1. Stand at Gerona or at the post office door,
And observe the beautiful gazelles bounding o’er,

2. You will meet a dark-eyed damsel passing there,
Of tender form and blushing cheeks so fair,

3. The hunters have ensnared, for lovers true,
With the dark orbs of the gazelle, hearts of the lion stout,

4. My boon companions, come sing me a lay,
And serve me wine from the ripening grape I pray,

5. Meander with me ‘twixt prose and rhymed metre,
Not in hermit's cell or cloister austere,

6. Serve me a cup by the bank of the Dhu'l-Thurayya,
Then leave me to pour it out on the sands far away,

7. I am of Husayn's creed, not of Walid's sunna,
My doctrine is one, but abode in the land,

8. With every fool and idiot teeming around,
Yet here is a pleasant and elegant town,

9. With gardens of clove and narcissus smiling,
And fragrant with ambergris and aloes beguiling,

10. Like good Salih ibn Ruzzik, famed far and wide,
To both commoner and king much solace provide,

11. A prince, for his foes everlastingly mourning,
His raiment like steel mail twisted and burning,

12. A vizier, than al-Fadl more generous in deed,
’Neath the rule of great Haroun, all munificence exceed,

13. He surpassed Abd al-Malik in knowledge and grace,
Eloquent, wise, no match for Abd al-Hamid in his place,

14. Daily his enemies fall, himself only mounting,
As before they had risen, now equal their counting,

15. With aid against them from Allah he's blessed,
As Bukht-Nassar against the Jews stood confessed,

16. He won the Imam, light of God's unity,
Quintessence of Ahmad and of Ali, verily,

17. No Sa'd nor Sa'id amongst them you’ll find,
He inherited kingship, no mere line assigned,

18. The sword of this Imam fails never to smite,
Nor quenched is love's flame in the envious wight,

19. Midst rulers you are the necklace's central gem,
Of verse the Pole Star, and ode's diadem,

20. Yours is the glory, when Mahmud in elation
Approached with fair praise and commendation.