1. The color of youth is the finest of hues,
And gray hair is the crown of young men’s turbans.

2. A growth at the top of the head nurtured by time,
That grazed the pastures where the mounts once roamed.

3. Gray hair is best, though to a man it's regretful
Among the leaves of youth that still remain.

4. As the eyes whiten, though it’s their darkness
Through which the pupils contemplate.

5. I yearn for a time now gone, as if thereafter,
I'm shackled by time and unable to break free.

6. I wasted it, drunk with passion, as if in my head
Was the intoxication of the sotted mind.

7. The youth hopes for a secret longevity, though
The life of man and death run side by side.

8. Vulnerable either to a veil that comes between,
The locks, or to a lifetime that fades away.

9. Why complain of fate? Its caprice broke
My resolve and severed my peers from me.

10. It flung me into every perilous desert,
Where no timid rider dares to tread.

11. A stranger, with no home for shelter,
So when I alight, the guest room welcomes me.

12. My sword is my friend in foreign lands, and my ambition
Though frustrated, still stirs my senses.

13. The beloved complains of his ardent longing to me,
Yet I am the one who ignites, though veils me.

14. When I desire whom I love, propriety
Prevents and chastity rebukes me.

15. By God, I do not unleash upon him my passions,
Though yearning lies cloaked within my heart.

16. No lightning flashed in the crevices of clouds
Without jolting the heart with a tremble.

17. When the winds blow, the groves of anguish
Stir between the ribs their dancing shadows.

18. I've trained my gaze in modesty and reserve
Not to meet the whites in the eyes.

19. Jealous of honor, I give it not up,
For honor is man's most faithful ally.

20. I ward off from my hearing any blame,
As if it were a neck risking the sword's bite.

21. I stay alert like the sly wolf, so if nonsense spews,
I have the nap of contented camels.

22. Of loved ones I make no complaint of one
Who laments, or forget the one who forgets me.

23. I blame misfortunes, then give thanks for their deeds,
For the lessons of forbearance they have taught me.

24. If you feel safe from time, do not ever let down
Your guard against even the closest of kin.

25. How often a brother whom you call in distress
Can heighten the calamity with his own hand!

26. If not for your heart's conviction that holds you back,
It would disobey and aggress against you.

27. How many nights when travelers’ paths grew dark,
Have I been led astray after their turbans twisted!

28. The night is blind in every pass,
While fate never closes its eyes.

29. Its stars appear like the tips of lances
Raised high by the elite horsemen's hands.

30. A hero whose turban protects him from harm—
Swords are the turbans of the valiant.

31. He crossed the valley and marched on, verily
Patience in matters is a kind of dependence.

32. To horsemen, loss of the dead is easy,
For only the honorable lament the noble.

33. None feel anguish like the brave, nor know
Delight like the helpless weakling.

34. O rider of the windswept steed, racing the miles,
Beyond the dusty valley to journey's end.

35. Convey to the Commander of Faithfuls a message—
Startling news that keeps nobles awake.

36. You fulfilled my knowing, and gave freely,
Making my future prosper and blessings rain.

37. It matters not if I remain far removed
From riches forever, when you are near.

38. I'm pleased that no petitioner sees me,
Or flatterer, while you look upon me.

39. Thoughts of you are last to leave my mind,
And calling you first to visit me each dawn.

40. When I come to you, my wishes swear
To never incline my cheek towards others.

41. And I leave behind the flocks of Jesus, unafraid
Of any sword, or spectral army's chain.

42. When a man achieves his hopes in life,
He quits the journey and settles again.

43. You are the helper in events so grave,
And in the strikes of fate and raids of time.

44. The refuge when spears collide together
And factions confront for the final fight.

45. Vigilant, with no rest for constant worries,
Nor sleep for my eyes throughout the days.

46. As if the wheel of time lent me eyes
That never close like those of tireless beasts.

47. Accompanying each day eagerly either
Seeking to join me or asking of my affairs,

48. Every day rousing a wind-borne mare
Galloping wildly over the plains,

49. In troops that blind gazelles with their dust,
And make them stumble without spears piercing.

50. Pressed so tight the horses necks' are chafed
By collars in the packs of wild mares.

51. And horsemen listening for the melodies
Of every soft-toned, supple-stringed lute.

52. They scaled with their spears the mountain peaks—
Spears besiege horsemen on battle days.

53. When the dust obscured their eyes they clashed
Trusting their ears amidst the fray's chaos.

54. A lion, as if its claws upon their steeds
Were like vultures gripping prey on battle dawn.

55. Skulls and flesh are equally grazed,
And the blood of heroes flows like streams.

56. Had you willed, you could have scattered the flocks
In panic, as the eagles took to flight.

57. These doves in your care are not cheap,
Nor what you gained through them by grace.

58. Strange, how fire drew near you under false pretense!
In what place or with what designs?

59. It was but the writhing of a fleeting spark,
Which you transformed with your blaze to smoke.

60. The lion of the forest is untouched by a fire
Lit in his jungle as he escapes unharmed.

61. When have sparks ever enflamed oceans,
Or lightning's snakes coiled around rain clouds?

62. I am your cousin—your enemies are mine,
Whoever casts you has cast me too.

63. It matters not I was no neighbor of your house,
Or suckled in childhood from your wet nurse.

64. You are the deepest regret of the lazy one, who knows not
That birds of prey regret what escapes them.

65. I am your adversary—regard me as an enemy,
With spears intent on piercing you.

66. It's enough you know my gratitude,
Evident to me for all your gifts.

67. Even my silence speaks more than my mouth
Of kindness and favor you have bestowed.

68. So rein in your generosity, and reduce
Its excess—richness lies in portions given.

69. May those who thank you more than I,
And the ancestors of Adnan, praise you.

70. Whoever has abundant praise when dead
Still dies—only the forgotten have life.

71. This leader shuns me from his presence,
And evils me to foes of wicked guile,

72. Pretending I keep company with rogues—
Envy festers in their hearts like an abscess.

73. While I am poor despite his ample generosity,
If he wills comfort for me he calls me near.

74. I have not wearied with praise of him, but
The breadth of his honor covers my tongue.

75. Those hostile hoped to draw near by hating me,
Whoever opposes me has opposed him.

76. He sought office though his father lacked manners,
And his mother lacked dignity and grace.

77. Better you tutor and employ talents
With which many hopes and wishes came.

78. When you live, you have cured my heart of enmity
And brought security to my times.