1. Fortune fulfilled its promise, after being unfair,
And time's whims turned favorable for me,

2. Fate's twists and turns left me unharmed,
The flood's debris and the broken canal.

3. I regained hope in people and in times,
And wished for union with those I used to dread.

4. It taught me the heights reached by the resolute,
Who roll up their sleeves however hard the trail.

5. The noble fears disgrace to his glory,
So he shores it with favors and builds it up.

6. With kindness, though the times are cruel,
And care for my rights, a brother to defend.

7. A fine gift, though much I already have,
A perfect apology, though none owed me.

8. While others give and make no excuses,
Your gift suffices, your apology exceeds.

9. You took up the virtues of fathers before you,
Nobles covered by time before and since.

10. You are their heir, inheriting their glory,
Not falling short of the heights at which they aimed.

11. If they left you their name, it was to last,
Not to fade, however brief their life.

12. They spread fair tales of you when gone
Knowing well tales make the best legacy.

13. They matched our peers in state and being,
Till scales tipped and glories multiplied.

14. You added luster, as if not content
They fell short of glory however hard they tried.

15. And if death took a father young,
You remained for his line an undying sire.

16. I said to a band wandered astray,
Young stars in darkness, their road unsure:

17. On the desert's heights, the moon their guide
When dawn breaks to show the bleak terrain.

18. Needs harry them wherever they fare,
With the star their only guide through the dark.

19. When darkest night enfolds, they lose their way
Till day from confusion brings light.

20. Far off they spy the world's wealth and bounty,
But their reach falls short however they strain.

21. Take from the sovereign promise of plenty,
Return to wisdom, tame desire's rein.

22. Leave off modest fortune and sail
On hopes far vaster than land allows.

23. Think not deeds you outdid remain the same,
Stories told are not history's honest frame.

24. Not every patch of green is paradise,
Not every cloud will bring life-giving rain.

25. In Baghdad's peace you are veiled from sight
Now hidden, now clear like the wandering moon.

26. When necks or schemes would block your light
Your gifts shine bright putting darkness to flight.

27. Noble soul who sees wealth itself as poverty
And knows want's cure is in want to abstain.

28. A youth who, though few his years when counted,
Shows seasoned wisdom in days of trial.

29. You learned rule as child on your mother's breast
Suckled with power, an heir before your time.

30. Throne rooms were yours to enter and leave
At your command, honored, deferred to.

31. No need drives you, no order you serve,
Your vision and voice give your judgments force.

32. When foes challenge, legions march at your back,
Their courage hardened, their striking arm sure.

33. The mighty are humbled before your power
Diminished, diminished before your bright star.

34. You trace sustenance and fate with your pen,
Writing the scroll none can alter or stain.

35. Bitter is sweet when you smile consent,
Pain turns to pleasure, nothing can mar.

36. Laughing if subjected with kindness to rule
Fierce if opposed, proudly alone.

37. Royal gaze that lowers guarding lids suffice
No voice can speak if no gesture implores.

38. Counsel you heed makes your steps steady
When slick ground threatens balance unsure.

39. If my hands' blessing helped in trial,
I know my lord's thanks will not fail.

40. God grant you blessings and their yield,
Planting, watering, watching them grow.

41. Your loyalty frees hearts and tongues
To speak and withhold at their own will.

42. None dare fault you lest they fault fortune,
Who wisely decreed you the gift to fulfill.

43. May God protect you from envy's eye,
Assigned your perfection beyond reproach.

44. Darkness flees sun however thick,
Dawn breaks despite enemies' will.

45. Without you the land no worthy ruler knows
No minister competent, affairs awry.

46. You pay poets their due unstinting
Else their art for others labors in vain.

47. Seasons circle with odes in your honor,
Heaped and relayed in limitless praise.

48. Clouds of verse keep their course
Circling your many virtues time and again.

49. Pure winds drive them, their saddled meteors
Laden with fragrant tribute you rain.

50. Printed out, pages doubt their origin
Silk or calligraphy richly inked?

51. Hearts fill with awe, stirred, drunk
Roused and dazed when recited aloud.

52. To you, sire, necks bow low
Humbled, though once too proud.

53. You gave them value, so they admit
Yours to command, yours to enfold.

54. When New Year comes to rest from journeying
It circles your palace, halts at your gate.

55. You paid high for this art, and so
Seemed to lose, but in fact gained.

56. When men buy my words with treasures
To have my verse, I gain, inspired anew.

57. If I praise you, every tongue echoes approval,
I speak truth, witness bear that I do.

58. The envious attack you in ignorance,
Slander, when praise alone is your due.

59. If they knew the merit that roused their spite,
That would win them glory to boast anew.