1. When the horses are at my abode, I do not depart,
And when contentment obeys me, I do not move on.

2. I never sought the miserly giver for any need,
And I make do with the generous, though he be dusty.

3. I see the one who turns away the base as one
Blind of vision, slaughtering other than the joint.

4. And how many a master whose wrath is not curbed
By long censure or the toil of rebuke -

5. He prevails over you while you suffer his people
Like the sword that takes the softness from the polished.

6. I weep for a life pulled by fate,
Pulled like the rope from the long wellwheel.

7. I created with a loose rope in a confused night,
Hoping the Rope-thrower will lift it.

8. I was not disturbed by meetings, nor did I see
Worry in the separation of the burden-bearing camel.

9. I divert my rein from indulging passion,
And I turn away from remembering the amorous gazelle.

10. And I visit the outskirts of encampments, and below them
A piercing that makes the dusty rags quiver.

11. Shall I attain the sweetness of union, and beneath it -
The bitterness of estrangement and the smoothness of the pampered?

12. I never drank a sugared draft willingly,
Nor did I desire a cup made of Oleander wood.

13. Aqilah of the living, rise above me
With whatever you wish of the fresh gathered.

14. Alas! Her glances cannot reach you, for between us
Is a slope like the trunk of the approaching cloud.

15. The homes of others are open to hospitality,
But only yours, in misfortune, has spacious quarters.

16. And when the Commander of the Faithful hosts me,
I hope my descent is upon the excellent steed.

17. With the obedient auspicious one I achieve my goal,
And rise up so high none can vie with me.

18. A warrior - when war presented its difficulties
His spear dampened its severity with stabbing.

19. One who penetrates behind the enemy, and his knowledge
That the coward, when he walks, does not penetrate.

20. And when the men share the spoils of war,
He distributes the inheritance with separation by lot.

21. Firm against the clamor of tribulations as if
He came to crack the armor with the whips.

22. The view of Al-Rashid and awe of Al-Mansur in
The beauty of Al-Amin and blessing of Al-Mu'takil.

23. Your noble fathers when they passed away
Took with them all vainglory and pretentiousness.

24. They treaded as the centuries treaded, and their knowledge
That the last will tell of the first.

25. A lineage ascribed to you seized by its elders,
For ages from Al-'Abbas without being linked.

26. This caliphate - its reins are in your hands,
While besides you others flounder in a gloomy night.

27. You won it beyond all people, indeed,
Only a precursor takes off the burdensome garment.

28. With perils that twist necks from beneath the spearheads
A neck adorned with battle ornaments.

29. Proud warriors when war came to a head,
They dug up a day darker than pitch.

30. Repulsed - so which resolve did not constrict
A vein, and which determination did not waver?

31. The darkness peeled away its covering and the
Sides of that towering ascendant became exposed.

32. With your face there rose a prophetic innocence
Like the sun filling the viewer's eye.

33. And when an irrigated land grew with your reconciliation with the foe,
You donated its soil to the harvester.

34. And horsemen who did not seek refuge in a pass,
Unless you rose over them fully armed.

35. The mounted beasts scattered us as if
Each terrain relished our return.

36. And the retinues stood with their departure before us
Extending the necks of their water-skin carriers.

37. From every ascending camel its neck rose
As if it were a guide for the approaching camel.

38. And a snarling lion whose roar seemed to strike
The hearing with the growling of the lioness.

39. The wastelands grazed our flanks and hastened
To the bone, devouring the fat of twisted ropes.

40. And to you one deceived by his mount swooped down,
Blown by the hands of the mount to perdition.

41. So he came to you consuming the desolate lands in haste,
While shade was between his trot and canter.

42. With light scouts woken in every saddlebag,
Filled, and every skin of water, overfilled.

43. And on the saddlebags were dishevelled headbands
Twisted with hair, then unbraided.

44. Your tent ropes stretched out, then the wishes swore
To not be coiled except by your ropes.

45. A hope sat wasting away in the courtyard of your house,
As if in the courtyard of a torrent valley.

46. And a supplicant rubbing your hands as if
The clouds of the lofty covered him.

47. Alas - how many favors you adorned him with,
Overflowing like the hems of the embroidered cloak.

48. So he rose and circled like an eagle to the heights,
While his enemy plunged headlong to the depths.

49. And in his love - if he were an ancient friend
Or a seed that passed with a festering disease.

50. The one with a twisted sneer - his forehead yielded to you
Unacceptable and unreceiving.

51. When he saw you, his steps grew short
In fear, and he clamored in the outer hall.

52. By God - you have left a lasting impression
By the hands of a maker of impressions without peer.

53. You ennobled us beyond all people, indeed -
The righteousness of a kinsman is the act of favor.

54. You drew us like al-Jurayy drew to the heights,
And if a lofty one ascended, he did not descend.

55. For you are most right to lead and guide,
And most zealous in guarding the Prophet's son.

56. The dust of your gifts is ransomed
By the gifts of others with ample uddered sheep.

57. If not for your cloud of generosity, a rider would complain
Of deserts with his camel knelt at the watering place.

58. And worthier of praise is one who initiates kindness
That reaches wombs not reached before.

59. My master - who can I hope to see you, and how can I
Attend your house while the enemy is at a distance?

60. Look at me with some of your glance, a look
That raises my sight and elucidates my words.

61. For now I am not pleased while you afford me
The contentment of the ascetic and reserve of the reserved.

62. Hope, O Commander of the Faithful, we have the freedom
To not sleep away from wishful thinking.

63. With a mouth - when speech lifts its veil -
Giving tidings even if not asked.

64. And a hand - if you wring its passing cloud -
Pouring clear honeyed drink upon you.

65. You erase the myths of afflictions as the north wind
Erased the burdensome clouds.

66. No fearful protector of your support takes shelter in a spear
If he wished to pierce with the bare blade.

67. This Caliph does not deviate from the guidance
If the night of the wakeful affliction sleeps.

68. When I rallied to his victory at the joined battle,
He repelled time, with my ankles fettered.

69. In it are my eulogies, as if I had poured
All my arrows in that target.

70. With each rhyme when I released it,
It yanked the rein of the hurried rider.

71. And I gained from its breeze and vicinity
The most sublime of boons and most protected refuge.