,
Yet avoidance is best when separation visits you,

3. And they called my aloofness arrogance, yet I see no
Meanness in my soul as it strives to rise,

4. If they backbite and eat my flesh in my absence, then maybe
When present, the chewer's enjoyment is ruined,

5. And how many bitter creatures I have beneath my coat of mail,
If they were fair, their harvest would be sweet,

6. They say you are proud of your self O morning star,
For compliance is the utmost that ascends,

7. If my honor banishes riches from me,
Then thank God for poverty without disgrace,

8. It is for me to glean virtue from its trees,
And no blame if the harvest brought me no virtue,

9. I was created lonely in my cloak of integrity,
A stranger, and if I wished, the people would be my tribe,

10. And among the people are those like me, coupled,
But destiny desired that none rival me in virtue,

11. I hid though I clarified the path of towering signs
Seeking eyes, and for knowledge of me there are ways,

12. And I informed all who listen of every marvel,
With examples never perceived by ears before,

13. And I did not try to explain my worth,
But they were deaf to understanding, or deficient,

14. They want me to buy wealth by asking,
Trading my honor, but the noble branch is guarded,

15. And it is ugly if, while the youth has his soul,
He asks the miser, as miserliness is ugly,

16. And from him I expect either refusal and excuse,
Feigned after, or granting and generosity,

17. I see forbearance as my tool, though the ignorant call it weakness,
And life is naught but what ignorance falls short of,

18. I persevered so if nothing could dissuade me
To ease, then sharp blades would be dissuaded by the blunt,

19. And how seldom do I indulge desire, so if I cling to love,
Then how seldom do I feel relief,

20. And how many wounds beneath my coat of mail,
Mute, with neither redress nor justice,

21. And smooth Grace, the kohl stealing its color
From her glances, and the plaits telling of her restlessness,

22. She gestured and around me eyes of blamers,
Their looks were rage and their hearts rancor,

23. Exhaust with copious tears the weight of passion,
For tears find repose, and tears are the weight,

24. I frightened her with propriety - behold, our home
Is sacrosanct, who misguided you that my blood is licit?

25. Let me live, she said, leave fervor with me,
So I said to her, you have decreed that love is murder,

26. And she of perfect form, desire did not fool her
Though it seduced the witless and disputes not with madness,

27. She tried to make me love my refusal to increase my agony,
So I hated it, for love’s ember is refusal,

28. He blames and sees people equal in his opinion,
So it was clear who had blamed me, for it was a camel,

29. My fate tests how patient I am, and yet
It tests what has no known limit, like a blade,

30. Sustain yourself with some sustenance if all independence is dear,
And scattered crumbs will reach you with a rope,

31. And were it not for superfluity, nothing would remain but need,
For little can seldom fulfill it if plenty is missed,

32. I would be helped whenever I cried for the aid of a companion,
At a moment no region hopes for its rain,

33. His hands sufficed me in dew for every dissolved alliance,
Kissing his great virtues continually,

34. And he reinforced my back when my sides gave way,
A brother, not a brother to my father begotten,

35. A brother to whom familiarity bound me,
For every young man is molded in a form befitting his trait,

36. We walked there together where is purity, and did not
Walk where our lineage marched us without choice,

37. The son of Job has condemned what pact I concluded with him,
An inviolable company, fills then empties its leather,

38. Against wealth and poverty, how I milked him,
My containers then his successors' cups overflowed,

39. He is secured by my sated eye that sleeps
While my heart is empty of its disquieting thoughts,

40. Loyal in friendship, smooth in honor, so that if he walked
To deceive, even ants would not walk his path,

41. Ransomed by the individuals of men, preferred
For my rain over his traces, an equitable witness,

42. As if the youth of valiant trees upon the dew
Were mixed with musk, his nature cool and smooth,

43. Like the juicy dark trees grasping dry soil
Then opening over it, green and moist,

44. As if his traits and successful tools
Were created without any hypocrisy or blemish,

45. When roused, they rushed out in numbers and multiplied,
Though invited to a feast, they were few,

46. Their voice, together or separate, is weighty
And the day of strife, their leader's voice rises,

47. And they do not utter estrangement if embarrassed by it,
Their dreams spare them foul sayings,

48. Their horsemen train steeds and racers,
Champions whose saddles do not slip or loosen,

49. When they pierce, the piercing is eloquent,
And when they write, the script is murder,

50. Their years make the sons of men into elders,
While their child, though not a year, is an old man,

51. I attached you since my days to the kind elevated affection
That tries and does not indulge any love that it does not test,

52. And my vow regarding you became compulsory when you came of age,
That books and messages bring us together,

53. So a separation harvested, then compassion, and we dispersed,
Its confusion passed, and then the bond was joined,

54. The water flowed after my separation, then returned dense
After the shade had gone,

55. So if I do not thank my time for what
I complained of, then no loyalty or faith remains,

56. For the white hand of the youth, if he does not
Reward praise through it, binds,

57. And if I did not seek refuge for our love with amulets
To bind it in every purpose's knot, it dissolves,

58. Windows through which no magic or charm penetrates,
Dikes no torrent or sand overcomes,

59. You see through them honor always rich in wonderful qualities
Though if bare of nobility, it would be destroyed,

60. Its medicine absorbs all seriousness,
And its presence is an instinct seen as jest,

61. It sends you gifts everyday, a guide,
When absent, it has no husband,