1. Keep the birds of worry away from the springs of my tears,
And with the fire of passion, illuminate my dark nights.

2. Make me pour out my sorrows in song,
And wrestle with me over the secrets of bliss.

3. Its fragrance is the memory of a beloved who remains
My tears' companion, and my cup ever brimming.

4. Distance stole its dwelling in the meadows away,
And lent my eyelids its borrowed, fleeting gleam.

5. Be not amazed if his person is absent from me,
For his image in my ribs is firmly lodged.

6. This is Abu Uthman whose worth
The stars and the full moons among men proclaim.

7. Al-Kawthari when he aspires, and Al-Kawkabi when
He climbs the heavenly spheres, and Al-Munqidh when he sees.

8. A king who ascended to the summit of Quraysh
For which the highest peaks are called crumbs.

9. A lineage trailing its tail across the Galaxy,
And glories leaving the Pleiades as motes of dust.

10. The lesser lights aspire to eclipse its magnitude,
And fading ones seek excuses for its enduring rays.

11. That high minaret of knowledge - if knowledge
Took human form, would be depicted in his shape.

12. Blessed are his traces - if he tread on Al-Safa,
A spring of dew would flow and burst forth.

13. Or if he touched a withered tree with his fingertips,
Touching it lightly, it would leaf and shine anew.

14. He brought distinction to an illuminated city, his aura
Brightening horizons until they gleamed like the full moon.

15. Like the sun whose place in the sky is its light
Whose brilliance has spread to the edges of the earth below.

16. False are those who compare his splendor and glory
And intellect to the stars' feeble fires.

17. If a star had but a fraction of his qualities,
In the eyes' view it would not be deemed small.

18. The king of high manners - if he descended to dwell
Among the bright stars, would seem a glistening pearl.

19. The learned hero ceaselessly dispelling
Gloom and stirring up clouds of knowledge.

20. Before his inspirations and words, I knew not
That the sweet Euphrates yielded gems.

21. When the noble give, seeking praise,
They give freely of their treasures to earn excuse.

22. As frequent praise of him repeats each moment,
The world forgets the burden of recycled words.

23. The Bani Hashim, since first light, have understood
That none shall be called "dawn-breaker" but he.

24. A people - when mounted, their steeds seem
Eagles in flight, bearing the lions of the fray.

25. If you envisioned their coats of mail upon them,
You would see rivers containing seas.

26. If death brought them peers in the clash,
It would find none leaving their ranks in retreat.

27. The exploits of all others are combined in them,
As if the year encapsulated all months.

28. A band - even were you not of their mighty ilk,
And you readied yourself to face their army in war,

29. Your purpose would be evident, and action made manifest,
Openly and decisively, your deed accomplished.

30. The miracles of Jesus are in your hands, and indeed
Guidance died only to live again by your wise counsel.

31. You fought the confederates of unbelief with argument,
And gentleness, like might, snaps rigid necks.

32. You stabbed them with favors and God's gifts - where
Even a spear thrust would have shattered into pieces.

33. The tall spears may fail to spot a warrior and yet
Find the short, yellow lances keener-sighted.

34. Opinions bow to truth, and the banners unfurl in retreat,
Sagging, shamed, and weakened.

35. If others fail, though countless be their aides,
And you alone remain the faith's defender,

36. Then the sea slakes no thirst with its abundant waters,
While a single cloud can rain upon the land.

37. You are the rain - no, fresher and broader in bounty,
Mightier in benefaction and greater in aid.

38. Forever the Pleiades weep bitterly, scowling,
While you smile joyfully, gladdened.

39. The sun grows dim but your light - if it flowed
Into the eyes of one blind - would grant him sight.

40. You beautified the ugly epoch until I deemed it
A sin, and you its pardon, penitent.

41. You gave freely, without taking back, and ruled without
Tyranny, and rose high without arrogance.

42. Thus kingship was fertile, fulfilling wishes,
A vigilant eye of fortune, rope pulled taut.

43. It crowns you in peace and forgives in the fury of events -
An ocean bordering seas for some merit

44. That earned it pride over lands in waters' view
And I see you deemed no shore your coast,

45. Making your coast the very greenest meadow.
A turbulent, ruinous sea led to a calm

46. Sea - gentle, blossoming, its scene serene.
The winds of praise blow musk from you if

47. The winds from that horizon blow ambergris.
Take them - intricate embroidery on fabrics,

48. Fresh blooms and brocade with glittering pearls.
A garden exalted by your praise, its heart

49. A foliage that made its branches lines of verse.
When the tyrant Pharaoh of my time grew insolent

50. My poetry's staff split your ocean in two.
I care not where you are my destination,

51. Whether leaving a home or companions behind.
Since your era encompasses all time, your world

52. All countries, your person all creation.
Your hospitality makes delegations forget their homes,

53. Just as a rose's fragrance makes one forget its source.
I tended no protective pact for you all, nor

54. Aimed for your glories in vacant places to roam.
If a man's life be measured by praise of him,

55. Then know you will remain eternally alive.
Fate kindled against me the fire of its trials,

56. So I diffused in it the incense that is your praise.
Its caprices raised me high - though I reckon that still

57. My rank was founded on lowness, unchanged.
Be generous to mankind - if lives lasted as long

58. As heights, theirs would endure and yours be ageless.
Submit - you illuminate darkness, revive barrenness,

59. Destroy tyrants, and enrich the destitute.