1. I see every group exceeding in calamity,
And every new thing torn by decay.

2. These lives are but pages
That record a time, then erase and dissolve.

3. O son of the doomed, their maker,
And their father, from the basin of death wringing wet.

4. Life is but capital, so do not
Gamble away your capital recklessly.

5. Did God address creation about piety
And distinguish the wise only that they be pious?

6. I've seen nothing like the cycle of wishes
Expanded by hopes, though life is tight.

7. Nor anything like the sermons of death, for it
Is novel in its repetition, inexhaustible.

8. I did not know before the death of the vanguards
That the nights are sometimes sleepless.

9. You brought them, O fate, and they were blamed -
Their scroll stuck between your eyes.

10. You presented to the throats a lump
That deafens hearing and stills speech.

11. I strove for that which would perfect you, exerting myself,
While others in endeavor were rightly guided.

12. With them you severed your right hand, so do not blame
Yourself if an arm and elbow fail you.

13. The loss of the righteous will bring fame heartache
That chokes it from him, tightens and strangles.

14. The days will weep for him, accustomed to the office,
Ever rising to the place of the star, climbing and rising high.

15. The dew and the might of his deeds will weep -
Deeds that have the blood of angels adorned and hovering.

16. The past glories will mourn him, sword drawn,
Keeping ambitions lofty and decisive.

17. Either shine like a star or blue like the blade of a sword -
Tell of the sharp edge of glorious offspring.

18. Youth and lightning know none can catch up -
A master of discipline, when you were gone he weakened and gasped.

19. And rhyme like a necklace or crown he never ceased
To adorn with it the ages, free and apart.

20. So with it I adorned his neck, though idle,
And with it I bound his glory, though free.

21. And poems tell of the plunging of brave steeds
With which heroes remain afloat and submerged.

22. With it he flashes in every cheek and gap,
The radiant morning star rending the dark.

23. For it the spears and arrows never ceased
To pierce the hearts of foes and pierce them through.

24. When the year passes it is only nights
Added to the past, near and joining.

25. We kneaded in the wilderness of desolation and sorrow
Setting in our breasts and rising.

26. We reined him with rhyme bridles, proud
Horses if disgraced, graceful and fine.

27. And we said to him, take some of what you were blessed with
And the decree of truth is fitter with the free.

28. Select rhyme bracelets and pearls of meaning
Plucked from your meanings and stolen.

29. We scattered its pearls on your gravelly grave,
Sincere pearls, and those of tears split the cheek.

30. Poetry is but the soul melted, and these
Are its blood, pouring in the crucible.

31. If delicate gardens through it faded,
In his heart is a meadow, fresh and colorful.

32. If you mourned, after delighting
You delighted it beautifully, shining and radiant.

33. You passed in blessed life from it, so it became
With its breaths profound sorrows, choking and radiant.

34. May God water and quench with mercy
The soil generous to you and pouring.

35. And may the King al-Nasir immortalize your son
As the stars of Pleiades soar and hover.

36. Islam, after you, came to know
That over Islam's marrow it sighs and cares.

37. The reins of patronage and guidance
Are now clasped around its neck, binding.

38. He alternates them, drawing near and casting them,
And his eloquent speaker rises straight and climbs high.

39. It fulfilled and bestowed like water and fire, never ceasing
To extinguish in every heart and ignite.

40. So its favor is poured over people abundantly,
And its wrath looms over the kingdom.

41. It turns the palm’s back or its front
By which souls are sustained and granted provision.

42. When its radiance rises in the hand
You see people's faces joyful and rubbing together.

43. It delighted the eyes of the honorable with resolve
That delights the heart of passion, pulsating.

44. And it came to lead the world and religion,
By which the beholder of eras aspires and observes.

45. The elderly learned its good composure
So they no longer claimed youth more dignified.

46. Virtues of glory whose perfection
No flaw marred, and a nature no affectation corrupted.

47. If the praiser lies about the lion and snake,
His praise of generosity and might is believed.

48. With it your rhymes altogether are held captive,
So those among them are stolen and liberated.

49. For me every day has an orphaned pearl
That outshines all else, spending generously.

50. Ingots from the essence of speech and its heat
Formed leisurely, crafted and composed.

51. By it the eloquent’s poetry and thought
Are taken captive and outpace injustice and justice alike.

52. Intellects are nourished by it as if it were
Filtered wine or polished silver.

53. It softens the cores of words, from it my heart
Is estranged when pulling away and submerged when plunging in.

54. So from it comes refreshing dew for your friends
And from it a piercing arrow for your enemies.

55. When its drizzles flow the serpent’s mouth,
What can I do, when you are good to me, but gush?

56. It gladdens me to know you are learned
In what I claim of its excellence, verified.

57. Had my tongue and hand not supported you
I would not be respected or speaking among people.

58. We found you, O Ruzzik’s family, better than
What palms extend to and rub together.

59. We came to you seeking glory and wealth
So habite generous and enrich adorned.

60. You taught us the dignity of noble souls
And countenances no flattery distorted.

61. You made the Balance, through generosity, a Kaaba
Around whose pillars Iraq and Hejaz circle.

62. So your shelter never denied a seeker,
Nor your door the unlucky ever shut.

63. No heart but yours has ties,
No hand clings but to you.