1. Why do constant tears flow from your eyes
As if their outpouring on your cheek were rivers

2. Or the water of Hinnana extinguished a thunder
Roaring from the west, rumbling

3. Or do you remember friends with whom you shared joy
But the evenings and journeys are now gone

4. Or the weeping of a bereft sister mourning her beloved
Her lament is repeated over and over

5. Or has your pent-up longing for an absent beloved been unveiled
And its signs and traces revealed

6. Yes, it was the abode that made me weep and confused me
And remembrance of the longing lover

7. The landmarks of the settlement have worn out its beauty
After loved ones, only spirits and rains remain

8. To your eyes, after it was erased, appear
Visions, ruins, and stones

9. Encampments whose tents leaned against a desolate wilderness
As they leaned against the hillside pools

10. Inscriptions on the ruins of abandoned homes
As if I drew them on parchment

11. The hand of time has ruined them
As nights come and go

12. I stopped my mount there and asked about them
But no settlements of the living remain

13. So it was puzzled by my question, unable to answer
Where are the dung-filled ruins with news

14. By God, our days - how good were the best of them
When play and amusement could still be found

15. Hidden days when no blame or disgrace tarnished them
And no sorrows clouded the joy of life

16. A slender, smooth-sided doe, her teats white
A radiant cheek, a swift pacing horse blamed by none

17. Her plaited hair hangs down, a dinar and anklet upon it
As if the numbness of her lips and languor

18. Were caused by the chilling wine mixed in her goblet
O rider traveling on his swift steed

19. Buffeted by disasters, more disasters
Take to the kings of earth my message

20. Spoken sincerely by an eloquent poet
Crowned by the prophet Hud's descendants

21. His fathers were truthful, establishing a pure kingdom
I am a warner to you, speaking openly

22. And a youth led by warning should not be blamed
I must leave the castles abandoned

23. My corpse prey for the vultures' tearing claws
Where can you escape from the constrictor I decreed

24. To sink its fangs and claws into your flesh?
I am time, though I never revealed

25. Treachery, for time is treacherous and deceitful
My misfortunes quench the flaming, I am the cutter of the firm bonds

26. The ripper of the tightly knit, snarling and harmful
I am the bringer of blessings, so I give abundantly to the regiments

27. The pitier of misfortunes, commanding right conduct
The defender of truth, loyalty's exemplar

28. Huge in generosity when asked for help
Well-mannered, pure in dress, noble

29. Balanced towards injustice and justice
How many wavering drunkards have I steadied

30. As fire makes the goblet stand straight!
I need only a little wealth, floating about me

31. And a sharp sword with gleaming edges
A horse speeding like the morning star

32. And a coat of mail with scales like a reptile's chest
I am one whose people were never touched by cowardice

33. The day we met, and we wronged no neighbor
They, they have the highest glory and inheritance

34. Kingdoms and deeds of glory are their news
Innocent they stand, generous men of nobility

35. Shelter of refugees who never wearied or grew mean
In the times of ignorance they ruled the world

36. And for Ahmad and God's religion they gave support
Good fortune continues to grant us kingdom after kingdom

37. Conqueror to conqueror, and glory after glory
Our pride has no limit

38. Everything has a purpose and measure